This weekend was incredible! I want to hold on to everything we learned and experienced but I hate how quickly I can forget what God is trying to teach me. Just thought I’d put out some fight club truths we learned this weekend. Please add some more to this list if you can remember any I already forgot…..
- If we are going to win this fight, we have to remember our focus. We will NEVER win this fight of faith if we do not stay focused... Remember "BREAKDOWN"
- The moment you start saying "yes" to God, you enter this fight. And the more you say "yes" to God, the more intense the fight will get. Once you say "yes" to God for the first time, Satan places a target on your back. He chooses you and you have to fight at that point. If you have accepted Christ as Savior, consider yourself enlisted into the battle. Now you must fight and you must choose whether you will become a soldier or a warrior.
- A solider is a position and a warrior is an attitude. Historically a solider is someone whose profession was fighting. They are paid and trained to fight. There is nothing wrong with being paid to fight. Our soldiers in Iraq are currently engaged in battle and they are drawing a salary. But if we are going to win a war, soldier must become warriors. A warrior possesses the dedication money can’t buy. A warrior is someone who fights not because of what they can get but because of what they can give. A warrior is a solider with a "die for the cause" attitude. A warrior will do whatever it takes to win or obtain victory. A solider signs up to join a fight, a warrior stay until it is finished.
- 2 Timothy 4:6-8, "As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." Paul poured out his life in fighting for his faith!! And it’s apparent from this verse that at the end of his life, he didn’t have regrets about it. He didn’t say "man I wished I would have taken more time off, taken more naps, rested more." NO WAY! He said "I have fought the good fight, I finished the race, and I remained faithful!" When I stand before, I pray that I can have the same kind of confidence Paul had and say to God "man Satan may have thrown some punches but I finished strong, I fought the good fight, and I remained faithful to you and your cause God!"
- Because when we are in the middle of a fight it is easy to forget WHO we are really fighting and who is really the enemy in the battle. Satan wants to confuse us! He wants us to think each other is the enemy, when in fact he is your only enemy!! Warrior Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 "for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against might powers in the dark world, and evil spirits in the heavenly places."
- Remember "you are not my enemy!"
- Jeremiah 20:11, 12 says "But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you." If we have committed ourselves to this fight and to this cause to become warriors, we have been promised that God will always stand beside us as the GREATEST warrior. We can not be defeated! The enemy may be able to throw some pretty powerful punches that hurt and wound us but he will NEVER be able to defeat us!! In fact he will be humiliated in the end!
- YOU ARE NOT AN ARMY OF ONE!! If I had to face some of my battles alone, I would have surely failed. I am and will be forever grateful for the warriors that I have the privilege of being in the platoon with!!! If you see a fellow fighter in the midst of a battle, lift up his arms for him as Aaron and Hur did. Encourage each other as we are running. Not try to trip each other. Friendly fire kills. And we need all of us to finish strong!! We can not finish this fight alone.
- We are on a battleship not a cruise ship. Both are vessels that float on water. But their purposes are VERY different. Sometimes as Christians we dress ourselves in sundresses and sandals (spiritually speaking) when we should be in camoflauage and boots. It is time for us to get our gear on and prepare for battle!! God would never send us into battle without armor on. It is armor that we should be very familiar with.
- The helmet of salvation WILL save your life one day. Roman soldiers never forgot their helmets before going out to battle. The helmet protects your head and your mind. Most battles truly begin and end in the mind!! Every behavior we exhibit begins in our mind. Make sure your helmet of salvation is on. Just like Anna shared each night at campfire, the enemy wants to bombard us with lies and deception. But the key to take every thought captive!
- The next piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Got any of those in your closet? Romans soldiers used those to protect the tender part of his body much like the bullet proof vest police officers use today. The breastplate protects vital organs including our hearts. If we are going to win any battle, our spiritual hearts must be protected. What are you putting into your heart?
- Next we are to put on a belt of truth. For the Romans soldiers, the belt was really important because it held the weapons that the soldier would need. Truth has a way of holding things in place. His truth must be our foundation if we are going to wage war against the enemy.
- During the times of combat, the enemy would launch arrows, not just arrows but arrows on fire, at the soldier. These flaming arrows could inflict serious damage but the Roman soldiers shield was leather soaked in water so that when the arrows hit the shield, it was extinguished. You and I have an enemy that throw flaming arrows at us and the only way we can extinguish them is by raising our shield of faith.
- Last year at Y-Shua, we came home as a body of Christ. This year, we came home as an army ready to win this fight of faith.
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