THE UNSEEN

Knowing your enemy

9-22-24

WORLD: systems and ideologies that are opposed to the ways of God

FLESH: our sinful desires

DEVIL: the dark emanating force of evil in the cosmos who’s aim is our destruction

John 8:39-47

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

John 10:7-11

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep

KNOW HIS:

NATURE

STRATEGIES

"Deceptive ideas, that play to disordered desires, that are normalized in a sinful society…" John Mark Comer

ULTIMATE DEFEAT

Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

THE UNSEEN

Weapons & Strategies of Warfare

9.15.24

We cannot passively resist the Enemy and expect to walk in freedom and victory.

Ephesians 2:1-7

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The world is an organized system that is opposed to God

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

How do we fight the world:

· We immerse ourselves in Scripture, the story of God, and the life of Christ

· We use discernment that comes through Spirit of God and trusted voices of the church

The flesh is an internal struggle waging war within us and against us

Galatians 5:16-24

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

How do we fight the flesh:

· We learn to run. We are disciplined in our mind and body.

· We renew our minds. We implement rhythms and practices where we say “yes” to the Spirit.

The Devil is an adversary or enemy who is intent on destroying us

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

· Morally, Satan desires to make sin look normal or even the way to true life

· Theologically, Satan desires to pervert and distort what is true and life-giving

· Socially, Satan desires to provoke hatred, chaos, and division

· Politically, Satan desires to turn our allegiances to political systems and lead us to misplace our hope

· Economically, Satan desires to produce injustice and oppression against the poor, weak, and marginalized

· Spiritually, he wants to blind the hearts and minds of unbelievers so they do not believe and the hearts and minds of believers to they do not walk in victory

How do we fight the Devil:

· We are aware of him and actively resist him

· We battle and are transformed in prayer

· We give ourselves to one another

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Weapons of Warfare:

· Worship

· Fasting

· The armor of God

· The name of Jesus

· The power of the Holy Spirit

· The church/biblical community

· The gifts of the Spirit

· Personal prayer language

THE UNSEEN

Deliverance

9-8-24

What is demon possession and does this really still happen today?

"Possession is always positional and sometimes in presence."

Jon Thompson

Ephesians 2:1-5

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Can a Christian be demon possessed?

Upstairs Theology - How God views you

Downstairs Theology - How we try to work it out in everyday life.

Ephesians 1:3-7

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace...

Ephesians 4:25-27

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

How does the medical field, counseling, & mental illness play into this conversation?

What should I do if I feel like I may have a demonic influence on my life?

3 movements in deliverance prayer:

Allegiance

Truth

Power

In spiritual warfare, our approach should not be... "Speak the word of command in Jesus name and it is done" which usually leads to frustration and disillusionment. Our approach should be, "Speak the word of command in Jesus name UNTIL it is done."

Sam Storms

THE UNSEEN

Identity & Authority

9.1.24

One of the enemy’s primary tactics in your life is for you to forget or fail to know your true identity in Christ.

In the moment we take on a false identity, we immediately forfeit the victory and power that has been given to us.

Luke 9:1-2

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:17-19

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Where does our authority come from?

· It comes from the finished work of Christ

· It comes as we align ourselves with His will

Acts 19:11-16

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

1. We must walk in our identity

2. We must operate in our authority

3. We must exercise our power

THE UNSEEN

Signs & Wonders

8.25.24

Where you may find yourself this morning…

1. Belief

2. Skepticism

3. Denial or Hostile Skepticism

Matthew 11:2-6

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Circumstances can often tempt us to doubt or question what we know to be true about God.

We live in a world where we will witness both the miraculous and brokenness.

Matthew 14:13

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.

Life is a mixture of the miraculous, learning to live with pain, and understanding the way God shapes us and forms us through suffering.

In order to be a church who experiences signs & wonders:

1. A biblical community who is regularly gathered together in prayer and desperate and hungry for a move of God’s Spirit

2. A community that teaches about signs and wonders and the gifts of the Spirit and is regularly creating space for God to move

3. A community with the audacity to believe and pray bold prayers of faith

A community that rejects the values of our culture but instead embodies a countercultural community that believes God is waiting to break into every area of our lives with His power and presence

THE UNSEEN

Armor of God

8.18.24

Ephesians 6:13-18 (NLT)

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.

Your real enemy is UNSEEN, he’s hoping you don’t realize he’s even there.

Ephesians 6:13

Therefore, 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.

Put on every piece.

Ephesians 6:14

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,

Belt = TRUTH

Ephesians 6:14

with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

Breastplate = RIGHTEOUSNESS

Ephesians 6:15

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Shoes = GOOD NEWS OF PEACE

Ephesians 6:16

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Shield = FAITH

Ephesians 6:17

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Helmet = SALVATION

Sword = WORD OF GOD

Ephesians 6:18

And 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.

Righteousness is right side up living

Unrighteousness is upside down behavior

Am I creating an environment that welcomes the enemy into my life or am I creating an environment that welcomes God’s favor into my life?

You can't live free, fully, and abundantly when you have too much weight on you.

The way to fight Satan is not to focus on Satan, but to cover your life with the gospel!

Daily Practice:

Am I covered in the Armor of God?

THE UNSEEN

Kingdoms in Conflict

8.11.24

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. - C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

The two most common responses to spiritual warfare and the spiritual realm:

1. Obsessive preoccupation

2. Complacent indifference

Reasons why Christians are tragically ignorant of and dangerously ill-prepared for spiritual warfare:

1. Ignorance of the Bible

Ephesians 6:12

For 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.

2. Irrelevance of the Bible

3. Victory of the cross

4. The fear of imbalance

Many Christians have become so accustomed to operating with no demonstrations of spiritual power that they are bothered by any demonstration of it. – Timothy Warner

5. Insulated life-styles & a western worldview

The reason we don’t often see overt demonic manifestations like someone’s eyes roll in the back of their head or foam at the mouth is because any sort of supernatural occurrence would at the very least get you to believe in the supernatural. A smarter, more subtle strategy of Satan is to move stealthily behind the scenes – distorting truth – bring division – selling lies – making church goers church shoppers, turning kingdom people into political people – keeping the church in a state of apathy. - Dr. Karl Payne

2 Corinthians 11:14

For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

There is a kingdom of God and there is a kingdom of Satan and the two are in conflict.

God/the Trinity are pre-existent and all-powerful from beginning and they create out of who they are and what they desire

God creates an unseen world with spiritual beings (Job 38, Psalm 82)

God creates a physical world with human beings (Genesis 1:26-28)

Ephesians 6:10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For 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.

Ephesians 1:19-21

That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

As followers of Jesus, we must be committed to rediscovering a biblical imagination for the spiritual world, our authority in Christ, and the weapons of warfare God has given us to overcome the powers of the Enemy.

Imagining the world that Scripture imagines, you will recall, means focusing less on the world that created the Bible and more on the world that the Bible creates. - Luke Timothy Johnson, Miracles

Will we have “ears to hear and eyes to see” what God is doing all around us in both the physical and the spiritual realms?

Will the church be a place shaped by a secular culture that rejects the mysterious or the miraculous or will we embody a community drenched with the possibilities of the supernatural?

Missional Shift

Stephen Kuert

Luke 10:1-11, 17-21 ESV

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

"It's not so much that God has a mission for His church in the world, but that God has a church for His mission in the world" - Dr. Christopher Wright

The whole purpose of the whole church is to take the whole gospel to the whole world.

Shift 1: Sow: From passivity to participation

"Now the Greek is much more forcible, it is that he would push them forward, and thrust them out; it is the same word which is used for the expulsion of a devil from a man possessed. It takes great power to drive a devil out, it will need equal power from God to drive a Christian out to his work" - Spurgeon

Shift 2: Go: From experience to obedience

Shift 3: Show: From presentation to demonstration

2 Cor. 2:4-5 NKJV

"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Shift 4: Know: From apathy to authority

Shift 5: Grow: From joy to joy

"So where the gospel is preached with divine power, Satan comes down from his throne, in human hearts and minds, as rapidly as the lighting-flash falls from heaven; and when we see his kingdom shaken, then, like Jesus, we rejoice in spirit"- Spurgeon

TALK 1

Grief: Friend or Foe?

Tim Watkins

Matthew 14:10-12

He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.

Grief is the primarily emotional process of reacting to loss

We live in a grief avoidant society

It is impossible to numb just one emotion

Matthew 14:23

And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone

TALK 2

Live Ready

Carolyn Udall

Matthew 24:37-39, 42-44 (NLT)

37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters:

“The Christians describe the Enemy [God] as one ’without whom Nothing is strong’. And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off.

You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [God]. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing.”

TALK 3

Awe & Wonder

Cody Jensen

Colossians 1:15-17

[Christ] The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created.

Job 12:7-10

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the [Ruah, spirit,] breath of all mankind.

Genesis 1:1-3

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

1 John 4:8 (NIV)

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Mark 4:39

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Genesis 37:28

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

1. The Test of Brokenness

Genesis 39:1-5

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.

Genesis 39:6-8

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused.

2. The Test of Character

Genesis 39:20-23

20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

What if God establishes you and gives you favor in a place you despise or don’t want to be?

Genesis 40:23

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

3. Test of Faithfulness

We are often so focused on the destination, we forget that God is more concerned with our heart and obedience to Him.

Genesis 45:4-8

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

4. Test of Forgiveness