Moraine Valley Church episodes:

• August 18, 2021MVC// Kids Sunday // August 15, 2021

  ...more

  

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• August 11, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 7 / The Ultimate Marriage

  The Ultimate Marriage

  Ephesians 5:32-33 August 1, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. Take a look at this picture and let me know what you see!

  1. How many see a young woman – like a model from Paris? How many see an

  old woman?

  2. If you see the young woman: look at the chin and think of it as a large nose,

  and look at the young woman’s ear and think of it as an eye!

  3. If you see the old woman: look at the old woman’s nose and think of it as the

  left cheek of a face looking away from you, and look at the old woman’s eye

  and think of it as an ear on a face looking away from you.

  B. This picture reminds me of Ephesians 5:22-33 as there are really two pictures that

  play off each other in this section.

  1. As we read this section, it keeps going back and forth between the

  relationship with Jesus and the church and the husband and wife! Which is it?

  2. I have to be honest with you, even for this series I had to be as intentional and

  thoughtful as I am with that picture of the woman to be able to see both

  pictures clearly and in their proper context!

  C. Turn to Ephesians 5:32-33 where he closes this section up and lets us know just

  what it is about. Read v 32-33

  1. V32 –

  a) When he says the mystery is great here, he is not only referring to the

  two becoming one in the verse before but to this whole section of the

  love and respect relationship.

  b) He tells us directly here that in this passage he is mainly speaking about

  the relationship between Jesus and the church

  2. V33 –

  a) Note the first word of v33 - nevertheless = regardless or even in spite of

  the fact that he is talking about Jesus and the church

  b) Read v33

  3. This passage is primarily talking about the love and respect relationship

  between Jesus and the church but the husband and wife relationship should

  also be one of love and respect.

  4. This passage is written to the church, every believer in Jesus Christ married

  or not to let us know about Jesus love for us and how we are to respond to

  him in his headship and love

  D. While our response to Jesus is to be one of submission to everything and

  respecting/fearing Him, I want to focus for a few minutes on His love for us

  shown in this passage.

  1. We see in v25 that His love is a sacrificial love where He gave up His very

  life for us to save us so we can have eternal life with Him in a glorious

  eternal kingdom and abundant life right now. Read 25

  2. We see the end goal of this salvation and love is our sanctification. Even

  more specifically, it is a love like a bridal attendant who is getting the bride

  ready for her special day when she is presented to her husband. Read v 26-

  27

  3. Then the third aspect of this love is we see v28-29 talking about husband

  loving their wives as their own body by nourishing and cherishing them.

  Then he says this at the end. Read v29-30

  4. Bottom line, Jesus love is a sacrificial love that saves us from an eternity of

  God’s wrath and a life of misery and emptiness. His love helps us become all

  that God has created us to be by removing the spots and wrinkles from our

  lives; and finally His love is an up-close personal love that cares for every

  practical need!

  • That is the way that Jesus loves you and His ….

  II. Love is transforming

  A. I can testify that God in His love for me has turned my life upside down and

  inside out all for the good!

  B. Turn to Ezekiel 16:4-14 where God talked about the power of His love upon

  Israel when He loved her when no one else wanted her! Read

  C. Brothers and sisters that is transforming power of the love that God wants to pour

  upon you if you will open your heart to receive it

  D. Gospel

  1. John 3:16

  • Let me close with a special word to those who are

  III. Single, widowed, divorced!

  A. Acknowledge that for most of you if not all of you, you are in a situation you did

  not hope for, dream of, or pray for!

  1. I know the pain is real and deep and this series has not been easy for you to

  listen to.

  2. You have desire for companionship and sexual desires – yes, it still is

  ...more

  

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• July 28, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 6 / The Power of Submission

  Submission the High Privilege, Precious and Powerful Attitude

  Ephesians 5:22-24 July 25, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. They did it again! The world has hijacked another beautiful word from the

  Christian experience and marriage and has turned it into something negative so

  people avoid it or twist it or try to redefine it.

  1. A hijack is when someone unlawfully seizes something that is not theirs and

  they take it to use it for their own purposes and advantage!

  2. Satan, the god of this world, has done that because as the father of lies he will

  distort anything that will further the glory of God

  3. We saw earlier in this series that Satan has hijacked the word helper and tries

  to use it as something to make a wife feel inferior to her husband and that her

  role in the relationship is insignificant.

  4. He has done the exact same thing with the word submission! He has

  convinced us it is an outdated concept that needs either to be rejected or

  redefined!

  B. This morning my goal is to encourage women who have embraced this glorious

  attitude but who may be a little battle weary as they have taken a beating from the

  world and from other women for it.

  1. I want you to know from God’s Word, from God’s perspective, from the

  eternal and heavenly perspective you are on the right path

  2. So today, I want to share with you three biblical perspectives about

  submission that will encourage you in this difficult journey as you walk in a

  world that is seeking to squeeze you into its mold.

  • The first is …

  II. Submission is a high position, a high privilege!

  A. If you take your lead from the Bible and not from the culture, we see that

  submission is a high position and high privilege that a wife has in her marriage

  because it is the unique and important role of picturing for us and the world the

  response that the church should have towards Jesus!

  B. Turn in your Bible to Ephesians 5:22

  1. As I read this I want you to watch for two things:

  a) Why a woman should submit to her husband

  b) How the wife’s response to her husband is modeled off of the churches’

  response to Jesus

  c) Read 22-24

  d) Read v 33 – we see here as he summarizes the section himself that

  submission is an expression of respect!

  2. We see right off the bat when he says in v22 “your own husband” that a

  woman’s submission is directed towards her husband only and not all men.

  a) We learned last week in v21 there is to be a general attitude of

  submission every believer towards one another, but here it is addressing

  the husband wife relationship

  3. Next we see that submission is to be as to the Lord - v22

  a) This submission that a wife gives her husband is an act of worship to the

  Lord Jesus Christ

  b) She places herself under the authority and leadership of her husband

  ultimately for the Lord’s sake

  4. Verse 23 tells us why she should submit to her husband. Read

  a) The reason is that the husband is the God ordained head, the God

  ordained leader and authority of that relationship.

  b) We see that it is the same position that Jesus has over the church.

  c) Now you may be feeling there he goes – he is telling us wives we are

  inferior to our husbands, doormats for them to step on and order around!

  (1) No, we learned a few weeks ago that men and women are

  absolutely equal in dignity, personhood and spiritual standing

  before God, but we are gloriously different in makeup and

  function.

  (2) If you say that submission makes you inferior or a doormat then

  you are taking a shot at the trinity and the Lord Jesus Himself.

  because Jesus lived his whole life in submission to the Father as

  He did nothing of His own initiative but only that which the Father

  told Him to do

  (3) Listen to what 1 Corinthians 11:3 says

  (a) To say the headship of man over woman makes a woman

  inferior to man is to say that Jesus is inferior to the Father.

  (b) And that is a shot at the very core of Jesus as God and the

  trinity

  5. To say that role or function of a wife as being submissive is insignificant or

  lowly then you miss t

  ...more

  

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• July 28, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 5 / The Grace of Submission

  The Grace of Submission

  Ephesians 5:21 July 18, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. Today I want to talk about one of the most beautiful and Christ-like graces, a

  grace that should be at the heart of all our relationships as Christians

  1. I call it a grace because it is a byproduct of being filled by the Holy Spirit of

  God.

  2. This grace is also very anti-North American which goes against the very

  “independent” “me first” culture we live in.

  3. It is a grace that has gotten a bad rap in the church by those who are more

  influenced by the culture than they are by the Scriptures

  4. This grace is submission.

  B. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 5

  1. We learned a few months ago when we studied this passage that being filled

  with the Holy Spirit manifest four specific graces within us and these graces

  both are the result of and when practiced reinforce us be filled by the Holy

  Spirit!

  2. These four graces are:

  a) A heart fill with God’s Word and speaking it to one another

  b) A singing heart of worship to the Lord

  c) A heart of gratitude

  d) A submission to one another in the body of Christ

  C. Our specific concern today is with v21, which is the fourth result of being filled

  with the Spirit! Read v21

  1. We want to focus on that because it is the transitional verse that drives the

  relationships that follows in the rest of chapter 5 and start of chapter 6, which

  defines how we each submit to each other.

  a) Husband – wife (love by laying down your life – respect by submitting

  to the leadership of)

  b) Child - parent

  c) Servant – master, for us employee - employer

  D. Submission simply means to rank oneself under someone else.

  1. A synonym, a word with a similar meaning is: humility. Turn and read

  Philippians 2:3-9

  2. While obedience is a part of submission, submission in this passage has an

  additional element to it that makes it very different.

  a) Submission here is a willful and respectful act that comes from within

  between two people who have a bond with each other.

  (1) Here it is done out of a motive of love and respect for the Lord.

  Reread v21

  (2) Ultimately, we submit to each other for the Lord’s sake, out of

  respect for Him and the structures and order that He has set up in

  our relationships.

  b) Obedience – can be done as a mere external act only, one that does not

  require either a willingness or a bond between the people doing it.

  E. So bottom line, submission is a grace that causes me to put myself below others

  with humility rather than lifting myself up and fighting for my ways and rights.

  1. It goes right for the heart of selfishness which marriage certainly allows us to

  get in touch with how selfish we can be

  2. It upsets our flesh as Romans 8 says the mind set on the flesh does not

  subject itself to the law of God!

  • Since submission is right at the heart of the way we relate to one another in marriage,

  and a life of submission requires a life filled with the Holy Spirit! So our …

  II. Marriage requires a deep dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

  A. Remember our context – read Ephesians 5:18-21

  B. When you think back of everything we have already talked about with marriage

  …

  1. Building on God’s foundations rather than our own and looking for marriage

  to make us more holy than happy.

  2. Where I study my mate to be able to bless them and accept them and embrace

  them as they are today, not who we were when we got married

  3. Living it like a covenant rather than a contract where I lay down my entire

  life to live for them.

  4. Learning to do the dance of oneness where I see and value their differences

  as a blessing.

  5. Where wives submit to and respect their husbands and husbands love and

  cherish their wives!

  6. Even today’s truth where we live humbly with each other, willingly

  submitting our lives to each other for the Lord’s glory and each other’s

  benefit.

  C. If we are honest with ourselves, we will need God to do a miracle within us to

  pull this thing off in a way that will be fulfilling to us and a blessing to our mates

  and others!

  1

  ...more

  

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• July 19, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 4 / The Original Marriage

  The Original Marriage

  Genesis 2 July 11, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. We are living in a time when the very foundations of marriage are being

  questioned – questions like: who is marriage for, what is its purpose, how should

  it operate; then add to that so many different people speaking into it as if they are

  authorities on this.

  1. Our culture no longer seeks to find truth but rather constructs its own

  subjective personal truth, which results in great confusion about marriage.

  2. We as Christians believe there is an objective truth outside of ourselves

  regarding marriage that we discover in God and His Word.

  3. So let me ask you right at the start – where or who do you look to in order to

  get your answers about marriage!

  B. So this morning I want to go back to the original marriage where this whole thing

  of marriage began with Adam and Eve, so we can see the original design and

  purpose for marriage.

  1. A design and purpose that is still true today because it is built into the very

  nature of marriage!

  • So turn in your Bibles to …

  II. Genesis 2

  A. In chapter 2, He goes back and gives us more detail about what happened on the

  sixth day when He created both man and woman and the institution of marriage!

  1. Read Genesis 2:18a

  2. As we go on in this section God comes up with the solution to this problem

  of man’s aloneness – being separated from others in isolation.

  B. So the structure to this passage is simple:

  1. Problem: aloneness - v18a

  2. God’s solution: suitable helper - v 18b

  a) Search for a suitable helper - v19-20

  b) Creation of suitable helper - v21-23

  3. Creation of institution of marriage – v24

  C. Read – remember

  1. V 19 – earlier in day 6 God had created the animals and now He was bringing

  them before Adam

  2. V 23 – read this as my Hebrew professor taught us the way the Hebrew

  actually should read this – wow! I still have the wow!

  • So let’s start by looking at the

  III. Woman created as the suitable helper

  A. Reread v18

  B. We learn in this passage that man and woman are the God created perfect fit and

  help to each other.

  C. That is what the word suitable means – something that fits another perfectly, the

  counter-part, the complement, the answer to what the other needs, the one who

  corresponds to, the one who is just right for, the one who harmonizes perfectly

  with the other!

  1. So it is someone who is different enough to supply what the other lacks but is

  similar enough to fit smoothly! They are the perfect answer to what the other

  one needs

  2. Illustrate with the hands

  D. Let’s take the cultural steroids out of the word helper as many have been jacked

  up feeling that the word helper means women are inferior to men and just are their

  sidekick helpers!

  1. If that is your case, it shows you have been more influenced by the culture

  than you have been by the Scriptures.

  2. Because this word for helper is often used in Scripture of God helping man

  and helping Israel, it clearly is not a position of inferiority, it is just a fact that

  man needs help!

  E. What does he need help for? We learn back in Genesis 1 that God gave man and

  woman together the responsibility to subdue the earth and rule over His creation.

  We also learn that in Genesis 2 he was to cultivate the garden.

  1. Bottom line –marriage is God’s gift to man and woman to have someone to

  help them live out all the responsibilities, someone who is an equal who is

  similar enough to him yet different enough to provide the help needed.

  2. What if you are single? God has given the gift others in the body of Christ to

  come along side of you with their differences to support you. Marriage is just

  a very unique way God does it.

  F. God created the woman to be man’s the suitable helper!

  1. We learn in Genesis 1-2 that men and women are absolutely equal in their

  dignity and personhood but gloriously different on purpose in order to help

  each another.

  • All of this drives us into the very

  IV. Purpose of marriage

  A. Read v24

  1. For this reason – that man and women are the

  ...more

  

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• July 07, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 3 / Marriage as a Covenant

  The Original Marriage

  Genesis 2 July 11, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. We are living in a time when the very foundations of marriage are being

  questioned – questions like: who is marriage for, what is its purpose, how should

  it operate; then add to that so many different people speaking into it as if they are

  authorities on this.

  1. Our culture no longer seeks to find truth but rather constructs its own

  subjective personal truth, which results in great confusion about marriage.

  2. We as Christians believe there is an objective truth outside of ourselves

  regarding marriage that we discover in God and His Word.

  3. So let me ask you right at the start – where or who do you look to in order to

  get your answers about marriage!

  B. So this morning I want to go back to the original marriage where this whole thing

  of marriage began with Adam and Eve, so we can see the original design and

  purpose for marriage.

  1. A design and purpose that is still true today because it is built into the very

  nature of marriage!

  • So turn in your Bibles to …

  II. Genesis 2

  A. In chapter 2, He goes back and gives us more detail about what happened on the

  sixth day when He created both man and woman and the institution of marriage!

  1. Read Genesis 2:18a

  2. As we go on in this section God comes up with the solution to this problem

  of man’s aloneness – being separated from others in isolation.

  B. So the structure to this passage is simple:

  1. Problem: aloneness - v18a

  2. God’s solution: suitable helper - v 18b

  a) Search for a suitable helper - v19-20

  b) Creation of suitable helper - v21-23

  3. Creation of institution of marriage – v24

  C. Read – remember

  1. V 19 – earlier in day 6 God had created the animals and now He was bringing

  them before Adam

  2. V 23 – read this as my Hebrew professor taught us the way the Hebrew

  actually should read this – wow! I still have the wow!

  • So let’s start by looking at the

  III. Woman created as the suitable helper

  A. Reread v18

  B. We learn in this passage that man and woman are the God created perfect fit and

  help to each other.

  C. That is what the word suitable means – something that fits another perfectly, the

  counter-part, the complement, the answer to what the other needs, the one who

  corresponds to, the one who is just right for, the one who harmonizes perfectly

  with the other!

  1. So it is someone who is different enough to supply what the other lacks but is

  similar enough to fit smoothly! They are the perfect answer to what the other

  one needs

  2. Illustrate with the hands

  D. Let’s take the cultural steroids out of the word helper as many have been jacked

  up feeling that the word helper means women are inferior to men and just are their

  sidekick helpers!

  1. If that is your case, it shows you have been more influenced by the culture

  than you have been by the Scriptures.

  2. Because this word for helper is often used in Scripture of God helping man

  and helping Israel, it clearly is not a position of inferiority, it is just a fact that

  man needs help!

  E. What does he need help for? We learn back in Genesis 1 that God gave man and

  woman together the responsibility to subdue the earth and rule over His creation.

  We also learn that in Genesis 2 he was to cultivate the garden.

  1. Bottom line –marriage is God’s gift to man and woman to have someone to

  help them live out all the responsibilities, someone who is an equal who is

  similar enough to him yet different enough to provide the help needed.

  2. What if you are single? God has given the gift others in the body of Christ to

  come along side of you with their differences to support you. Marriage is just

  a very unique way God does it.

  F. God created the woman to be man’s the suitable helper!

  1. We learn in Genesis 1-2 that men and women are absolutely equal in their

  dignity and personhood but gloriously different on purpose in order to help

  each another.

  • All of this drives us into the very

  IV. Purpose of marriage

  A. Read v24

  1. For this reason – that man and women are the

  ...more

  

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• June 28, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 2 / Waking Up To Your Their World

  Waking Up to Your Mates World

  June 27, 2021 MVC

  I. Our Relationship

  A. Let me start by saying that Kim and I have had a very good marriage relationship

  but we definitely hit a wall about 20 years into our marriage where things were

  not too pretty!

  1. Today we want to share with you that story and some lessons we have

  learned along the way hoping that you will be able to find something that

  connects with and helps you!

  B. Kim and I had become what I call “professional husband and wife” and

  “professional parents.”

  1. By that I do not mean that we have become so great in those areas that we are

  in a higher category than others but rather that we have learned the routine

  well, we know what we need to do and we were doing it well.

  a. We have learned well how to juggle all of the different responsibilities

  and schedules and we are doing what we need to do.

  2. But also by professional I mean that we have learned to do it in a way that all

  the external things were done (kids to school and events, bills paid, house

  taken care of, meals were made), but internally our hearts were getting more

  and more dry and distant from each other.

  3. Somehow, with all the busyness and responsibilities of life we were not

  intentional nor gave the time needed to keep the internal fire going in our

  relationship.

  a. By internal fire, I am referring to that thing that the Scripture calls

  “cherishing.”

  b. That is the heart disposition that holds the other person as dear. It is those

  tender affectionate feelings that cause you to treasure the other person, to

  hold them as a special prize, to esteem and admire.

  4. We found ourselves set into some patterns in our relationship that over the

  long run were deadly.

  5. Some years ago, the Saturday Evening Post ran a humorous article that traced

  the tendency for marriage partners to drift from a height of bliss into the

  humdrum of routine attitudes. That article perfectly described the drift in our

  relationship! The article was called the “seven ages of a married cold.” The

  article likens the state of the marriage to the reaction of a husband to his

  wife’s colds.

  Year 1- “baby girl, I’m worried about you. You have a bad sniffle and there is

  no telling about these things with all this strep around. I am putting you in the

  hospital this afternoon for a general checkup and a good rest. I know the food

  is lousy, but I’ll bring your meals in from Rossini’s. I’ve already got it

  arranged with the floor superintendent.”

  Year 2- “listen darling, I don’t like the sound of that cough and I’ve called

  Doc Miller to rush over here. Now you go to bed like a good girl, please. Just

  for papa.”

  Year 3-, “maybe you’d better lie down, honey; nothing like a little rest when

  you feel punk. I’ll bring you something to eat. Have we got any soup?”

  Year 4- “look, dear, be sensible. After you feed the kids and get the dishes

  washed, you’d better hit the sack.”

  Year 5-, “why don’t you get yourself a couple of aspirin?”

  Year 6- “if you’d just gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking

  like a seal!”

  Year 7- “for Pete’s sake, stop sneezing! Whatcha trying to do, gimme

  pneumonia?”

  6. Back then Pat and I found our marriage to be somewhere between year 6 & 7.

  It became a wakeup call for us.

  C. We were beginning to be very short with one another and I was getting to the

  place where I was not that excited about coming home at night and she was pretty

  happy to see me leave in the morning.

  1. To me it felt like our relationship was on two different tracks. We were like

  two trains heading the same direction but each on a separate track next to each

  other!

  2. For a few years, I had been struggling with my health to the point that I was

  close to bedridden for many months. My doctors could not determine what

  was going on so we went to Mayo Clinic. I was diagnosed with an

  autoimmune disorder called fibromyalgia. It is a muscle/neurological

  disorder, which causes chronic pain & fatigue.

  a. There is no cure for this, but rather you lear

  ...more

  

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• June 28, 2021The Mystery of Marriage / Week 1 / The Mystery

  The Mystery of Marriage

  Ephesians 5:31-33 & Matthew 7:24-27 June 13, 2021

  I. Introduction:

  A. Marriage is a great mystery!

  1. Turn in your Bibles and read Ephesians 5:31-33

  2. By mystery it does not mean it is something that is very strange and cannot

  be understood

  3. But what it does mean is that it is a truth that cannot be known or understood

  apart from the Bible revealing it to us.

  4. Here in this context we learn that the mystery of marriage is that the deep

  oneness that happens when a man and woman become husband and wife is

  actually a picture of the oneness of that Jesus and the church experience in

  their relationship.

  B. This summer we are going to look at what the Bible says to us about marriage.

  My hope is to lay a foundation for us regarding marriage that is based on the

  Bible so we can stand the storms of what this culture is bringing against marriage

  today. The storms that can come just by two people, who are equal in dignity as

  persons but gloriously different as male and female living really close to one

  another.

  1. You know that when the foundation is off and weak the rest of the building

  becomes vulnerable when stress and pressure is put on it.

  2. That foundation has to be built upon God and His Word because God is the

  creator of male and female, He is the one who instituted marriage as the

  pinnacle of His creation! Everything God created up to that point was good

  but after He created male and female in His image and instituted marriage He

  said it is very good

  3. God as the creator and designer of male and female along with marriage has

  written an owner’s manual, the Bible. In the Bible He gives us wisdom about

  many things that relate to marriage and how they were designed to work –

  love, forgiveness, how to relate to one another, sex, parenting,

  communications, how to handle conflict, money, what to do with our

  weaknesses, etc.

  4. When we ignore God and His Word when it comes to marriage, we do it to

  our own hurt!

  C. Turn to Matthew 7:24-27. Read

  1. Let me illustrate that with the swing set we got when our daughters were real

  young and I was new at MVC

  a) Started with the owner’s manual then Roger, my next-door neighbor

  came over with a better idea, “since pastors do not last long you can take

  it with you…”

  b) After setting it up, the next day, I am at church and Kim calls – there is a

  problem…

  c) Next day back to owner’s manual, and I followed it instructions and it

  worked perfectly for over 30 years.

  2. So many people are building their marriages in light of the ideas they have

  heard and seen from “the Rogers” in their lives (experts in the world, parents

  or friends) rather than by the instructions of the one who created male and

  female and marriage.

  • Today I am going to be speaking in a very general sense and in weeks to come we

  will look at greater specifics from God’s Word. Let me start with two

  II. Myths about marriage that make poor foundations!

  A. Marriage was designed to make me happy!

  1. I love the story Dr Henry Cloud told about a friend who told him “when I

  was single, I was unhappy and insecure. Then I got married and I became

  married, unhappy and insecure!

  2. God is not against our happiness but there are much greater purposes for

  marriage than that!

  3. When we build marriage on happiness, when it starts to wane, and it will

  wane, then we either blame our mate or ultimately leave our mate looking for

  someone who will make me happy!

  B. The second myth is marriage will complete me!

  1. Sometimes people feel like they are not whole or like something is missing

  until they find that soul mate and get married to them. They think they have

  found that better half and now will be complete!

  2. The Bible teaches us that a mate or any other person (for those of you who

  are single) was never designed to complete us instead; they were designed to

  make us better!

  3. When we look to them to complete us, that is do something for us that only

  God can do, we make them an idol and frustrate both them an

  ...more

  

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• June 03, 2021The Unseen War / Week 7 / The Word, Our Offensive Weapon

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• May 26, 2021The Unseen War / Week 6 / God's Double Whammy Defense

  God’s Double Whammy Defense

  Various Passages May 23, 2021

  Introduction

  A. No soldier would ever go to battle without their defensive

  armor or their offensive weapons

  1. Today we are going to look at our defensive armor

  2. Next week we will look at our key offensive weapon!

  • This morning I want to share with you two strong defensive

  resources that God gives us in standing firm against Satan’s

  attacks to hold our ground. The first is…

  I. The armor of God

  A. God has provided His armor for the very purpose that we might

  be able to stand firm against Satan’s attacks turn to Ephesians 6

  1. Read v11 put on the full armor … “that” you may be able

  to stand firm.

  2. Read v 13, take up the full armor …“that” you may be able

  to resist... and... Stand firm.

  B. What is the armor?

  1. Read v14-17

  2. Bottom line - truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation,

  and the Word of God.

  C. I want to share with you in a very practical way, how I put on

  the armor!

  1. I put on the armor through believing prayer.

  2. I start by thanking God for the foundation that by His

  doings, I am in Christ and Christ is in me. When I pray

  about:

  a. I in Christ I am claiming all the gifts and rights that

  God has given to me in Christ.

  b. Christ in me I am praying that the life of Jesus within

  would grow in me and take greater possession of my

  life in these particular ways!

  3. You will note as I describe what I do that when it comes

  to what I am in Christ it is always in the context of

  thanking God for that because it is already done. But

  when it comes to Christ in me, I am always asking for

  something because it has to do with what God needs to do

  in my life.

  D. Describe what the armor is like that we wear.

  1. Belt = truth – the belt is so important because it is the

  piece of the armor that holds all the other pieces in place.

  a. Satan’s primary tool is the lie. He was a liar from the

  beginning, he is the father of lies and he works through

  the lie. Much of spiritual warfare rages in the mind and

  it is a battle between the truth and lies.

  b. In Christ – thank Him that I am in the truth and

  associated with the truth.

  c. Christ in me – ask

  1) His spirit to move the truth from my head to my

  heart. That He would cause truth to fill the innermost

  part of my being.

  2) Holy Spirit to shine His light of truth on and expose

  any darkness, lies, ground, denial, deception, doubt,

  strongholds (mindsets contrary to truth) strategies

  that Satan is working against me, my family and

  MVC.

  2. Breastplate = righteousness

  a. Satan is constantly attacking believers in this area.

  1) He accuses us of sin and tries to convince us that deep

  inside there is something wrong with us, and that we

  are dirty and not good. He also is looking for ground

  in our life from which he can work!

  2) We need to stand firm in the truth that we are

  righteousness in Christ.

  b. In Christ – thank that in Christ I am righteousness.

  Nothing to do with my performance or any righteousness

  of my own. Thank you that I stand before you today with

  Jesus righteousness and not my own.

  c. Christ in me – ask Jesus to fill me with His righteousness

  in such a way that I live a righteous life. Would He make

  righteousness the delight and desire of my heart? And

  make me more righteous so Satan has less he can grab

  onto!

  3. Shoes = peace

  a. I believe this applies to both the peace with other brothers

  and sisters in Christ and proclaiming of the good news to

  the lost of peace with God through Jesus.

  b. When we are under attack by Satan, we feel like God is

  displeased with us because not everything is in order in

  our lives. In the midst of the battle, you need to stand on

  firm on the fact that you are at peace with God.

  c. A key theme in Ephesians is the peace that comes between

  the believing Jew and Gentile and that Jesus has already

  broken down the dividing wall.

  1) Nothing that I know of better causes a place for Satan

  to attack than in the area of divided relationships

  between believers. When we have something in our

  h

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