The Battle

Good morning. That will bring a tear to my eye. Yes, kids, elementary school kids. I'm glad I'm not the only one who forgets to do that.

It makes me feel better. You give preachers microphones and you're just in trouble. It doesn't matter which one of us it is. Good morning, and welcome to Salt Church. My name is Chris, and I am privileged and honored to be able to speak to you guys today.

When Leon asked if I could do this, and then when he told me the subject for today, which is spiritual warfare, I have to tell you, I was really excited. And for those of you who don't know, I have a real hard time getting excited for messages, but I'm really excited about this one. And it is just such a needed thing in the church. And I think there's a lot of Christians who don't understand both the importance and the necessity of spiritual warfare. So let me pray real fast, and then we're going to jump into God's word.

Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to serve you today. I thank you for the opportunity to preach your word, your truth to our church. Lord, I ask that you move me out of the way. Lord, then you would use this vessel to serve your purpose in this house today. In your name we pray.

Amen. Let's start with some scripture. That's always the best place to start. There's two. We have two themed scriptures through the Supernatural series that we're just getting started.

This is the first of many, I think three or four different ones that we'll be doing. Pastor Leon, I'll be bringing the rest of them for you. And so let me read these scriptures to you. You have them both on your note card, and you can follow along on the screens. Second Corinthians 10, three through four says, for though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Real quick summary. You may be a person who is made of flesh, but you are not a physical being. You are a supernatural being trapped in a physical body. I talked about this a few weeks ago, and we are all eternal. We are all immortal.

It is just a matter of whether you are going to spend eternity in hell or eternity in heaven. And so even though we have this flesh suit on, we are spiritual beings. And so our battles are not with the flesh, but they are with the spirit. Our second scripture is Ephesians 6, 10. And this is just going to be the first part.

I'm going to hit the second part of this scripture hard here in a couple minutes. Ephesians 6, 10 through 12. Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, above the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.

I had a really nice outfit picked out for today. Normally I try to wear button-up shirts. And as I was looking for my undershirt today, I forgot that I had this shirt. And it says, put on the whole armor and take a stand. And I was like, got to wear it.

I bought this shirt in the middle of a crisis in my life when I had to be reminded on a daily basis that I had to take a stand. And so I would get up every morning about 3 a.m. to go work out. And this is the shirt that I wore every single day.

And when I would put it on and I would look in the mirror, it reminded me every day before I took a step out the door to put on my armor and take a stand. Now, I didn't grow up probably like most of you. I grew up to the son of church planters. And if you are a church planter, as Pastor Leon and Miranda are finding out, spiritual warfare is a major part of your life. You don't plant a church without going to battle every single day.

And so I was raised by two spiritual warriors. My mom, I'm blessed, is here today. She came down to visit us for the first time and see our new house. So the fact that she's here today is just a blessing to me for her to be able to hear this. I was raised to be a mighty spiritual warrior.

Some of you guys think that church people are just these pacifist little nice guys. And when something happens, they kind of just cower and they pray blessings on someone. Allow me to introduce myself. I am unafraid of the wiles of the enemy. I am unafraid of anything that he can possibly bring against me because my God is the one that fights my battles for me.

And I know that no weapon formed against me, thank you, Brother Carl, will prosper. And that's how I was raised. I was raised on my knees in prayer, not hoping that God would step in, but knowing that I was a powerful warrior and that when my feet hit the ground, it wasn't me that was afraid of the enemy. It was the enemy that was afraid of me. And I was raised on this from the time that I was knee-high to a grasshopper.

Maybe that's a southern term that some of you guys haven't heard. But from the time I was a young boy, I was raised by my mom that I was powerful. That it didn't matter that I was the shortest, skinniest kid in the class. Still am. Because that didn't matter.

I remember the first time that I saw a spiritual battle. It was after a church service that happened at my dad's church. We were meeting at an elementary school much like this. Much like this. Without all the lights and the drapes, this was back before all that was going down, and a young man had come up to my dad and a guest speaker that we had had, and he asked for prayer.

His name was Jeff Bennett. I can remember this like it was yesterday. I was nine years old. They began to pray over this man, and as they began to pray, he began to convulse. Physically convulse.

He fell to the floor, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and they didn't stop praying. They began to call upon the Lord, and they began to call things out. All of a sudden, this guy starts shaking violently, and then comes to a complete stop. It was like something just left him. He stood up, and it was a whole different person.

I will never forget that day for the rest of my life. It is like it was yesterday that I can see this. This wasn't done up on some stage for a show. This was done after everybody had left. This was real.

This man had a demonic oppression, and it was real. I know today in the church, there's really two completely opposite, polar opposite ends of the spectrum. My dad described it one time in a sermon, and he said, you have the guys over here, and they are swinging from the light post. They're handling snakes, walking on fire, and people are so afraid of them that they go the other direction, and there's people that are absolute cessationists. And what that means is they don't believe that the Spirit is alive today.

They don't believe that there is a spiritual realm that is going on. Guys, if I'm the first one to tell you, and you may look at me real weird after this is over, it's real. Last year was the first time 38 years I've ever trick-or-treated. We grew up in Denver, Colorado. That's where our church plant was at the time.

It was the epicenter of the satanic church and the New Age movement. And there were times in that city that it was so dark, you could feel the darkness. They would have, in Boulder, Colorado, they would have massive conventions for the satanic church. Massive satanic, and you could literally cut through the darkness driving through that city. And so my mom, no joke, was like, listen, I know these people like and think it's funny to dress up like a witch.

Witches are real. I know they think it's funny to dress up like a ghost. Ghosts are real. All these demonic figures that we think it's so cute to see our kids run around in, that's legit. It's real.

And yeah, it's cute when your four-year-old son's running around looking like a goblin. But let me tell you, it's not funny when you wake up at 2 a.m. and you're in the middle of a spiritual warfare against a demon. I've done it.

I still do it regularly. It's real, guys. If you were here last week, there is no way in the world that you left this place unless you came in here like wet from a cold shower, not understanding the Spirit is real. Because when I left here, I was so on fire, I had to go home and take a cold shower. Our pastor was on fire.

And the Spirit was moving in this place. And the result of that was lives given to the Lord. And I know there was people who came up and got prayed for that will never, ever walk the same again. The spiritual world is real. And my favorite song growing up, a song called Mighty Warrior.

This is Meredith. Guys, this is like, whoo, back in the 80s. I think Miranda is the only one in this entire building, besides me and my mom, who will remember this song. And it went something like this. Mighty warrior dressed for battle.

Lord of all is he. Commander in chief, bring us to attention. Lead us into battle to crush the enemy. That's what I grew up singing. And when that song came on, I used to march around our church ready for spiritual battle.

And it wasn't some fake thing. At nine years old, I knew who I was in Jesus Christ. And I was unafraid of Satan. And that's where we need to get as a church today. You guys grew up on G.

I. Joe's. I grew up on the Judah figurine. I am not kidding. You can ask my mom when this is over.

It's legit. He had all the pieces, the helmet of salvation, shield of faith, sword of the Spirit, sandals of peace, belt of truth. And breastplate of righteousness. And I had all the matching components that I could put on myself. I look back now, and you know what?

I'm grateful. Because of that little doll, I've memorized the armor of God. And while my friends were shooting and playing G.I. Joe's, I was like, you guys go ahead and go do that.

I'm going over here. It's time to pray. It's time to go at it. I knew it from a young age. And I'm grateful that my parents prepared me for life.

That's why I'm amped about this message. It's because I know there's some of you guys who didn't grow up like that, who haven't been taught. And you've been wondering why all these things keep happening in your life. And you keep wondering, man, why do I feel like I'm under attack? It's because you are.

It's because you are under attack. See, as a country, as a world, as a culture, mainly our country, we're in this place where we really don't believe in spiritual things anymore. Like, it's got to be logical. It's got to be scientific. It has to be something that we can grasp with our hands.

We better be able to see it, or we're not going to believe it. And there's a whole lot of people walking around who are like, man, that junk is mumbo-jumbo. You're not going anywhere. You better enjoy life while you got it, because once you're dead, you're done. It's just not true.

It's just not real. There is more than meets the physical eye. There is a realm around you where there are angels and demons fighting on a daily, minute-by-minute, second-by-second basis. And they are fighting for your life and for your soul. And that's real.

That's legit. But we have good news. The first bit of good news, which is your first blank in your notes, you are not alone in your battles. Guys, this is probably one of my favorite stories. Stories in the Bible, 2 Kings chapter 6, verses 15 through 17, and I'm going to read this to you and then I'm going to describe it because this needs a little more description.

When the servant of man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded their city. Oh my Lord, what shall we do, the servant asked. Don't be afraid, the prophet answered. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And then Elisha prayed, O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.

Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he looked out and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around. Now guys, can you imagine waking up and seeing your city besieged and you look out and you see a massive army that outnumbers you thousands to one and thinking, today is the day that I'm going to die. It's over. It's done. And then God opens your eyes and you look out and for every one of their men, you see a thousand of gods.

And these aren't just chariots of wood and metal. These are chariots and horses of fire. Guys, that's how big our God is. The ones that battle on our behalf, the ones that fight alongside us in front and behind, they're not mere mortal men. And they're not of Satan.

They're of the almighty God. They are angels. They are chariots and horses of fire fighting on our behalf. And so when we go into spiritual battle, guys, we don't have to be afraid. We can be like Elisha.

He probably put out a chair, grabbed his lemonade, laughed at his servant, like, yeah, whatever, man, I got this. Laid down, sat back, all right, Lord, show them what you got. I'm just going to sit here, sip my lemonade, and watch these guys go at it. And God got it. The second portion of this, and it's something that you need to remember every single day, is that your prayers are powerful against the schemes of the devil.

Guys, prayers aren't just something where you get down on your knees at night and you say, Dear Jesus, I thank you for my mom and my dad. I thank you for the money that you gave me today. And I really need more money and a better car tomorrow. Our prayers are weapons. Our prayers are a tactical, offensive weapon.

And they are powerful. Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for 21 days, the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, that is Satan, blocked my way.

Then Michael, one of the arch angels, came to help me. And I left him there with the spirit of the prince of kingdom of Persia. And now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future. For this vision concerns a time yet to come. Here's this angel, and he says, Your prayers were heard 20 days ago, Daniel.

21 days ago, your prayers were heard by God. And he had an answer for you. But guess what? On my way to you, there was a battle. Because the enemy didn't want me to make it to you.

Because it knew that if I made it to you, that you would know you're already a victor. And so, Michael, the arch angel, had to come down and do battle on your behalf, so that I could come and give you this news. That is a powerful prayer. James 5, 16. The prayer of a righteous person, man or woman, is powerful and effective.

I've stood on that scripture, I can't tell you how many times in my lifetime. Knowing that my prayer is not just something I hope that God hears, but I know my prayer is powerful and effective. So guys, we're in a battle. What's the best way to defeat an enemy? If you're on the football field, and you're going against somebody, what do you do before the game actually gets there?

They call it game planning. You go watch a whole bunch of film. You watch everything that your enemy does, so that you know what they're going to do, and how they're going to do it. And if you just happen to walk into a locker room and see their game plan laid out, you've got a tactical advantage. Well, guess what?

We have the enemy's game plan. God's Bible tells us exactly how Satan comes. And so I'm going to talk about that real briefly before I jump in to the next section. First, he blinds the minds of unbelievers. The God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.

That's 2 Corinthians 4.4. He doesn't want new believers. He doesn't want repentance, because all that does is bring more and more people to the army of God. And so he blinds them.

He hardens their hearts. That's why we get up here and preach the gospel week after week after week after week after week. It's because we know that Satan is doing everything he can. For those of you that are in this room and don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Satan is doing everything he can to blind you from seeing the truth, because he knows he will be afraid of you when those blinders come off. Number two, he steals God's word from you.

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand, it is the evil one who comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. He wants, man, the reason we need to memorize God's scripture, the reason we need to tuck it away in our hearts is because if you don't have it memorized, Satan can come and snatch that from you, and now you have nothing to stand on. He wants to steal that from you. When you hear Pastor Leon get up here and give a message, and he gives a scripture, and you're like, man, that's good. Don't just stop it, man, that's good.

Write that junk down, put it on a card, stick it in your truck or car, and every time that you're driving down the road, look up there and run that thing through your mind so that it becomes a weapon, so it becomes something you can stand on when Satan comes against you, because if he can't steal it, it's dangerous for him. This is one that we all probably know well. He sets traps to ensnare you, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his work. I want you to hear that last part, to do His will. See, what happens is we walk into ambushes and we think everything's hunky-dory.

And a lot of times we think, oh, I'm right. I don't care what that person said, I'm right. I'm going to stand on this thing. This is me. This is who I am.

I don't care what you think about me. I'm right. And what we don't understand is Satan is using that for his own will, his own glory, his own purpose. He sets traps. If you are a single person, I'll speak to men, if you're a single man and you're up at midnight and no one else in your house is awake and you're up staring at the computer, turn it off.

There's a trap waiting. If you're up watching TV and you've got HBO and every other channel because you've got 7,000 channels on your cable and your wife's gone to bed, turn it off. There's a trap waiting. And when he snares you, he's coming for you, your life, your wife, your kids, your family. He wants it all.

He's waiting. He fights to stop you. For we wanted to come to you certainly. I, Paul, did again and again. But Satan stopped us.

That's 1 Thessalonians 2.18. That's Paul saying, listen, guys, I've been trying to get here. I've been trying to come serve you and care for you and love you and impart God's word to you. But Satan was there every step of the way blocking me because he didn't want me to make it through.

Because if I got here and imparted the encouragement and the word that God has for you, he knew he couldn't have a hand on you. And the last one, and you guys need to hear this. Some of you out there need to hear this. You think Satan is just this guy, this fallen angel who just has a little bit of power, but you're all right. You're not worried about it.

He wants to destroy you. He doesn't want to just hurt you. He doesn't want to just make you stumble every once and again. He is looking to literally destroy you. He wants to bring you to your knees.

He wants you to be so depressed, so oppressed that you'll go take your own life. He wants to come after your marriage in a way that will divide you, turn you against one another, and destroy you. Guys, I'm going to tell you why this one is so big to me. I shared this at the marriage class last week. Man, that marriage group was incredible last week.

Lisa Marie shared some testimony. We had multiple people, and it was just incredible. I left there so challenged and so encouraged. But one of the things that I shared was that I grew up not thinking I was good enough, that I was never good enough. And when things happened with my wife, I really felt I will never be good enough for anyone.

And this is why I am grateful to my mom. Because in that moment, when Satan brought me to my knees, to the point where there's suicidal thoughts, there's depression, I want to go kill myself. Lord, it's not worth living. My spirit man rose up. And my eyes were opened.

And he said, this is Satan trying to destroy you. But God's got a plan. And he's got a plan for you. And my spirit man rose up in ways, guys, I didn't think possible to go head-to-head with Satan. And I've been victorious every day since.

But let me tell you, he knew exactly where to go after me. He knew exactly who to go after to get me. He knew how he could destroy me. And my battle was not with the things that had happened. It was not with flesh and blood.

It was with the prince of the power of darkness. He's coming to destroy us. He looks for his opportunity to ensnare us, to trap us, and then he destroys us. God's word tells us that his whole intent and purpose on this earth, he says, the enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. How many people here have watched National Geographic in their lifetime?

If everybody doesn't raise their hand, then you can all come to my house after this is over, and we will look up National Geographic because you've missed out. I can't tell how many times when you're going through science class and they're talking about predators that they showed the lions on the hunt. And they're creeping through the tall grass in the Sahara Desert, and they're getting low, and they're rolling around in the mud so that the other animals can't smell them. And they're so low that these other animals can't see them. And they stay just outside the watering hole because they know they're smart.

Satan is smart. They know the animals have to come get a drink. And so all the animals are huddled around this watering hole, and you can tell they're antsy. There's a whole bunch of them, right? And then there's this poor water buffalo.

It's the same one every time. And you can see the whole herd is moving and shuffling. They're all coming in real quick to get a drink because they know the lions are there. They know they're there, and they know that it is only a matter of time before those lions come out of that brush at full speed, and somebody is going to die. One of them is going to die that day.

It is always the weak one. It is always the one who is weak or sick or tired. It's always the one in the very back who can't quite make it. Satan is the exact same way. He is looking for us when we're at our weakest.

He is looking and prowling and waiting like a roaring lion. And if you're not prepared to do battle, he will get you. He will. It's not a matter of, well, maybe. It's he will.

If you are not prepared, if you are not ready to do a spiritual battle, he's going to get you. You think, oh, my marriage is perfect. It will never happen to us. Nothing ever bad will happen. Get ready.

Oh, my job. It is so solid. I am unfireable. I'm that good. Wait until next week.

Wait until the economy bombs. Oh, my God. All of a sudden, all that money that you had in the bank, paying for all this stuff that you really can't afford to have, is gone. And he's got you right where he wants you. You're desperate, you're weak, and you're tired, and he's coming for you.

Guys, this is Satan. Who I am describing is not just these lions and the Serengeti. It is Satan. God's Word tells us he comes to destroy. He comes to kill.

That is who he is. Death is his calling card. But guess what? Dude, we serve a good God. We serve a good God.

Please clap! Listen, I was at a pastor's conference with Leon a couple weeks ago, and the first pastor who got up is Dr. Jim Wall, who if you've ever talked to Leon, you're going to hear a lot about. And the first thing that he says is, guys, if I don't get feedback, that just tells me that you're not listening, and I'm just going to keep going over the point over and over and over again. So if I have to stand up here and keep saying he's a good God, he's a good God, he's a good God, I'm going to wait until somebody responds that yes, he is in fact a good God.

All the time. God is good. So now comes the spiritual battle, and I know I have got to be quick on this. Man, the clock gets headed fast. Ephesians 6, 13 through 18.

Matt won't give me all day. 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, stand firm. Then put on the belt of truth buckled around your waist and the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 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 the saints. See, God knew who Satan was, and he's such a good God that he said, I am going to not only give you his game plan, but I'm going to give you the tools that you need to defeat him on a daily basis. Now, guys, my wife is a sleeper. Loves sleep.

She'll tell you that. It's nothing new, right? I'm not dogging her out. That's just who she is. I've had many arguments, theological debates at small groups about getting up early for quiet times at this debate with my wife.

And I'm sure my parents had this debate with me when I was a teenager. Son, you need to get up in the morning and get in the word because Satan is going to come after you. And I was probably like, I'll do it at night before I go to bed because then it'll be on me all while I'm sleeping, and then I'll be ready when I get up ready to go. There's a reason that every time we see Jesus and David and Daniel and Joshua seeking out God, there's this common denominator. And it's that it always says early in the morning.

The reason for that is because we need to jump up, get in God's word, and put on the full armor of God so we can take a stand against the wiles of Satan. And if you just roll out of bed and skip all the prayer and you skip your Bible and you take off to work, what is going to happen? Just go back to the first part of your notes. He's going to be waiting. There's going to be a trap.

That girl that you just don't get along with at work, she's going to say something smart. And then you're going to turn around and you're going to blow up. And then you're going to call it into the boss's office. And then he's going to say, this is like the fourth time that you've lost it. You're on probation.

And in fact, you're going to go ahead and take the day off. Go ahead and go home. And so then you're going to go home and you're going to run into your husband or wife. What happened, honey? Well, I kind of fell into a trap.

I might lose my job. And Satan is sitting there just like, I don't do evil laughs well, so I'm not going to do it. I think Matt probably could do a really good one if he tried. And he's just watching with a grin on his face thinking, got that one. He's waiting for us.

So I'm going to talk about each one of these really quickly. And I was just going to put the scripture down there, but I thought there's something about writing it down, at least for me. When I write it down, it kind of seals it on me. I kind of see it. I understand it.

Okay, this is it. So I put each one of these down there, and we're going to talk about them really briefly. Let me look at the time here real fast. Yeah, well, Matt will start throwing things at me. So first, he says to put on the belt of truth.

Anybody here who can tell me who truth is? It's Jesus. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. That's like sealing Jesus around your waist. Let me tell you something.

When Satan hears that click, what was that? What was that? Oh, man. No, no, no. Nope.

It is understanding that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, that he rose again the third day, and that when he rose again, that broke the power of sin and death over your life, and there is absolutely nothing that Satan can do to reverse that. And so when all of a sudden you come on to something, and Satan pops into your ear, and he starts telling you, you're going down the wrong path. You're done. I got you. That was a bad sin.

What you just said to your wife was horrible. You can look over your shoulder and just say, dude, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and I'm a new creation in him, and he gave me power over you. Next, it says the breastplate of righteousness. Guys, it tells us in the Bible that our heart is above all else evil. How many people here love the term, just follow your heart?

Let me tell you where that leads you. A lot of really bad places. Your emotions go crazy when you're 16, and you see that girl run down the street, and it's like, oh, I'm in love. Your heart is not what you want to follow. What you want to follow is the Holy Spirit who is indwelling inside of you.

And so God gave us this breastplate of righteousness to cover our heart, to remind us, and to protect our heart from the enemy. So when he comes against us, and he starts to do it. Tempting us, and we start feeling those feelings, we can say, nope, stop. I have on my breastplate of righteousness today. Satan, you are not gonna get me with those temptations today.

It's not happening. The second one is the shoes or the sandals of peace, the gospel of peace. You know what this does for you? It takes you off shifting sands, and it puts you on solid ground. And it says, no matter what the circumstances that are going on around me, no matter how bad I feel like my life is right now, I'm standing on the gospel of peace.

I'm standing on the foundation of Jesus Christ, of God, the solid rock. I got nothing. He cannot move me, because I'm on this. And I have a peace that surmounts all understanding of what the world would tell me is going wrong right now. Next one, it's my second favorite.

It is the shield of faith. In here it says, it can quench the fiery darts of the enemy. Is there anybody besides me around here who feels some days like I literally am just running full speed looking over my shoulder, and it's like darts are falling all around me, and Satan has just, he's got his archers up on high ground, and he's got me in his sights. And it doesn't matter which way I go, to or fro, it's just like, doosh, doosh, doosh. And it's like, Lord, I don't know what to do.

And he says, son, turn around, stand your ground, and hold up your shield of faith. And what faith says is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. See, when we go back to the very first scripture, there were two lines in there that I have underlined in your notes, and it's to remind us of where our strength comes from. It's God. It's not us.

See, if we try to do it on our own, it ain't happening. Our flesh is weak. That's why our heart gets us in trouble. And so that's why we have to have this shield of faith. It's so that we turn around.

When those archers are aiming at us, we hold up that shield of faith, and it quenches the fiery darts that Satan tries to throw at us. And we can stand behind it and say, God, you will supply all my needs. I know I lost my job today. And I know Satan's trying to tell me I'm worthless. And he's trying to tell me that my wife doesn't love me anymore.

And he's trying to tell me that I don't, I'm not the same in her eyes. But Lord, I have faith in you. And when those darts hit, they just, and they're gone. Next is the helmet of salvation. I know I've got to hurry.

The helmet of salvation. Guys, how many people know here your mind is screwed up? If you're like me, I've shared it, so it's not something I hide. In fact, I don't hide from it because I think most people need to understand and know who I am. And that's that I've been in depression since I was like 17.

Thought about committing suicide for a long, long, long time. I've been diagnosed with PTSD. Guys, my mind is messed up. And so I have to have this helmet on so that Satan, who is the ultimate deceiver, cannot come in and twist things in my mind any more than they're already jumbled up. Guys, I can't, inside the church, do you know like the worst, as someone who walks around and sees a lot more, do you know the worst thing about being in church?

Is people taking offense to one another when, like, there's no reason to take offense? It's like you're walking down the hallway and you're walking next to somebody and somebody goes the other way and they're having a bad morning. And they just have this look on their face and the person next to you goes, oh, did you see the way she looked at me? And you're like, oh, dear Lord. Helmet of salvation.

Like, put it on. Put it on. She's having a bad morning. But Satan takes that and twists it in our minds and he uses it to get us because all of a sudden, now what's happened? Now I'm angry at that person.

I think they said something or that they were thinking something about me. Instead of turning around and going, hey, hey, hey, hey, sister. Hey, brother. You look like it's rough. Can I pray for you?

Like, what's up? Oh, it's your husband? Sure, I'll go smack him for you. Like, no problem. Instead, we see him or we overhear something.

Guys, how many times does this happen in our life? You overhear somebody saying, and you're like, oh, they're talking about me. Satan's going, yeah. No. That's why we put on the helmet so that he can't twist things.

He can't deceive us. He can't lie to us. It blocks us in. When he comes in those blows to try to twist our mind and mess us up, we've got on the helmet of salvation. Here comes the bad boy.

This is my favorite. If you are a spiritual warrior, this is your favorite. This is the sword of the spirit. This is God's word. This is the holy Bible, the holy writ.

And this is why it is my favorite. Because when you store up in your heart, write Seth, write Lisa, write Dr. Gwen, these are just some of our prayer warriors. They know what I'm talking about. When you store up those scriptures in your heart and Satan comes after you, it's like you look at him and laugh.

Let's go, boys. And you begin to quote scripture. If you remember Jesus in the garden, what did he do? He quoted scripture when he was tempted. Why?

It's the sword of the spirit. Man, that's just better than Excalibur. They only wish they had a sword that was as good as the sword of the spirit. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. That means it's not just a one-cut deal.

Dude, it's a two-cut. I'm going to come at you like this. Store it up in your heart. Get it. Hold on to it and go after him.

This is the only non-defensive one that's on here. This is an offensive weapon. Guys, this is why I tell you that when God made me a mighty warrior, it's not to sit back and wait for Satan to come after me. It's when I wake up and my feet hit the ground, I'm going at him. Satan, you think you're coming at me today?

Oh, but I'm already coming at you. I am already attacking you. We don't react. We attack. We don't react.

We attack. When you get up in the morning, put it all on. Do your calisthenics. Get flexible. Shake off your head.

And then go at him. As church, as Christians, we so often wait for Satan to come after us. See, this is what they do when you're way out of time. We wait, right? We wait for the attack.

We wait for Satan to do something before all... All of a sudden we're trying to grab our gear. We're like laying in bed and he comes after us and then all of a sudden in the midst of the chaos we're trying to find our helmet and we're trying to look for our shield, but they're not there because we didn't put them on and we don't have them at the ready. And so we need to get up and go after Satan. And the last one, as they begin to play, we do not fight for victory.

We fight from victory. We have already won the battle. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because of the one who is in you is greater than the one who's in the world. 1 John 4, 4. Memorize that scripture.

I am greater than the one who's in the world. When I go wake up in the morning and I put on my armor of God and I pull out my sword and I go after him, I already won. You have already won. Guys, you are all, each and every one of you has the spirit of a warrior in you. Call it out.

Call it up. Break out the armor of God and go after Satan. I'm going to say a quick prayer and then Pastor Leon will come close this out. Lord, I thank you for your spirit. I thank you, God, that you didn't make us timid.

You made us warriors. That you gave us the power through your word and through your Holy Spirit, Lord, to do battle against the wiles of the enemy. And I know there's people here right now who need to do battle, who are weary, who are tired, and who are wondering how can they do it. And Lord, we have your word. I thank you, Lord, for your word today.

It is truth and it is sharp. I pray over these people today, right now, Lord, that you would raise up an army. You would raise up a spiritually strong army to do your battle work.