WHEN IN ROMANS l Part 5 l Gods Gladiator

Uh-huh.

>> [music]

[music]

>> Hallelujah.

How's everybody feeling today?

[applause]

Good.

Well, hey, if you're new to Grace Summit

Church, welcome and excited you're here.

My name is Ben. I have the opportunity

to serve as lead pastor here. And uh are

you guys ready to get to business today?

>> My goodness. Do you guys know that uh

last week was challenge Sunday and today

is commitment Sunday. Say commitment.

>> Commitment.

>> So, we are in a campaign season and uh

man, we've been fasting for 21 days. I

think we're we're about done.

Anyone going to any crazy restaurants to

celebrate? Right.

>> Uh man, but we have been fasting and

praying for the future of Grace Summit

Church. And really what we've been

talking about for several months is

legacy. Uh legacy. What we do today, I

believe this echoes in eternity. It

echoes through future generations. And I

was thinking about it, man, when I got

saved

25 years ago.

Doesn't that sound old?

>> I'm not that old.

>> Thanks, Pastor Dan. Uh, when I got

saved, I I was looking back and it was

really my first experience when I walked

into that church. It was my first

experience in a large non-denominational

church. They had electric guitars and

drummers and smoke machines and people

in their 20s with lattes worshiping. And

I'm like, man, this is not grandma's

church, right? And uh you know, I just I

was thinking back because that's the

venue that God used to reach me.

>> And I was thinking about all of the

people in that generation that made a

way for me

because that was a huge church. And it

takes a lot to to build these things.

And man, I was thinking about a whole

generation that God used to create a

platform where I could walk in as an

atheist, as an addict on any random

Sunday and give my life to Jesus Christ.

>> And that's what God is doing here. He's

expanding us. He's growing us. I don't

know if you look around, there's not a

lot of empty seats in the house.

>> First service was very similar. And uh

what God's calling us to is right around

200 of us coming together to build and

advance the kingdom of God.

My goodness.

A place where thousands can come

over generations

and receive the word of God and to make

heaven their home. So what we out build

today, what we build today will outlive

us

and bless people that we've never met

before.

That's what God's up to. So we're not

just building a building. We're building

a legacy.

And I'm thankful for the foundation

that's been laid here. And we've been

praying and seeking for three or four

years, maybe even longer, about God,

what are you doing here? And so today is

commitment Sunday that we're not only

hearing from you. We did surveys this

summer. Uh we're not just hearing from

you in survey, but we're hearing from

you what God has spoke to you through

commitment.

Through commitment. We're making some of

us are making initial one-time

offerings

andor three-year pledge commitments

[clears throat]

to see what God's up to.

So we don't give out of obligation. We

give out of gratitude

for what God's doing and has done.

So today we become the answer to someone

else's prayer.

Isn't that good? You guys, I look around

America and I just feel what's happening

here. There's revival taking place

there. There's an awakening taking place

in the hearts of people and particularly

in the hearts of young people. And what

God has been speaking to us is prepare

for the influx, prepare for the revival.

And so that's what we're up to. Uh it's

equal sacrifice, not equal giving. And

generosity is not measured by the size

of the gift, but uh by the size of the

sacrifice. Do you believe that?

So living sacrificially

to leave a legacy for an eternal

investment.

So, you've prayed, you've filled out

your commitment cards, and uh out in the

lobby there's an orange table and

there's a basket on it, right, Loretta?

>> There's a basket out there. So, if you

brought your commitment card back today,

drop it in there, man. If you forgot it

and you need some more time to pray and

see what God's up to for your life, uh

man, you can just bring it anytime. And

uh if the orange table isn't there a

month from now, just hand it to an

usher. And uh we uh just want to see

what God's up to. Psalms 127 and verse

one says, "Unless the Lord builds the

house, the builders labor in vain."

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the guards stand watch in vain.

That's our heart to partner with God so

that he can build his house.

Praise the Lord. One summit every

generation.

>> All right, you guys ready for the word

of God?

>> Man, I'm ready to preach. You guys ready

to hear the word?

>> Most of you. Are you guys ready for the

word?

>> Hallelujah.

>> Well, I'm going to pray and we're going

to dive in. Father, we thank you, Lord,

for revival breaking loose in the hearts

of individuals. God, that we come

together today corporately to worship

you in spirit and in truth. And Father,

I thank you for the anointing upon the

preaching of your word. Father, I thank

you for the joy of the Lord being our

strength today. And so, Father, continue

to release revival into us, God, that we

would represent you well, God. Yes.

>> Praise you, Jesus. And so, Father, we

thank you for Grace Summit Church. We

thank you for our family of believers.

Now, God, we came to hear from you.

Speak now in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Well, hey, if you're new to Grace Summit

Church, our culture here is that we take

notes and we interact. Uh we we get a

little loud sometimes. Amen. And uh man,

we're just excited for what God's doing.

And we believe that participation is

better than observation.

>> Amen.

>> Every everyone say it. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Look at that. You participated.

>> So, we're in a series uh called When in

Romans. And today we are wrapping up the

series. And uh this is for you today.

The last two weeks we've been getting

our identity papers in order.

Two weeks ago we found out that we are

grafted in. Say grafted in.

>> We got our spiritual birth certificate,

our heritage,

our DNA to know that we're part of

something spiritual and we're part of

something bigger.

We're not spiritual orphans.

We've been adopted into the family of

God. You adopted.

You got your adoption papers in the

spirit. We're sons of God. Sons of

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We have heritage. Last week, we found

out that we are betrothed. We're engaged

legally in covenant with another to be

married.

Jesus went to prepare a place for us.

And he's coming back for his bride, the

church. That's you.

He's coming back for a people.

He's coming back for you without spot or

wrinkle. The Bible says that we're holy

as he is holy.

Question is, how do we do that? Right?

How do we do that? So, we got our

adoption papers.

We got our wedding

paperwork, marriage certificate, because

legally we're bound to another. Um, I

wonder if anyone went out and bought a

ring last week. And remember, we're

talking about the ring, that covenant

with God.

We're getting our papers in order.

So

spiritual birth certificate, our

marriage papers. Today

we get our military papers. Say

military.

It's our assignment.

Look at your neighbor and say get your

papers in order.

Romans chapter 13 and verse 12.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

Paul said this. He said, "The night is

far gone. The day is at hand. So then,

let us cast off the works of darkness

and put on the armor of light.

I want to talk to you today

about two realms and two armors.

Two realms and two armors.

Paul says to cast off the works of

darkness

and put on the armor of light. two

realms,

two armors. First, we need to understand

the backdrop.

Paul is writing to believers in Rome.

And Rome at that time was the epicenter

of the most powerful military that had

ever been on the earth.

You guys got really quiet.

the epicenter of a powerful military

machine

and the sight of Roman soldiers, their

armor, their discipline. This was normal

life.

And I got to say, there's nothing quite

like a Roman soldier. I I scoured I I

scoured the internet. I really wanted to

play a video clip, a movie clip of the

movie Gladiator. You guys remember that?

From 2000. Isn't that an incredible

movie? Yeah. And I looked through and I

was like, man, this is epic. This is

powerful, but it's so violent. I mean,

the guy, they're chopping heads off and

all this stuff. And I'm just like, and

then there was some bad language in it.

And I'm going, we can't play that in

church, right? But if you've seen it,

you know, because man, he plays a Roman

soldier like you've never seen before.

And he's kicking butt and taking names.

Amen.

>> The title of the message today is God's

Gladiator.

God's gladiator.

Man, in that movie, they did a great job

kind of capturing the culture in the in

the sense that a lot of it took place

with the Roman coliseum with thousands

of people there. And what Romans did for

fun was put two people in there and

fight to the death.

That's creepy.

I don't want to watch all that, right? I

don't mind a good fight scene in a

movie, but I don't want to be present in

the Roman coliseum while these guys are

killing each other, right?

How many know

that you're in a fight to the death? I

have three points that I want to give

you today to help you understand your

assignment. Number one is the fight.

The fight.

The Roman soldier was part of daily

life. You know, they didn't have cops in

Rome.

They had soldiers

military.

Uh Romans is a letter written by Paul.

He's been there. He's lived there.

He's been in prison there. He

understands Roman military. And he knows

that the church will too.

So, one of the things we don't see when

we read our Bible in the English

translation

2,000 years after it was written,

we what we don't see in the original

language is the military words used by

Paul.

Military language.

The original language used

was Roman military language that he's

writing to the church in Rome. to

explain the to the church their

assignment as believers. Say assignment.

Romans chapter 6 and verse 12.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Paul says this. He says, "Therefore,

do not let sin reign in your mortal body

so that you obey its evil desires.

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin

as an instrument." Say instrument.

as an instrument of wickedness, but

rather offer yourself to God

as those who have been brought from

death to life and offer every part of

yourself to him as an instrument. Say

instrument.

As an instrument of righteousness.

The word translated as instrument is a

military term.

One translation

translates it to weapon. It's the Greek

word hoplan.

This is not a general tool or

instrument.

It's a specific weapon of war. Say war.

Making you talk back to me.

He uses military language. Look at your

neighbor and say those are fighting

words.

Whenever you read the book of Romans, I

want you to remember that specific term

that these are fighting words. Know that

you are in a war for your soul.

>> The devil is trying to steal, kill, and

destroy you, your marriage, your family,

your home.

Just like the gladiators, it's a fight

to the death.

Those are fighting words.

Hoplan.

A Roman soldier was called a hoplight.

He was defined

by his hoplan.

He was defined by the weapon that he

carried. Paul uses military language.

And what he's saying is we have two

realms and two weapons.

Paul says, "Every part of your body,

your tongue, your mind, your hands, your

passion is a weapon.

There is no neutral ground.

You are either

a weapon in the enemy's hands,

offering yourself as an instrument of

wickedness,

or

you're a weapon in God's hands,

offering yourself to God.

as an instrument of righteousness.

Can I say that the war for holiness is

not passive?

You don't get to opt out.

I'll tell you one of the things I've

struggled with in Western Christianity,

particularly in America, is this soft

candycoated version of Christianity.

We have a lot of nice Christians. Do you

guys know that nice isn't a fruit of the

spirit?

The God of the New Testament is also the

same God of the Old Testament.

There's a spirit that dwells on the

inside of us. I call it Holy Spirit.

And that same spirit that produces love

and joy and peace also creates a

righteous indignation against sin.

I hate it.

I don't want anything to do with it.

I'll stand against it.

You don't get to opt out of the war for

your soul.

When you were grafted in, you were

enlisted.

When you said I do, to Jesus, you were

drafted.

Let me tell you what salvation is. It's

an active redeployment

of your entire being.

It's from the service of the flesh

to the service of the king.

And what I found

often times the battle is within.

Amen.

The battle is often on the inside of me.

Paul said this in Romans 7 verse 23.

Romans 7:23

He says,"I see another law at work in me

waging war." Say war.

Waging war against the law of my mind.

Catch this. Making me a prisoner

of the law of sin at work within me.

something on the inside of me waging

war, trying to take me captive and put

me in a prison of sin.

We see this internal civil war.

It's the flesh and the spirit.

And catch the word war. He says waging

war.

The flesh and the spirit are not a minor

disagreement.

It's not a little argument.

It's the gladiator ring.

Fight to the death.

The devil, the enemy, your own flesh

is trying to kill you.

Man, I'm preaching heavy today.

I'm preaching truth today.

Let me tell you where I'm preaching

from. I have watched many start a good

race with God. Many get saved and filled

with the spirit and begin to serve God.

And I have watched them become a slave

again to the enemy. I have watched many

commit suicide. I have watched many

overdose on drugs and die. I have

watched many destroy marriages and

families. The ones that used to know God

and love God and worship GOD AND CONFESS

WITH THEIR MOUTH THAT JESUS Christ is

Lord are now a prisoner again to sin

because they lost the battle.

I'm not going to lose the battle.

Through Christ we win.

oftentimes it's not a single battle,

flesh and the spirit

or in an ongoing military conflict. Man,

I want to say this. Uh the believer's

struggle

with flesh is not a failure of faith.

It's a reality of salvation.

The war is over contested territory.

your soul.

But here what Paul says in Romans 8

Romans 8:37

verse 37. He says, "No, in all these

things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us."

More military language, more fighting

words,

more than conquerors.

Well, we don't just We're not just a a

soldier in the battle and we're just

doing our best to hold the line.

just trusting and believing and we we're

in this struggle all we are more say

more

>> more than conquerors

that means we have the victory and we

don't fight for the victory we fight

from the victory

we're more than conquerors

my goodness I'm kicking butt and taking

names baby come on

>> take that devil

You can't have my family.

You can't have my future. You can't have

it because I read the end of the book.

We win.

We win. Amen. Man, I thought that would

get something out of you.

Hallelujah.

I'm going to make you a talk back to

you, church, whether you like it or not.

More than conquerors

means overwhelmingly victorious

to win by a landslide

because of Christ.

Our status is not

just a bride.

We're not just sons of God. We are

soldiers in the army of the Lord. Do you

believe that today?

You're God's gladiator

more than a conqueror. Number one is the

fight.

Number two is the fit.

By the way, how do you guys like my fit

today?

Aren't you thankful I have women in my

life to dress me?

[laughter]

>> Yeah. Anyone

in here ever do sports in high school?

Have kids that do sports?

Do you guys know that the right

equipment matters?

I'm going to tell a story. My parents

are here, by the way. Can we celebrate

them?

>> They're right over there.

>> And uh I was thinking about this as I

was preaching first service. I was like,

"Oh, they're in the story and they're

coming to church today.

So, if you could just plug your ears and

I'll preach freely.

[clears throat]

Now, I was in middle school. I played

sports all the way through uh

basketball, football, track, and it was

basketball season,

and I needed some shoes. Basketball, you

got to have the right equipment, right?

Well, mom helped out and took me I think

it was Big Lots or Kmart

and we got the cheap shoes. Now listen,

the cheap shoes uh when you show up to

school, you're not one of the cool kids,

number one, right? Call me vain, but I

still wanted to fit in with my buddies.

And so I had the goofy cheap shoes,

right? That was only half the problem.

The other part is I'm in practice and

when I run they're not sticky on the

bottom. They're like the hard plastic

soles and so I look like I'm on a

skateboard out on the basketball court.

So I'm like running across and like I

couldn't stop.

Everything I did was sliding and man it

was embarrassing

and uh so I talked to dad about it.

Yeah.

And we didn't even ask mom.

He took me out and got me some really

expensive Reeboks.

You guys, you guys remember? I'll date

myself a little bit. You guys remember

the ones with the pump on the front,

man? When I was in middle school, those

things were working, right?

Because you could go out on the court

and you'd be like, you'd kneel down and

be like,

Right. Like, I got you.

>> Yeah.

Lindsay, did you have pumps?

>> You didn't.

You had Velcro.

Yeah, those don't work on the basketball

court.

Man, I remember this. This is how vivid

of a situation this was in my life. I

remember my dad spent $130

>> on a pair of Reeboks.

>> And this might be the first time my

mom's ever heard that number. [laughter]

[snorts]

And listen, that was the '9s, man. 130

bucks for a pair of Reeboks was like,

"Oh, working it, right?

>> I don't even spend that for my shoes

today."

Dad was like, "Man, go big or go home,

baby. Those are the ones."

>> So then I show up to practice and I'm

out there and I'm like, "What's up now,

boy?" Yeah. Yeah. I'm like working it

because I got breaks now.

Yeah.

How many know the right equipment

matters?

>> [clears throat]

>> Yeah,

I've carried that to many aspects of my

life.

Hunting,

I asked in the first service, who all

hunts? Not one hand went up and I was

like, man, I moved to the city. We have

any hunters in here?

Hey, look at this. All the hunters came

to second service. Nice.

When I go hunting, I want the proper

equipment.

I want the Gortex Thinsulate boots to

keep my feet warm, right? I want the I I

want all the good stuff and I want the

good gun. That's Man, I'm going to go.

Did I just offend somebody? Somebody in

here doesn't like killing of animals.

Yeah, they eat food in the Bible.

you

animals,

man. That boneless, skinless chicken

breast got there somehow. Okay,

[laughter]

I'm just saying

don't get mad at me cuz I'm

[laughter]

You want the right gear.

Golfing, you want the right gear, right?

You don't want the old wooden clubs from

the 30s. You want the You want the good

stuff, right? Uh I'm this way with

tools. I like to work with my hands.

Matter of fact, yesterday link and I we

put a new carburetor on a Briggs and

Stratton motor, right? And I want the

right tools for the right job. And a

matter of fact, if I don't have the

right tools, I'm usually not even

interested in doing the job.

When you have the right equipment,

you find success a lot quicker.

Amen.

I have breaks on the basketball court

because I have the right equipment.

How many know this? The right equipment

will cost you something.

You can write that down. We're not

talking about sports anymore. The right

equipment will cost you something.

Romans 13:12, he says, "The night is far

Romans 13:12

gone. The day is at hand. So then, catch

this. Let us cast off the works of

darkness

and put on the armor of light."

You do not have enough spiritual space

to put on the armor of light until you

take off

the wrong equipment.

Say, "Take it off."

Can't bring your grave clothes to the

holy place.

You got to strip off the old filthy

uniform.

I don't want to wear the enemy's logo.

It's kind of like wearing an Ohio

jersey.

>> Come on, take off that jersey. That's

the That's the opposition, right? You

got to get a Michigan jersey. Come on,

baby.

>> I'm sorry. Did we hear IU?

Boo.

Is it okay to have fun in church?

>> All right, Buckeye fans, please don't

stone me when I go to the parking lot.

He says, "Cast it off.

cast it off, but then put something on.

Paul not only wrote Romans this way with

this military language,

he also wrote Ephesians.

Do you know while he wrote Ephesians, he

was sitting in a Roman prison

guarded by a Roman soldier. So now after

this, he's writing back to the church in

Rome.

Listen to what he says in Ephesians

6

in Rome. He says a final word. Verse 10.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty

power. Catch this. Put on. Say put on.

Put on all the ar Put on all of God's

armor so that you will be able to stand

firm against all the strategies of the

devil.

My goodness.

Don't put on some of it when necessary.

I haven't been wearing my armor, but now

I see a threat and so I'm going to get

out my sword of the spirit.

Right. put on all the armor.

You're grafted in. That's your DNA.

You're betrothed. That's your devotion.

But you're also a soldier. That's your

duty.

Family name,

your wedding ring, and now your uniform.

This is who you are.

Put on the armor of God.

Put on the armor of God. The whole armor

of God. Listen, you'll get your wedding

dress in heaven.

I almost started preaching.

You guys ready for heaven? I was so

excited last week talking about the

marriage supper

celebration in heaven. That gets me

stirred up. But man, we'll we'll get our

wedding dress in heaven, but right now

we put on the whole armor

of God. Ephesians 6:12, he says, "We are

Ephesians 6:12

not fighting against flesh and blood

enemies, but against evil rulers and

authorities

of the unseen world,

against, catch this, mighty powers in

this dark world. and against evil

spirits in the heavenly places.

Not going to be nice to the devil.

There are very real powers

coming against you as a believer.

And I'll say this, if you're not being

attacked by the devil, you're probably

on the wrong team.

The conflict is proof of your calling.

The resistance

is proof that you're on the enemy's

radar.

The devil doesn't attack dead things.

He doesn't attack dead churches,

complacent Christians.

He attacks threats.

You're a threat because you love God.

So, you better suit up and get the armor

on because this is a battle you cannot

opt out of.

Ephesians 6:13,

Ephesians 6:13

he says, "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.

Stand your ground, putting on the belt

of truth."

The belt of truth.

Not like our belt.

This was to keep both pieces of armor,

the legs that were covered with metal

and the upper part which was covered

with metal. It held the two together. It

kept everything

in its place. He calls it the belt of

truth.

I'll say this. When the enemy whispers

in your ear, you tighten up your belt

and you say, "I am a child of the king.

My papers are in order.

I'm in covenant with the king."

He says, "And the body armor of God's

righteousness."

We call it the breastplate of

righteousness.

This is the piece that protected the

heart from fatal blows.

This comes through the blood of Jesus

Christ. We are made righteous through

his blood. And so we wear that

breastplate of righteousness. I'm in

right standing with God. Devil, you

can't hurt me.

Breastplate

of righteousness.

Verse 15, for shoes

put on the peace that comes from the

good news

so that you will be fully prepared.

It's the shoes of the gospel of peace.

These were heavy sandals

and they actually had spikes underneath

similar to what we would call cleats.

It was to allow the soldier to have good

footing. Just like my basketball shoe.

And if you catch a blow, you're not

going to be moved because my feet are

planted firm in the peace of God.

The Bible says to let the peace of God

rule and reign in your heart.

Peace.

Your peace isn't for retreat.

It's for advance.

You stand firm on the good news that we

have peace with God. And we're not

running from the fight. We're standing

our ground.

In addition to all these, in verse 16,

he says, "Hold up the shield of faith.

Stop the fiery arrows of the devil."

What this tells me is that fiery arrows

from the devil are coming

because we're instructed as soldiers to

have the shield of faith.

Say faith.

Faith.

It stops the attacks of the enemy. This

was a massive door-shaped shield

and it could extinguish every flaming

dart coming.

Many have said that it was covered with

a type of leather that they would soak

in water before battle.

Washing of the water of the word. I

think about the Holy Spirit being

likened as water and Jesus Christ

talking about living water. I think

about that faith and being stirred up

and the devil throwing enemy throwing

arrows at us and we just stand behind

our nice tall shield, lean down a little

bit and it goes out

faith.

Verse 17,

he says, "Put on salvation

as your helmet."

We call it the helmet of salvation.

This protects our mind.

The Bible says we're transformed by the

renewing of our mind.

It's the way that we think about God and

the way that we think about oursel and

the way that we think about others.

It's filtered through our salvation. The

assurance of our salvation.

When the enemy attacks your identity,

you remember that I'm saved. I'm sealed.

I'm secure.

My future is guaranteed.

He says, "Then take the sword of the

spirit,

which is the word of God."

My goodness, this is the first article

of God's armor that is offensive.

Do you know that the word of God offends

the devil?

We stand on it, we speak it, and we use

it. It's the sword of the spirit.

Think of Jesus being

in the wilderness being tempted by the

devil.

All authority. I mean, he's God.

Devil tempts him and he Jesus simply

says, "It is written.

It is written."

Quotes the word of God.

It's the sword of the spirit.

There's two words in the

original language

for the word of God. One is logos.

Americans pronounce it logos, but it's

originally pronounced logos. It's the

written word of God. The second is Rama.

It's the spoken word of God. Say, speak.

This is you opening your mouth and

speaking

the promises of God, laying claim to the

truth of God, speaking out the written

word of God, and look at your neighbor

and say, "Get lippy."

>> Man, I'm going to give the devil an

earful.

Not today, devil.

>> Because the word of God says,

>> "No weapon formed against me shall

prosper." Get out of here, devil.

If any man be in Christ, he's a new

creation. The old things are passed

away. Everything is new for me. Devil,

I start swinging my sword around.

Backing the devil up, taking ground for

the kingdom.

Ephesians 6:18, he says,

Ephesians 6:18

"Pray in the spirit

at all times

on every occasion."

He says, "Stay alert and be persistent."

Stay alert.

Be persistent.

It says, "Stay alert

and be persistent

in your prayers for all believers

everywhere.

Number one is the fight.

Number two is the fit.

Number three is the focus.

Stay alert. Be on guard. Stand your

ground. Keep watch.

Stop being complacent

like you're not in a war for your soul.

Don't get too comfortable.

Stand ready.

And can I say this? Having the armor of

God on, having the uniform on will deter

the enemy of most battles.

I wasn't always saved, right? I think

about when I see a cop.

You ever been somewhere and you don't

even do anything wrong? You just like

and then you see the uniform. He's

walking through. He's got all the gear.

He's like, you ever just like kind of

like straighten up a little bit? It's

like, wait, I'm not doing anything

wrong, am I? But there's a uniform

there.

Wearing the armor of God is like that in

the spiritual realm. The devil's going

to see you coming. You got up this

morning and you put on the full armor of

God. And now you're walking around in

the spiritual realm and the devils are

fleeing at your very presence.

The devil's waiting to find you, a

soldier without your armor.

And trust me, he'll pounce.

Stand ready.

The armor stands for something.

When you see military

in their uniform, you know who they

belong to. You know which team they're

on.

When you mess with one, you mess with

the entire army.

>> Amen.

>> Enemy messing with me. Got my armor on.

Say, "Devil, you can mess with me if you

want, but you're not just messing with

me. You're messing with us."

He says, "Pray, be persistent in praying

for all believers everywhere." Man,

we're we're in this thing together.

Devil, if you mess with me too much,

watch out. Don't make me call my

commander.

Don't make me start calling on Jesus,

cuz I will, devil.

Amen.

Romans 16:20.

Romans 16:20

The God of peace, catch this, the God of

peace will soon crush Satan under your

feet.

Those are fighting words.

Those are fighting words right in your

Bible.

How many know the battle's already won?

Stay alert.

be on guard.

Sometimes

we're in the opposition. We're in the

struggle.

My shield of faith says soon God's going

to show up and crush Satan under his

feet.

It's the fight, the fit, and the focus.

Your identity in Christ

isn't just a status.

It's an assignment.

God didn't put you in spiritual armor

uniform

so that you can walk through a parade.

He put you in armor so that you can

fight a war.

Every assignment has opposition.

We've been grafted

into the family business.

The family business is spiritual

warfare.

Church, I want you to hear me. You are

not a victim in this fight. You're the

victor.

You're not a victim in this fight. It's

not, oh, oh, the devil's after me again.

Put on your armor.

Stay alert.

You're the victor.

The question is not if you're in a

fight.

The question is, are you dressed for it?

Are you dressed for it? Have you put on

your armor?

Romans 13:11 says,

Romans 13:11

you know, the time that the hour has

come for you to wake from sleep.

Paul's saying, "Christians, stop hitting

the spiritual snooze button."

Anyone in here the snooze button morning

people, the rest of us don't like you.

[crying]

[laughter]

Why is most marriages there's one

snoozer and one not?

The alarm keeps going off.

Can I tell honest? Hun.

Hun, please turn it off.

It's the third time. Please.

[laughter]

And I like having family around. I can

call everyone out.

Spiritual realm. Stop hitting the snooze

button.

Get up before the alarm.

Have your feet on the ground. Be dressed

and ready for battle.

Be alert

because your groom is coming back for a

bride.

not a sleeping beauty.

The devil will probably not fight you

with your armor on, but let me tell you

personal experience and what I've seen.

The devil masquerades as an angel of

light, the Bible says, and you'll have

your armor on.

Be ready for the fight,

but the devil will probably come and

befriend you.

And after some time, he'll convince you

or trick you into taking off some of

your armor, and then he'll pounce.

Don't be complacent.

Put your armor on. Keep it on. And be

ready. You're a soldier on active duty

24/7

in your home, on your job,

in your school.

You're grafted in. That's your DNA.

You're betrothed.

That's your devotion.

And you're a soldier.

That's your duty.

I'm going to ask the worship team to

join me up here.

Someone in here,

I believe, came in feeling defeated,

feeling a little beat up in the battle

that you're faced with.

Some of you might not not even have

known that you're in a fight.

I'm here here to tell you

that you are the victor today. The blood

of Jesus Christ

cleanses you and equips you to be more

than a conqueror.

Someone in here, maybe you've never said

yes

to the proposal to being grafted in and

in this covenant with God.

Maybe today your day to enlist

in a spiritual army called Christian.

We stand to our feet all over this

house.

In a moment, I'm going to pray.

Wherever you're at in your battle,

wherever you're at in the spiritual

realm, let today be the day that you

suit up and move forward.

And so, as we're

as I'm praying, as we're entering into

worship, would you do business with God?

Would you speak to God? And

if you need to confess or ask for

forgiveness for not putting off the

armor, the clothes of darkness.

If you're evaluating and you're going,

"Man, I don't think I have all the armor

on." Would you do business with God and

get suited up today?

Do we leave here equipped

for battle?

If you haven't given your life to

Christ,

you don't have to follow a preacher in

some special prayer,

but in this moment, would you do

business with God and just tell God

that I receive you and I love you

and I'm ready to be in the army. I'm

ready to move forward.

Father, I thank you, Lord,

for your Holy Spirit. Father, I thank

you for revival

being loosened on the inside of every

soul,

God, that we would live our spiritual

life with vigor and passion and your

power,

God, that we would be suited up in the

spiritual realm.

Father, help us to be well equipped

with our sword.

Father, I thank you, Lord, that you have

called us for such a time as this

to allow your kingdom of light to push

back the kingdom of darkness.

Father, I thank you for stirring us

today. I pray that every soul does

business with heaven,

receives what you have for them today.

we pray now in Jesus name. Amen.