The Battle
January 8 | DNA Guide
Be Real Together
Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together. Trust and friendship take time to build. If you’re launching a new DNA, one person should tell their story — what do we need to know about you? Next week, have another person in your DNA share their story.
Read Together: Ephesians 6:10-13 CSB
Grow Together: Observe & Apply
This Sunday, we began a new sermon series: “The Armor of God," looking at some of the offensive and defensive tools God has given us to overcome the challenges we face as we follow Jesus. Christian life can be hard to live out because...
You are in a battle. There is a spiritual battle happening that affects our lives, but many of us fail to recognize it. Since the beginning of time, men, women, and children, ALL created by a loving God, have been under attack from an enemy named Satan whose destructive agenda is rooted in absolute hatred for all that God creates. You need to know who your enemy is and who it isn’t.
Your battle is not against flesh and blood, meaning, it is not against other people. No matter who they are, no matter what they've done, human beings are not, ultimately, our enemies. Even our worst enemies have the potential of receiving the Gospel.
Is there a person(s) in your life who you have been battling? What would it look like to reconcile with them?
If your battle is not against flesh and blood, then who is it against? It is against spiritual enemies.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens," (Ephesians 6:12).
Our battle is not against people, it's FOR people, because we have an enemy who's goal is to destroy people and keep them from God forever. Their desire it that you would take your eyes off Jesus, forget who you are, and give your life away to things that will never satisfy you. Ultimately, Satan wants you dead, but if he can't convince you to go that far, he will settle with distraction.
Ask yourself: is my heart divided or distracted? Some examples: Are you consuming too much of what the world hands you? Do you have any addictive behaviors? Are you prideful?
Even though we are in a battle, Christ has won the war.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).
What does this verse mean to you?
We need to be strengthened by God. What does that look like? We are instructed to put on the Armor of God.
“14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:14-17).
You have spiritual armor available to you. But if your enemy knows you are not wearing a a certain piece of armor, that's where he is aiming the arrows. You have got to protect the vulnerable places on your body if you are going to survive the war.
What pieces of armor do you feel like you have been forgetting to put on? How are you preparing for battle today?
You are in a battle. There is a spiritual battle happening that affects our lives, but many of us fail to recognize it. Since the beginning of time, men, women, and children, ALL created by a loving God, have been under attack from an enemy named Satan whose destructive agenda is rooted in absolute hatred for all that God creates. You need to know who your enemy is and who it isn’t.
Your battle is not against flesh and blood, meaning, it is not against other people. No matter who they are, no matter what they've done, human beings are not, ultimately, our enemies. Even our worst enemies have the potential of receiving the Gospel.
Is there a person(s) in your life who you have been battling? What would it look like to reconcile with them?
If your battle is not against flesh and blood, then who is it against? It is against spiritual enemies.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens," (Ephesians 6:12).
Our battle is not against people, it's FOR people, because we have an enemy who's goal is to destroy people and keep them from God forever. Their desire it that you would take your eyes off Jesus, forget who you are, and give your life away to things that will never satisfy you. Ultimately, Satan wants you dead, but if he can't convince you to go that far, he will settle with distraction.
Ask yourself: is my heart divided or distracted? Some examples: Are you consuming too much of what the world hands you? Do you have any addictive behaviors? Are you prideful?
Even though we are in a battle, Christ has won the war.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).
What does this verse mean to you?
We need to be strengthened by God. What does that look like? We are instructed to put on the Armor of God.
“14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:14-17).
You have spiritual armor available to you. But if your enemy knows you are not wearing a a certain piece of armor, that's where he is aiming the arrows. You have got to protect the vulnerable places on your body if you are going to survive the war.
What pieces of armor do you feel like you have been forgetting to put on? How are you preparing for battle today?
Pray Together
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the gift of today. Please remind our hearts that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual enemies. Would you reveal in our hearts where we may be in a battle and need to start fighting? We ask that when those battles do come, you will give us your strength to fight them. We are thankful that although we may be in a battle, you have already won the war. Thank you, Lord.
In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
Thank you for the gift of today. Please remind our hearts that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual enemies. Would you reveal in our hearts where we may be in a battle and need to start fighting? We ask that when those battles do come, you will give us your strength to fight them. We are thankful that although we may be in a battle, you have already won the war. Thank you, Lord.
In Jesus’ name, AMEN.