Sermon Notes: The Battlefield Pt 5-The Blueprint for being a Good Soldier

• Quick over view of Parts 1-4

• Part 1 – There is a war being waged for our souls and the battle ground is our minds.

• Satan wants to gain access to our heart.

• So he can control every aspect of our life 

• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV) 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

• Captive – means to examine “interrogate”

• Part 2 – You have to become a Transformer!

• Romans 12:2 (NLT) 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

• Paul gives us a little more insight to being Transformed.

• 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are being changed(transformed) into his glorious image

• What is The Glory of the Lord – It’s Gods heart and mind “his character”.

• As we are getting closer to God, we are being transformed more and more to reflect his character.

• Part 3-4 – The Armor Of God

• Ephesians 6:13-18 (NLT) 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

• The belt of truth – John 17:17 Jesus says your word is truth

• Two ways we get the word of God

• The written word “Bible”
• The spoken word “Holy Spirit”

• Poboy – Jesus the bread of Life 

• The breastplate of righteousness
• The Shoes of the Gospel of peace
• The Shield of Faith
• The Helmet of Salvation 

• The Sword of the Spirit – The word of God

• The word “Jesus the bread of Life” holds everything together.

• Jesus embodies all of these.

• We have two more to cover…..Prayer and staying Alert.

                              The Blue Print for being a Good Soldier

1. Understand that we are not in a physical battle but a Spiritual battle.

• Everyone is in this war.

• Theres only two teams

• Its not team baptist, Team assemblies of god, Team Pentecostal, its not team catholic.

• The Lords Army.

• Satans Army.

1. Understanding that the fight goes well beyond us.

• Philippians 2:4 (NLT) 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

• We should stand firm and fight to preserve the Gospel.

• When we do that……..

• We are also fighting……..

• For our family 
• For our friends
• For the unsaved
• For our enemies
• For our community 

1. Understand we cannot “win any battle’s” without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

• The war ends when Christ returns

• Acts 1:8 (NLT) 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

• The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to subdue and to keep our fleshly desires in Check.

1. Understand that we have to pray for each other.

• First of the last two

                                               Pray in the Spirit 

• Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) 18 Pray in(by) the Spiritat all times and on every occasion. 

• Romans 8:26 (NLT) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

• When our words fall short…. The holy spirit helps us in our weakness and prays to God for us.

• Maybe you pray for God to get you out of a situation, but the Holy Spirit prays for God to get you through that situation because…..

• Endurance produces good Character. 

• Endurance reduces bad Character.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT) 17 Never stop praying. “Live a life of prayer”.

1. Understanding we must stay alert .

• Ephesians 6:18 Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

• Stay Alert – stay awake

• Stay awake….. don’t sleep walk………don’t just go through the motions.

• Pride – causes us to let our gaurd down “overconfident”.

• 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT) 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour(swallow up, destroy). 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

• Remember we are going over the blue print for being a good Soldier.

1. Understanding that we must not forget to come together. 

• Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT) 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

1. Understanding that we must teach, counsel and encourage one another.

• Colossians 3:16 (NLT) Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 

• Maybe someone is having a rough day. 

• 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT) 11 Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

• We are not alone in the Battle. 

• Galatians 6:2 – (NLT) 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 

• 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NLT) 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

1. Understanding that it takes Spiritual discipline to be a Good Soldier.

• 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power(ability), love, and self-discipline (self-control).

• He gives us the ability and the self control to overcome the flesh.

• 1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, 

• Why?

• promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

• Godliness – Training to be more like Christ.

• What does this look like?

• Everything starts in our mind with a thought.

• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV) 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

• Take every thought Captive – means to examine “interrogate”

• This will cause us to be more disciplined.

• This will cause us to be more like Christ.

• The results will look like this……

• When the Holy Spirit says go there we go.

• When the Holy Spirit says do something we do it. 

• When the Holy Spirit says say something we say it.

1. Understand that we have to be enrolled into Jesus’s Military.

• Realizing we are being held hostage in our minds by the devil. We are incarcerated, locked up, and caged in our mind, held like slaves, prisoners, or detainees who are under arrest and live at the mercy of the devil. 

• But Christ has paid the bail bondsman, he has served our sentence for us and that sentence was death.

• When Christ comes in it causes us to repent.

• Repent – to change one’s mind, to reconsider.

• Reconsider everything;
• The way we talk
• What we listen to 
• What we watch
• Where we go
• The things we are involved in. 

• The fruit of repentance is transformation.

1. Understanding that we must wear our Uniform at all times.

• These uniforms do not have a tag that says baptist, full gospel, assemblies of God. 

• What do they look like?

• Romans 13:14 (NLT) 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

• Jesus is that uniform…….. the Armor of God.

• Everything we went over in the last five teachings can be accomplished when we clothed ourselves with Jesus.

• It’s that simple.