WEBVTT 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:04.980 Spiritual warfare is real. I'm going to share 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:09.419 the most fearful frontal attack with demons that 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:12.460 I ever had. I don't mean to be dramatic. I'm 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:15.080 not trying to say anything beyond what's occurred, 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:17.440 but I've learned when I share this experience, 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:20.559 people line up and tell me, thank you, Chip, 00:00:20.739 --> 00:00:23.699 that's happened to me. If you've ever had a scary 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:26.980 encounter with demonic forces, God has some answers. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:33.259 Welcome to this edition of Living on the Edge 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:36.299 with Chip Ingram. We are an international teaching 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:39.039 and discipleship ministry dedicated to helping 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.659 Christians worldwide live out their faith for 00:00:41.659 --> 00:00:44.460 the glory of God and the good of all. Well, in 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:46.539 this program, Chip continues our series, The 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:49.179 Invisible War, based in Ephesians chapter 6. 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:52.060 Today, he'll talk about the reality of spiritual 00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:54.960 battles happening all around us right now and 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:57.640 shares a few vivid examples he's witnessed personally. 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:01.219 His stories aren't meant to scare or intimidate 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:03.679 you, but open your eyes to Satan's influence 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.560 and remind you of the ultimate power and victory 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:09.780 Jesus has over evil. So if you're ready, go in 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:13.659 your Bible to Ephesians 6, verse 16, where Chip's 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:16.500 talk, How to Do Battle with the Enemy and Win. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.819 I'm going to start off with two true stories. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:25.079 I'm not intending to be dramatic. but we have 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.159 learned from Spiritual Warfare 101 that there 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:31.599 is an invisible world, that we're in a battle, 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:34.079 that we have a foe that's formidable. We know 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:35.799 that we respect him, that we're not afraid, and 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:39.060 we fight from victory, not for victory. And then 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:42.280 we understand that part of being protected is 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:44.659 God has given us armor, and he's commanded us 00:01:44.659 --> 00:01:48.599 to pick up this armor and put it on, and he's 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:50.719 given us armor that will protect us in many ways. 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:53.680 And he's going to protect us from condemnation. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.379 He'll protect us from doubt. He's going to keep 00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:59.640 us from deception with just the normal walking 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:02.140 with God, being a man or a woman, renewing our 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:06.120 mind, being in the body and community. But sometimes 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.780 there's frontal attacks, and we'll talk about 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:13.060 when. This was now many years ago. It was our 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:15.800 first year in Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz is a 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.159 place, very new age, a lot of demonic activity. 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:22.330 It's 2 a .m. in the morning. I don't know whether 00:02:22.330 --> 00:02:26.270 I'm awake or I'm asleep. All I know is I can 00:02:26.270 --> 00:02:29.229 look over and see my wife in the bed and I know 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:32.569 I can't move any part of my body. And I'm thinking, 00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:35.669 I must have a rare disease because this is really, 00:02:35.710 --> 00:02:37.909 really weird because I can't move my hands, I 00:02:37.909 --> 00:02:39.969 can't move anything, but I can move my eyes and 00:02:39.969 --> 00:02:43.069 I can see my wife. And then I'm looking around 00:02:43.069 --> 00:02:47.389 the room as much as I can and a sense of evil, 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:49.919 you know, The night is dark, but if there's a 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:52.340 darkness that can come over the dark, it did. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.219 And then it was like a 5 ,000 pound came on my 00:02:57.219 --> 00:02:59.840 chest and started pushing down and pushing down 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.240 and pushing down, and I couldn't get my breath. 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:04.500 And then it was like someone grabbed my windpipe 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.659 and squeezing. And I don't know if you ever remember 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.039 as a kid when someone, when you were at a pool 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:10.840 and they were dunking you and they held you under, 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.780 and they held you under and you were sure, you 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:16.099 can't get your breath, you can't get your breath. 00:03:16.810 --> 00:03:19.009 And that's what it felt like. And I literally 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:22.469 remember in my mind, help Jesus, help Jesus, 00:03:22.629 --> 00:03:26.530 help, help, help. And I just thought, how can 00:03:26.530 --> 00:03:29.550 you drown or die in your bed and not be able 00:03:29.550 --> 00:03:32.210 to move your body? And then just at the last 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:34.349 minute before I kind of passed out from not getting 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:39.669 my breath. And then I sat up in bed and I was 00:03:39.669 --> 00:03:42.830 literally soaking wet. And if you've ever seen 00:03:42.830 --> 00:03:45.330 me play basketball, I mean, when I play, I mean, 00:03:45.349 --> 00:03:48.469 I was drenched and the bed was drenched and my 00:03:48.469 --> 00:03:51.569 wife was asleep over here. And there's like evil 00:03:51.569 --> 00:03:53.889 in the room, like never in the hairs on the back 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:58.370 of my neck. And I'm wondering, what is happening? 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:02.409 And I'm terrified. And now just for context, 00:04:02.509 --> 00:04:07.050 I went to seminary. And I was discipled by the 00:04:07.050 --> 00:04:10.990 navigators. I know some verses, you know? I'm 00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:12.889 scared to death and I don't know what to do. 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:16.649 And so I think this is evil. And I had some interaction, 00:04:16.870 --> 00:04:19.870 but nothing like this. I mean, I think I'm inside 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:24.230 of a Frank Peretti novel and I don't know what 00:04:24.230 --> 00:04:27.250 to do. And then the thought comes to me, you 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:31.889 need to command these demons or do something 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:34.209 to get them out of there. And then I had this 00:04:34.209 --> 00:04:36.550 second thought. I'm sure it was my pride. I looked 00:04:36.550 --> 00:04:39.670 over and I thought to myself, if I start talking 00:04:39.670 --> 00:04:43.189 out loud in the middle of the night and my wife 00:04:43.189 --> 00:04:45.629 wakes up and I'm speaking out loud in an empty 00:04:45.629 --> 00:04:47.430 room, she's going to think I've gone over the 00:04:47.430 --> 00:04:51.889 edge. And so I battled and then I did something, 00:04:52.029 --> 00:04:54.769 which I'll share with you a little bit later 00:04:54.769 --> 00:05:00.170 what I did and why. No, it's important. Second 00:05:00.170 --> 00:05:05.250 story. I had a friend who he would call himself 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:08.629 a very nominal Christian, came to church now 00:05:08.629 --> 00:05:10.370 and then, a little bit more often than maybe 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:14.029 Christmas and Easter, and was invited by a friend 00:05:14.029 --> 00:05:16.029 and said, hey, I think you'll kind of like church. 00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:17.170 It might be a little bit different than you're 00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:19.810 used to. He came for a few weeks, and then someone 00:05:19.810 --> 00:05:22.009 told him I play basketball, and this guy was 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:25.269 a diehard what we call gym rat. I mean, he loves 00:05:25.269 --> 00:05:28.529 the game. And so he comes up after like his third 00:05:28.529 --> 00:05:29.990 time at church. He goes, hey, how you doing? 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:31.610 I said, great. He goes, I hear you play ball. 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:34.430 I said, yeah, I do. I love it. He goes, I do 00:05:34.430 --> 00:05:36.050 too. I said, what do you want to play sometime? 00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:38.189 He said, yeah. I said, two o 'clock, my driveway 00:05:38.189 --> 00:05:39.990 today. He goes, really? What's your address? 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:42.569 I gave it to him. He goes, I mean, it is our 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:45.610 tradition. I mean, I have three grown boys, a 00:05:45.610 --> 00:05:48.009 couple of key friends. We go three on three and 00:05:48.009 --> 00:05:51.329 it's almost to the death in a good spirit of 00:05:51.329 --> 00:05:55.500 Christian love, of course. But I mean, it's so 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:57.480 great and it's intense. And we would go for a 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:00.980 couple hours and Dave shows up. And I mean, Dave's 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:04.560 a player. And we just, we bonded. We had a great 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.420 time, had fun. And so, you know, after you play 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:09.579 and you're sweating, you talk a little bit. And 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:11.259 then little by little, Dave started becoming 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.459 regularly. And then somehow Dave thought, you 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:15.860 know, I'm a Christian, but I've never read the 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.199 Bible. And he starts doing that. And pretty soon 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:20.579 his life starts to change. And fast forward about 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:23.959 two, two and a half years. Everybody didn't show 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.860 up. So Dave and I played like 5 ,000 games of 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:29.540 one -on -one. And then we're exhausted. And he 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:31.560 goes, hey, can I talk to you? And we're sitting 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.379 in the driveway, both in a pool of sweat. And 00:06:34.379 --> 00:06:36.139 he said, man, something happened weird the other 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:38.860 night. I said, what do you mean? He goes, you 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:43.579 know. you know, if we put the kids to bed and 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.199 we put on this really, really old movie and, 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:47.959 you know, it's a chick flick and my wife really 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.899 loved it. And then, you know how it is, you know, 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:52.339 they want to watch one of those kind of movies 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:54.980 and they fall asleep. And so, you know, I had 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:56.899 my arm around her and she fell asleep. And I 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.420 had one of those moments that I just looked down 00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:02.079 at her and I see our life has changed. My life 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.259 has changed. Our Mary's has changed. I looked 00:07:04.259 --> 00:07:07.879 down, I thought, I love her so much. And then 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:11.310 this thought came to my mind. she's going to 00:07:11.310 --> 00:07:13.810 die. It might be today. It might be tomorrow. 00:07:13.949 --> 00:07:16.350 She's going to die. And he goes, I mean, it was 00:07:16.350 --> 00:07:19.110 weird. I mean, but my emotions, he goes, man, 00:07:19.149 --> 00:07:21.610 this was so weird. It was not like just a thought. 00:07:21.790 --> 00:07:25.089 It was like a doctor handed me, she has terminal 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:28.490 cancer and has 48 hours to live. It was that 00:07:28.490 --> 00:07:31.629 real. And then my next thought was, how could 00:07:31.629 --> 00:07:34.269 a good God let that happen to my wife? And then 00:07:34.269 --> 00:07:36.029 my next thought was, how could you trust a God 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:38.329 like that that would do that to my wife? And 00:07:38.329 --> 00:07:42.079 then I realized, I mean, He goes, has anything 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:45.259 like that ever happened to you? I said, yeah. 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:49.420 He said, so what's going on? I said, Dave, that's 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:51.519 called spiritual warfare. He goes, well, what 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.680 do you do? That's what we're going to talk about. 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:58.319 Okay, what do you do? What do you do when some 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:02.399 very unusual things happen? First of all, you 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:04.300 need to understand there's four facts you need 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:07.300 to know. And this is the baseline. Fact number 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:10.339 one, God has objectively defeated Satan and his 00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:13.120 agenda. He has delivered us from sin's penalty, 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:16.540 power, and ultimately will deliver us from sin's 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:19.800 presence. In the interim, we're involved in a 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.439 guerrilla warfare with demonic forces. Fact number 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:26.240 one. Fact number two, as believers, we have been 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.180 transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:30.660 kingdom of light with all the rights, privileges, 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:34.659 and position of being a child of God and what 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:37.879 that entails. Fact number three, the spiritual 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.240 battle that we fight involves our responsibility 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:43.779 on our part to put on the spiritual protection 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:48.679 God has provided for us. We can and we will resist 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:52.980 the enemy's attempts to deceive, accuse, and 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:56.259 cast out when we stand firm by, number one, being 00:08:56.259 --> 00:08:59.840 honest with God, ourselves, and others as a prerequisite 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.990 to spiritual battle. And we learned what? It's 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:05.450 the belt of truth. Number two, responding to 00:09:05.450 --> 00:09:07.470 the truth that God shows us about his will for 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:10.909 our lives or living righteously, the breastplate 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:13.590 of righteousness. And number three, a clear understanding 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:16.370 and a readily sharing of the gospel, the message 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:19.690 of grace. Our feet shod with the gospel. Now 00:09:19.690 --> 00:09:22.029 get this, and please, fact number four is very 00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:25.269 important. The great majority of spiritual warfare 00:09:25.269 --> 00:09:29.779 never need go beyond the regular practice. of 00:09:29.779 --> 00:09:31.899 living out your position in Christ by faith. 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:34.600 Our practice of Paul's metaphor of the spiritual 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:38.059 armor protects us from Satan's ongoing attempts 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:41.200 to break our fellowship with Jesus, and as a 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:46.360 result, greatly minimizes any impact by the enemy. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:53.279 And now, however, there are times when we must 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:56.620 move beyond standing firm, and here's the key 00:09:56.620 --> 00:10:03.690 word, engage. the enemy in actual combat. There 00:10:03.690 --> 00:10:06.750 are times that are very predictable when it will 00:10:06.750 --> 00:10:09.809 go from you have a great defense, you're not 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:12.929 being deceived, you're walking with God, and 00:10:12.929 --> 00:10:15.830 there's some times when frontal attack is likely 00:10:15.830 --> 00:10:19.610 to happen. Five examples. Number one, when you're 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:22.370 taking significant steps of faith for spiritual 00:10:22.370 --> 00:10:27.379 growth. Dave went from a nominal Christian who 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:29.980 intellectually believed in Jesus, who came to 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:33.059 a saving faith, who began to get into God's word, 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:36.340 found out he had the gift of evangelism, found 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:38.700 he began, he actually started a businessman's 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:40.759 group in our community that people would come 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.000 from. And because of his role and brothers in 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.440 the community, they had a big role at the Santa 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.059 Cruz boardwalk. Pretty soon God is using his 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:51.500 life. Then his marriage began to change. Then 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.000 I remember him telling me one day, you know what? 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.139 You know, I went to church and when you're a 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:56.879 kid, you put a quarter in. When you got to be 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:58.960 like in junior high, you put a dollar in. And 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.220 then, you know, when you're an adult, you gave 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:02.539 $5. And if you had like a really good sermon, 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:05.980 you maybe give 20. He goes, I've been in the 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:08.919 Bible now. He goes, I'm tithing. He goes, I've 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.100 got a good job. And he just looked at me like, 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.620 man, sometimes I look at the number that I write 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:18.320 down. I go, dude, are you kidding me? I'm giving 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.049 that money away. And then he says. and I've never 00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:23.809 been happier, and it's just lighting me up, and 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:26.169 I see what it does, and God keeps giving me more. 00:11:27.789 --> 00:11:32.570 And then he starts to talk about his life. And 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:36.730 this guy is, I mean, fast forward, I'll let you 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:38.850 in. It was about five years later, he came on 00:11:38.850 --> 00:11:44.110 our staff. I mean, his life was having such an 00:11:44.110 --> 00:11:46.269 impact, he couldn't squeeze it all in in his 00:11:46.269 --> 00:11:50.509 day job. And at this particular window, Guess 00:11:50.509 --> 00:11:54.789 what? The enemy was trying to take him out. Because 00:11:54.789 --> 00:11:59.429 he was taking aggressive steps in spiritual growth. 00:11:59.570 --> 00:12:02.750 He was making a real difference. And when that 00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:06.509 happens, fear and some other things come at him. 00:12:06.529 --> 00:12:09.350 And we'll talk about how he responded. Second, 00:12:09.409 --> 00:12:12.110 when we're invading enemy territory. I remember 00:12:12.110 --> 00:12:15.730 we would do major outreaches, especially in Santa 00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:19.919 Cruz, because it was such a pagan town. And it 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.419 was in the day when musicals were really popular 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.340 and we had a very gifted church in that area. 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:26.659 We might do eight or nine of these and thousands 00:12:26.659 --> 00:12:29.259 of people would come and hundreds of people would 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:31.580 come to Christ. I literally remember at times 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:34.539 having like three or four appliances break down 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:37.360 in one day right before that happens and my car 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.500 break down. I mean, you just can't do all that. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:43.080 We have just crazy stuff. In one of them, a lady's 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.450 hair caught on fire, for real. I mean, it was 00:12:46.450 --> 00:12:50.090 crazy stuff that was more than just coincidental. 00:12:50.250 --> 00:12:52.629 The third time is when you're exposing him for 00:12:52.629 --> 00:12:56.090 who he really is. We as a staff knew we were 00:12:56.090 --> 00:12:58.450 going to teach on this. We started a few weeks 00:12:58.450 --> 00:13:00.889 ago, and we really upped our prayer and intercession, 00:13:01.049 --> 00:13:03.590 knowing this was going to happen. Fourth is when 00:13:03.590 --> 00:13:06.190 we repent or make a clean break with the world 00:13:06.190 --> 00:13:09.389 or a long -held sin pattern or unholy relationship. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.720 Now, we were involved in a lot of celebrate recovery 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:14.639 ministries. When someone's coming off of cocaine 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:18.500 or a sex addiction or alcohol, or often I would 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:21.379 have a couple, and they'd come and love and grow, 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:23.500 and then they'd come up and say, you know, we're 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:25.419 living together, and God's shown us this really 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:28.279 is not His plan, and so we're going to move apart 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.899 for a season and get some counseling, and we're 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:32.620 going to get married. And the moment they did 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:35.379 that, I mean, everything could go wrong. I've 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.919 talked to countless men involved in either porn 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.919 or affairs, and when they break off the relationship, 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:47.000 just the battle, the enemy doesn't give up his 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.539 own easily. So I don't say this in any way to 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:55.059 make anyone fearful. It's just you need to put 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:57.240 your chin strap on. You just need to realize 00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:59.879 when you take certain steps, there's going to 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:02.399 be opposition. And then finally, when God is 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.600 preparing us individually or corporately for 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.230 a great work for His glory. You know, you read 00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:12.169 Nehemiah, and as Nehemiah begins to rebuild the 00:14:12.169 --> 00:14:16.570 wall, and a revival is going to take place, and 00:14:16.570 --> 00:14:18.990 Ezra's going to come in, and God's going to turn 00:14:18.990 --> 00:14:21.830 all of history around with this business guy. 00:14:22.090 --> 00:14:24.250 And, you know, chapters 1, 2, and 3 are pretty 00:14:24.250 --> 00:14:26.750 exciting, but chapters 4, 5, and 6 are about 00:14:26.750 --> 00:14:29.980 opposition. And he gets general opposition and 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.919 he gets personal opposition. Then there's an 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:35.100 assassination on him. Jesus is ready to launch 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:37.679 his ministry. He's ready to be the savior of 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:40.019 the world and begin his formal teaching ministry. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:43.740 And what happens? He's led by the Holy Spirit 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:46.480 into the wilderness and he's tempted by the enemy, 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:50.899 right? So I had a professor, Norman Geisler, 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.659 and we built a relationship with him. And I had 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:57.519 one friend that he majored in that. we would 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:00.080 try and get him to sort of let us come over for 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.779 dinner and we'd ask him questions and stuff. 00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:04.440 And I remember in the hallway one day, he was 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:06.120 talking about, hey, how's it going? You know, 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:08.500 this, this, this, this. He goes, I'm really getting 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:10.500 a lot of opposition in a lot of areas right now. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.960 And then he kind of leaned back and said, I kind 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.659 of take it as a compliment. You know, I think 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:16.639 the invisible world knows a lot more than the 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:19.139 visible world. And I figure that if I'm getting 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.940 this kind of attention right now, must be some 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:24.840 good stuff ready to happen. And I thought, what 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:29.659 a great perspective. So those are times when 00:15:29.659 --> 00:15:33.320 we can expect. The question is, once you're wearing 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.159 your spiritual armor, yet find yourself bombarded 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:39.740 by spiritual opposition, how do you engage the 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:45.179 enemy and win the battle? Well, we know that 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:46.879 our battle is not against flesh and blood, but 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.759 it's against the rulers, the powers, the world 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:53.100 forces, the spiritual darkness, right? Therefore, 00:15:53.240 --> 00:16:00.049 stand firm in the Lord. Right? Put on the full 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:04.629 armor of God. And having what? Girded your loins 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:07.429 with truth. Having put on the breastplate of 00:16:07.429 --> 00:16:11.090 righteousness. And having had your feet shod 00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:15.350 with the gospel. In addition, verse 16, to all, 00:16:15.490 --> 00:16:17.750 taking up the shield of faith, which you will 00:16:17.750 --> 00:16:19.850 be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles 00:16:19.850 --> 00:16:22.730 of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation 00:16:22.730 --> 00:16:24.990 and the sword of the spirit, which is the word 00:16:24.990 --> 00:16:28.299 of God. So how you engage that is I would like 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:32.059 to talk about these three armor pieces that we 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:35.779 have that will teach us how to engage in spiritual 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:39.559 battle and win. Taking up the shield of faith. 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:43.039 I alluded to this when I was addressing the breastplate 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.500 of righteousness. And so these are these like 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:47.940 two and a half foot shields from about here down 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:51.080 to here. They were made of iron. Then they would 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:54.659 have leather on the outside, linen inside, and 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:57.740 a gap like this. Seneca was an ancient writer. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.700 And he wrote of one warrior who came in and had 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:05.000 actually 200 arrows in his shield. And the Roman 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.400 armies, they would hook them together and they 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.259 just kept moving forward. And so Paul gives us 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:13.539 this metaphor, and the faith here is the absolute 00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:16.579 confidence in God, his promises, his power, and 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:20.400 his program for our lives. Although rooted in 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:23.180 the objective reality of the gospel and our new 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:26.319 standing with God, justification, in other words, 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.599 saving faith, this faith refers to our present 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.920 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for victory over 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:37.230 sin and a host of demonic activity. That's a 00:17:37.230 --> 00:17:40.490 quote from Kenneth Wiest. Its purpose is to quench 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:44.490 the fiery missiles of the evil one, which kind 00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:47.410 of raises the question, what exactly is a fiery 00:17:47.410 --> 00:17:52.390 missile or a dart? Let me suggest it's the schemes, 00:17:52.509 --> 00:17:57.509 the temptations, the lies, the deceptions, and 00:17:57.509 --> 00:18:02.269 the attacks aimed at us, God's people, get this 00:18:02.269 --> 00:18:05.069 down, to get us to shift our trust to something 00:18:05.630 --> 00:18:10.990 or someone other than God. The goal, just the 00:18:10.990 --> 00:18:16.329 goal is, don't trust God. It's impossible to 00:18:16.329 --> 00:18:19.609 please him apart from faith. The number one agenda 00:18:19.609 --> 00:18:23.170 of God in your life is this, will you trust me? 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:26.569 Will you believe in? When Jesus was asked, what 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:29.349 is the work of God? John chapter six, he said, 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:32.289 this is the work of God, that you believe on 00:18:32.289 --> 00:18:36.000 him whom he has sent. There's only one time the 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.160 disciples are ever approved by Jesus that we 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:41.000 have in the New Testament. O you of little? He 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:45.000 wants us to believe. He's demonstrated his power. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:48.039 He's given us his promises. In fact, here's a 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:51.539 question that in any situation, okay? Jot this 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:54.619 down. It's not in your notes. Maybe it's a challenge 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:56.359 in your marriage. Maybe it's a challenge in your 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:58.279 business. A challenge with one of your grown 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:02.740 kids. Maybe it's a physical situation. Ask this 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:06.819 question. What does it look like to trust God 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:11.359 in this situation? Lord, I don't know what to 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.180 do. What does it look like to trust you? That 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:18.700 changes the equation. Because here's what I know 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:21.559 is God's will. No matter what I'm going through, 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:24.579 an all -knowing, all -powerful, good and sovereign 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:30.099 God wants me to trust him. I may have a role 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:33.650 in it, I may not. But we tend to jump to how 00:19:33.650 --> 00:19:36.470 do I fix this or how do I take control of it 00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:40.769 or how do I manage it? Some examples of fiery 00:19:40.769 --> 00:19:45.049 darts are blasphemous thoughts. My friend had 00:19:45.049 --> 00:19:50.930 a demonic spirit create overwhelming fear that 00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:54.170 he went in under 30 seconds from thankful for 00:19:54.170 --> 00:19:56.829 this beautiful wife and his new life to wondering 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:58.990 if he could trust a God who was good or not. 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.720 And it came completely out of the blue. And I 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.940 mean, it shook him up. He was as fearful as I 00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:10.920 was that night. Other things that can happen, 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:14.940 hateful thoughts, doubts, a burning desire to 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:18.579 sin, questioning others' motives, unexplained 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:21.579 waves of discouragement or depression, often 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:26.039 rooted in either questioning God's identity or 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:29.839 your new identity. You're listening to Living 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:32.539 on the Edge. And before we continue today's program, 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.720 let me quickly ask you, are you concerned about 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:38.400 the lies and temptations bombarding your kids 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.960 each and every day? Well, join us after the message 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.420 to hear about a valuable small group resource 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.400 that will help you as a parent equip your children 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.000 with the truth and the biblical armor they need 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:51.859 to stand victorious. Keep listening after this 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:54.440 message to learn more. But for now, here again 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.960 is Chip to continue our series, The Invisible 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:01.650 War. I shared, this would happen to me, I mean, 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:06.029 every Saturday afternoon for months and months 00:21:06.029 --> 00:21:08.809 and months until I recognized what was happening. 00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:12.750 The classic example, and let me encourage you 00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:15.410 in this whole area of spiritual warfare, study 00:21:15.410 --> 00:21:20.529 Genesis chapter 3 and study Matthew chapter 4. 00:21:22.650 --> 00:21:28.069 The game plan hasn't changed. Did God really 00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:33.529 say? There's always a doubt in his word. Notice 00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:36.230 he doesn't come as Satan. He comes disguised. 00:21:37.210 --> 00:21:40.109 So he comes disguised, almost always offering 00:21:40.109 --> 00:21:43.349 you a good thing to solve a problem in your life. 00:21:43.930 --> 00:21:46.650 But he's offering a shortcut or it's a good thing 00:21:46.650 --> 00:21:50.450 in a bad way or at a bad time or in a way that 00:21:50.450 --> 00:21:54.930 God has said this is not the way to do it. And 00:21:54.930 --> 00:22:00.920 then after that, If you take a piece of the fruit, 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:02.920 whatever the fruit happens to be that he's shown 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.599 you and you know is wrong, then he will blow 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:08.700 over you with the condemnation for what you've 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:12.019 done and then convince you that you're unworthy 00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:14.720 of any of God's mercy and any of God's grace, 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:18.420 and it's a downward spiral. As you would study 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:24.200 Matthew chapter 4, you'll find that Jesus is 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.539 tempted in three specific areas. And if you study 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:30.559 Genesis carefully, you'll find that they're tempted 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:33.819 in three specific areas. And those three areas 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:36.839 are found in 1 John. I want you all to open your 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:40.759 Bibles to 1 John, all the way at the end, 1 John 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:47.880 2. And in 1 John 2, he will identify the three 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:51.720 areas of temptation that faced our first parents. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.099 The three areas of temptation. that Jesus faced, 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:00.940 and the three areas of temptation that you and 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:05.319 I will always face. These are like three verses 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:11.299 that would be of great profit to memorize. Verse 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:16.660 15 of 1 John 2. Do not love the world or the 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.400 things that are in the world. If anyone loves 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:22.559 the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:25.740 Okay, well what's the world? Is this the physical 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:30.319 world? No. This is the world as in the culture, 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:34.619 the society, and the values. And who's the prince 00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:36.880 and the power and the governor of this world? 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.200 Satan. And so he creates culture and society 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:45.759 and norms and values to seduce. Here's his goal. 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:52.259 He's a seducer. He wants to seduce you. from 00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:58.900 your love of Jesus and get you to love you, yourself. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:02.019 And he tells you the way that you can have all 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:04.920 that you want. Remember what Eve, this will make 00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:08.759 you like God. And we don't want to admit this, 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:11.480 but when we want to control our world and our 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:15.460 outcomes, we want to be little gods. And so notice 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:17.259 what he says. Well, what is the world? For all 00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:18.900 that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:21.440 the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.339 of life is not from the Father, but is from the 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:28.059 world. And then the next verse is like perspective. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:32.539 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts. 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:35.759 But the one who does the will of God abides forever. 00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:39.380 And by the way here, this word for lust, lust 00:24:39.380 --> 00:24:43.210 of the eyes. It's not necessarily a negative 00:24:43.210 --> 00:24:47.190 word. Literally, it's the word desire. In this 00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:49.490 passage and others, there's a little prefix they 00:24:49.490 --> 00:24:53.089 put to it. It means an intensified desire. And 00:24:53.089 --> 00:24:57.769 so three things. Jesus comes. An enemy says, 00:24:57.849 --> 00:25:00.130 first questioning his identity. If you are the 00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:02.890 son of God, he knew who he was. But it's prove 00:25:02.890 --> 00:25:06.529 it. Prove it. Turn these stones into bread. Use 00:25:06.529 --> 00:25:08.950 your supernatural power rather than trusting 00:25:08.950 --> 00:25:12.509 God. You take control. And it's been 40 days, 00:25:12.589 --> 00:25:15.970 and the text says he's hungry. He has a legitimate 00:25:15.970 --> 00:25:20.609 need for food. And the enemy says, well, then 00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:23.430 turn the stones and prove something, and you 00:25:23.430 --> 00:25:27.210 can meet your legitimate physical need of the 00:25:27.210 --> 00:25:30.690 flesh now, my way and my time. And what did Jesus 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:34.490 say? It is written, man shall not live by... 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.339 Bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:40.960 out of the mouth of God. The test, lust of the 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:44.460 flesh. Then he took him up to the top of the 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:47.279 temple. He says, throw yourself off. And then 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.640 are you ready? He quotes scripture. He quotes 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:52.119 the Psalms and says, the angels will catch you. 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:54.059 Here's the temptation, the lust of the eyes. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:56.720 You want to look good in front of people. People 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.160 will know you're the Messiah. You'll be hot stuff. 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:05.509 And then third, look at all these kingdoms. You 00:26:05.509 --> 00:26:07.950 can have power. You can have fame. You can have 00:26:07.950 --> 00:26:10.390 glory. And guess what? There's no cross involved. 00:26:10.750 --> 00:26:12.910 All you have to do is bow down and worship me. 00:26:13.650 --> 00:26:16.089 Be gone, Satan. And each time it is written, 00:26:16.190 --> 00:26:19.029 it is written, it is written. Sometimes words 00:26:19.029 --> 00:26:22.009 like lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the 00:26:22.009 --> 00:26:24.890 pride of life, they sound a bit biblical because 00:26:24.890 --> 00:26:30.029 they are. Can I give it to you in our nomenclature? 00:26:31.990 --> 00:26:37.549 Lust of the flesh, sex. Lust of the eyes, status, 00:26:37.869 --> 00:26:46.029 greed, possessions. Is it wrong to have appetite 00:26:46.029 --> 00:26:50.789 for food, a desire for sex, a desire for significance, 00:26:51.069 --> 00:26:55.509 a desire for security? Absolutely not. It's how 00:26:55.509 --> 00:26:58.829 you go about getting it and believing that that 00:26:58.829 --> 00:27:03.579 will satisfy you. God says, Sex inside marriage 00:27:03.579 --> 00:27:06.759 is one of my most precious gifts. Food, we all 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:10.380 need food. But there's one thing to love food. 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:13.700 It's another thing to live to eat. And so he 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:16.599 says to us that these desires for the flesh, 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:20.059 I want to provide for you. These are legitimate 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:23.400 needs, but let me provide for you in my way and 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:27.059 in my time and in the right way. Lust to the 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:30.420 eyes is we see something and we all want to look 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:35.940 good. I mean, everyone, I'm guessing, looked 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:38.599 in the mirror today. Psychologists tell us if 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.140 we walk by a department store and there's glass, 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.660 every single person when you're walking by, what 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:47.759 do you do? You look at yourself. And usually, 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:51.559 right? In elevators, if you get into an elevator 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:53.240 by yourself, there's a mirror in the elevator, 00:27:53.380 --> 00:28:00.460 what do you do? Ooh, wow. We are obsessed with 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:04.380 how we come off. And it's so interesting because 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:07.000 it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.579 young. It doesn't matter if you're in a gang. 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:11.240 It always is funny to me because we're all human. 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.180 You can be in a gang and to be cool, man, I got 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:16.380 my bling. I got my stuff here. Get out your own 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:18.680 bad self. And you know, I got my hat like this. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.980 Or if I'm a worship pastor, I get these skinny 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:23.440 jeans and I got holes in here. I do it here. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.740 Or if I'm a member of the Atlanta Country Club, 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:28.240 I have these loafers, but I don't wear socks. 00:28:28.890 --> 00:28:32.390 And I have an insignia right here, right? And 00:28:32.390 --> 00:28:35.150 if you're, actually, I used to go to conferences 00:28:35.150 --> 00:28:39.609 and I'd say, okay, let's name the pastor. Hush 00:28:39.609 --> 00:28:42.329 puppies from Wisconsin, probably a Mennonite, 00:28:42.349 --> 00:28:47.450 okay? You know, you got the guy, hair combed 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:49.910 over, khaki pants, blue shirt, one of the Bible 00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:54.529 church guys. You know, and you know, we all, 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:59.119 We all dress and we have our groups and there's 00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:03.140 nothing wrong in wanting to look good. But there 00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:06.519 is something very wrong when we believe that 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:11.440 what we need to possess and how we come off and 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:14.359 that our bodies are who we are and that what 00:29:14.359 --> 00:29:18.319 kind of house we have and what we see and the 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:22.700 desire. It's if and when I have that or if I 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:26.119 earn that. And then the final one is this whole 00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:29.819 idea of control and power. The pride of life. 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:34.079 I'm a somebody. Christ says you're already a 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.599 somebody by whom I made you. You're already a 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.500 somebody because you're worth the death of my 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:41.799 son. And so what I want you to know is that every 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.980 temptation that will come your way or my way 00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:47.720 and the darts will come will be around these 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:50.599 three things. It's classic methodology. He'll 00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:53.609 disguise it. He'll cast doubt on God and his 00:29:53.609 --> 00:29:57.069 word and your worthiness, and then he will provide 00:29:57.069 --> 00:29:59.750 an immediate alternative rooted in the pride 00:29:59.750 --> 00:30:02.430 of lice, the lust of the flesh, and the lust 00:30:02.430 --> 00:30:06.130 of the eyes. And so the application here, when 00:30:06.130 --> 00:30:09.089 darts of doubt and deception must be immediately 00:30:09.089 --> 00:30:13.130 met with the shield of faith, your active, present 00:30:13.130 --> 00:30:15.589 application of truth to your personal situation, 00:30:15.930 --> 00:30:21.990 as soon as you recognize the dart. And now, I 00:30:21.990 --> 00:30:25.509 hope you're thinking, okay, what's that look 00:30:25.509 --> 00:30:28.650 like? I mean, practically. I mean, how does this 00:30:28.650 --> 00:30:30.910 actually work? Let me give you three examples. 00:30:31.130 --> 00:30:35.470 First, it's trusting in God's character. My friend 00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:38.410 has an overwhelming fear that God's going to 00:30:38.410 --> 00:30:40.750 kill his wife that he logically knows makes no 00:30:40.750 --> 00:30:43.589 sense. In that moment, he says to me, what do 00:30:43.589 --> 00:30:47.029 I do? I said, well, you've been reading the Bible 00:30:47.029 --> 00:30:51.680 quite a bit. Dave, do you know Psalm 8411? Nope. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:55.940 Okay, let's get it out. The Lord God, Lord Adonai 00:30:55.940 --> 00:31:00.039 Yahweh, is a sun and a shield. Unlimited source, 00:31:00.380 --> 00:31:05.480 unlimited protection. The Lord God is a sun and 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:09.400 a shield. The Lord gives grace and glory. No 00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:11.319 good thing will he withhold from those who walk 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:14.119 uprightly. The moment that thought comes in, 00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:16.839 it's a lie about God's character. On a card, 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:19.859 I have written the goodness of God, Psalm 8411. 00:31:20.119 --> 00:31:22.339 And I've memorized that card. And then I have 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:24.660 a definition on the back of the card of the goodness 00:31:24.660 --> 00:31:28.160 of God. Is that which aspect of my heavenly father 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.680 that longs and finds great happiness in his people? 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:34.279 And he wants to give me the very best. When God 00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.380 revealed himself to Moses, Moses said, show me 00:31:37.380 --> 00:31:39.099 your glory. Do you remember what he said? I'll 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:42.359 let all my goodness pass before you. The Hebrew 00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:44.680 word for goodness there, the root of it is generosity. 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:48.680 The most generous, lavish, caring, loving, compassionate 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:51.660 person in the whole universe is God. He's got 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:54.319 your back and he's for you. But the moment that 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:58.109 thought comes, Oh, he's not good. If I stay sexually 00:31:58.109 --> 00:32:00.109 pure, I'll never get married. God's not good. 00:32:00.210 --> 00:32:02.650 If I give my all and surrender to him, he'll 00:32:02.650 --> 00:32:04.849 send me to some foreign country where there's 00:32:04.849 --> 00:32:08.529 snakes and I hate snakes. And, you know, all 00:32:08.529 --> 00:32:11.589 those are rooted in a lie. And the moment your 00:32:11.589 --> 00:32:14.089 mind starts that way, you stop and you out loud 00:32:14.089 --> 00:32:21.390 say, the Lord, the Lord God is a son. and a shield. 00:32:21.509 --> 00:32:24.890 He has unlimited source of ability and abundance. 00:32:25.170 --> 00:32:28.190 He can protect me from anything. He gives grace. 00:32:28.289 --> 00:32:31.049 What's grace? That's getting what you don't deserve. 00:32:31.549 --> 00:32:35.269 He gives glory. He wants to exalt. He wants to 00:32:35.269 --> 00:32:37.750 lift you up. He wants to help you. As you walk 00:32:37.750 --> 00:32:41.329 with him by faith, no good thing will he withhold 00:32:41.329 --> 00:32:45.640 from those who walk uprightly. So he prompts 00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:48.480 you to make a special gift to someone or to help 00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:50.180 someone out. And the first thought is, oh, if 00:32:50.180 --> 00:32:51.920 you do that, there won't be enough money left 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:56.400 for you. And then you quote that out loud. God's 00:32:56.400 --> 00:32:58.880 a God of abundance. And as you quote that out 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.140 loud, what you're doing is you're saying, I trust 00:33:02.140 --> 00:33:08.799 in God's character. This is Living on the Edge 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:11.220 with Chip Ingram. And you've been listening to 00:33:11.220 --> 00:33:13.630 part one of Chip's message. How to Do Battle 00:33:13.630 --> 00:33:16.210 with the Enemy and Win, from our series, The 00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:19.210 Invisible War. Chip will be back shortly to share 00:33:19.210 --> 00:33:21.509 some helpful application for us to think about. 00:33:22.009 --> 00:33:24.309 Right now, there's a spiritual battle happening 00:33:24.309 --> 00:33:27.509 all around us. We can't see it, but it's an epic 00:33:27.509 --> 00:33:30.390 struggle for our hearts and minds. So what are 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:32.710 we as believers supposed to do? Well, through 00:33:32.710 --> 00:33:35.250 this eight -part study, Chip shares some insights 00:33:35.250 --> 00:33:38.329 from Ephesians chapter 6 for how we're to think 00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:41.329 about, prepare for, and respond to spiritual 00:33:41.329 --> 00:33:44.509 warfare. Learn why we don't have to be afraid 00:33:44.509 --> 00:33:47.009 because of the armor God's given us to fight 00:33:47.009 --> 00:33:49.849 back and fight well. To learn more about this 00:33:49.849 --> 00:33:54.150 series, visit livingontheedge .org or the Chip 00:33:54.150 --> 00:33:56.859 Ingram app. Well, Chip's still with me in studio. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:59.740 And Chip, we've received a ton of emails and 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:02.359 messages recently from young people who've been 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:04.779 motivated by your teaching or are using some 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:07.640 of our resources. And I know just how encouraging 00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:10.539 that is to you. Well, Dave, you're right. I'm 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:13.119 always excited when high schoolers or college 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:15.719 students, you know, they'll write me and they'll... 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:18.000 Tell me that, you know, we've got a group at 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:19.579 college and we're listening to your messages 00:34:19.579 --> 00:34:21.880 or we've done this small group or, you know, 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:23.860 I've got a couple questions or I read this book 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:26.880 and I get so excited because there are young 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:29.300 men and women that are making a difference, people 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:32.480 in their 20s, early 30s that love God that are 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:35.099 digging in. And if you're one of those people, 00:34:35.300 --> 00:34:38.539 here's what I want you to know. Yes, it's very 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:42.400 challenging to be a godly young man or young 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:45.719 woman. in our current world, and you are in a 00:34:45.719 --> 00:34:47.840 battle. And here's what I would encourage you 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:50.739 to do. If you've never done the small group series, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:53.880 The Invisible War, what every believer needs 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:56.440 to know about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare, 00:34:56.739 --> 00:35:00.139 I want you to pause right now and think about... 00:35:00.429 --> 00:35:03.289 Who's a bunch of guys or a bunch of gals or maybe 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:06.570 a college group or a Sunday school class or just 00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:08.590 some people that you hang out with? And you say, 00:35:08.670 --> 00:35:11.630 let's get together once a week and let's study 00:35:11.630 --> 00:35:13.750 what the Bible says about spiritual warfare. 00:35:14.070 --> 00:35:17.130 I want you to know you're being attacked probably 00:35:17.130 --> 00:35:20.250 like no other group, especially digitally and 00:35:20.250 --> 00:35:23.070 through social media. And the temptations and 00:35:23.070 --> 00:35:26.670 the struggles are overwhelming. I want you to 00:35:26.670 --> 00:35:29.730 know there's victory, there's power, but you 00:35:29.730 --> 00:35:32.710 need to understand what the spiritual armor is 00:35:32.710 --> 00:35:35.989 all about and how you can live and overcome the 00:35:35.989 --> 00:35:38.329 very things that are coming at you. There's few 00:35:38.329 --> 00:35:41.150 things that are more important than understanding 00:35:41.150 --> 00:35:44.409 where the battle is that you've already won and 00:35:44.409 --> 00:35:47.429 how to put into practice the weapons that God 00:35:47.429 --> 00:35:50.070 has given you to win the battle each and every 00:35:50.070 --> 00:35:53.300 day. To learn more about the Invisible War small 00:35:53.300 --> 00:35:57.239 group, go to livingontheedge .org. Join Chip 00:35:57.239 --> 00:35:59.719 in this vital study and uncover the biblical 00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:02.219 weapons and armor we've been given to withstand 00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:05.599 Satan's attacks and stand victorious over him. 00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:08.340 Place your order for the Invisible War small 00:36:08.340 --> 00:36:12.539 group by visiting livingontheedge .org. App listeners 00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:15.559 tap special offers. Well, with that, here again 00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:19.269 is Chip to share a few final words. As you listen 00:36:19.269 --> 00:36:23.369 to today's program, what came to your mind? What 00:36:23.369 --> 00:36:26.230 darts are coming at your life? And let me ask 00:36:26.230 --> 00:36:29.250 you this question. Can you, like Jesus, reach 00:36:29.250 --> 00:36:32.639 into the... passages of scripture, quote that 00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:35.599 passage with authority, know your standing, and 00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:38.380 put up the shield. If not, you're in big trouble. 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:42.079 I praise God that I've memorized some key passages. 00:36:42.340 --> 00:36:44.739 And some of you may feel overwhelmed and like, 00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:47.219 well, I'm glad Chip knows these verses and Jesus 00:36:47.219 --> 00:36:51.039 obviously did. I don't know what to do. Go to 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:54.619 the website and download these notes for free. 00:36:54.699 --> 00:36:57.820 It's livingontheedge .org, and I've given specific 00:36:57.820 --> 00:37:01.440 passages with the promises so you can pull up 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:04.179 the shield of faith. God wants to help you, but 00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:07.239 you need to dig in and get a grasp of God's Word 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:10.179 in the areas where you need it the most. Good 00:37:10.179 --> 00:37:12.599 challenge to leave us with today, Chip. Thanks. 00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:15.380 Well, be sure to join us next time as Chip continues 00:37:15.380 --> 00:37:18.500 his series, The Invisible War. Until then, I'm 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:20.679 Dave Drury saying thanks for listening to this 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:22.519 edition of Living on the Edge.