WEBVTT 00:00:01.179 --> 00:00:04.019 Have you ever been praying and had a wicked, 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:07.059 I mean a terrible thought just scream right through 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:09.160 the middle of your mind? Or have you ever been 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:12.099 driving your car and had an unexplained impulse 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:16.019 to do something crazy or evil? What's the source 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.160 of those wild, out -of -control thoughts? Well, 00:00:19.179 --> 00:00:20.920 today on Living on the Edge, we're going to discover 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:24.039 where they come from, how to combat them, and 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:26.059 what to do when they enter your mind. You're 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:31.039 not going to want to miss it. Stay with me. Thanks 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.299 for listening to this edition of Living on the 00:00:33.299 --> 00:00:36.159 Edge with Chip Ingram. We are an international 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.939 teaching and discipleship ministry that motivates 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:42.140 Christians to live like Christians. Today we're 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:44.500 diving back into our series, The Invisible War, 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:47.039 with the second half of Chip's message, How to 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:50.140 Do Battle with the Enemy and Win. Well, he's 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:52.159 got a lot of helpful insight to share, so grab 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:54.679 your Bible and notes as Chip begins by opening 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.179 up about his own encounters with the forces of 00:00:57.179 --> 00:01:00.320 darkness and what he did to combat them. Let's 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:07.060 get going. I was finding myself getting acutely, 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:10.680 I mean, having a great day, having a great week, 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:14.140 and every Saturday between 2 and 3 o 'clock, 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.640 going to a dark place that I just couldn't figure 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.939 out what was going on. Doubts about my message, 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:21.680 doubts about me, doubts about the worthiness 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.579 of it, and fighting and struggling and fighting 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:26.819 and struggling. And we had an old, old... man 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.540 with white hair in his late 80s, godly, godly 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:32.420 man, and he would pray every Saturday night with 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:34.519 me. And before I could figure out what was going 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.459 on, I would go back with him and we'd pray together 00:01:37.459 --> 00:01:39.719 and just like there would be an opening and great. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.340 And finally I realized, wait a second, God has 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:45.519 promised my word goes forth and it won't return 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.180 to me void. Numbers 23, 19 says, God is not a 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:51.840 man that he should lie, neither the son of man 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.959 that he should repent. Has he spoken and will 00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:57.439 he not do it? Or has he said it and will he not 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.120 bring it to pass? And so pretty soon I started, 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:02.900 that wall would come and I would just out loud 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:06.120 say, wait a second, I'm going to teach your word, 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.580 enemies, whoever you are, whatever you're trying 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:11.060 to do, God is not in my, and then I would just 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:15.819 quote scripture. Man, it's a dart. It would just 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:19.219 be like, put up the shield, put up the shield. 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.659 Third, trusting in God's program and timing. 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:29.780 You ever have a decision, you're afraid about 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:34.340 the future, doubts about, don't do that, that'll 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:37.000 never work out, don't leave family, don't relocate, 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:41.199 don't take that new job, and yet God's leading. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.680 You know the plans that I have for you, Jeremiah 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.979 29 11, plans for good and not for evil, to give 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:54.860 you a hope and a future. Times when you feel 00:02:54.860 --> 00:03:01.340 like, You know what, I just can't stay in this 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:04.780 marriage. I can't be this unhappy and this unfulfilled 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:09.780 any longer. Whisper. You know, you're not getting 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:12.699 any younger. He'll never change, or she'll never 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:18.400 change. When those become into your mind, then 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.719 you need to go to God's promise, 1 Corinthians 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.590 10, 13, about temptation. No temptation. Every 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:28.870 temptation or trial has come into my life except 00:03:28.870 --> 00:03:31.669 as common to man. But with the temptation, God 00:03:31.669 --> 00:03:34.349 will provide a way of escape that I might be 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:37.229 able to endure it. That's a lie. I'm not going 00:03:37.229 --> 00:03:39.069 to believe that. Here's what you've got to get. 00:03:39.349 --> 00:03:41.969 This is spiritual warfare. You know that thought 00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:44.250 that creeps in like that? You know that thought 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:47.030 where you're just barely tempted and you start 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:49.830 down the path? You stop and you address that 00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:52.710 with Scripture. That's spiritual warfare. Those 00:03:52.710 --> 00:03:56.550 thoughts, those temptations, that second look, 00:03:56.629 --> 00:03:58.909 that third look, that person that treats you 00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:00.349 and then you find yourself knowing there's going 00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:02.270 to be a meeting and maybe you dress up a little 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:05.930 bit nicer. I've had guys tell me, I started looking 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:07.889 forward to going to work and which meetings about 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.810 who's going to be in the room and I kind of have 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:12.650 a connection and things were kind of bad at home. 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:17.279 You're in the battle. That's where it's at. And 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:19.639 you don't try hard to get out of it. You have 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:26.079 to stop. Claim God's word. At the level of great 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:29.139 embarrassment, but possibly maybe a lot of help, 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.500 I did not grow up as a believer, and everything 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:37.120 I learned about dating, sex, relationships, was 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:41.000 not from the Bible. And I went to a school where 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.680 there was four girls for every guy. And I would 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:49.620 joke, ugly guys could get dates. and I was a 00:04:49.620 --> 00:04:51.459 brand new Christian, and I was committed to being 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:55.220 sexually pure, which was very unpopular now, 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:00.220 and the sexual revolution had happened, and man, 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.399 I mean, a girl would come out of the guy's bathroom, 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:08.740 everyone was sleeping around, and I'm like, God, 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:15.439 are you kidding? But I thought, you know, I hate 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.639 hypocrites, and these are the kind of people, 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.519 and I'm struggling. So my behavior was pure, 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:29.480 and my mind was in the ditch. And I remember 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:33.319 literally coming to a point where, God, I don't 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.480 think I can ever win this battle of lust. And 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.420 I just, I guess I'm going to have to quit the 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:43.139 Christian life. And that didn't work. because 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.579 the verses kept coming to my mind, and God says, 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:47.279 you can resign from me, but I never resigned 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.680 from you, so get back up and let's... And I accidentally, 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:56.100 and this was a revolution in my life. My roommate 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:59.860 was a heavyweight wrestler, and we both kind 00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:01.639 of came to the Lord at the same time, and I was 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:03.160 on the basketball team, and we had this sort 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:05.800 of good kind of competition, but he was very 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.860 big and very strong, and I was even smaller than 00:06:09.860 --> 00:06:13.209 I am now. And I came to him and I said, hey, 00:06:13.329 --> 00:06:14.949 you know what? I'm trying to get up in the morning. 00:06:15.170 --> 00:06:16.930 Every night I say I'm going to get up and read 00:06:16.930 --> 00:06:19.209 the Bible. And every morning I hit the snooze, 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:21.370 you know? And I can't do it and I can't do it. 00:06:21.410 --> 00:06:23.689 And he goes, do you really want help? I said, 00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:25.149 well, yeah, Bob, would you help me? He goes, 00:06:25.149 --> 00:06:27.490 I'll help you. But you really want help? Absolutely. 00:06:27.629 --> 00:06:30.170 You really want up? Absolutely. So the very next 00:06:30.170 --> 00:06:33.230 morning the alarm goes off and I hit the snooze. 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:35.009 And Bob says, you're going to get up? I said, 00:06:35.050 --> 00:06:37.269 no, maybe tomorrow. Anybody have this problem? 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:41.089 Maybe tomorrow I'll do it. This guy. rips off 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:43.670 my sheet, grabs me by the ankle, and lifts me 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:47.610 up like this, upside down. We had those communal 00:06:47.610 --> 00:06:50.089 bathrooms, knocks open the door, turns on the 00:06:50.089 --> 00:06:54.790 shower, and he swings me. And it's, I mean, this 00:06:54.790 --> 00:06:57.930 is a true story. And I'm yelling, you, what are 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:00.069 you doing? But the guy's a heavyweight wrestler. 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:03.509 I mean, you know, I mean, I couldn't do anything. 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:06.350 And so I'm dripping wet, and he puts me down 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:08.389 on the bed. He goes, now. You want to be a man 00:07:08.389 --> 00:07:12.790 of God or not? Or just shut up at night? Well, 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:19.089 shock you, I got up. And the competition went 00:07:19.089 --> 00:07:20.870 on. And so Bob was going to go. They had these 00:07:20.870 --> 00:07:24.069 training programs with the ministry. And you 00:07:24.069 --> 00:07:26.310 would go for a summer. But before you could go, 00:07:26.350 --> 00:07:28.410 you had to memorize these 60 verses. And I've 00:07:28.410 --> 00:07:31.170 always been very competitive. And so Bob was 00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:33.209 memorizing like one or two verses a week to get 00:07:33.209 --> 00:07:35.529 ready for this summer program. And I wasn't going 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.149 to go to any programs. But he left the room and 00:07:38.149 --> 00:07:39.610 he had these little cards. It was called the 00:07:39.610 --> 00:07:41.889 topical memory system. Just little cards with 00:07:41.889 --> 00:07:44.769 verses, which I thought paying back then $5 for 00:07:44.769 --> 00:07:46.790 cards that you can write yourself seemed stupid. 00:07:47.310 --> 00:07:49.889 So when he left, I took three by five cards and 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:52.009 I cut them as close as I could. And I copied 00:07:52.009 --> 00:07:53.949 down all of his verses. And I didn't tell him 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:56.990 and I hid them. And then I decided that I was 00:07:56.990 --> 00:08:01.139 going to show him how lame. wrestlers were, especially 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:04.000 of how he treated me in the shower. And so I 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:07.720 memorized a verse a day. And I reviewed them. 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:09.439 And because I knew you're supposed to say the 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:14.319 verse, then you say the title, like God's word, 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:17.879 2 Timothy 3 .16. You quote it, God's word, 2 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:19.939 Timothy 3 .16. So I knew if you don't do it, 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:22.259 that's the way you're supposed to do it. So I 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:25.300 did a verse every day. And then I had this amazing 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.860 blessing of a psychology class. that was perhaps 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:33.039 the most boring class ever given unto mankind. 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:36.960 And the tests were always the same. They were 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:38.259 right out of the book. You shouldn't even have 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:40.480 to go to class. And so I would put my book up 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:42.759 and sit in the back row, and I reviewed verses 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:45.179 the whole time. And then I remember, you know, 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.279 I jogged to baseball practice, you know, and 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.159 it was just like, hey, 60 days, I'm just going 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:51.200 to say, hey, Bob, how are you coming on your 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:59.139 verses? You know, I've been looking those over 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:02.000 myself, you know, and I'm going to nail 60, just 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.460 killing. Well, verse, I can still remember day 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:09.980 21. And, you know, I've now perfectly memorized, 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:13.059 and some of them were more than one verse, but 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:16.779 they were on God's word, purity, prayer, just 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:19.139 all the basics of the Christian life. And I came 00:09:19.139 --> 00:09:21.240 around a corner in front of the library and a 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:23.240 co -ed that was very, very attractive and very 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:27.389 godly. And I... Sort of had a little crush on 00:09:27.389 --> 00:09:29.950 her. And I'm just going to be real vulnerable 00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:32.590 here. As a man, when you lust for women, you 00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:34.769 can feel very guilty. And when you lust for a 00:09:34.769 --> 00:09:38.330 godly woman, you feel overly guilty. And I just, 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:41.570 my mind, my mind was just, it was all those years 00:09:41.570 --> 00:09:44.950 of all that trash that I put in my mind. And 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:46.549 so it came around the corner and we had this 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:50.450 conversation. And then she left and I left. I 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:53.330 didn't lust at all. I mean, my eyes were at her 00:09:53.330 --> 00:09:56.500 eyes. And then I started to go to one cafeteria 00:09:56.500 --> 00:09:58.620 where all the basketball guys, we would sit because 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:00.179 it was a girl's dorm and there were four floors, 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:03.759 and they would all walk by, 7 .5, 6, 9. I mean, 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.519 it was terrible. I'm just, okay, sorry, guys. 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:10.019 No, forget guys. You've all done this. Sorry, 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:13.759 ladies. I mean, and I started, and then I realized, 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.879 wait a second. I don't want to go to that cafeteria. 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:18.980 That's where my problem is. And I went to the 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:22.440 other one. And then day 22 was another verse. 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:27.779 I didn't know. the power of God's word. And then 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:31.740 this verse that I quoted, I found myself, no 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:33.840 one taught me this, but like I'd come around 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:35.720 a corner, and this was a day where girls weren't 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:40.299 wearing much. And my eyes, I thought, okay, first 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:42.159 look's not my fault. After that, I got to own 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:46.120 it. And then the second look, okay, and literally 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:49.080 out loud, sometimes, I'm not exaggerating, 40 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:52.759 times in a day, I might find myself go. Okay, 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:54.639 love not the world, nor things in the world. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:56.120 If any man love the world, the love of the Father 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:57.720 is not in him. And all that is in the world, 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:58.980 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:00.659 and the boastful pride of life, is not from the 00:11:00.659 --> 00:11:02.100 Father. And all that is the world is passing 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:03.519 away, but that it does the will of God abides 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.139 forever. You know, and they go around and they 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:09.200 go, oh, here we go. Love not the world. And I 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:11.500 didn't know it. I was doing spiritual warfare. 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.279 You know what happened? I got a clean mind. I'm 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:17.799 not going to tell you it's perfect. I'm telling 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:21.870 you. And then I understood. That's true of fear. 00:11:22.490 --> 00:11:26.730 That's true of insecurity. That's true of afraid 00:11:26.730 --> 00:11:29.090 to take a step. That's true of not having the 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:31.509 courage to talk to someone. What I found was 00:11:31.509 --> 00:11:35.149 God's word quoted the moment you have an issue, 00:11:35.230 --> 00:11:38.029 trusting his character, trusting his promises, 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:42.549 trusting his program. That was when we had major 00:11:42.549 --> 00:11:47.850 marriage issues. And no matter how hard we tried, 00:11:48.009 --> 00:11:51.259 it wasn't working. And yes, we went to marriage 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:55.220 counseling, but then it was, my God will supply 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:58.120 all your needs according to his riches and glory 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:01.100 in Christ Jesus. You need love to give her that 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:03.879 you don't have. And love isn't a feeling. Love 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.019 is giving another person what they need the most 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:08.100 when they deserve it the least at great personal 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:10.799 cost. So that's what I'm going to give you for 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.639 today. And there's been times where we took steps 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.799 of faith and we thought, oh, we can't do this 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:18.980 because we don't have any money or the ministry 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:22.080 doesn't have any money. My God will supply all 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:25.399 your needs. I can do all things through Christ. 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:29.899 You become a promise -centered Christian who's 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:33.990 rooted in your life as a life of faith. Faith 00:12:33.990 --> 00:12:36.830 is not a feeling. Faith isn't, I feel good about 00:12:36.830 --> 00:12:39.529 this. Faith is believing in the character of 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:42.090 God and the promises of God to the point that 00:12:42.090 --> 00:12:46.529 you act regardless of how you feel. And when 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:49.730 you do that, guess what it is? God is what? He's 00:12:49.730 --> 00:12:52.789 a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 00:12:53.350 --> 00:12:57.980 He rewards faith. You will experience Him. So 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:00.779 often the fear is you take a step of faith. One 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:02.639 side of a coin is called faith. I'm going to 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.379 trust you. The flip of the coin is called obedience. 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.720 And you obey when you feel like it and when you 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.919 don't. And you quote scripture out loud as all 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.840 the thoughts bombard you. And you put up the 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:19.240 shield of faith and you quench these darts. Secondly, 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:22.600 it's the helmet of salvation. It says take the 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:24.820 helmet of salvation. Literally the word is to 00:13:24.820 --> 00:13:30.279 receive the helmet of salvation. It's in a tense 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:34.220 that says you have to get this, allow it to be 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:36.399 given to yourself. And I love the metaphor because 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.539 it would be the last piece of equipment a Roman 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:41.240 soldier would have. It was bronze and it was 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.200 leather. It was the most protective. And you 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.379 actually wouldn't put it on yourself. Your armor 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:49.850 bearer would put it on you. And so he's saying 00:13:49.850 --> 00:13:51.909 here, you need to receive the helmet of salvation. 00:13:52.169 --> 00:13:54.549 And the definition is an obvious allusion to 00:13:54.549 --> 00:13:56.769 our security that we've been saved and justified 00:13:56.769 --> 00:14:00.970 as believers, safe from Satan's attacks. But 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:04.690 the focus now is on the present deliverance from 00:14:04.690 --> 00:14:08.929 sin. The word deliverance or salvation, that's 00:14:08.929 --> 00:14:11.429 what it means. You know, as you read the Psalms, 00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:14.090 every time he says he's delivered, he's not talking 00:14:14.090 --> 00:14:16.860 about justification. He's talking about, I got 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:19.019 away from Saul one more time. God delivered me. 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:22.779 The word salvation means deliverance. Our deliverance 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:26.480 from sin is our salvation. We're justified by 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:29.039 the grace of God. And so he's saying the helmet 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:31.080 of salvation is the certainty of deliverance 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.159 from sin and the protection of our minds in the 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:38.759 battle. It's not something you can do. It's something 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:42.120 you receive. but it's something you must allow 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:46.000 God to do in your mind. And this is where the 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:51.919 battle is. How does it happen? Renewing your 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:58.639 mind. Remember we read this passage, we don't 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:02.779 war according to the flesh, but the weapons of 00:15:02.779 --> 00:15:06.340 our warfare are not carnal or fleshly, right? 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:12.049 But powerful for what? pulling down every speculation 00:15:12.049 --> 00:15:14.490 and everything raised up against the knowledge 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.769 of God, and we're taking every thought captive 00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:20.289 to the obedience of Christ. The helmet of salvation 00:15:20.289 --> 00:15:24.350 is where we renew our mind and take every thought 00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:29.070 captive. God's word protects us. When Jesus prayed, 00:15:29.169 --> 00:15:31.389 and he was praying for us, but praying for the 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:35.129 disciples, John 17, 17, sanctify them or set 00:15:35.129 --> 00:15:39.799 them apart by your truth, your truth. Word is 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:44.700 truth. Colossians 3, set your mind on the things 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:46.779 that are above, not on the things that are on 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:52.000 earth, where Christ is. Romans 8, 5 to 8, the 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.679 mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:57.440 set on the spirit is life and peace. For the 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:00.700 mind set on the flesh is hostile to God and it 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.440 cannot please him. But the mind set on the spirit 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.500 brings life. Are you getting the idea? The mind, 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.360 the mind, the mind. Romans 12, 2. Don't be conformed 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.679 to this world. Be transformed by the trying hard, 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:14.379 going to church, being religious. Oops, that's 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:19.059 not what it says. But be transformed by the renewing 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:22.399 of your mind that you might prove or test or 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.220 experience what the will of God is, that which 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:28.720 is good, acceptable, and perfect. The only way 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:33.649 to take every thought captive is... Your mind 00:16:33.649 --> 00:16:36.110 has to be soaked in truth and in the scripture. 00:16:36.950 --> 00:16:40.649 And when it is, when things come, God can bring 00:16:40.649 --> 00:16:44.370 to your mind so that you can do battle. And that's 00:16:44.370 --> 00:16:47.549 what protects you. The deceit happens in your 00:16:47.549 --> 00:16:50.149 mind and in your heart. The doubt is planted 00:16:50.149 --> 00:16:53.299 in your mind and in your heart. The helmet of 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:56.740 salvation is the setting of your mind and the 00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:59.419 renewing of your mind. I don't get up and read 00:16:59.419 --> 00:17:01.919 the Bible in the morning or memorize verses. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:04.960 Or for me, I find issues that I struggle with 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.380 and I write what I call desire cards. So part 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:10.579 of my giftedness is to see what's wrong. It's 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:12.940 a little bit of a, think of this in the right 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:14.920 sense, not telling the future, but a prophetic 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.339 gift to see kind of what's wrong and what God 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:20.509 might want and say, hey, let's do that. Let's 00:17:20.509 --> 00:17:22.829 be God's people. Let's be Christians who live 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:24.789 like Christians, where you kind of have to analyze 00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:27.910 what's not very Christian. That's the light side 00:17:27.910 --> 00:17:30.170 of it. The dark side of that, in my personality, 00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:33.089 when I walk into a situation or I meet people, 00:17:33.190 --> 00:17:35.950 in my inner thinking, I see what's wrong with 00:17:35.950 --> 00:17:40.369 everything. And that, oh, I'm okay there. Now 00:17:40.369 --> 00:17:44.589 I go critical. Now when I was younger, I would 00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:51.799 say it. It was bad. Now I just think it. Bad. 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:56.859 So how do I overcome? I mean, okay, you need 00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:59.299 to understand your greatest strength will always 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:01.720 be your greatest weakness. You need to understand 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:05.000 the most gifted, brightest, lightest part of 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.359 how God wants to use you has a dark side. It 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:10.680 has a shadow. And the enemy knows that. And so 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:13.059 he'll push you, push you, push you and take you 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:15.680 to a place that's really bad. And so I have a 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.349 card. Because I want to renew my mind. And everything 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:21.029 doesn't amount to a verse. I have a card, and 00:18:21.029 --> 00:18:24.869 I read it quite often. It says, I long to see 00:18:24.869 --> 00:18:28.950 people the way God sees them. I long to view 00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:32.529 them not through their external looks, appearance, 00:18:32.910 --> 00:18:37.390 status, wealth, or position, but through their 00:18:37.390 --> 00:18:43.769 need and relationship with God or not. And then 00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:47.079 I have a verse. From 1 Samuel, God sees not as 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.799 man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:55.440 God looks on the heart. And so I sit in a business 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:59.559 class seat with a very powerful person who's 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.980 a CEO of some big thing. And my immediate reaction 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:08.339 can either to be intimidated or to compare or 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:13.230 I'm sitting on a bus. With a guy that's tattooed 00:19:13.230 --> 00:19:15.250 up here, tattooed up here. He's got a nose ring 00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:16.849 here. He's got something pierced here, something 00:19:16.849 --> 00:19:19.430 pierced here. And I play a game all the time. 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:22.549 I'll look at that guy and I can think, you know, 00:19:22.569 --> 00:19:24.930 a lot of people could think this guy's a really 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:30.890 out there guy. And you know what? He might be 00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:32.670 one of those undercover Christians who's all 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:34.970 tatted up to reach people that no one else can 00:19:34.970 --> 00:19:37.529 reach. And you think I'm messing with you. You 00:19:37.529 --> 00:19:41.049 know why? Because I've met those guys. I'll never 00:19:41.049 --> 00:19:44.450 forget, I was preaching and wrapping a message 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:46.049 up, and there was this guy on the front row, 00:19:46.109 --> 00:19:48.569 and he started coming, and he had sort of, it 00:19:48.569 --> 00:19:50.730 was almost like a dress, and he had the whole 00:19:50.730 --> 00:19:54.769 Rastafarian hair and had sort of the beanie -type 00:19:54.769 --> 00:19:58.269 thing that went to the side. Weird dude. And 00:19:58.269 --> 00:20:01.029 then he had a flute, and when we did worship, 00:20:01.170 --> 00:20:03.650 he would do this, you know? Like on the front 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:06.009 row. And, you know, it's Santa Cruz. So, you 00:20:06.009 --> 00:20:08.430 know, it's like, hey, you know, whatever. And 00:20:08.430 --> 00:20:11.049 so I get done preaching. And when I get done 00:20:11.049 --> 00:20:12.650 preaching, I would always come down to the front 00:20:12.650 --> 00:20:14.289 and just talk to people and hear what's going 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:16.130 on in their life. And he starts coming toward 00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:17.990 me. And I'm thinking, we didn't have security 00:20:17.990 --> 00:20:19.369 back then. But if we did, I would go, security, 00:20:19.670 --> 00:20:22.769 security. And he comes to me. And we later called 00:20:22.769 --> 00:20:25.490 him Dan Dan, the hippie man. And Dan came up 00:20:25.490 --> 00:20:29.319 to me. oh, pastor. And he got about three feet 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:31.720 away and I could smell him. And then he got closer 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.099 and he wrapped his arms around me. He said, oh, 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:36.920 it's so good to meet you. I've walked across 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.259 America. I've been listening to your messages. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:41.700 It's so good to be here. I would like to stay 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:43.980 for a few months. Let me tell you about my calling. 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:46.680 I live on the streets and let me tell you why. 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:49.099 This is what happened and this is how Jesus changed 00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:53.039 my life. And Dan, help me remember, you cannot 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.319 judge a book by its cover. Okay, so do you understand 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:02.279 now? The moment, the moment I start to judge, 00:21:02.440 --> 00:21:05.079 then I have another verse that says, do not judge 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.019 lest you be judged for in the same way that you 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:10.200 judge, your father will judge you. Do you understand? 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:14.180 It's just truth. Deception needs to get truth. 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:18.000 Doubts need to get stability. All the kind of 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.980 things where he's coming at you when you're tempted, 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:22.799 you need to pull back. This is who God is. These 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:24.619 are his promises. This is what I'm going to do 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:27.900 with my life. And it's engaging the enemy. I 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:36.599 need to move on. Practically, prayer, worship 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:40.680 music, scripture teaching, scripture memory are 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:42.940 all ways, I think, that we can renew our mind. 00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:47.210 You're listening to Living on the Edge, and Chip 00:21:47.210 --> 00:21:49.529 Ingram will be back to continue our series, The 00:21:49.529 --> 00:21:52.509 Invisible War, in just a minute. But let me quickly 00:21:52.509 --> 00:21:54.869 tell you that we are more than a broadcast ministry. 00:21:55.190 --> 00:21:57.589 We're supporting pastors globally, developing 00:21:57.589 --> 00:22:00.410 helpful resources, and sharing the gospel with 00:22:00.410 --> 00:22:03.210 this next generation. So if you'd like to join 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.529 us in these efforts, become a monthly partner 00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:09.910 by going to livingontheedge .org. And thanks 00:22:09.910 --> 00:22:13.400 for your support. We'll hear again as Chip. In 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:15.680 1 Thessalonians, Paul calls the helmet the helmet 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.440 of hope. And it's this picture of deliverance 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:21.700 that all the promises of God are yes in Christ 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:26.900 Jesus. Application, you ready? Christians who 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:29.940 are not filling their minds with scripture are 00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:32.059 like warriors going to battle without a helmet. 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:39.799 When we lose hope, we're defeated. Not just individually, 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.549 but as a group. And so now it says, take the 00:22:43.549 --> 00:22:45.569 sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 00:22:46.190 --> 00:22:48.009 You know, you see in the movies, sometimes they 00:22:48.009 --> 00:22:49.609 have the really long swords or they have the 00:22:49.609 --> 00:22:52.170 small sword. This is about a two -foot sword, 00:22:52.309 --> 00:22:54.490 the word he uses. And this is for hand -to -hand 00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.190 combat. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of 00:22:57.190 --> 00:22:59.730 God. And most often in Scripture, we get the 00:22:59.730 --> 00:23:01.529 word logos. Like in the beginning was the Word, 00:23:01.650 --> 00:23:03.910 and the Word was God, and the Word, right? Logos, 00:23:03.930 --> 00:23:07.630 logos. This is rhema. This is the spoken Word 00:23:07.630 --> 00:23:10.920 of God. Words given to us by the Spirit of God 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:13.579 to do close hand -to -hand combat with the lies 00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:15.779 and the deceptions of the enemy. The truth of 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:18.400 God's word quoted and applied to specific lies 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.500 or deception of the enemy will allow you to take 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:23.980 every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:27.519 Jesus modeled this use of the sword of the Spirit 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:32.680 in Matthew 4, 1 -11. How can a young man keep 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:35.460 his way cure? By guarding it according to your 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:37.559 word. Your word I've hid in my heart that it 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:40.460 might not sin against thee. Let your light be 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.900 a light unto my path. A lamp unto my feet and 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:47.640 a light unto my path. The sword of the spirit 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:51.680 is both an offense and a defensive weapon. And 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:54.140 so you're probably thinking, so are you going 00:23:54.140 --> 00:24:01.200 to tell us what happened that night? Yes. I'm 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:04.470 now sitting up in bed. My wife is asleep. I'm 00:24:04.470 --> 00:24:09.990 drenched with sweat. I'm terrified. And I'm glad 00:24:09.990 --> 00:24:13.049 for that bricklayer who discipled me. I'm glad 00:24:13.049 --> 00:24:15.930 for scriptures I memorized and I had to overcome. 00:24:16.029 --> 00:24:18.089 It doesn't really matter what my wife thinks. 00:24:18.210 --> 00:24:20.740 I'm not sure what's happening here. And this 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:23.339 happened multiple, multiple times. In fact, later 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:25.859 on in our journey in Santa Cruz, there were times 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:28.140 where actually I would wake up and I would have 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:30.319 this experience and I could hear something happening 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:32.119 in every single one of the bedrooms with all 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:35.960 my children. And other occasions we had visual 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:38.519 manifestations of demonic activity. So all this 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:41.599 stuff is real. And actually my wife is more sensitive 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.759 than me and has had far more of these kind of 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:46.759 issues even than me. And they happen very... 00:24:47.379 --> 00:24:49.480 regularly, especially when those five things, 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:52.680 when you're taking territory, et cetera. And 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:58.779 so, scared to death, out loud, said, greater 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:01.420 is he that is in me than he that is in the world. 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:04.039 And this is the victory that has overcome him. 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.420 The blood of the lamb, the word of their testimony, 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:09.660 and they love not their life, even unto death. 00:25:10.009 --> 00:25:13.069 I command you now, evil and demonic spirits in 00:25:13.069 --> 00:25:16.049 my bedroom, in his authority, not mine, depart 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:18.910 from my room and my house and go where Jesus 00:25:18.910 --> 00:25:24.130 sends you and do not return. Gone. Now, just 00:25:24.130 --> 00:25:27.009 so you can be aware, as things got more intensified, 00:25:27.170 --> 00:25:29.970 and again, this is sort of the chip experience, 00:25:30.109 --> 00:25:33.029 not to be confused with scripture, but there 00:25:33.029 --> 00:25:36.170 were some times later when I would pray that 00:25:36.170 --> 00:25:42.609 and like... uh, uh -oh, like, are bigger demons 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:47.230 here? I guess we'll go with that again. And I 00:25:47.230 --> 00:25:50.049 would pray for a season, and then they would 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:54.890 leave. And what I want to tell you is, you know 00:25:54.890 --> 00:25:58.750 those verses I gave you? All of my kids memorize 00:25:58.750 --> 00:26:02.849 those. And I literally heard my 10 -year -old 00:26:02.849 --> 00:26:07.259 son do spiritual warfare. And literally have 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:09.299 this attitude. There was a time when we were 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:11.819 all petrified and angry. And then there got to 00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:14.099 be a time where what happened? Oh, had one of 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:16.619 those satanic nightmares. It was terrible. And 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:18.799 you do what you're supposed to do. And they're 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:20.660 trying to make us afraid. And you know what? 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:23.799 In Christ, we're invincible. And yeah, it was 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:26.680 really loud. But the gun is filled with blanks. 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:30.359 And we're not going to let that address us. I'm 00:26:30.359 --> 00:26:33.220 not going to live in fear. And you need to understand, 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:36.480 that's true if you're a child of God. Now, notice 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:38.880 in your notes there's something, summary to engage 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:41.819 the enemy in spiritual warfare. The prerequisite 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:46.259 is a healthy spiritual life. What I want you 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:49.740 to know is that if you've left yourself open 00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:52.119 to things, it can be a lot more difficult. Second 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:56.950 is understand your position in Christ. You need 00:26:56.950 --> 00:26:59.369 to understand, I'm a child of God. I've been 00:26:59.369 --> 00:27:01.990 sealed with the Spirit. There's no doubts here. 00:27:02.589 --> 00:27:05.910 Third is discern when demonic influence may be 00:27:05.910 --> 00:27:09.809 the cause. You can't run to every problem you 00:27:09.809 --> 00:27:12.730 have is somehow there's a demon behind every 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:16.329 bush. But you discern. And it gets pretty easy 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:19.450 over time. Fourth is claim God's promises out 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:24.769 loud. And yes, you'll feel silly. But it's way 00:27:24.769 --> 00:27:28.369 better than being terrified. And finally, take 00:27:28.369 --> 00:27:30.990 our authority and position in Christ and command 00:27:30.990 --> 00:27:33.329 demonic forces to cease their activity and depart. 00:27:33.549 --> 00:27:37.950 And they will. They will. I'm going to close 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:40.519 with an illustration that is the most... helpful 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.940 for me. It was one of those opportunities that 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:45.859 I had in Santa Cruz, and because it's a picture 00:27:45.859 --> 00:27:48.019 that will help you. Because how do you take all 00:27:48.019 --> 00:27:51.059 this truth? So I'm walking, there's a main thruway 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:54.450 in Santa Cruz, and it's where there's... street 00:27:54.450 --> 00:27:57.630 musicians and it's wild, crazy, and there's a 00:27:57.630 --> 00:27:59.990 bunch of bars, but it's a really cool place to 00:27:59.990 --> 00:28:01.930 walk around, you know, and there's restaurants 00:28:01.930 --> 00:28:04.430 and other things. So it's one evening and I'm 00:28:04.430 --> 00:28:07.410 walking down and it's outside of a bar and there's 00:28:07.410 --> 00:28:10.049 a couple really big guys in black t -shirts. 00:28:10.190 --> 00:28:12.190 They're bouncers. They look really, really strong. 00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:14.630 I think they can, and they're messing with this 00:28:14.630 --> 00:28:16.269 one guy and they don't seem to be able to handle 00:28:16.269 --> 00:28:19.230 him. And he's, and so pretty soon there's a crowd 00:28:19.230 --> 00:28:21.890 and I'm just like everyone else. I just joined 00:28:21.890 --> 00:28:23.130 the crowd. I want to see what's going to happen. 00:28:23.529 --> 00:28:25.069 You know, like, ooh, you know what's going to 00:28:25.069 --> 00:28:27.109 happen? Those big guys, and hey, he's saying 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:28.690 he's getting, you know, go ask for help, security, 00:28:28.849 --> 00:28:30.990 and you know, and so more and more people, and 00:28:30.990 --> 00:28:33.430 then someone called the police. And so it's getting 00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:36.009 more and more rambunctious, and you know, the 00:28:36.009 --> 00:28:37.690 onlookers are getting bigger and bigger, and 00:28:37.690 --> 00:28:39.309 I wonder what's going to happen here, and those 00:28:39.309 --> 00:28:41.329 big guys don't seem to be doing very good with 00:28:41.329 --> 00:28:43.269 this guy, and he's thrashing around, he's telling 00:28:43.269 --> 00:28:46.029 them this, and then a police car pulls up, and 00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:47.490 I'm thinking, oh, what's going to happen? And 00:28:47.490 --> 00:28:51.180 the door opens. Okay, ladies, now this is an 00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:55.359 illustration in no way to diminish female police 00:28:55.359 --> 00:29:02.119 officers. This is an actual story. Because I'm 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:04.059 thinking, these two big guys can't handle this, 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:08.440 and the door opens, and I'm telling you, if she 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:15.720 was 4 '11", maybe. Police officer. A woman. And 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:19.259 I'm thinking, oh my, this is going to be interesting. 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:21.619 Well, and you know, it's one of those where the 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:23.420 police car came and you know, like two wheels 00:29:23.420 --> 00:29:25.759 are up on the curb and there's this ruckus and 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.240 the crowd is growing. I'm thinking, I wonder 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:29.440 what's going to happen. And she walks up like 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.079 this, sir, excuse me. They all get the tension, 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:34.839 the two bouncers and this guy's going crazy. 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:38.420 She goes, sir, stand down. And he looks at her 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:40.740 like this and she puts her hand on a gun like 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:43.980 this. Sir, I will say one more time, stand down. 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:46.740 I don't know how drunk he was or what he was 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:50.819 on, but he got very sober very quickly. And then 00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:53.220 she said, sir, I want you right now to turn around. 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:56.539 And she walked over to him, you know, just like 00:29:56.539 --> 00:30:01.380 on TV. Right, you know? Put his head down, get 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:07.420 in the car. Wow. And you know the metaphor for 00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:11.759 me? You know what I realized? She had a badge 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:14.920 on. from the state of California and the authority 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:17.619 of the Santa Cruz Police Department to handle 00:30:17.619 --> 00:30:21.759 that situation. And she had a weapon that I don't 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:24.759 care how wild he is, that .45 was much more formidable. 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.920 I don't care how big, I don't care how strong, 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:30.279 I don't care how drunk, I don't care how high, 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:33.460 but I will tell you this, this will outweigh 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:38.339 that. And if necessary, and what I want you to 00:30:38.339 --> 00:30:41.420 know, Is it somehow you think this is a bunch 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:44.339 of weird stuff from missionaries or pastors or 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:46.819 super spiritual people? And I want you to know 00:30:46.819 --> 00:30:49.460 if you're a child of God, you have the authority 00:30:49.460 --> 00:30:52.119 of the living God. All power in heaven and earth 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:56.200 has been entrusted to you. And you don't have 00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:58.900 a gun. You've got much more. You have the living 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:05.319 word of God. Hebrews 4 .12, for the word of God 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:09.940 is living, active. powerful, piercing the division 00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:12.279 of soul and spirit, able to judge the thoughts 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:17.559 and intentions of the heart. And when you turn 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:23.200 this word loose, demonic forces must obey. You 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:29.700 never have to be afraid. God bless you. You're 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:32.380 listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:31:32.500 --> 00:31:35.240 And the message you just heard, how to do battle 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:38.039 with the enemy and win, is from our series, The 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.819 Invisible War. Chip will join us in studio to 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:43.099 share some insights from today's talk in just 00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:45.819 a minute. Right now, there's a spiritual battle 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:48.759 happening all around us. We can't see it, but 00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:51.359 it's an epic struggle for our hearts and minds. 00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:54.549 So what are we as believers supposed to do? Well, 00:31:54.569 --> 00:31:56.809 through this eight -part study, Chip shares some 00:31:56.809 --> 00:32:00.309 insights from Ephesians 6 for how we're to think 00:32:00.309 --> 00:32:03.309 about, prepare for, and respond to spiritual 00:32:03.309 --> 00:32:06.509 warfare. Learn why we don't have to be afraid 00:32:06.509 --> 00:32:08.970 because of the armor God's given us to fight 00:32:08.970 --> 00:32:11.809 back and fight well. To learn more about this 00:32:11.809 --> 00:32:16.130 series, visit livingontheedge .org or the Chip 00:32:16.130 --> 00:32:18.950 Ingram app. Well, before we go any further, Chip's 00:32:18.950 --> 00:32:21.250 with me in studio to share a quick word. Chip? 00:32:21.529 --> 00:32:23.950 Thanks so much, Dave. I'll be back with some 00:32:23.950 --> 00:32:26.730 application to today's teaching. But if you're 00:32:26.730 --> 00:32:29.369 listening to this program and you or someone 00:32:29.369 --> 00:32:31.789 you know is being blessed, I mean, God is using 00:32:31.789 --> 00:32:34.259 it in your life. I'd like to ask you to really 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:36.720 pray about partnering with Living on the Edge. 00:32:36.900 --> 00:32:39.960 Your financial investment allows us to equip 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:42.519 Christians here in the United States, all across 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:45.700 the world, to really live like Christians. Because 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:48.200 of your donations, we create materials, we get 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:51.079 God's Word to leaders, and we take the Bible 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.839 to the people in ways that help them grow and 00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:56.380 transform their families and communities. So 00:32:56.380 --> 00:32:59.099 here's my request. Would you help us reach the 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:01.619 hurting people in the U .S.? and around the world. 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:05.079 Help us to be a catalyst for change so that Christians 00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:07.619 everywhere can live more like Christians. It 00:33:07.619 --> 00:33:09.700 makes a huge difference, and thanks in advance 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:12.619 for whatever God leads you to do. Well, as you 00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:15.039 prayerfully consider your role with this ministry, 00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:18.119 I want to remind you that every gift is significant, 00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:21.160 no matter the amount. When you partner with Living 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:23.660 on the Edge, you support and multiply the ministry 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:26.779 work we're doing all over the globe. Set up your 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:29.660 monthly gift today by going to livingontheedge 00:33:29.660 --> 00:33:36.059 .org or by calling 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:46.240 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge .org. In 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:50.299 today's program, I told a story of a 4 '11 police 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:53.900 officer I believe is an excellent, excellent 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:57.079 picture of who we are in Christ, where the real 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.559 power is, and where our authority comes from. 00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:03.309 But here's my concern. My concern is that police 00:34:03.309 --> 00:34:06.150 officer went to the police academy. That police 00:34:06.150 --> 00:34:09.130 officer put on that uniform before that night 00:34:09.130 --> 00:34:12.010 and had a badge and was trained to use that weapon. 00:34:12.230 --> 00:34:14.269 And my concern is that you're going to go out 00:34:14.269 --> 00:34:16.070 and start trying to use a weapon that you haven't 00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:18.210 been trained in, that you're going to say, I've 00:34:18.210 --> 00:34:19.969 got this authority, but, you know, you haven't 00:34:19.969 --> 00:34:21.889 done much research and you don't really know 00:34:21.889 --> 00:34:24.920 who you are in Christ. And so this is not something 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:28.300 we play around with. This is real. My recommendation 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:32.880 is order the DVD, find four or five or six people 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:35.739 and say, let's go to the Spiritual Police Academy. 00:34:36.059 --> 00:34:38.420 Let's figure out who we are in Christ. Let's 00:34:38.420 --> 00:34:40.900 get our uniform on. Let's understand this badge 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:43.199 of authority that we have. And let's learn to 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:45.360 pull out the bullets, if you will, of Scripture 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:48.260 the way Jesus did and know how to put up that 00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:50.500 shield of faith and wield the sword of the Spirit 00:34:50.500 --> 00:35:04.800 in a way that is accurate. That's right, Chip. 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:07.480 So to get your hands on this resource, go to 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:11.300 livingontheedge .org. Join Chip in this vital 00:35:11.300 --> 00:35:14.099 study and uncover the biblical weapons and armor 00:35:14.099 --> 00:35:16.719 we've been given to withstand Satan's attacks 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:20.340 and stand victorious over him. Place your order 00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:23.119 for the Invisible War small group by visiting 00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:27.360 livingontheedge .org. App listeners tap special 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:30.519 offers. Well, until next time, this is Dave Drewy 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:32.780 saying thanks for listening to this edition of 00:35:32.780 --> 00:35:33.960 Living on the Edge.