Plugging into the Power Source

Do you feel powerless to do anything about the evil around you? Plug into the power source that is available to you.

No rights owned for "More Than Able" by Elevation Worship featuring Chandler Moore and Tiffany Hudson.

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Word today comes from the Epistle of Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 10 through 17, a very very, very familiar passage of scripture. Ephesians 6 verses 10 through 17. And I want to warn you that the last time I preached a sermon like this, the enemy came for me. It wasn't 30 minutes later, after I finished preaching, that I almost walked up upon a really poisonous snake, the biggest one I had ever seen in my life. You can ask my husband. It was terrifying. But I know that it was nothing but the enemy. And so the word today is coming for the enemy, and he's going to be coming after you. So be ready. Be ready. Ephesians chapter six, verses ten through seventeen. And this is what the word says. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. I've read Ephesians chapter six, verses ten through seventeen. Our subject for this noonday sermon is plugging into the power source. Plugging into the power source. Unfortunately, it seems that this scripture has become so familiar to us as a people of God that we can say it and still not believe it, still not walk in the revelation of it. I'm still trying to internalize it because things scare me, little things and big things. But I'm trying to be braver, more confident in what God says, whose authority I rest in. So today we once again want to be energized by this word, so energized that the demons in the heavenly realms and on earth will shake in fear. Imagine demons saying to themselves, Uh oh, here he or she comes again. They're coming for us. We better leave. That is the attitude and the confidence that we should have and the aura that we should give off because as believers of Christ we have been given the authority to rout demons, to overthrow the power of darkness in our homes, our community, our country and our world. But we often neglect our ability because we refuse to plug into the power source of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the use of that power. So today in our allotted time, we're ready to start this three-step process to unlock our authority to make a difference in our landscape. Are you ready? Come on. Ready, set, let's go. First, we must know our enemy. Know our enemy. People are not our enemy. It seems like they are, but your real enemy is not the boss that mistreats you or the neighbor who doesn't speak to you, or not even the members that cause you church hurt. People are not really your enemy. They may be used by the enemy, but they're not the source of your problems. The real enemy is not flesh and blood. It is principalities, systems, powers, rulers of darkness and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places, in the high places. You're not just fighting one or two people, but you're fighting a literal army of evil that is organized and powerful. And it requires strategy, knowledge, and godly wisdom on your part to fight this enemy. It requires you to be strong in the faith. Do you think that Elijah was able to overthrow four hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal because he was smart and knew a little bit about the Bible? No way. He had great faith in God, confidence that if God said it, God could do it. And that's how he was successful. So we have to know that the devil is smart. The Bible says he has seven heads. He's coming, cunning, excuse me, he's come cunning and he's coming after you. He has studied you. He knows your tendencies and your triggers. He convinced one fourth of the angels in heaven to follow him as he was kicked out of heaven. And now he has become the prince of the air. And those angels that followed him are his demon workers. But know that he mainly has only two tactics to sow doubt about God in your life and in your heart and mind, and then to make false promises. Think about the doubt he planted in Eve's mind. He told her, Did God really say you would die if you eat of this tree? No, Satan disguised as a serpent, said. You'll have as much power as he will, which was completely false. But he sowed that doubt. And then remember in the wilderness when he told Jesus He would give him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, if he would worship him, if Jesus would worship the devil? The devil doesn't own any kingdoms. The devil is a liar, and the truth is not in him. He cannot tell the truth. It isn't in his makeup. So know your enemy. Know that he tries to plant doubt about God and who God is, and he makes false promises. If it is too good to be true, then it is probably coming from the devil, the father of lies. Stand and fight. And if you can't fight, run. Leave, get away, call on the name of the Lord. Proverbs eighteen and ten says the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. So until you're strong enough to stand and fight, then run. But do one of those things. And then the second thing we should know is the proper dress code. If we're going to plug into the power source and fight our enemy, first we have to know our enemy, and then secondly, we have to know the proper dress code. Anytime you go to any event of importance, there's a standard of dress, a code that you should follow. A wedding, a prom, a red carpet event, and even a themed party usually has a dress code. Most jobs have some dress requirement. So don't think it is odd if the Bible says that there is a way to dress to fight the enemy. In fact, as Paul was writing this letter to the Ephesians, he was sitting in a Roman jail and probably gazing at the regalia of a Roman guard nearby. And that is the metaphor he gives to us in the form of the whole armor of God. Six things. So let's start at the top. The helmet of salvation. In order to be in God's army, the first thing you need to do is confess faith in Jesus Christ and be saved from eternal damnation. Without this, you can forget the rest. This is the first thing you need to do. And then put on the breastplate of righteousness. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. But after salvation, we have at our disposal the righteousness of God, which deflects the darts of the enemy from penetrating our heart. We have God's righteousness. So when the Father looks upon us, he doesn't see us and the filthiness of our sin, but he sees the righteousness of his son. So the third thing is the belt of truth. When we know the truth, we don't fall for this for the lies of Satan. And then the fourth things that we need in our dress code is the shield of faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. But if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. The shield of faith. And we need the sword of the Spirit. This is the word of God. Know the word, speak the word, and watch the power of God show up in your life. So many times we speak other things. We talk about how bad it is and how terrible things are and how powerful evil is. But instead we should be speaking the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, that's what it is. That's our offensive weapon. And then finally, your boots on the ground should be the gospel of peace. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, which is capable of bringing a peaceful solution to our lives. Six things. The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit, and the boots with the gospel of peace. This is your proper dress for every day, because every day you wake up, the devil is on duty, on his job, and the enemy is coming for you. He's coming for you. So be dressed in the proper uniform for battle. And then the final thing that we need to plug into the power source is the understanding and knowledge of the power of confession and prayer. Yes, confession of our wrongdoing and repentance, but then confession of faith. These are the powerful weapons that we have as believers. Stop confessing in dismay all the evil that the demonic forces of Satan have been able to accomplish. But instead fight back. Confess the power of God. The Bible says the fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous availeth much. You know the story of how Elijah prayed and it didn't rain. For three years, but then he prayed again and then it rained. Just an ordinary man, just like us, we can pray ourselves out of the pit that we find ourselves in. Use our power source. You see a problem, pray about it. Speaking, confessing the word of God. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Right words are forcible. God's word released through our tongue will cause his power to manifest in our lives and the lives of those around us. Speak it. Speak it into existence. Second Corinthians 4 and 7, which is my new very favorite scripture, even though I've known it for years, all of a sudden it's become real in my life. And this is what it says. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. That's us. We're mere jars of clay, dust of the ground. But the excellence of the power that's inside of us, the treasure that's in us, the power is of God and not of us. All we have to do is be a conduit to allow God to use us, to be obedient to his word and the power that he gives us, the authority that he uses. Lord, here I am. Use me. That should be our word on today. The fight is not about us, it's about the God in us that the devil hates. So let's fight it by plugging into the power source. God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. God bless you. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this word on today that reminds us that we're not powerless, we're not helpless, but we have great power at our authority. If we just plug into the power source, plug into you, Lord. Just like the grape vine that gets its nutrients and its power source and its edification from the vine. Lord, the the fruit comes through the vine. The gardener. Be with us and help us. We thank you for what you're doing in the midst of us and how you're teaching us, Lord. How you're patient with us day by day, growing us up, taking us off the milk of the word, and putting us on the meat. We thank you that we know how to fight, how to dress for battle. And we thank you, Lord, that you're allowing us not to just fight the good fight of faith for ourselves, but standing in the gap for our families, for our community, for our world. We thank you, Lord. We ask you right now to give us the faith, the courage, the knowledge, the ability, the obedience to do what it is you would have us to do. These things we ask and pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen on today, everybody. Remember, I told you at the beginning of this uh neonday service that the last time I preached about our power to overcome the enemy. It wasn't 30 minutes later that I ran right into the enemy looking for me, coming after me. But God didn't allow anything bad to happen. So I'm gonna tell you today to be looking, to make sure you have on your full armor, that you watch out, but that you proclaim the righteousness of God, the shield of faith, and use that sword of the Spirit, that you may overcome, overcome the wiles of the devil. Thank you for joining us today. Be all that God has you to be. Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior. Be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now and forevermore, let us all say amen. Go and be great for God.