Subject – Close the Door to the Enemy - Continued
by Rick Welborne
Isaiah 45:1-3 (NKJV)
1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
1. We can close the door to the enemy by telling the truth to everyone.
Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
2. We can close the door to the enemy by controlling our anger.
Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)
26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
3. We can close the door to the enemy by stopping our stealing.
Ephesians 4:28 (NLT)
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
4. We can close the door to the enemy by closing our mouths.
Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV)
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
5. We can close the door to the enemy by listening to Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:30 (NKJV)
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
--Tonight we will look at five more ways to close the door to the enemy so that we can go thru the double doors God has for us.
Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 5:1-18 (NLT)
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.
5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
7 Don’t participate in the things these people do.
8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.
11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,
14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
6. We can close the door to the enemy by forgiving one another.
Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
--I love what Paul says in this verse in reference to forgiving people…be kind to one another, tenderhearted but he starts out with a very powerful word…Instead…instead of what? Look at the previous verse.
Ephesians 4:31 (NLT)
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
--Instead of being bitter, full of rage, using harsh words, and slander…be kind and tenderhearted forgiving one another. Listen to what Bill Gothard shares about forgiveness:
A. Forgiveness involves a positive attitude toward the offense rather than a negative attitude toward the offender.
B. Forgiveness views or sees the offender as God’s instrument for my life.
Psalms 76:10 (NLT)
10 Human opposition only enhances your glory, for you use it as a sword of judgment.
2 Sam 16:12 (NKJV)
12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."
C. Forgiveness looks at the wounds of the offense as God’s way of helping us see the offenders needs.
D. Forgiveness recognizes that bitterness is assuming or exercising a right we don’t have.
Gothard: Only God has the right to punish. A response of bitterness is an instinctive means of revenge toward the one who has offended us. Most of us are prone to use silence toward the offender as a means of punishing that person.
E. Forgiveness realizes that the offender has already begun receiving the consequences of his offenses.
F. Forgiveness involves working with God in the offender’s life.
Gothard: Forgiveness is having a greater concern for a person after he offends me than I did before he offended me. It is using the hurts of others as the basis of demonstrating Christ’s love back to them.
7. We can close the door to the enemy by imitating or following Christ’s example.
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
--It is pretty obvious that if we follow Christ’s example…if we are imitators of God (God so loved the world that He gave) we have a zero chance of having an open door to Satan.
--We are so reluctant to encourage people to follow us as we follow Christ but shouldn’t we be able to do that if we are following Christ wholeheartedly?
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
--Paul says to us to live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ…He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.
--What is this saying…even though we were guilty, Jesus took the blame and the punishment for our sin. Wow! So we sacrifice ourselves, we love others so much that we absorb the sin for their salvation. Deny yourselves!
1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)
8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
8. We can close the door to the enemy by avoiding obvious sins.
Ephesians 5:3-8 (NLT)
3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.
5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
7 Don’t participate in the things these people do.
8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.
5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
7 Don’t participate in the things these people do.
8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
--Such sins have no place among God’s people…yet we ignore His Word and commands. Pastor, even if do these sins, God will forgive me. Have you ever heard of reaping and sowing? Of consequences?
--Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins…a couple (unmarried living together) shows up from the community confused…says their pastor told her to mess around with him to help his drug problem. What?
--Being shy I call the pastor to hear the real story and he admits that is what he told them…don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse your sins…immoral, greedy, and impure people will not inherit the Kingdom.
--The sad truth is we know what is right and we know the truth of the Word but our desires rule us instead of our love for God and our obedience to Him.
James 1:13-16 (NIV)
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.
9. We can close the door to the enemy by carefully determining what pleases the Lord.
Ephesians 5:10-14 (NLT)
10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.
11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,
14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.
11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,
14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
--Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part…say that…take no part in these evil things…we know what they are and we need to expose it for what it is…sin!
--Shameful to talk about these things…again be careful because people know how to talk about evil in such a way to draw people in…words can be dangerous (talk, text, tweet, email). Prayer request…little detail.
--It is truly time for us to wake up out of our spiritual slumber and let Christ give us His light!
10. We can close the door to the enemy by being filled with Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:15-18 (NLT)
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
Lenard Ravenhill: No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying, is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers but few agonizers; many players and payers, but few prayers; many singers but few clingers; lots of pastors but few wrestlers; many fears but few tears; much fashion but little passion; many who interfere, but few who intercede; many writers but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.
--To be filled with Holy Spirit we must be careful how we live, we must not live like fools, we must live with God’s wisdom, we must make the most of the opportunities God gives us. Understand what the Lord wants you to do.
Ephesians 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
--Holy Spirit will lead us to God’s wisdom and will if we will only allow Him.
Romans 8:26-27 (NKJV)
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
11. We can close the door to the enemy by giving thanks to God always.
Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)
18 …but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
18 …but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
--Giving thanks always…always…
Philippians 4:6 (NCV)
6 Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
6 Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 (NKJV)
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.