DON’T GIVE THE ENEMY A SEAT AT YOUR TABLE: FIGHT

We continue with our sermon series and study, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table with the sermon Fight. There is an ongoing battle for the control of our minds.  The father of lies, the Devil, is on the prowl seeking whoever he can deceive and devour.  It does not matter if we are a new believer or a mature disciple, we are constantly being confronted with all the strategies of the evil one in this fight.  We can see these strategies plainly in the world around us, fake news, division, anger, and strife are only the tip of the adversary’s toolbox.  God wants to empower us in the battle for our minds.  God longs to put a table before us in the presence of all of these things and restore our souls.   2 Corinthians 10:1-7 gives us great hope in the contest to free our minds.  Paul is struggling with this church because they are living in a fight and not being a witness to the power of Christ.  They were being led to a place of mistrust rather than faith, a place of division rather than spiritual unity, and a place of self-service rather than sacrifice.  Paul reminds them that no one can win this battle with only the weapons of this world, such as fear and manipulation.   He assures them that power is available to demolish the strongholds of lies and deceit!   These words move us beyond fighting “fire with fire,” instead we gain access to the strength of peace, joy, hope, and endurance to stay in the battle.  It is our prayer that God will turn the tide of your struggle and fill you with his presence as you read 2 Corinthians 10:1-7: By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you– I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! ² I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. ⁷ You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. (NIV)