Good morning, everyone. Now we'll do that one again. Good morning, everyone. Much better. It is a joy to be with you. This morning, we have been away, my wife and I have been away two Sundays, and we've missed you guys. So it's good to be back and to be... with you to open up God's word, to sing together, to pray together. It is a privilege that I never want to take for granted. And so thank you for being a part of this community with us. If you don't...
Naomi, I think Bumi did mention it, but I'll go ahead and introduce myself. My name is One. I get the privilege of serving as one of the pastors here at Rooted Fellowship alongside some just incredible leadership here at Rooted. And so I'm thankful to do that alongside. them. We have been in a series. We opened up the year looking at worship. It's something that we tackled at the beginning of last year.
Because it was so good, we said, let's go ahead and do it again. This is the year of worship year two. And in the last two Sundays, Pastor Jonah has done an absolutely incredible job by walking us through the scriptures. That first week on why do we worship, and then last week looking at how we worship the triune God, God the Father.
Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. Absolutely incredible. And so this morning, I get the joy of wrapping up our sermon series at looking at worship and how worship is war. Alright, worship is war. Now we're going to talk about some things that maybe churches don't often talk about.
Maybe Christians don't often talk about it. And when they do, it's uncomfortable. We're going to places that many of us might go. That's kind of the part of our faith that makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't know how to navigate through it. But hear me. it is important for us to know about it so that we might be able to engage in what God has called us to do. See, when we worship, we are at war. When we worship, we are at...
War. Now before we jump in, permit me to pray. I'm going to pray for you. I ask that you pray for me. That God would do a work that only he can do. And that is save many for his glory and for our joy. And so let's pray. And so Father, thank you. for who you are. You're a good God. You love us more than we could ever imagine. And whenever we doubt that, we are to look to the finished work of your son, Jesus Christ.
Father, as we tackle this issue this morning, I'm asking for your strength, your protection. God, would you help us see what it is that you want us to see? ears be opened so that we might hear from you? Would our hearts be opened so that we might respond to you? God, I pray against the evil one whose desires are to steal, kill and destroy.
But you tell us that you have come to give life and life to the full, and so would you pour it out in this place this morning. Father, I ask that you would stand in my body, that you would... Think through my mind that you would speak through my vocal cords those things you'd have us know, say, and do. Will the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. God, you are our king. You are our redeemer. Have your way in this place.
In Jesus' beautiful name we pray. Amen. Now, today we're going to... We're going to explore the significant and powerful role of worship in our spiritual battles. We've just sung about it. And so we're going to look at how worship plays this incredibly important role in our spiritual battles. You see, worship extends beyond simply singing praises on Sunday. It's more than that.
It's a dynamic and potent weapon against the kingdom of darkness. You see, each day, you and I, we face a choice. We face a choice. We can either honor our creator and align with his divine will or we can succumb to Satan's desires. See, we... We must understand, before we go any further, we must understand that worship is an act of declaring God's work, God's word, and God's worth.
in our lives. And when we do this, it glorifies him. Like I said, worship goes beyond songs, and it's important for us to know this. It goes beyond the playlist that you have on your phone. See, we have to, we have to, we have to, we have to. We have to know this. That when we gather, when we sing songs, we're not singing to you. See, when we understand that, it...
It shifts everything. It moves you from that place of, well, that's not my favorite song. That's not my favorite genre. That's not like how I like to sing it. Well, we're not singing. To you. We're singing to the one who is seated on his throne, who is fully in control. And when he receives this worship, this praise from his people, he... pours out his grace. He pours out his love. He pours out his mercy. Worship matters. Worshiping, it includes our...
our obedience to God. Worship includes our service to God. Worship as a weapon means deliberately, intentionally, and actively choosing God in all areas of our lives every day. That's what it means to worship. See, when we worship, we align ourselves with God's truth. And in his mighty power, we have the ability to overcome the kingdom of darkness. Worship is war. Worship is our response to God, to what he has done for us and what he continues to do for us.
It's us recognizing his sovereignty over creation and all that is in it. It is a heartfelt expression of reverence and adoration. That's worship. See, every act of obedience, each decision to trust God, and every moment spent serving others represents a form of worship that honors God and strengthens our spirits. especially when we are being attacked. We are in a battle. See, this is part of the problem, is that many of us, we don't even know that we're in a battle.
We don't even recognize that there are two kingdoms here at play and they're at war with one another. We're in a battle. And the fact that some of us don't even know that... This is often said that that is the greatest trick that the devil has ever played. It's making us believe that he doesn't exist. And so if he doesn't exist, then we're not really at war. We're in a fight, friends. We're in a fight. But you must know this, that our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. Paul writes this in Ephesians 6, verse 12. He says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness. against evil spiritual forces in the heavens. See, the conflict began with Lucifer.
who desired worship for himself rather than directing that worship to God. Sound familiar? He wanted it to be about him instead of going, no, no, no, no, it's about him. And this battle, this wrestle continues in our daily decisions, in our daily lives, that we'll either worship the creator or we'll worship the created things. And so our surrender and pursuit to worship God is our victory in the spiritual warfare. Do you want victory? Then worship God. Put your trust in Him.
Obey him. Why? Because worship is war. Jesus' response to Satan's temptations in the wilderness. provide us with a perfect example, a perfect model of how we can use worship as a weapon. You see, each temptation directly attacked his identity. Why? Because Satan knows if he can get your identity, then he'll get the mission. You're trying to figure out, why do I feel like I'm not on mission? Take a step back and go, what do I believe about what he says about me? And yet we see Jesus.
Temptation after temptation after temptation. He goes, no, no, no, no. He just gives scripture after scripture after scripture. He gives unwavering devotion. He goes, no, no, no. I'm choosing to worship God and God alone. I mean, the first temptation, he's out there, he's fasting, but then hungry after fasting, Jesus was tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread.
And in his response to Satan, he says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Quoting Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3. Here Jesus teaches us that our true sustenance lies not in... earthly provisions, but in the divine word of God. He reminds us that reliance on God's promises is crucial, especially, especially in times of need.
The other temptation is where Satan says to Jesus, just throw yourself down. You see, Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself from the temple's high point. And here he twists scripture. Right? He quotes Psalm 91 verse 11 to 12. What? Does Satan know scripture? Yes. Yes. He was there when Moses wrote it. He was there when the prophets spoke it. He was there when the psalmist sang it. But what he does is he twists it. He manipulates it.
That's what he does here, and he does this to provoke Jesus. But Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6.16, saying, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. See, in this moment, he highlights that true faith isn't about recklessly testing God. But it's about sincerely trusting in God's wonderful plan and timing. And then the last temptation. He offers him the kingdoms of the world. Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world and in return he says, worship me.
But Jesus rebukes Satan, drawing from Deuteronomy 6.13. He says, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. No thank you, Satan. You see... He's emphasizing that worship is exclusive to God and to God alone. This teaches us the significance of unwavering devotion and warns us against idolatry. reminding us not to value anything more than God.
This example, we can draw from it and it can help us go, okay, how then do I make my worship war so that I can fight off the evil one? But here's what I want to do. I've kind of unpacked just in summary what happens to Jesus in the wilderness. But I want us to kind of go back and then walk through it slowly. Now here's what I had done. I had prepared the sermon.
Out of Luke chapter 4. I worked through it. I had points. I think it was pretty good. And then yesterday I felt, but because, and I say this often. Because I never want to just preach out of competence. I want to preach out of devotion. I went... But maybe let me rather preach it from Matthew 4 because that's where I spent my quiet time before coming to the text in Luke 4. I was going to preach from Luke 4, but I was in devotion in Matthew 4. And so here's where we are this morning.
I am going to simply give you my devotion. And we're just going to walk through Jesus in the wilderness. Remember, worship is war. But I'm going to give you some of the tactics of Satan. What he likes to do. How he likes to operate. And then how we are to respond. How our worship, our worship as we respond is our weapon against the enemy. So if you have a Bible.
You can meet me in Matthew chapter 4, otherwise I believe it will be up on the screen. It says, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I mean, just right out the gates already we're going, what? Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Where is God leading you? Because I know for some of us, we'll go, no, no, no, that's not the God that I serve.
Not the one who leads me into the wilderness. See, when you say that, you're revealing so much. You are telling us that you worship a God of your own imagination. Not a God of revelation. God is... He's always leading people into places. And some of those places are in the wilderness. And so you might find yourself in the wilderness right now. This very moment. Why am I here? Maybe. Just maybe.
God led you there. Now, you'll never lead us to sin. Okay? Don't go there. No. But you'll lead us into the wilderness. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. Then the tempter approached him, that's Satan, and said, If you are the son of God. If you are the son of God. This is important. Why, One? I'm glad you asked.
Because if we look at Matthew chapter 3, the last verses of Matthew chapter 3, verse 16 and 17, we see Jesus' baptism. Where Jesus is baptized and then we're told that the heavens opened up and a voice came from heaven and said, this is my son. Let me read it to you. When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son.
whom I am well pleased. And it's right off the heels. Of that incredible moment. That unbelievable declaration. That public declaration. That Satan shows up knocking. If you are the son of God. He does it again in verse 9. Verse 6. He asks it again in verse 6. If you are the son of God. That's one of Satan's tactics. When you come from the mountaintop, he's waiting for you.
When you come from that high moment, that incredible experience with God, he's waiting for you. What does that mean? Well, it means that... As you leave this place this Sunday morning, guess who's waiting for you right out those doors? And he's waiting, and he's waiting to ask you. So, so did God really say? I mean, you've just heard it. You've just sung about it. We've prayed to him. And he's there. So did God really say? And somehow, somehow, somehow we'll lean into that.
We've just come from the mountaintop, but we'll lean into that. Actually, you know, did he really say? And then depending on who's around you, they're like, yeah, yeah, that's a good question. Did he really? No! He did say, he says it over and over and over again. If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Oh, friends. We can do some impressive things with our hands. In this very room...
They are highly competent, highly educated people. And when I talk about education, I'm talking about both informal and formal education. You guys are some amazing people and you can do some impressive things with your hands. But the thing that you cannot do is provide for yourself spiritually. You cannot spiritually nourish yourself.
You cannot spiritually fulfill yourself. And yet Satan will want to make you believe because you're good with your hands that you can do it on your own. That you have the ability to do this for yourself. That you can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. I mean, why not? Many of you, you turn ideas into income. You turn plans into profit. Surely you can turn darkness to light. He'll make you believe that.
See, this is what I call, when we fall into it, this is what I call us believing that we are what we do. That's the lie The lie is you are what you do That my identity is wrapped up in what I do, in how impressive I am at work, in the accolades that I have, in the titles that I have. Satan will make you believe that. And yet, here's the response. Matthew 4, verse 4, he answered, it is written, man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
What did the mouth of God just say? You can answer back. It's totally fine. I'm totally fine. This is my beloved son. It came from the mouth of... So, he's just going... Satan, I hear you. Good one. See what you're trying to do. But I'm not going to fall for it. My identity comes from the very mouth of God. Where does your identity come from? Friends, this one is big for us. A church like this, it's big for us. I am what I do. Many of us will die with rocks in our hands.
Holding onto them so tightly, believing the lie. And what's sad is that you'll die empty. And then the generation after you will come. Being more impressed by the titles and the accolades and the money that you have will open up your hands and take the very rocks and then they just hold on to them and that becomes their life and story. Until the word of God from the mouth of God comes in in a powerful way and changes lives. Worship is war.
Let's keep reading. Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, there it is again, if you are the son of God. Are you really a child of God? Like have you seen your life? Like really, have you seen your life? When last did you look in the mirror? And I'm not talking about the mirror at home. That one, we know how to get around it.
I'm talking about the mirror of life. Like you'll go, whoa. And so he'll use that. He'll go, but man, I know you read it. I know you read it. It says this about you. How can you be a child of God? It's being reminded by the finished work of Christ. It's being reminded that I am not defined by my wounds, but I'm defined by His. That it was his body broken for me. His blood shed for me. And so don't come here with that if you are. No, no, no. I am.
But he asks that if you are the son of God, throw yourself down for it is written, he will give his angels orders concerning you and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Gosh. The fact that he will use scripture to get at you. That's how evil Satan is. Satan is not, he's not on the fence with you. He's not going, maybe. He hates you.
He cannot stand you. Why? Because you are made in the image of God. Let's start there. By the mere fact that you have been created in the image of God already frustrates him. And then the fact that God sent his son to come and live the life that we should have lived, died the death that you and I deserve. That Jesus rose from the grave.
That for those who put their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior are saved. And that's it. That's all you have to do. It doesn't make sense to him. And so he'll quote scripture. As he does here, Psalm 91. I mean, can you imagine though? Like this is a real temptation. Can you imagine? Can you see yourself being lifted by angels? I mean, that's what he's putting on offer. Just jump. I mean, the word says it.
Lifted by angels. I mean, for everyone witnessing you being lifted by angels will be standing there going, yo, who's that? That must be some body. Wow! I really want to know who they are. I mean, this is how we operate. This is how we live. This is us. This is us walking around going, do you not see me? Do you not see my gifts? Do you not see my anointing? Do you not know who I am? How can you not see me? How have you not asked me to be in the band?
Can you not hear my voice? How have you not asked me to preach the word? I mean, I'm an incredible communicator at work. Yes, a communicator at work. Massive difference between one who preaches. But this is us. How can you not see me? And then we'll sit in the back and we'll be so frustrated. It's like, well then, fine. Shame on you then. You'll miss out. Satan here, he's pulling... on this lie, this very old lie that says you are who people see you as. This is why we pretend and perform.
This is why we show up to spaces like this. Where God has created to say, no, no, no, this is a place where you can come. Come as you are. But no, we'd rather pretend than perform because it's important for people to see me as if I am being lifted by the angels. And here's the crazy part. Here's the crazy part Satan Satan is the master of special effects Like you guys think Hollywood is good
He's the master of special effects. Smoke and mirrors is what he does. It's his game. And he knows. He knows I can't just say it and then you jump and then ta and then nothing. Because then you'll be like, ah, you're a liar. And then that'll be your testimony, and then you'll tell people, and then he can't use it anymore, right? So he'll quote it, and then he's like, okay, but they're going to jump. I mean, I can't.
I can't fulfill what the word says. What will I do? Okay, okay, okay. Special effects. Smoke and mirrors. And he'll have you thinking that you are being lifted by angels when in reality you are surrounded by the demonic. You've drank the Kool-Aid so much that you have no discernment anymore. Because just like him... You've now made it all about yourself. We must be very careful here, friends. But notice Jesus' response.
Verse 7, Jesus told him, it was also written. So it's like, oh, okay, you have some scripture, Satan, no problem. Do you know this one? Do not test the Lord your God. Don't test him. Can you imagine the son of God? The son of God going, no, even me, I don't. I don't test God. And yet here we are.
On the regular. On the regular. And we're calling it spiritual. Verse 8, again. The devil took him... to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and he said to him I will give you all these things if you fall down and worship me I will give you All these things. Now, at this point, Satan's revealing himself to be the fool that he is. He's saying to the one who was there,
When everything was created, Colossians says that it was God through Jesus that he created. He's saying, I will give you all these things. But he does this with us as well. He takes us to those high places where we look down on people. And he says, I will give you everything. Everything. Where is your vision board? I will give you everything. Let's not front. Let's not front. Some of y'all are like, it's to grow in Christ. Yeah, right next to 7 million Rand house.
Nothing wrong with a 7 million rent house. If you have one, praise Jesus. We'd love to host a family group at your place. But here he's teasing, he's teasing that... That lie that says, I am what I have. I am what I have. All the things that I've accumulated, that's what defines me. This is why we are probably the most consumeristic society to have ever lived on the planet Earth.
Because we just consume and consume and consume. We buy and buy and buy. We get and get and get. I have no idea why Zipporah's market is not a massive success. Because you guys have so many things at your house that you don't use. And you sit and you wonder why did I even get this thing? I was trying to impress people that I don't like with money that I don't have.
It's because Satan's doing that. He's going, yeah, you are what you have and I can give you everything. Remember, smoke and mirrors. Smoke and mirrors. Jesus responds and he said to him, Jesus told him, verse 10, I love this. Go away, Satan. It's very, very strong language here in the original text. Very, very strong language. Go away, Satan. It's almost like I can imagine Jesus pointing his finger at Satan and be like, hey, brah, hey, go away.
Otherwise I'll one, two, three days in the grave and then I'll rise again. What were you guys thinking? Guys, we don't promote violence here. We don't. Unless it's pointed in the direction of Satan and the kingdom of darkness, then we allow it. He says to him, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil left him and the angels came and began to serve him.
Satan's strategy is this. He will try to convince you every single day that you are what you do. That's a lie. If that doesn't work, he'll try another one. He'll go, okay. then you are what people see you as. That's a lie. And then the other one, you'll go, no, no, okay, if that one didn't work, then you are what you have. Don't fall for it.
Don't fall for it. And the way that we do not succumb to his tactics is by worshiping. It's what Jesus says right at the end. It's by worshiping God and God alone. And saying, I only serve him. No thank you, him and him alone. Here's a little side note. In God's timing, And in Jesus being obedient to God the Father, Jesus ended up receiving everything that Satan had tried to tempt him with. I don't know if you see that.
Jesus would miraculously create bread for the hungry multitude. He would attain authority and splendor in heaven and earth through the cross and the resurrection. And would receive the service and worship of heaven's angels as he reigns at the Father's right hand. So all those things that he's trying to give to Jesus. It's like, no, no, no. My Father has already promised me these things.
That's how much Satan sucks. Is that he doesn't even have new things to come at us with. See, for many of us, he will take the things that God... has already said to you, but it's not an issue of you having them, but it's an issue of timing. Of when God will have you walk through a particular door, when God will have you experience a particular thing. Satan cannot create, he just distorts. He just distorts. He cannot create. He'll take...
He'll take something as beautiful and good as sex, which is beautiful and good, and go, you know what, you don't have to do it the way God has designed it. in the context of marriage, you know what, just go ahead and enjoy it now. He does that often. But we know.
We know what God's design is. We know what God's plan is. He's revealed it to us. And so part of the problem is that for many of us, we actually don't know what God has said. We rely... on Instagram, on self-help books, on really cool sayings that have got nothing to do with God's Word. See in these trials, Jesus demonstrated perfect dependence on God.
He faced challenges not with despair, but with the power of scripture and with an unshakable faith in his father. And so like Jesus, we should stand firm in our faith. Like Jesus, we should be grounded in obedience. Like Jesus, we should worship God the Father. And this is possible. I know you might be sitting there going, but I've tried. I've tried.
Satan's really good at the smoke and mirrors thing. It's hot. Can I really stand in the faith? Can I be grounded in obedience? Can I truly worship God? Every day of every moment. The answer is yes, this is possible when we are powered by the Spirit, not by our own might. When we are powered by the Spirit, when we lean into the Holy Spirit.
Because as we lean into the Holy Spirit, he then pushes us to Christ and then Christ places us before the Father. That's how we're able to do it. And so there's no mistake in it. in us starting off the year by talking about worship. Because if we're going to navigate through this year, then we've got to recognize that there is one who wants us to be destroyed.
He does not want the church to flourish. He does not want the church to multiply. He doesn't want good for you. And so you can have all these plans and all these desires and all these goals, but there's someone there waiting right out those doors. Waiting to question you about God's word. Waiting to question you about God's work. Waiting to question you about God's worth.
We must recognize that worship is war. But let me give you some quick practical things here. Look, we're going to be unpacking this throughout the year. This is not a one and done. This is something that's going to come up over and over and over again in different sermon series and in our family group times and how we disciple. Worship is war. But here's some practical things that you can do. Number one.
You want to win the battle? I've spoken about it, but let me say it again. You need to recognize the enemy and stay vigilant. Recognize the enemy and stay vigilant. Vigilant. We must be aware of the subtle ways in which Satan tries to divert our focus from God. Let me ask you this question. If you were Satan,
How would you take you out? Some of us are way too concerned about the person next to me. This is a really good message. I hope you're listening. So good. So good. Because I've seen your life. We'll get to that person in a moment. Don't worry. But if you were Satan, how would you take you out? Because the things I wrestle with, you don't wrestle with.
And the things that you wrestle with, you don't wrestle with. So it's important that not only are you aware of the enemy, but you're aware of yourself. We must stay vigilant. We must stand firm. And one of the ways that we do that is by putting on the full, the complete, the entire, the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6, verse 10 and 11 says this, Finally be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. But what is this full armor of God? Glad you asked. Paul tells us.
In Ephesians 6, 12-18, he says, remember, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason, Therefore, in light of, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to resist in the evil day. And having prepared everything. Let's stop there. And having prepared everything. Preparation matters.
Part of the problem is that for most of us, we're not even prepared. We just show up. And then you're in the battle and then you realize, oh, I forgot my shield. Or someone yells at you, where's your helmet? Helmet. Preparation matters. In primary school, teachers used to do these things. I don't know, maybe some of you will relate to this. They used to do these things where they would have surprise tests.
I hated those things. Absolutely hated them. Like they would walk in and you would hear, put away your books, take out a pencil. All right, we're writing a test. And like I would start to hyperventilate. And I got started. I was like, what's going on? Why are we doing this? Why, why, why? And I would do okay, which means that I would fail.
But there was always this girl in our class called Maria. I won't say her name. Maybe she listens to our sermons. I don't know. But Maria was never bothered by surprise tests. In fact, Maria did exceptionally well in the surprise tests. And one day we just said, you know, Maria, it's super frustrating. But why? How do you just keep doing well?
Like it doesn't make sense. Like you even draw like flowers, you know? Like flowers on a little test and like secret notes to the teacher. Like it's weird. It's like, why? And she says, well, the reason I'm never surprised and... And the reason I do well is that at the end of every day, I go home and I go through the work that we just did. I know, right? I was also like, but Maria, why? Why would you?
You don't play, you don't do sports, you don't... You know, what's horrible is that she did play and she was really good at sports. The whole thing was just frustrating, you know, but... But she says, I go home every day and I go through what we did. And so it's always fresh in my mind. That way I'm always prepared.
What does preparation look like for us? I'll just give you a few. Maybe start by just reading your Bible every day. Hey? I know you guys were thinking I was going to say something like, yo. I'm going to hashtag this one. I'm going to trend. It's amazing. Maybe just read your Bible every day. Here's another one. I need to be careful so that you don't think. We're that kind of church, you know. But maybe show up on Sunday with your Bible. And maybe a pen.
And maybe make some, look, I know, I know, many of you are like, oh, it's on my phone. You know? And every Sunday morning you're downloading it before the sermon begins because... Because you never use it except on a Sunday, so your phone just goes, oh, no, back on the clouds. Trying to save storage, yeah, buddy? So maybe just try it until Easter. Let's see what happens. Let's see what the Holy Spirit would do in and through you. We are so unprepared. That's when the battle comes.
Yes, it should be shocking because any battle should be shocking. Anytime anybody hits you in the face, it should be shocking. But if you're prepared, you're kind of like, okay, I got that first knock, now I'm ready. I know what comes after this. I know what he's going to say. I know what he's going to whisper in my ear. I know what questions he's going to, oh, I know the verses he's going to run to. I know the plans that I have for you. No, no, no, Satan, let me finish it for you.
I can do all things through Christ. Let me tell you, interpretation says... Some of you know what I'm talking about. Some of you have no idea, which is totally great. And having prepared everything, take your stand. Church of God. Notice I didn't say rooted fellowship. That's like our second name.
Church of God, take your stand. In 2025, what does it look like for us to take our stand? Oh, but they're going to hate us. They're going to call us names. They're going to call us bigots and this. Take your stand. Verse 14, stand therefore with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation, take up the shield of faith.
with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times. in the spirit with every prayer and request. Stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. That's where the person next to you comes into play. So up until now, it's like, okay, but you.
What are you doing? And then be reminded that God has graciously given you someone by your left and by your right. So pray for them because they're doing the same thing. Because when we move as one. When we worship as one, we are incredibly powerful for advancing the kingdom of light and pushing back the kingdom of darkness.
So recognize the enemy, stay vigilant. Number one, use scripture as a weapon. We see Jesus do it here. We must immerse ourselves in God's word, just as Jesus did. God enables... Among many other things, but he enables us to refute, disprove, invalidate, and debunk the lies and temptations we encounter daily with the Word of God. Colossians 3.16 says this, Let the Word of God...
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. So we must use scripture, but in order to use scripture, we must know it. Number three, seek the will of God for your life. Seek the will of God for your life. In fact, the band can come up.
at this moment. See, rather than seeking the fleeting pleasures of this world, we focus on deepening our relationship with God. That's what it means to seek the will of God for your life. Romans 12, verse 1. Tattoo says this, therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, we've just sung it, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true worship.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. So many people trying to figure out what is the will of God for my life? There it is. He just told you. He just told you. And then number four. If you want to win. In your spiritual battles. Then obey God. Obey God. Because obedience is worship. Obedience is...
Worship, our daily obedience to God is the strongest form of worship we can offer. Jesus says this in John 14 verse 15. He says, if you love me, obey my commandments. If you love me, obey my commandments. He says again in John chapter 10 verse 27, he says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Sometimes I like to read a scripture and then just read it back and see where it's leading me. And so, if they follow me, it's because they know me.
And I know them because my sheep hear my voice. Obedience is worship. See, each decision to follow his ways declares his word. as inspired, inerrant, and infam. That it is true, that it is right, that it's good. Each decision to follow his ways declares his work. as powerful and sovereign and good. Each decision to follow his ways proclaims his worth, that he is deserving of our praise, of our reverence and wonder.
And so let me close with a simple question. If obedience is worship what is your next step of obedience? What is your next step of obedience? in the direction of the Good Shepherd. What is that next thing that you've got to do in saying yes to Jesus? Maybe... for you is to join a family group. It's to say, I want to get plugged into community. Why? Because he calls us to be in community. That is a step of obedience and that's worship.
Or maybe to say, you know what, where can I serve? Where can I offer up the gifts that he has given me? Because he calls us to serve one another. That is a step of obedience. That is worship. Or maybe it's to go, listen, I want to give. I want to give of my first and my best because he has given us his first and his best. That's my next step of obedience and that is worship. Or maybe it's...
Sharing the good news with your neighbor, with your colleague, with your family, with your friends. It's like he calls us to do that. That is my next step of obedience and that is worship. Or maybe you're here in this room and your next step of obedience is putting your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. That you've heard all of this before.
You've been in these spaces before, but you've never surrendered your life. You've never said, you know what? He is my Lord and Savior and I trust Him and Him alone. That's your next step of obedience. And that is worship. And so as you sit and pray through that, here's what we're going to do. Collectively, together, we are going to take a step of obedience. We're going to worship together. We're going to share in the Lord's table together. In communion.