Battle Fatigue

1.                  We are in a battle.

a.                  Whether or not you believe in it, understand it, want to fight in it or not we are in one.

b.                  The devil is so crafty he fathers every lie the bible says. 

i.  The Devil is a criminal, a thief and a murderer.

ii. He is the enemy of God and everything good. He’s an accuser.  He’s wicked, destructive, fierce, cowardly yet powerful.

iii.                He possesses, he insinuates doubt, he misuses the word of God, he blinds, he deceives, he ensnares, and he troubles every person regardless of race, color, or creed.

c.He is so subtle about how he controls us. The very Children of God. Yes I said controls us.

i.  He controls us with habits, sin, and laziness, lack of care, cause, or concern for the lost and dying world.

ii. He controls us with thoughts that someone else will get to it.

iii.                God will send someone else I’m so busy and I have done so much already that I better slow down for God.

2 Corinthians 7:5 “When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.”

d.                  Some of us have somehow forgotten what it feels like to be bound.

i.  We’ve been free for so long we have forgotten how shameful sin feels, how enslaving it can be, we have forgotten the confusion, the turmoil, the guilt, and burdens.

e.                  Others of us are still struggling with really operating in freedom we try to get free then step back into bondage, get free then step back into bondage.

i.  True freedom is in surrender.

f.  Then are those that simply refuse to honor and surrender to God.

i.  Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

ii. They don’t care about spiritual freedoms, battles, the lost, compassion, or worship of God they only care about themselves.

1.                  That will be to your demise.

2.                  Stop turning our backs on the battle and face the enemy at large.

Psalm 78:9 “The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.”

a.                  We can’t just talk about doing great things for God, dream of doing great things, pray about doing great things, envision ourselves doing great things for God then turn our backs on the days of battle!

b.                  We have to fight. No more lip service/put my life into action!

c.There will be no rest for the church.

d.                  There is no delegating in God’s Kingdom just lying back letting others do the work.

e.                  God needs a generation to rise up to their rightful place and lead this battle charge!!

Psalm 78:1 “O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, 2 for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past 3 stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. 4 We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. 5 For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, 6 so the next generation might know them even the children not yet born and they in turn will teach their own children. 7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. 8 Then they will not be like their ancestors stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.”

f.  There have been many like us.

i.  Sadly there will be many more behind us.

ii. I have made up in my mind that I will do everything in my power both physical and spiritual to fight!

g.                  Tell the stories of God’s provision.

h.                  Tell the stories of God’s protection.

i.  Tell the stories of God’s miraculous ability.

j.  Tell the stories of freedom, of His direction, of His blessings and His sufferings. Anything worth having doesn’t come easy!

k.                  Tell of His heaven and tell of His returning.

3.                  We live in this battle ignorantly, inconsiderately and haphazardly.

a.                  Christians act as if there is nothing happening above or below the surface. A generation …SO BORED!

i.  You can tell it by their:

1.                  Lack of prayer.

2.                  Lack of passion for the things of God.

3.                  Lack of passion/reverence for His house.

4.                  Lack of His mission/assignment for the church being fulfilled.

a.                  Global

b.                  Local

c.My individual soul winning assignment.

5.                  Our lethargic worship, service, and commitment to Him.

6.                  Our abandonment of God’s Word.

b.                  God’s kingdom is not a playground it’s a battlefield.

c.You and I have to suit up everyday.

i.  We can’t afford to get lazy, laid back, or idle we have to engage ourselves, engage our spirits, our minds, our will, and our emotions.

ii. In battle soldiers don’t have to time to suit up, or grab all the right weaponry they are already prepared for the battle.

1.                  They are walking in the battle, living in the battle, fighting in the battle, maintaining their ground in the battle, and trying to survive in the battle.

2.                  There is no more time to train. There are no more trial runs there is a battle and you are in the middle of it.

Hebrews 12:12 “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.”

d.                  Wake UP!

i.  We gotta be prayed up, praised up, fired up, sin forgiven, focus driven, mission minded, spirit filled, devil nightmare causin, armed forces of Christ.

ii. I am tired of Christians not arming themselves. We have unlimited resources!

1.                  It’s lazy, it’s old, it’s disgusting, it’s embarrassing, its limitation, and it’s not living in our design, our blueprint and purpose.

Proverbs 12:24 “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.”

2.                  God did not create you to make excuses; He created you to make an impact!

4.                  Fatigued?- exhausted, weary, drained, worn out, done in, and wiped out.

Illustrate here: Do you see the reach t-shirt below this guy? Neither does he. He’s selfish!

a.                  But my question to you is what have you/we done to be fatigued?

i.  Refresh yourself and stop operating in the flesh.

b.                  What have you done to be weary of?

c.Why is the church so wiped out?

i.  Because selfishness doesn’t fulfill it drains! Alright did my good deed for the week.

ii. Selfishness exhausts you it does not empower or inspire.

iii.                Serving, giving, loving inspires you!

Matthew 6:33 "The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you.”

d.                  Christ gave His life, gave His all, laid down His life, bled, died, and we act as if serving someone is crucifixion. 

e.                  When you first get saved you are only fighting for you.

i.  Trying to stay saved, trying to battle and win over the flesh.

ii. When you have a relationship with God you learn that there is a lost and dying world out there that desperately needs the love of God, the compassion of Christ, and the hope offering Spirit of God. 

f.  If you conquer this enemy, you will break the cycle off of future generations to come.

i.  Some of you are first generation Christians in your family and if you will overcome this enemy of your soul and you must realize that you are not just fighting for yourself.

1.                  Just so you can be Godly and get to heaven but that you are battling and fighting for your siblings, your children, your grandchildren, and every other generation to come.

2.                  You are not only breaking that power off of your life but for so many, many others testifying to them of the goodness of God and His miracle working power in the lives of His children.

Galatians 6:9 “So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.”

“This is not about one man, one ministry, or one movement this is about the Messiah.”

How do we respond to this current culture?

•   Respond with protocol, respond with the right heart the right spirit, the right attitude and the right support.

•   Respond with Valuing God, Valuing Others, and Valuing the Mission.

•   Respond with truth, respond with authority over powers, principalities, against evil in this present world and respond in love to the nations.

During the battle King Harald Hardrada of Norway was said to fight like a man possessed. He was cutting down Saxons left and right. During the height of the battle a Saxon arrow took him right in the throat, and the great warrior fell like a giant tree. At that point the Northmen on the near bank began to run back across the bridge while Earl Tostig tried to rally them. The Earl was then cut down and the vikings ran headlong into flight across the bridge, and it seemed that all would be lost for the vikings as they would never be able to mount an adequate defense in time.

This is when the one solitary viking stepped up to the front and stood his ground at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, in England on the 25th of September, the year 1066. The viking chronicles and the Anglo-Saxon chronicles both tell the story of this nameless viking. It was said he stood on the bridge, only as wide as four men, as the Saxons came upon him and swung his battle axe felling many, and shrugging aside arrows and all attempts to dislodge him from his defensive position. An enterprising Saxon soldier climbed into a big barrel and floated under the bridge with a long spear and stabbed the viking up through the wooden slats, finally ending his courageous stand.

The lone viking warrior however, will stand out forever in history. The pinnacle of the warrior-hero archetype which so many mythical heroes are supposed to be. To stand against such odds bravely, in the hopes that his death would save his brothers-in-arms, save his Viking community and then go unnamed in history seems a shame.

•   But this man, whoever he was, stood fearless, battle engaged, and passionate about his way of life.

•   Passionate to the very point of death.

•   Remain.

•   Remain in the absolutes, remain in the truths of God, remain in His unfailing, unwavering, relentless love, remain.

History never recorded the name of this insane, all-out warrior who fought so ferociously on this day, but the songs of Viking skalds and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles do remember his deeds.  When he finally succumbed to his numerous wounds and crashed to the earth, over forty Saxon soldiers lay dead at his feet, and dozens of wounded men were left helplessly crawling through the thick grass on the river bank, crippled by the savage onslaught of this crazy axe-swinging madman. The full might of the English army had been completely halted by the strength of one man, the nameless Viking at Stamford Bridge.

•   What stand am I making in this culture?

•   What stand am I making in Christianity's timeless advancing effort?

•   What stand am I making against the onslaught of the enemies attack against God's purpose, God's plan, and God's ultimate design?

•   Will I be remembered in the annals of history as one who chose to remain?

Hebrews 10:38, 39 NIV "And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."

Living by faith, and dying in faith, our souls are safe for ever.