So today we are coming to the conclusion of the Spiritual Warfare series, and I have to tell you that I will be sad to see this one go.  Because it is just so important to us that we see this stuff for what it is and engage into it with intentionality.  Here at MRC we care about you so much and it has really been our biggest prayer through this series that we would be able to have eyes to see the spiritual war that is waging all around us…and I believe we are seeing it better and better each week which is an awesome answer to prayer.  Outside of the Gospel message itself, and truly understanding the love of God and the amazing gift of Jesus and His sacrifice for us on The Cross…there is just nothing more important for us to understand and engage into than Spiritual Warfare.  Why, because it is our reality.  Hopefully by now in this series you are seeing that…because whether you choose to believe in it or not, whether you choose to engage into it or not you are feeling the effects of the war.  The reality is there is a spiritual war waging all around us, and deep down we know it.  This is why I have started each and every talk with Jesus’ words in John 10:10 because when Jesus tells you why he came we should listen and he also helps us see something that so many of us just don’t see or just don’t want to talk about…you have an enemy.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. NIV

We do have an enemy, so we are opposed and we know that our enemy, the thief has come to steal and kill and destroy because Jesus told us that is why the enemy came.  What did he come to steal and kill and destroy?  Well he wants to take that life to the full thing from you that Jesus came to give you, and he does this by taking your God given identity away from you!  We know who we were created to be right?  Yes, we are children of God, created in His image, to reflect God’s very own image to this world!

1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. NLT

We live in a world at war…this is our reality whether we want to engage into it or not and far too many people just don’t engage into it!  They never see their true value, they never see their God given identity and they spend their lives searching for life to the full, and they just never find it because they don’t look for it in Jesus!  Who told you that He came to give it to you!  Jesus is the only place where you will ever find fulfillment.  This is the battle and it wages over who you will stand up and become…will you be the person that God created you to be or will you give up ground in your life to the evil one.  This is every human beings reality, and the sad part is, so many are being picked a part by an enemy they don’t even realize exists, as they are assaulted intentionally in a war that they don’t even know they are in…and this is why this series is so important.  We have to see the spiritual war.  We must be intentional…because our enemy is.  So over the past few weeks we have really been looking at the four ways that our enemy tries to steal our identity do you remember what they were?  The first scheme we looked at was agreements.  Your enemy is a liar, and schemer and he will lie to you and hope to get you to agree with those lies.  If you do agree with all his false accusations you will give up ground in your life.  Then we looked at appetites.  I really believe this to be the easiest way for the enemy to take ground in your life…he simply takes your God given appetites and uses them against you.  We were all created by God with desires, and his job is to take that whisper of “I want more!” that we all have, and just simply turn up the volume so that our appetites run the show rather than God…and last week I thought Ken did a great job of showing us how the enemy really uses our culture against us.  It’s amazing how the world pushes in on us from all sides.  Our culture makes unhealthy seem normal and Biblical truth and health ends up looking crazy!  And here’s what’s amazing in all of these schemes…there is a theme to what he is up to, and we going to see that theme play out again today.  No matter what the scheme, whether it’s agreements, appetites, or our culture…it will always come back to something.  In the end the entire spiritual battle will come down to what you worship.  God wants you worshiping God.  Your enemy wants you worshiping everything and anything but God.  That’s the big secret to all of this spiritual warfare stuff and it’s really the thing your enemy doesn’t want you to know.  So today Kim and I are going to expose the last scheme of our enemy and here it is.

Your enemy wants to isolate you from community and if he can’t isolate you from it, he will use people against you!  A community of Christians can be a powerful thing…and the last thing the enemy would want is us moving in step with each other.  So he pushes against this in every way…and I want you to see just how important community is, but also how important your role is in it.  When you leave it, you hurt yourself, and you hurt the greater good that community can offer!  I think it’s so awesome that today is a Better Together Sunday as we talk about community…because here’s the truth.  We are better together.  We need people in our lives we were actually created by God, wired by God to be with others…

Genesis 2:18 GOD said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” MSG

So God wired us with a need for companionship…we have a need for people in our lives.  Now remember what I told you about your enemy throughout this series?  He was there in the Garden of Eden.  So if he was there in the beginning that means he has had a long time to study human nature, and he understands that you have a need for people in your life, and he will absolutely use that against you.  It’s amazing isn’t it?  How often this sneaky enemy of ours will use our very own God given wiring against us!  So this is where we need to start today…you were wired by God with a need of people…and here’s the thing.  You are better together than you would ever be a part.  Solomon is really smart…

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. NIV

This is so clear, and I think we could all say that when we are in good and healthy community we do feel better, stronger, and we feel energy that we just don’t have on our own and here’s the thing your enemy knows this, and wants you alone because you are so much stronger with a team.  The enemy is described many different ways in the Bible, we see something really important in the way Peter exposed our enemy here…

1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  NIV

Peter describes our enemy as a roaring lion, prowling around looking for someone to devour.  Well if you have ever watched one of those nature shows on Animal Planet you probably know how lions hunt.  They prowl around, and lurk in the weeds, following a herd of animals…just waiting for one of the weaker ones to step outside the protection of the herd and your enemy is no different.  He isn’t coming after the herd, because there is protection and safety in those numbers.  There is real strength when you are inside of community.  So he waits, just hoping for someone to fall outside of the safety of the team, and that is when he strikes.  It’s amazing how difficult it can be to get along with people.  Do you think it’s coincidental?  Especially in a church setting, what is the biggest things that causes all the hurts, and issues, and division…its people stuff.  Do you find it ironic that it is hard to get along with each other?  No this isn’t some crazy coincidence…this is the war.  Your enemy knows that you are better together than you could ever be on your own, which is why he wants you on your own.  He also knows your community is stronger with you in it, and when you aren’t in it, it will hurt the greater good too!

Have you ever watched or been part of a tug of war?  Well in many ways, I think it is an awesome image of what we are talking about today.  In a tug of war you have two teams, and the whole thing is about which team is stronger.  The goal is to pull your team to victory by dragging the other team across a line.  Have you ever watched a tug of war like at school field days or on TV?  The two teams get ready, with their biggest and strongest people in the back as the anchor and then the referee blows the whistle or and there is this immediate strain as both teams lean back and pull with all their might, and then one team starts to gain some ground and in a good, even match this can go back and forth but have you ever noticed what happens when just one person from one team lets go of the rope?  When that happens, there team is in big trouble.  They are forced to work twice as hard as before and that is just to hold their ground, not to take anymore!  You know what, inside the church community I see the very same thing.  We are pulling we have good moments and bad moments, and as long as we all stay together and keep hold of the rope, we have an opportunity to rally and win but we have any enemy and he wants you to let go of the rope, and when one let’s go of the rope it hurts the greater good.  This to me is such a powerful image of what the spiritual war as it pertains to community…and I want to dive into this with you today in a study of Hebrews 12.  Your enemy the roaring lion wants to isolate you from community, so let’s look at Hebrews 12 today, this is such an amazing chapter in our Bible, and it’s one I want to really come to life for you today!

Hebrews 12:1-17 Do you see what this means — all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running — and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 4 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through — all that bloodshed! 5 So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?  My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. 6 It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. 7 God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, 8 the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? 9 We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? 10 While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. 11 At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. 12 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! 13 Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! 14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. 15 Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16 Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. 17 You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing — but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. MSG

Oh my goodness is this awesome or what!  There is so much to talk about here, but let’s stay focused right now on the community thing.  We have an enemy trying to isolate us from the heard.  We see the writer of Hebrews fire us up in the first chunk of this scripture but then did you pick up on his warning?  He talks about this idea of adversity doesn’t he?  He says this; “When you find yourselves flagging in your faith…” it’s just like in the game of tug of war.  It’s those moments when the rope is being pulled against us and we are giving some ground, these are the times when we can choose to give up and drop the rope or keep going.  If we drop the rope we weaken the entire community.  We hurt the team…and we isolate ourselves from the protection we have in numbers.  It’s amazing how often adversity comes up in scripture and also how important it is for us to respond well to it.  Did you ever notice that?  It’s all through our bibles, yet many people are amazed that adversity can hit us after we become Christians.  Amazing isn’t it?  The Bible lets you know over and over that there will be challenges, there will be moments of doubt, that you will have moments where you find yourself flagging in your faith, and it’s those moments that are so, so important.  As the enemy pulls against you, you will be tempted to let go, but I want you to remember just how valuable you are!  If you do quit, if you do let go of the rope you are weakening the community around you.  Watch a tug of war when someone lets go.  The team is in trouble, and everyone has to work twice as hard to try to not give up any more ground, but they probably will.  We need to understand that the roaring lion wants you alone, if he gets you alone he can do damage to you personally, AND it also weakens the church community too!  It’s double the damage.  So let’s keep looking at this chapter together…he goes on to describe that the adversity we are facing may not actually be punishment but a way to learn, just as a parent teaches a child.  He is trying to strengthen us for when the tough times come, for when the rope is being pulled against us and then we get a big warning about the roaring lion and how he wants to isolate us in this war…

(Vs 14-15) Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God.  Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity.

There it is, a warning to stay strong in community right after he talks about adversity and then he really shows us two ways that the enemy comes at us to destroy the team.

(vs 15-17) Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.  Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.  You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing — but by then it was too late, tears or no tears

Really I look at this as the writer of Hebrews saying; “here’s how to weaken a community and isolate yourself from God the fastest!”  It is clearly showing how the enemy tries to get you to drop the rope inside community.

1. Weeds of bitter discontent.  I’m not sure there is a faster way to cause division, and hurt community while isolating yourself from others than this idea of bitter discontentment and I love the imagery here…a thistle or two gone to seed in the garden can ruin the whole field.  So true.  You know inside the church itself, your family, your teams at work there is no faster way to isolate yourself from the herd than comparing and competing.  I spent a lot of time in my construction days trying to help my young hires (what we called the green horns) get along well with the team.  I would tell them the top two rules of construction and they are pretty simple.  Never let anyone see you with your hands in your pockets.  (Meaning stay busy.) And the second was the thing that caused the most issues on job sites.  Never, never, never talk about your paycheck!  Nothing was more divisive than knowing that someone was making more money than you…even if you were happy with what you were making just knowing someone was making more caused issues…because hey I work harder right?  It’s the same here at MRC…or anywhere really.  There is no quicker way to be isolated from community and to drop the rope on your team than to start comparing and contrasting.  Look at what this person has that they don’t have.  Ugh, this leads to isolation, this leads to you letting go of the rope…it hurts you, and it hurts God’s kingdom work too.  So how are you doing with this?  Is somebody getting out ahead of you in your eyes?  Does someone have something you want?  Do things look unfair?  What is the lens that you look at others with?  This is very important.  If you drop the rope everyone around you must scramble and work twice as hard, if you drop the rope you also put yourself in a dangerous spot.  Remember we are at war and if this is you looking around at what others have that you don’t, the weeds are growing more every day.  Just to warn you, there is a lurking lion…hoping that you continue down this path because it isolates you from the strength of community and weakens that community in the process.

2. The Esau Syndrome-The second warning we have comes back to our appetites.

(vs 16-17)  Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.  You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing — but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. MSG

If you remember from our appetites talk when our appetites run the show we can end up in a bad spot very quickly.  Well Esau is the poster child for this life lesson.  Esau’s appetite was so strong, that he gave up wealth, and his entire future as leader of Israel for a bowl of soup!  Which sounds ridiculous but happens so easily.  This is another warning, if your appetites run the show and lead you around you will lose sight of the greater good and cause, and you will be willing to drift off mission to try and fulfill your appetites which can never be fulfilled.  Success, hunger, fulfillment…none of them will ever be filled by anything you do, but as you try you will exhaust yourself in the chase of it all.  Eventually you will let go of the rope in this game of tug of war, which isolates you from the strength of community and makes the rest of the team work twice as hard to not lose ground.

So the big question really becomes how do we deal with this?  How do we keep hold of the rope?  Well as it has each and every week this will always bring us back to worship.  We see it again here today.

Hebrews 12:2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 4 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through — all that bloodshed!  MSG

This is so huge…it always comes back to what we worship!  You want to stay grounded in your faith?  You want to stay focused on the mission of Christ?  You want to stay in community?  You keep your eyes on Jesus.  You remind yourself of what Jesus did for you.  As tough times hit, you go over the Gospel truth of what Jesus did for you, over and over again…this is what energizes us and keeps us on task.  This is what gives us strength to stay inside community.  This is how we keep a firm grip on the rope and pull…it always comes back to God worship…to centering on Jesus and all that He has done for us on the cross.  When we worship God everything is put in perspective.  When we worship God we don’t see people as resources, or competition.  When we worship God we see people for who they are, imperfect and hurting just like us.  We grasp that they have a story too.  We remember that people can and will let us down because they are just people!  We also remember to put our faith in Jesus who is perfect and won’t let us down!  When we worship God and can stay focused on Jesus everything stays in the proper perspective and we keep hold of the rope and stay strong inside community.  We get to be part of this unshakable community that we see the next few verses of Hebrews here…

Hebrews 12:18 Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai — all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble —   19 to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. 20 When they heard the words — “If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead” — they were afraid to move. 21 Even Moses was terrified. 22 No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels 23 and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. 24 You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s — a homicide that cried out for vengeance — became a proclamation of grace. 25 So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? 26 His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time — he’s told us this quite plainly — he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” 27 The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. 28 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. 29 He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire! MSG

Wow…doesn’t that sound amazing!  An unshakable Kingdom and what is it that unshakable kingdom is brimming with?  Look at verse 28 again, 28 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.

There it is again!  It always comes back to worship!  This is the big secret.  This is what your enemy never wants you to know…that you can live strong inside community, in an unshakable kingdom and again the big counter to anything the thief is up to is God worship.  Your enemy is terrified of you knowing this.  He knows how unstoppable, how unshakable we can be together and he is trying his best to get you to let go of the rope.  If you let go of the rope you isolate yourself form the strength of community and you make everyone around you work twice as hard or they will keep losing ground.  So I want to end this series by showing you three very important things that stand out to me from Hebrews 12.  Three things that will change your life, and allow you to stay strong in this all out spiritual war.

1. You must spend time with God.  I know, I know you have never heard that before here at MRC…but there is simply nothing more important.  The idea of defending yourself from the evil one has everything to do with your relationship with God, and as I studied Hebrews Chapter 12 this week this section really hit my heart…we need to listen to God!

(Vs 18-23) Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai — all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble —   to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop.   When they heard the words — “If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead” — they were afraid to move.  Even Moses was terrified.  No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. MSG

I think this is such a profound statement…he is saying here just how focused and how intently we need to listen to hear God’s voice in the world that we live in today!  He is saying look it was hard for those early Israelites to miss what God wanted them to know because He was so physically with them.  But we live in a time when it isn’t so loud and glaring.  So our time with God is very important.  He still speaks, just not in the booming voice of those Old Testament times.  If we spend time with God, and can quiet our souls before Him we will still hear Him speak today.

2. Remember the Cross…remember your salvation!  This is hard to misinterpret…

Hebrews 12:2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 4 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through — all that bloodshed!  MSG

Listen, too many Christians have distanced themselves from what Jesus has done for them.  We must never lose sight of it…if you do you are in danger of dropping the rope and isolating yourself from community.  Never forget what Jesus did for you and for me on the cross…keep it close to you and you will be so grateful for it all.

3. We worship God.  When we worship we can love.  We can forgive.  We can quiet our appetites…we can live our lives centered fully on Him!  Everything in Spiritual Warfare will always lead us back to this theme of worship.  God wants you worshiping God.  Your enemy wants you worshiping anything and everything but God…when you worship idols, you will fall to the enemies schemes.  You will isolate from community by dropping the rope, and you will not only put yourself in danger but you will make everyone else work twice as hard to hold their ground rather than advance God’s Kingdom.  This is such a big deal, and I find it incredible that this secret stays so secretive when it comes to Spiritual Warfare, even though the Bible will always bring us back to worship.  Just as it does in Hebrews 12…

28 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.

It always comes back to what we worship, whether we are talking about agreements, appetites, the culture of today, or community…whatever the enemy is up to it always has a theme, and that them is to get you to worship everything and anything but God.  So again this Sunday I would like to end with a time of worship, a time to center fully on God.  As we do I want you thinking about the people around you.  I want you thinking about the community of believers you are in.  Are you holding onto the rope?  Are you so focused on God that you can engage community well, or have you started to let go of the rope?  Are you seeing weeds of bitter discontentment in your life?  Are you allowing your desires to lead you?  Remember who you are!  Remember how valuable you are and when you find yourself in the tough times and questioning it all, remember Jesus and all He did for you on the Cross!  It always comes back to worship.  As a church when we worship God fully, we can be that unshakable Kingdom for Christ right here in our community!  Let’s worship Him today to close this series.