ATTACKS
BATTLE
WARFARE
-Why?
-because we have an enemy
(1 Pet 5:8 niv enemy roams like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour, John 10:10 niv enemy comes to steal, kill, destroy,)
-Sometimes we or others make poor choices and there are consequences/results from those choices that affect us negatively in our daily life
-God likens us to soldiers (2 Tim 2:3 endure suffering with me as a good soldier of Christ, Eph 6:13 take up the whole armor of God, Eph 6:12 we battle not with flesh and blood but principalities and powers of darkness)
(how long do soldiers train, if they are skilled does that mean the battle is easy? If they stop training do they retain their skill in battle?
-God speaks of our life with Him on this earth as a race, a marathon, (Heb 12:1 let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us)
- if we stop training for the race will we stay in race condition? because we are prepared, is the race then always easy?
-Count it all joy
-Trials produce something valuable in us when we walk thru them with the Lord
(James 1:2-4 exercising patience in trials perfect our faith)
-God takes what the enemy means for evil and turns it for good (Rom. 8:28 all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose)
- (Matt. 19:26 with God all things are possible)
**DEVELOPING OUR FAITH**
developing = growing and becoming more mature, advanced, or elaborate
**3 Keys to Abundant Life as a Christian**
-Believe God
-Speak His word
-Obey and act on His instructions
1 Pet. 1:13 nlt
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[a] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 2:15 ampc
15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
**Believe God**
Rom. 10:9 nlt
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
John 14:1 nkjv Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
Mark 11:22-23 nkjv So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says
2 Tim. 1:12 nkjv For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
2 Pet. 1:3-4 nlt By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
**Speak His Word**
2 Corinthians 4:13 ampc
13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,
**Obey & Act on His Word and Personal Instructions**
John 14:15 ampc
If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
James 2:17 ampc
So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
Deuteronomy 30:19 nlt
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!
**Homework assignment!!!**
Go read this week:
Jeremiah 29:11 in the Amplified Classic
Psalm 139 in the Passion Translation