Faith Scripture:

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

As we follow Jesus and walk in "Everyday Faith," this series is designed to help you get free and walk in life more abundantly.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

The steps of following Jesus:

Born-again – Saved

Water Baptized

Holy Spirit Activated

Healed and Set Free

In Community

Contributing

Personal Growth

Reproducing

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

There are 2 Objectives to this series:

• We need to step into preventative truth rather than reactionary deliverance.
• Isaiah 49:9 (NIV) “…say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
• We learn how to access what God has given us so we can properly grow in our faith by possessing the ‘knowledge of the truth.”
• I Timothy 2:3-6 “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
• "Knowledge of the truth" means deeply understanding reality, facts, and what is right, involving a spiritual understanding that transforms one's life, setting it apart from mere information.

If we are going to live in "knowledge of the truth," we first have to understand “Why did Jesus even come?” 

I John 3:8 “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” 

To get Battle Ready, it is not just proper Training but proper Attire.  

The armor is designed specifically for the enemy we are fighting. 

The Enemy: The Armor was designed because of the specific enemy we face.  

Two Terms: 

Devil - Greek - Diabolos 

Devil - one who continually strikes and strikes again, beating against the walls of one’s mind, until he finally breaks through and penetrates their thought process. 

Satan - Hebrew - shatana- to hate; to accuse 

Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.  

This term is used over 50 times in the Bible. 

Jesus ever lives to intercede. (Hebrews 7:25) Satan lives to accuse.  

Angel of Light - II Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 

What does all this mean? “Satan” is the proper name. “Devil” is his plan of action. “Angel of Light” is his mode of operation to deceive you.  

With this new knowledge, we can understand the armor: "Why" the specific order is mentioned and "How" to get maximum use out of it. 

I Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 

Wrestle - Greek - pale. 

To wrestle or engage in hand-to-hand combat with bitter struggle and intense conflict. 

From this word, the Greeks derived the word Palaestra, a famous House of combat sports.  

Boxers: 

It wasn't like boxing as you see it today. It was extremely violent; boxers were not permitted to fight without helmets, or their heads would be crushed.  

Few lived to retire from their profession; most died in the arena.  

They wore steel gloves and spiked nails. Some of the steel was serrated, so it was like knives. 

Many of their faces were deformed after a few years of fighting. These men were so powerful that they could kill the average citizen with one punch.  

Wrestlers: 

Wrestlers would wrestle until death. Submission holds didn't end at a tap-out; they broke arms and legs and crippled opponents.  

A common move was to strategically move in behind their opponent, grab them around the waist, pick them up, and slam them to the ground on their shoulders and neck to try to break their back.  

Pankratists: 

Pankratists were a combination of the above, like UFC. 

Pan- all 

Kratos- power exhibited 

Pankratists were someone with a massive amount of skill and power; power over all; more power than anyone else.  

Why, Pastor, would you use such a graphic and violent description? Because many Christians approach this as a game when the devil plays for keeps until death.   

We have to understand that by not having a plan, you are planning to fail.  

Colossians 2:6-10 

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  

Your plan has got to be to remain in Him. Connected to the power source. 

• Rooted 
• Built-up 
• Established in Faith 

+ Many Christians have been born again but are not plugged into the power of the house. It's like having a lamp in your house that is not plugged in and being confused about why it doesn't work.   

+ Many people like the idea of victory rather than the actual victory. We view victory as pleasant when victory is a Fight! 

+ Too many Christians are not fighting to gain but fighting to maintain.  

+ We are not fighting to reach victory, but fighting from a place of victory.  

Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” 

+ Many people like the idea of victory rather than pressing in and fighting for the victory. Just because God gave it to you doesn’t mean He is going to bring it to you.  

Genesis 32:28-29 “Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven or contended (Fought - NLT) with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 …And there he blessed him.  

• Genesis 32:24b “And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.” 

When you can wrestle with God, you'll win every fight with the world. 

• Genesis 32:26 “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 

When you cannot be shaken by God, you will not be shaken by the world. 

• Genesis 32:28 “Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven (contended or fought) with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 

"When you can contend with God, you can contend with the attacks of the world." 

We need to "Wrestle" with God over His Word. 

We need to be “Shaken” to our core in our Prayer Life.  

We need to “Contend” with God in our Spiritual Life so he can develop us and teach us how to fight.  

Many people like the idea of freedom, but are scared of the violence in the fight.  

We cannot live in fear of violence. It is time to taste victory, or if you have forgotten what victory tastes like, it is time to taste victory again and be "FREE!"