Battle Ready | Pastor Jon Krist | Zion Church San Clemente

foreign [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] and [Applause] one day [Applause] [Music] let's go [Music] gonna be hot make sure you have your water at home from your face [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] what's up zion church we're so happy that you're here today i'm your online host today and this is slap our youth pastor he has an amazing story about our online church that he wants to share right now yeah hi there a couple weeks ago pastor john and tara were going after anxiety and depression and one of my friends was watching the online service from a couple hundred miles away and as she's watching she said that she experienced liberation from anxiety from depression she said it wasn't just another church high but she was actually experiencing freedom so we're so grateful that you're joining us online and we're so excited and anticipating for what god has planned today thank you so much love so if you have any stories of watching scion online we want to know about it let us know in the chat or fill out our connections card on our website online and now i want to invite our amazing taran she wants to share a story that happened last sunday so if you if you weren't here make sure to listen to this tara and i'm going to invite you up hello hello hello good morning i'm so glad you're joining us i would love to share an amazing testimony from last week so we got word that there was somebody in our community who was very very sick in the hospital on the brink of being on a ventilator and so during last week's service we just decided to take a moment to stop everything during worship and just to go after that one person the woman's family was present so on her behalf we just prayed over that family and we just believed for a miraculous turnaround i got home from church last week and that afternoon not even two hours after church had ended and i got a text from the family member that was here and she said taryn i don't know how to describe it it's incredible i just got an update from the nurse and there's a miraculous turnaround my mom not only didn't have to be placed on a ventilator she's moving from the icu to a normal room her oxygen levels are balancing out and i'm so happy to share that this saturday she came home and so i just want to share with you that god is doing the miraculous among us so whatever you need this morning i just believe that god has it available to you begin to lift your expectations he's going to meet you right where you're at right in your home so i'm so excited and god bless you thank you so much taryn we love you guys and just so you know if you have a prayer request or if you are struggling you need um just help with your impr depression or anxiety or healing make sure to fill out our connections card because you can actually let us know about your prayer request and we as a staff and as a family are joining for you in prayer and we're believing for breakthrough we really are i know this is just online and through a screen but we want you to know we love you and we care for you we are your church and we we just want you to know that we're here for you and also on that note make sure you join a scion group i know you might not be able to be here on sundays but if you are able to make it a week night or or any night of the of the week make sure you sign up for a connect group online and they're going to open on september 13th so just make sure you sign up and join a group because real life change really happens in the context of community so we want you to get in a group and just follow alongside like amazing people who really are running after jesus together and and we just want you to know that today invite the holy spirit in your living room really just like i know you may be there with your coffee mug or your pajamas you have your kids with you just make sure you stand up and worship and just join us invite the holy spirit ask him to do the miraculously in your living room we're believing for that today so we're just a couple minutes away for like for our service today and we're believing that god is going to do something incredible this morning and you're actually going to be part of it so let us know in the chat down here let us know if god is doing anything at home if he's doing anything in your friends lives we want to know about it we love you and we are your family so i hope you enjoy the service and i see you next time love you guys oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] let's see this out together [Music] you know [Music] is [Music] god [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] but jesus salvation [Music] i am born again [Music] cause [Music] [Music] [Music] hello hey good morning everyone welcome to zion church can you hear me make some noise if you can hear me all right hey we're gonna all stand and we're gonna begin with some worship and so let's all stand together as we get ready to worship jesus christ we're so happy to see each and every one of you guys this morning on this beautiful sunday morning it's going to be a good day in the lord's house amen amen um as we go into worship i just want to read from second chronicles chapter 20 a word that god put on my heart for us as we begin it says that in the time when jehoshaphat was king over judah by the way if you're a young parent and you're looking for some kids names jehoshaphat it's a great option joshua was king over judah and in that time in second chronicles 20. it said that a vast army of the moabites the ammonites and the munites came against the nation of israel the land of judah and jehoshaphat was was scared and he went to the lord and asked him i'm i'm helpless what do i do and maybe some of you guys as you came in this morning you're facing a battle maybe you're facing something in your own life that feels like an impossible situation maybe you came in with heaviness this morning pain loss grief you don't know what to do well as we begin to worship i want to remind you what happened in second second chronicles chapter 20. king jehoshaphat went to the lord and said what do we do we're looking to you for help we don't know the answers we don't know the solution we don't know how you're gonna bring breakthrough so what are we gonna do and god says do not be afraid don't be discouraged by this mighty army for the battle is not yours but mine you won't even need to fight stand still and watch the lord's victory and the beautiful thing about this story as you read on in second chronicles chapter 20 is as jehoshaphat and the army of judah started marching out against the armies of the moabites the ammonites and the munites getting ready to fight they started praising the lord they started worshiping god out of their lips came faith for the victory in advance and it says in the scripture that the moment that they opened their mouth and began praising god god started fighting for them behind the scenes bringing victory on their behalf god sent confusion through the entire army of the ammonites the moabites and the munites and they began fighting against one another until all of them were killed and then jehoshaphat and his army come to a hill that was an outlook and they peered over what they thought was going to be a battle and they saw every single person already slain laying on the ground because confusion had come into the camp they had killed each other god brought the victory as they began praising there is power in your praise and so what we're going to do is we're not going to just sing a song to kind of warm us up into worship to warm us up into the second song to warm us us up into god's word what we're gonna do is we're gonna praise god for the victory in advancing your lives whatever battle you're facing as you open your mouth god will begin to bring the resources of heaven in unseen yet powerful ways on your behalf god's gonna bring the victory god's gonna bring angelic protection god's gonna bring the breakthrough of the holy spirit on your behalf and so right now just begin to praise him out of your mouth just begin to thank him if you don't know what to say just thank you jesus for your victory on the cross thank you jesus for sending your victory to us on the cross thank you god for your faithfulness thank you that you've been so good to me in my past i praise you because today is the day that you have made and no matter how i feel i'm going to rejoice and be glad in it i thank you for the breath that's in my lungs i thank you for the city that i get to live in i thank you for the family and the marriage that you've blessed me with i thank you for the job and the future and the calling and the purpose that you've given me i will not be silent this sunday because i got too much to praise about i got too much to thank god about and so right now we declare your victory over every problem that's representative here we give you worship and praise man why don't we just start by giving god a shout of praise as we go into worship [Music] we give you the highest praise earth [Music] hallelujah come on lift it up [Music] louder than the unbelief [Music] our rings are hallelujah my weapon is a melody i'll raise a hallelujah [Music] i'm watch the darkness please [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] with everything inside of me [Music] is in the middle of a mystery heart is a hallelujah say i'm gonna sing is is a little louder come on we're gonna sing a little louder sing a little louder [Music] sing a little louder is oh i'm gonna sing is oh is [Music] can we all just lift our hands like this what does this signify many times you see people lift their hands and worship like i'm gonna give god a big old hug but i want us to shift our perspective this morning when we lift our hands we lift our hands out of victory from victory not like reaching and striving for victory but i just pray that we all realize that the battle is already won am i the only one believes that the battle has already won he has defeated the grave he has conquered your issues your problems the things that you are facing the health conditions that you're facing the financial struggles you are facing i want us to step into that reality that the battle is one that the victory is ours that he has already overcome on our behalf like because of him we've already won it's like when the referees score a touchdown that's it like when you cross the finish line your first place you raise your hands in victory so i wanted to sing this like not just like oh this is a cool front you know burner song oh let's see from this place of victory and i may not see it but i believe and i remind myself that i am living in victory right now [Music] till you believe it or sing a little louder [Music] come on let's raise our voices come oh [Applause] is is [Music] is oh come on let it rise in this place [Music] [Music] so [Music] to go before i know [Music] my my victory [Music] i [Music] defense [Music] and all i did [Music] and all i did was [Music] and all i did was [Music] so much [Music] it's so much better this way [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] me [Music] so much better hey [Music] hey foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] my [Music] you reintroduced me is you reintroduce me put me back together put me back again um [Music] again is [Music] it's always gonna be better you're so much better everything with you is better [Music] is [Music] trying on is own we surrender we surrender [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] break down [Music] uh oh is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] yeah i just hear the lord is breaking down molds and he's breaking down images of how he thought like this life was going to work out and he wants to rewrite stories and he wants to reroute how he thought like the perfect plan like the lord's like that's a cute plan like my way is better like that's great that you think that's all you can reach but i actually have more in store for you and like pastor john was saying before we were starting there is an exchange that is going to take place this morning there is a beauty for rashes there is joy like true joy happiness for mourning [Music] your way is better your way is higher yeah so all we gotta do is just surrender father we surrender our plans we surrender our agenda we surrender how we thought this thing was gonna work out lord and we say your way is better not my will but your will be done not our plans but your plans be done in my life so would you break it down this morning would you break us down this morning so you could build us up sink your way is better [Music] hey oh for you to do whatever you want to do whatever you want to [Music] and i will make for you jesus to do whatever so father would you come and do what you want this morning we surrender god how we thought this morning was gonna go we surrender god our plans our expectations god and we just come under what you want to do we make room we create space god humbly we come before you god and say this is for you all this is for you god all this can you just say that say god all this is for you all my life is for you my family is for you my finances are yours god my children are yours my job is yours father so god i make room for you this morning in jesus name we pray and everyone said amen and amen can we give him some praise this morning yeah come on let's lift up some praise to the king of kings and the lord of lords jesus name guys welcome to zion church it's getting hot up in here but for real it's getting hot so please get some water apply some sunscreen we don't need to lay hands on anyone this morning guys welcome to zion church we are family we love gathering around the presence of god and doing life together so let's just take the next 60 seconds turn a couple people next to you give them a sweaty hug say welcome [Music] it was better than any of your presents it was your best one yet hmm she's [Music] when i met [Music] all right as you're taking your seats we just want to welcome you to zion church thank you so much for joining us this morning and uh man we we really pray and hope that you already feel so loved encouraged and built up by the lord you guys happy to be in god's house this sunday yes it's such a beautiful day and what we're gonna do before we get into um some church news some church highlights and and god's word is um we're gonna have a moment as a family where we uh we dedicate our little three-month-old little miracle man uh kellen unto the unto the lord so right now is is is a a little moment where we're stepping into child dedications and it might turn into deliverance ministry really quick too um but i want to introduce a couple people that we have on stage that are supporting us and and and the rest of our family uh we have my beautiful in-laws my father-in-law my mother-in-law founding members of zion church terry and kim burns we have our foster daughter maya give it up for maya she's got some cool headwear on and then her brother our foster son ezekiel zion ziki ziki zion say hi and then oh he loves you guys so much and then to my left i'm so honored to have my parents from michigan they flew out for labor day weekend we have pastor phil and becky christ and they they pastor lakeside assembly of god in shelby township michigan it's the church that i grew up in my parents have pastored at lakeside for over 35 years and so just a testament to faithfulness and man god has just done such amazing things we're so honored to have you guys here what a special moment and we're going to have each parent just pray over our family and especially kellen and us we need the prayers so double double double the prayers over me and taryn as we're raising three babies at one time right now um but yeah we're gonna have a moment to just speak over little kellen's life and begin to declare god's plan his will his way his purposes over him and you know some of you guys may know his story some of you might not and i'll keep it quick babe i promise but i was just thinking about it in worship when i was thinking about kellen's life i don't know if you guys noticed it but there are there are a ton of butterfly beautiful butterflies flying around this morning and if you know our story we we tried um for over four years to get pregnant and we were struggling with infertility for over four years and we were praying we were seeking we were hoping that god would give us a child and it just wasn't happening and we had my parents constantly praying for us we had terry and kim constantly praying for us and man let me just tell you that there is power in prayer when i was watching these beautiful butterflies fly past the stage past the worship band and flying all around i couldn't help but think that at one time they were in a cocoon that's right they were waiting and it didn't look like anything was happening there was nothing beautiful to be seen but behind the scenes god was working and they now are flying there is a beautiful story and he just reminded me for anyone here that is in a waiting season anyone here that is saying i don't see it i don't feel it i'm praying into it let me declare in faith your miracle too is in motion let me just say that god is working out a miracle for you it's in motion you may not see it you may not feel it but i'm telling you you will fly someday god will bring beauty from your ashes and i know i'm not supposed to preach in my own child dedication moment but be encouraged because our little miracle man is god's beautiful story that he's writing in your life in our life and he can do it for you too and the enemy even tried to take him out right when he was brought into this this side as he came out he wasn't breathing he didn't breathe for four and a half minutes completely black and blue and they hit the code blue button on the wall in our hospital room and the entire it seemed like the entire hospital staff came in rushed in and there were some scary moments but man the best sound a parent can ever hear is in that moment your little babies cry and when his cry came out i said thank you god for our miracle what the enemy meant for evil god will bring about for your good and we just declare right now kellen that god has a beautiful and powerful story on your life and what the enemy tried to stop in multiple ways god is going to use to anoint you so that you will be a man of power and impact for the kingdom of god and so um i i just wanted to invite uh our our family to share real quick i didn't know if you guys wanted to share anything or you just want to pray or okay cool and then um i i invited my parents to share a little something and then we're all going to just pray for this little guy yes this isn't i'm emotional okay i've been crying all through your praise and worship i want to all the time online and just to be here is just a tremendous opportunity for my husband and i we're hoping to retire out here does that sound good come on absolutely and we just love you all as a congregation of course our kids and uh when i do baby baby dedication our church i give the baby's name because there's power in the name of jesus number one but there's power in your child's name and actually kellen zeal christ he was born on may the 25th and kellen's name means did you know this there's like four different names and we're going to claim all of them today his name means his name lean slender his name means bright headed he's going to be a a a towhead like his daddy was and his mommy and his grandparents and smart as smart as a whip his name means powerful as you just prayed and you know what his name means in biblical sense mighty warrior and we're gonna claim kellen as a mighty warrior of god right now this little peanut over here he's gonna shake things up for the kingdom of god amen amen greetings zion it's so good to be with you today as john has just said pastor john has just uh shared with you the miracle story and i believe it's going to continue to be a miracle story little kell and zeal is the product of prayer he is living proof that god is still in the healing business god is still in the miracle business taran and john you need to understand and recognize that you have accomplished something in partnership with god that angels cannot even do you have created a living soul that will live for all eternity and so i'm reminded of the prayer and the praise of hannah in first samuel 1 27 i prayed for this child and the lord has granted me what i asked of him so now i give him to the lord for his whole life he will be given over to the lord john and taran at your earliest opportunity don't leave it up for children's church you introduce kellen to jesus you tell him how to pray how to read god's word how to press into the lord's presence but don't just tell him show him show him more is caught than taught show him how to be a man of god in just a few moments we're going to invite you to stretch a hand of blessing towards little kellen and these young parents because i believe i believe that his birthing and i don't sense this melodramatically or just because i'm grandpa i believe that hell's been put on notice hell's been put on alert and that hell has been fighting this entire time but we know is our victory amen for greater is he that's within us that he that's within the lord and and greater is our god for the battle is not ours it is the lord's be faithful you have a part be faithful to kids ministries youth ministries because jesus said bring the little children unto me if we're not faithful the devil's followers will and and they will recruit our children our young people to the gangs substance abuse the the the drug peddlers will go after the cults will go after them let's be found faithful and supporting this home along with others in kids ministries and youth ministries bringing the children to jesus let's gather around right now and lay hands upon john and taran and i'm going to ask you first terry to pray and then i'll follow up in prayer father we know that you hear us we know that we're not praying to the air we're praying to someone that cares lord we know that kellen has been given to our families god as a gift when it looked like it couldn't happen and lord we know how many people here it's zion partnered with us in prayer and across the country in churches and in homes god for this life so we pray for each one as john said that's in that waiting season that feels like they're hopeless father please help them to understand that you have a plan god that you can do miracles god it's it's not in the past so lord we pray over kellen's life that he would come to know you at an early age that he would put you first that he would be a mighty leader among your people god we thank you for john and taran we pray that your protection would be upon them and their lives as many things come at them on a day-to-day basis but they would put you first and put their kids right behind that god and and honoring you so we thank you for this time and we pray your blessing upon this home in christ's name again we continue to invite you to stretch a hand of blessing upon this dear family and upon this dear son kellen zeal christ father in the name of jesus we just declare right now as we are reminded of your promises that if god be for us who can be against us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper that the battle is not ours it is the lord's and father we know that the enemy especially targets the young not the old especially targets a pastor's home a preacher's kid and lord in the name of jesus we speak the empowerment of the holy spirit the protection of an almighty god upon little killing that lord in the name of jesus he would have a passion to press into your presence as ever before lord and that god that mom and dad will not just tell him this but show him this that lord that they would know that they would know that nothing can happen through them until it happens to them o god lord in the name of jesus we dedicate this child unto thee to do great and mighty things to do great exploits in the name of the father in the name of the son in the name of the holy spirit in the name of jesus we now dedicate you kellen zeal christ and all god's people in agreement would say amen hi guys good morning my name is margo i'm on staff here at zion church um and we're so glad you guys are here this morning this is sarah grace she'll be coming up too she's also on staff here yeah give her a round of applause um raise your hand well don't raise your hand raise up your connect card everyone should have gotten one on your way in do you have a connect card raise it up who has a connect card pick it up raise it up raise it up all right hi you guys so let's direct our attention to the connect card also it's so good to see you guys like you're smiling faces it's really good to be in community with you guys this morning um so i just wanted to talk about the connect card really quick guys this is a really awesome resource that we have here at the church it is the main way to get information into the ongoings of our church and to get connected with community whether that be on a serve team joining a group which we'll talk about shortly or even just prayer requests guys it i think it's so awesome that there's a little box that says questions need prayer or news to share guys we as a staff on mondays we really do take the time to set apart time to pray for you guys and if you guys have praise reports we love to thank god for what he is doing in your life in our community so i think that's just an awesome resource to um so if you guys have anything to share any news to share any prayer um requests or praise reports we'd love to hear them and we will get back to you um personally like email or phone call responding to those as well but if you're a first time guest there's a lovely little blue box that you get to check on the back of this card we'll just introduce you to the ongoings of our church what our church is about and how you can get involved and margot is going to take you into a couple more details about our fall zion groups launch i'm super excited who here has been in a group part of a group maybe in the summer raise of hands a little woo awesome so margo let's hear about it okay so um as sg said we have our fall zion groups launching the week of september 13th so that's coming up we actually have some groups open right now so if you want to join a group make sure to check that out on our website but keep checking because we have new ones being added this is such an awesome way to just dive into your community we really believe that life change life change happens in the context of these smaller groups we can only go so far together on sundays but during the week it's just such an awesome way to just dive into people who are in a similar stage of life as you we have young adults we have marrieds we have singles we have youth group high school middle group middle school we have all of that now slav's done an awesome job of recruiting a bunch of great leaders for our youth so that's going to be super awesome so make sure to check that out but as you've seen our church is growing which means we have more people that want to join groups which means that we have a huge need for leaders so if you have an interest at all in becoming a zion group leader this is the time to do it it's so simple you don't need to know how to teach or preach or anything we'll give you all the content that you need we actually have a training coming up this september 9th at 6 30 at our hq john's going to be going in into detail about what it looks like to lead a group it's super simple all we need you to do is just open up your home and facilitate community at your house super simple you don't need to be an expert anything like that but yeah so if you're interested in that please as she said check that box on your connect card turn it in if you have some questions today that you want answered head over to the connections booth and they'll take care of you and if you do check that box sg will get right back to you and we'll get you dialed in whether you want to join a group or you're interested in leading a group so lastly i'm gonna take us into our time of giving and i knew i was gonna be talking about this um on stage this week and i was like okay god give me something give me something different give me something fresh i really wanted a word to share um and very quickly i felt like he gave me the word release and at first i was like ooh not that one um that one's weird that sounds weird like you want me to tell them to release their money that's weird god um but quickly after that i felt him say no i want to release um which i thought was so awesome like god wants to release abundance into your life he wants to release prosperity um in your finances he wants health in your relationships joy in your home and the only way we can do that is if we walk through life with an open posture it's really hard to receive what god wants to release if we're walking through our life like this um and that can look like so many different things um but this morning we're talking specifically about tithes and offerings and as you guys can see all of all of your offerings go to amazing things that are truly for the sole purpose of furthering god's kingdom and allowing um lives to be saved um so just know that like that's really highly taken care of um so if you want to join us in that this morning that would be awesome and there's three ways to give here at zion church you can give online at zionchurch.online you can also text any amount to 84321 and lastly you can give cash or check to the connections booth in a box in the back why don't i pray over us in the offering really quick before we invite pastor john up thank you so much jesus that you are a god that wants to release blessing and prosperity over our life in every area not just one every single area thank you that you're a god that meets us exactly where you're at thank you lord for the blessing of allowing us to to be in this place lord to worship you to love you to praise you thank you for who you are and thank you for this amazing day in jesus name amen amen amen can we give it up for margo and sg thank you guys so much all right well we're going to jump into god's word and this is the final message in our series in ephesians make some noise if you've been built up and encouraged by this series anybody learn something new man ephesians has been such an amazing journey and i'm kind of sad to see it come to a close but man make sure you come back next week next week we have got an incredibly exciting series that we're starting called it's in my dna everyone say dna and we're going to talk about some really critical things that god has hardwired into us god has made us for that if we step into will cause so much spiritual growth life and flourishing to come out of us so make sure that you invite your friends come back next week it's going to be amazing hey i just want to greet our online audience our online family can we as an in-person zion family just put our hands together and greet every single person that's joining us online we thank you for streaming we thank you for joining us whether it's later on during the week or next week whenever and however you view this content we love you we thank you for joining us you're part of the family and we pray that this message in this entire experience encourages you inspires you and builds your faith so that you can step into all that god has called you into ephesians chapter six say uh-huh anyone ready to jump in ephesians chapter six it's hot so we're just gonna jump into god's word and get going ephesians chapter six our series from death to life paul ends by saying in ephesians 6 verse 10 a final word a final word a closing thought one last thing be strong in the lord and in his mighty power paul says a final thing i want you to know a final word a final encouragement a final message is be strong in the lord just flex on your neighbor real quick what's your most impressive muscle just flex on flex on your neighbor real quick maybe it's the bicep the tricep please do not stand up and flex a different muscle you might think is the most impressive muscle okay we'll keep it upper body all right but be strong in the lord and in his mighty power right now in the condition of our culture i don't know about you but we need people strong in the lord we don't just need people strong in their opinions on social media we need people strong in the lord we need people strong in the only solution which is our savior jesus christ we need a church that is strong in the lord man we're living in a time where churches are changing their beliefs just as easy as a sale changes direction in the wind it saddens me to see churches just changing so much of their theology their their philosophies what they believe and what they stand on based upon a reaction to culture we need churches that are strong in the word of god the absolute truth on his promises and his plans for our life we need a strong church with a strong foundation we need to be strong in the face of opposition criticism and current and future persecution we need a strong church let's be reminded that jesus is a strong man and the cross is still a strong message no matter how many people try to water him down and water the gospel message down jesus is a strong man and the cross is a very strong message first of all i just want you to think real quick physically about jesus sometimes when we watch these cheesy jesus movies we see this like emaciated like swedish version of jesus with light brown hair and blue eyes strolling with a white robe and a blue sash on the seashore hey follow me just just come and check me out you know ancient art hasn't even done us any favors with it there's like the skinny emaciated pale jesus and all of the art so sometimes even our view of physical jesus is weak think about how strong jesus is it was around 8 a.m on friday morning around 2000 years ago the day that jesus was sentenced to be executed he was whipped we don't know how many times the jewish law said you couldn't be whipped more than 39 times but the romans had no such law and he was whipped under the authority and the power and the brute force of rome and so we actually don't know how many times jesus was whipped most people didn't even make it past the whipping jesus makes it past the whipping and then they put a cross beam made of solid wood that scholars tell us likely weighed over 200 pounds and jesus put that cross beam on his back and he as he staggers he still makes it all the way uphill towards a hill called golgotha he makes it over the length of two modern day football fields as he's in hypovolemic shock because of the amount of blood loss he has blood that he's constantly losing from his body his heart is racing he's in actual physical shock and and even yet he carries the cross up that hill for you and for me and that wasn't the worst event as he hangs and he he dies on that cross the sins of the world past present and future sins were dumped on him your sins and my sins and the criminal sins and the corporate theft and the whatever kind of sin you can think of was dumped on him in one moment and he takes it on himself and then jesus as he descends he steals back the keys to hell death and the grave and was what was once seen as the greatest victory for satan and the forces of evil became the greatest symbol of victory and freedom for god's people the cross equals victory the blood that was shed the death that was paid is your victory and my victory over hell over death over sin and its consequences so that you can live strong you can live a life of power you can have a secure footing you can be confident in your eternal salvation you can live with victory because jesus isn't a weak man he's a strong man he's a strong savior he sacrificed himself as a lamb but it says he's coming back as a lion he is the lion of the tribe of judah with fire in his eyes and he is coming soon i just feel it jesus he's a strong man he's got a strong kingdom he's got a strong message be strong in the lord and in his mighty power and paul the apostle paul that we always think of as some super christian was just a regular guy like you and me filled with the power of the holy spirit transformed from a criminal into a man of courage he looks at us today and he says i want to tell you how to do it today i want to tell you how to be strong in the lord and in his mighty power verse 11. this is how you do it he says every day put on all of god's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against the strategies of the devil for we're not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places my message title and this is what paul is telling us especially in this critical day and age that we live in is be battle ready everyone say battle everyone say ready turn your neighbor and say are you ready battle ready baby bad already bad already two things that you need to know at the get-go number one you were born into a battle john 10 10 said that the thief's purpose is to steal kill and destroy and jesus's purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life aka life and life to the full but the moment that you came on planet earth you were born into a battle there is an enemy that is in opposition to its creator satan and his demonic forces want to thwart every purpose and plan that god has for your life the enemy doesn't discriminate he doesn't care if you're a pastor a business owner a stay-at-home mom a student he doesn't care where you live what stage of life you're in what ethnicity you are he does not care he does not discriminate he is an equal opportunity accuser he wants to destroy god's purposes and plans for your life you got to wake up you got to know this and sometimes in our cruisy casual culture we don't recognize that every single day we are in a spiritual battle the second thing that you need to know at the get-go is that you cannot be casual when the enemy is being strategic paul says in verse 11 put on all of god's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies the strategies of the devil i love how casual san clemente is how about you i actually man i love it i love i love that you can go to like starbucks and see like high level business meetings and board shorts like i appreciate that i love no dress codes anywhere we go around here it's great right but but but board shorts and flip-flops don't work all that well on the battlefield we cannot be casual with our spiritual lives with our marriages with our families with our futures when the enemy is clearly being strategic i want to wake some people up this morning in case you're sleeping the enemy is making strategic plans against your life personally against your marriage he's studying game film he's seeing where your tendencies are your habits he's seeing where you may be weak where there might be a in the armor he is being strategic against your life your marriage your family your business your ministry your high calling in jesus christ we cannot be casual laxadaisical apathetic comfortable when the enemy is being strategic therefore paul says in verse 13 put on every everyone say every not just some put on every piece of god's armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil and then after the battle you will still be standing firm you will still be the last one standing when the enemy comes knocking you will still be the last one standing someone say battle ready paul says stand your ground putting on number one the belt of truth putting on the belt of truth it wasn't an accessory to the outfit if we think about a roman soldier's outfit this is what paul is imagining as paul is writing this letter in prison in rome he's seeing roman soldiers walk in and out all day so he's studying their armor as he's literally writing this down the belt of truth it wasn't an accessory to a roman soldier's outfit you know like paul's not talking about a gucci belt here like paul paul is talking about something that's essential to the outfit it was the belt that held on all the upper armor and the lower armor the belt held everything together you know someone i i knew went to the doctor one time for pain in his lower back and the doctor told him to flip over on the table and started poking at his stomach and he's like what are you doing i've got a dad bond i don't really want you doing that and the doctor's like you know we we got to see where your core is at and what the doctor found out is that his lower back wasn't the problem it was his core that was weak that was causing the problem and if your core is weak everything else will suffer the enemy is the author of confusion and god wants to allow us to put on the belt of truth every single day to strengthen our core i mean so many people nowadays i think are trying to find truth through a podcast through a retreat through different news stations through reading certain kinds of books and listening to different people and we're all searching for truth but let me just tell you that the only source of truth can be found right here this is your source of truth other things might be a great help an addition but when i search for truth i have to go back to what is absolute truth why does paul talk about the belt first because he wants to address your core if your core is weak then everything else is going to suffer if we can't agree on what absolute truth is we're not going to be able to move forward in anything and so in an age of your truth and my truth versus anyone's truth we got to go back to the truth in order for us to be unified and move forward as a church jesus said not just the truth not just a good idea you want to know what truth is you want to have a strong core he looked eye to eye with people and he said i am the way i am the truth i am the life i am the truth when you go to the bible remind yourself that the purpose of this book is to point to jesus christ he is the truth we don't have to go to a news station first for truth we don't have to go to a social media outlet first for truth we don't even have to go to a friend's opinion first for truth let's go back to god's word first for truth amen it's your core it'll keep you strong the second thing that the belt does is it frees the soldier for movement once your lower and and upper armor is in place it frees you from movement it allows you to to do battle the way that your body is meant to do it what feels constrictive i know some of my millennials and gen zeus when they hear that this is the truth this is the way are going to be like whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa that's constrictive that's archaic that's restrictive man what about that person's idea what about that really good thing about that faith what about that great idea i'm just telling you when your core is strong and you're clear on what you stand on it will allow your life to be very simple and free it'll give you freedom to hear god's voice it'll be it'll give you freedom in your conversations with people it'll give you freedom to know where to walk if you don't got a belt on your parents are going to fall and you're going to trip everywhere that you walk and some of you people are tripping all over the place and you're confused and you don't know what to think where to go because you haven't anchored yourself to truth god says i want to give you freedom man if you don't stand for something you'll fall for everything paul says put on truth making this really practical margo and sg talked about zion groups i'm just telling you the best way to be connected to truth is to be in community zion groups are so amazing not just because you build relationships but i'm telling you when you grow together by studying god's word together praying for one another and fighting for one another in relationship it will anchor you to truth you need friends who are going to speak truth into your life we don't stand firm in isolation we stand firm in family here at zion church and there is nothing there is nothing thicker than blood you're always going to fight for your family you need people who are people of truth in your life the second thing that paul tells us to put on is in verse 14. you guys still with me verse 14. paul says and put on the body armor of god's righteousness body armor or in other translations the breastplate guards your vital organs namely your heart see the enemy shoots two arrows at us emotionally he shoots the arrow of doubt and he shoots the arrow of discouragement what the enemy likes to do over and over again is shoot those arrows at us he wants you to doubt your salvation i remember growing up i was so afraid of the rapture of the church mom and dad will enjoy this one we talked a lot about end times and prophetic things and and jesus coming back to get his church but it it it really it's scared it scared me big time because i thought every time that i came home and my parents cars weren't there they they were gone and i wasn't you know you know i talked bad to my teacher that day and i remember one time coming back and the cars were gone and i'm like oh shoot my parents ah and then i went upstairs and i go okay is my older sister here because if if julie is still there i'm good because you know she's worse than me so all right go upstairs and julie's gone i fall on my knees and i go god i'm so sorry if you just give me a second chance receive your servant so afraid that i wouldn't make it because i doubted my salvation the enemy wanted to put fear into my spirit to doubt that i was really saved some of you guys this morning are are doubting god's work on your life you're doubting your salvation you're doubting what jesus did for you on the cross if jesus has died for you and if you have said jesus i repent of my sins i trust you i believe in your finished work on the cross receive me into your kingdom forgive me restore me make me brand new and i am all in i want you to hear loud and clear you are saved you are in the family forever your eternity is secure there's a home in heaven stop doubting and start living the enemy shoots an arrow of dart against our are in an arrow of doubt a dart an arrow of doubt against our salvation he he wants you to doubt your connection he wants you to be in the kind of relationship with god like the toxic relationships that you find yourself in we're like you know what i don't know if we're on the same page i mean i'm i'm texting but i'm not getting things back i don't know if i said too much i did too much i don't know if i said enough i don't know if i've done enough he wants you to doubt your connection with god the enemy wants you to doubt your relationship and your intimacy and your connection with god do you guys know you were made to know god you were made to know him you were designed to hear his voice there is no barrier there is no blockage jesus gave you complete access when he died on the cross the three-inch veil and the holy of holies was ripped from top to bottom he said access is granted into my most holy presence you can go to the throne of grace at all times the enemy wants you to doubt that connection he wants you to doubt your calling i remember one time i i i was really struggling am i really called to be a church planter and then god woke me up at 3am one night and he said i've called you to plant zion church i've called you to be a church planter you were made for this and i got on my laptop and i started free-flowing all this vision and ideas and stuff and it was a beautiful beautiful experience then at 7am that very same morning i had a coffee date set up with someone in my other ministry at that point in time and it was super awkward we show up gives me a cold hard handshake doesn't say anything doesn't sit like sits down but doesn't say anything to the server that came over and he looked at me in my eyes and he said i just want you to know you're not a good leader you're not a good pastor i don't think you're called to do what you're doing and i'm leaving the church and he got up and he walked away i kid you not that was the extent of the conversation what the enemy likes to do especially after moments of clarity and confirmation that revolve around who you are who's you are and where god wants to take you is he wants to snuff out your calling before it begins he wants to destroy and quench the purpose that god has called you for before you can make an impact against his kingdom and what the enemy was trying to do was to get me to stop and get discouraged before i even started planting zion church and i just put it before the lord and i got invigorated as i put it before the lord i said oh that hurt and i felt like the lord said that's just because the enemy is trying to stop something that i've anointed something that i'm gonna bless something that's gonna make an impact not just in your life but in generations to come so take that opposition as confirmation that you're stepping in the right direction that's why you need the breastplate of righteousness man the next time the enemy tries to make you doubt those things doubt yourself doubt your salvation doubt your connection without your calling the next time he tries to discourage you you remind him that because of jesus christ and his righteousness on your behalf you got teflon on your chest baby i've got body armor on my chest and the more that the enemy tries to oppose me the more i'm confirmed that god is for me my salvation is secure my connection is not blocked my calling is from god i'm exactly where i need to be for such a time as this and i declare that if he is for you nothing can stand against you sometimes you got to encourage yourself in the lord king david had some really bad days you can read it in the psalms and he said i encourage myself in the lord i don't find my confidence in my own confidence i find it in god my dad used to always say preaching growing up it's not self-confidence it's god confidence and you've got to encourage yourself from the lord when you feel doubt and discouragement paul moves on in verse 15 and he says for shoes i put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared you know historians tell us that that some clear moments of victory happen some clear lines of demarcation between certain warriors and then the warriors of alexander the great and julius caesar were due in large measure to those armies having high quality footwear thus they were able to undertake long marches at incredible speed over rough terrain why does paul talk about shoes now he says for shoes put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you can be fully prepared it's his peace that helps me stand when everything else feels unstable paul is writing this well in prison and he says well in prison i'm experiencing the peace of god paul is in pain and paul is saying even when i'm in pain i experience the supernatural peace of god and i just feel led to declare to anyone encourage you this morning that you can still have the peace of god where you go you know what not everything is going the way i want in my life but everything is going to be all right because i have the peace of god i'm not where i want to be but man god is with me i have the peace of god where does our peace come from peace isn't some wishy-washy feeling peace isn't even just tranquility peace comes from the good news what's the good news the good news is your good news it's because jesus died for you saved you from your sins and gave you a home in heaven your story ends well some of us man we read the news in the world way too much and we don't read god's good news for our lives quite enough the reason why i can live with peace when i am personally going through very difficult battles is because i know that my story ends well i know where i'm going i know who god is and i know that i get to be with him forever and so i cannot lose i just believe that the pathway to peace is prayer paul also says in philippians he said don't worry about anything everyone say anything don't worry about anything instead pray about everything and then you will experience god's peace which exceeds anything that we can understand his peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in christ jesus his peace not only gives me strength but his peace helps me to walk forward in victory and as i pray i think about jesus christ i zoom out because so often times when we're just looking at our shoes as we walk we get tunnel vision but god wants you to look out and he wants you to look up and get thirty thousand feet up and see his perspective that he is working on your behalf he's for you and you can experience his supernatural peace in the midst of any storm that you fear god wants to bring a peace that doesn't make sense to your mind and heart today a peace that transcends your moment of anxiety and fear because he is the prince of peace flash your kicks at somebody right now and say i got peace i got peace flash those kicks real quick your sunday kicks flash those preachers sneakers at somebody right now and say i got some peace you can walk with peace even if you're in a prison you can walk with peace even if it's the most painful season of your life because you know that your story ends well and paul says in addition to all of these hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil the fiery arrows in ancient warfare were not used to destroy they were used to distract what enemies would do is they would fire these fiery arrows they would shoot these fiery arrows at things that would burn up chariots and houses and and fields and and as they set ablaze those things then the the opposing army would have to focus on the fire and try to put out the fire and as they were focusing on trying to put out the fire the enemy could could use a loophole a workaround to then ultimately destroy the enemy and take a city what are the fiery arrows in your life see the enemy knows that if you're saved and on your way to heaven he cannot destroy you because you are safe and secure in the fortress of jesus christ your salvation so what the enemy will do since he can't destroy you is distract you if the enemy can distract you with the lure of wealth the god of comfort if he can distract you with focusing on your own sinful habits and patterns and living in the cycles of guilt and shame if the enemy can distract you with being consumed every moment with what's happening politically if he can distract you by having your face buried in your phone every dull moment on social media then he knows ultimately he can't destroy your salvation but he can destroy your purpose he can destroy your impact he can destroy the high calling that you made that he made you for and so paul says hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows before they set fire to the things in your life what does that mean in modern day context it means learning the art of saying this two-letter word over and over again everyone say it with me no no if it does not align with god's will god's way the vision for my life and my calling i'm gonna say no to it sometimes that's no right now sometimes that's not yet sometimes that's not ever some fellas you need to hear that she's been trying to tell you no and it's not a not yet it's a not ever no i'm gonna unsubscribe from that stuff in my life i'm gonna unsubscribe from those relationships i'm gonna man there there is this new feature on the brand new iphone it's crazy there's this new feature on the brand new iphone you click one button then you click another button and then you slide this bar and it turns it off it's beautiful it's a brand new feature on the brand new iphone you turn the distractions off and i'm not saying let's go back let's go back to churning butter and making our own granola no i'm not talking about that what i'm saying is there are things in your life that are that the enemy is using to distract you so that he can ultimately destroy god's purpose for your life and this week you need to get gnarly with it he's making strategies against you you need to be more intentional you need to say no no no i'm not going to go down that way nope i'm not going to go back into that unhealthy relationship nope i'm not going to allow my my mind to overthink in this toxic thought pattern no i'm not going to look at those websites anymore no i'm going to hold up the shield of faith and the way that you measure faith is by faithfulness every single day i'm going to say i am going to be faithful even if i slip even if i fall i am going to keep getting back up on that horse and walking into the high calling that jesus has for me god loves you guys so much and he's pleased with you and he has so much potential that's brimming waiting to erupt out of your life to bless this world hold up that shield of faith and then lastly put on salvation as your helmet and take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of god the last thing that a soldier would put on is his helmet before he leaves the house he gets ready for battle he puts on the helmet to cover his head to cover his mind and what paul is telling us is before you go out that door and go to work before you drop the kids off at school and you're hearing all the craziness in the car and you're trying you're stressed you're trying to settle everything up before you get in to the stress of the day you put on salvation as your mindset you put on jesus christ as your mindset the battle is in your mind and jesus man he wants to refresh your mind he wants to give you his life his peace and his joy so that you can face every battle that day that's why paul in another verse he says therefore take every thought captive and make it obedient to jesus christ win the war in your mind and win the battles of the day before you go out that door put on the salvation of god you were saved when jesus died on the cross you are saved right now because you stand firm in your place of righteousness you are being saved though every single day as you put on salvation as your helmet paul says don't conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind i'm being saved i'm going from strength to strength i'm going from might to might i'm going from glory to glory i'm becoming more like jesus i'm living like him i'm thinking like him i'm seeing like him i'm loving like him i am being saved and one day you will be saved when jesus comes back and institutes his eternal kingdom you will be saved from death sin hell and its consequences put on salvation as your helmet every single day you need to be reminded about who you are and whose you are and take up the sword of the spirit by the way this is the only offensive weapon take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of god a lot of times when we think about the sword of the spirit we just think about this right here did anyone grow up in church and you had sword drills right sword drills everyone's like what are you talking about who could find that verse the fastest the sword drill and then you would stand up and you would read it but but but that's just one part of the sword of the spirit which is the word of god the the greek word that is used for the sword of the spirit which is the word of god in this passage is not logos which is the the written word it it's rhema which is the spoken word the mission of jesus was not to fill churches with bloated christians that have a bunch of bible knowledge and then there's no action there's no impact there's no life transformation the mission of jesus was not to institute a holy huddle jesus said go and make disciples jesus said i will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it and in order to do battle against the enemy and see the forces of evil struck down in your life in your marriage in your family your place of work in strongholds in our city and in our region we don't have to just we like we can't just know god's word we got to learn to declare god's word we've got to learn how to proclaim the promises of god over our lives we have to learn how to to declare the truth of scripture over our families over our future we have to learn what it means when our salvation becomes our declaration [Music] i want to invite everyone here to stand up quietly [Music] i know it's hot but hell's gonna be hotter no i'm just kidding like that that that preacher that guy that says that kind of thing right what battle are you facing this morning what battle are you going through maybe it's maybe it's a physical battle maybe there's a disease maybe it's a a mental illness what battle are you going through maybe it's a battle in your family a battle in your finances i don't know how i'm gonna make it john what battle are you facing today [Music] maybe it's a battle in your relationships in your marriage or in your dating relationship i don't know [Music] i don't know what to do [Music] what battle are you going through today we don't fight for victory what i've been telling you all all morning in this beautiful hot sunny sweaty sunday is that we fight from victory i want you to know whatever battle you are facing it's a fight but it's not a fair fight the fight has been fixed the fight has been fixed the fight has been fixed jesus has already won the victory on your behalf all you need to do is believe it receive it and step into it in jesus name and begin to declare right now out of your mouth thank you jesus thank you jesus for winning the victory over my finances thank you jesus for winning the battle for me over my marriage thank you jesus for bringing healing and wholeness bringing my body and my mind into alignment with heaven thank you jesus thank you jesus i thank you that the battle is not mine but the battle is yours thank you jesus that even when i don't feel it when i don't see it you are bringing the victory for me on behalf [Music] of my family of my finances my future thank you jesus that though i might feel like i'm infertile you have blessed me to be fruitful and multiply thank you jesus when the nation of israel shouted praises out of their mouth the walls of jericho came tumbling down [Music] and i cannot be quiet and casual when jesus did not give me a weak and casual salvation the fight is fixed believe it receive it whatever you're going through right now if you're going through a battle just just just shoot your hand up if you're going through a battle shoot your hand up right now uh yeah if ministry team ministry team prayer partners just to spread throughout our ministry team our pastors our staff our prayer partners find someone that has their hand up if you're going through a battle shoot your hand up right now in faith declare it in faith jesus has won the victory on your behalf we speak right now the victory of the holy spirit the victory of the holy spirit that's working behind the scenes on your behalf right now can come around you if someone has their hand raised around you just come around and let's be the church let's be family right now if you're going through a battle i want you to know that you're surrounded you're surrounded look up look up and however large your enemy looks your god is greater your god is for you yeah your god is with you and you've got a church family that's filled with the holy spirit that is fighting for you that is praying for you and so just begin to worship him begin to thank him for his victory we thank you for your blood jesus [Music] say there's a table there's a table that you prepared for me in the presence of my enemies it's your body [Music] [Music] this is how i find my battles this is how i find my battles this is how i this is how to find my battles this is how i find my battles this is how i fly my battles oh this is should be your goodness your mercy follow me so my weapons are praising thanksgiving so this is i will this is this is [Music] oh this is how i will lift my voice i will lift my praise really thanksgiving and worship [Music] oh this is how i find my battles come on this is oh oh shout like you've got the victory somebody shout like they've got somebody yes [Music] who here is ready to live battle ready this week let me hear you i said who is ready to live battle ready this week [Music] be strong in the lord and in his mighty power and see every stronghold demolished in jesus name i bless you with the power of the holy spirit this week i bless you with the faith and the courage to stand strong in the face of any opposition that you face and i bless you with impact with stories with testimonies about how god came through for you there there and everywhere i bless you with the grace and the favor of jesus christ and everyone said amen and amen we love you guys so much i would love to meet you after the service if you're not too hot and want to hang out i'd love to meet you i'll be at the back connections tent i'd love to get to know you and your family be blessed go on to zionchurch.online check us out see how you can take a next step hop in a group we would love to have you connected we love you so much have an awesome sunday thanks for joining us my god is so big so strong and so mighty there's nothing my god cannot do oh my god it's so big so strong and so mighty there's nothing my god oh my god is so big so strong and so mighty there's nothing my god can i do my god is so big so strong and so mighty there's nothing in my car cannot this is how i find my battle this is [Music]

Channel: Zion Church

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Id: KFq8jC7m7_Q

Length: 117min 20sec (7040 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021