Charlotte Gambill - Battle Ground

[Music] we've been in a serious divas be teaching us about being battle ready that there are in times in life when you will find yourself in a fight and in those times in life the Bible instructs us that there are certain things we should put up there are certain things that we should arm ourselves in not a physical armor you don't have to get up in the morning and dress like a knight that's good news unless that's something you'd like to do but actually there are spiritual things we should put on prayer and spiritual disciplines we should add to our life so that we are ready for the battles that face us I want to carry on in that teaching in the time I have today and take a different aspect of that I'm gonna pray in a moment before I teach us because it's always good to prepare our hearts for truth but I want to talk to you about not the things that we put on but actually the place where we stand and I want to ask you is your battle ground battle ready we all have ground in our life we have ground that we have taken your life represents a series of different pieces of ground there is the ground of your marriage there is the ground of your parenting there is the ground of your career and your finances there is the ground of your health there is the ground of your mind and your mental well-being and I know the Bible teachers and I have experienced and so of many of you that there is a full-on assault on the ground that we stand but there is actually good but there is actually evil there is actually a God who loves us but there's actually an enemy that hates us and what he wants is to take ground from us what he wants is to trouble the ground which is ours he does not want you to keep the ground nor does he want you to gain any more ground he doesn't want you to get better I'll do well he doesn't want you to discover true peace or true joy and so there is an actual call for us not just to dress right but to know how to hold our ground this morning I'm going to help you in your battle ground let's pray God we thank you for the ground that you have given us we think about our own lives and the ground that represents God how far we have come and how much more is ahead we thank you first of all for the ground you have entrusted to us the relationships the things that we handle our homes and our health and our loved ones thank you that today we stand on ground that you have entrusted to us and God I pray in the next few moments we would learn a little more about how to be great keepers of our ground in your name amen and amen I wanna give you three things that I am saying I would add to your world if they're not always added to your world of things that help you in the battleground of your life every area of your life like I just said the ground that you have the ground you're entrusted with if you have ground it is a potential battleground not every day is a battle in your marriage well I hope it's not but there will be days when your matt'll marriage becomes a ground where there is a battle not every day are you battling in your health I hope not but there may be a season of your life right now where the battle is exactly that it is in your body is in your physical well-being not every day you may struggle with temptation or thoughts or your mind making you go a certain direction that's not healthy for you our anxiety stepping in but there can be seasons of our life where that area of our life comes under attack and we find it how to even get out of bed when before we would jump out of bed we find it hard to deal with the thought that before we could just deal with so you have to understand every piece of ground you have potentially at some season in your life will become a battleground and that's why it's really important that we take care of the ground so that we're not adding to the effects of the battle and we're not causing self-harming of ourselves by having ground that is not ready for battle and so I want to give you three principles that we can add to our life that will help us have our battle ground battle ready I'm gonna go through them one by one but upfront I'll identify them then I'll break them down I won't talk to you about clearing the ground then I'm gonna talk to you about covering the ground and then I'm going to talk to you about keeping the ground let's deal with the first one clearing the ground in proverbs 24 verse 34 is a well-known piece of scripture if you read your Bible or around the church you might have heard this teach and I definitely taught some defining messages from this piece of scripture it paints a picture of someone that has been given some ground and it says this about that person I went past the field of the sluggard past the vineyard of someone who had no sense thorns had come up everywhere and the ground was covered with weeds and the strong walls were in ruins and I applied my heart to what I observed and I learned a lesson from what I saw a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man this proverb is painting the picture of what often can happen in our lives and we don't even realize it you know the the big thing that you're fighting I guarantee you didn't start as a big thing the huge disagreement that you're in didn't start as a huge disagreement the huge temptation you are struggling with did not start as a huge temptation these things begin small and in their smallness they begin to grow and if we leave them on the ground of our lives when it comes to the time to have a battle we'll find ourselves with things we could have taken care of earlier now adding to the problem that is in front of us this person was given ground and this person decided rather than keep my eye on the ground rather than clear the ground I'm gonna fold my arms I'm gonna take a little nap I'm gonna lay back and I'm just gonna let the ground do its thing how many of you know if you let your garden do its thing it will do its thing some of you have a beautiful gorgeous like award-winning like I don't know what it is but recently in England every village seems to have started this thing where you can go on a garden tour I'm like what is that about like no one wants to look my garden it's not gonna be a blessing and so I have no idea where to put plums or where they grow all I try to plant some pots the other day and I just went in and I'm like are these the ones that died like quickly or do they like they look to me like you're such an idiot why are you even in this store you need to be in here with guidance someone should have brought you in I have no idea what I was doing because I'm not very good at keeping my garden looking like it's garden visit worthy but I know because of my lack of gardening skills I don't have to do anything and something will grow something will grow all by itself I know that I will have all kinds of weeds and thorns and all kinds of things growing in my garden by me just sitting back and doing nothing and it's so true in all of our lives whether you are active in the light your garden of your life or whether you sit back both ways something's gonna grow but one way is what you're deliberately growing to bring beauty and pleasure the other way is where you're folding your arms and letting anything grow in your life behind me maybe some of you are a little frustrated about the mess someone just created on this platform about the rubbish bag which is now messing up the camera it's messing up but your seeing is not very nice when we have so many guests in the house this morning but but I want to make a picture for you that you will put in your mind that this is one of our lives look like well we're doing our thing while we're going through life we are allowing things to be littered in our life that if we are so busy doing whatever is we're doing we choose to ignore the thing that when it comes for battle time will trip you up and will become a hazard in your path and I want you to know that it is our responsibility to take ownership clearing the ground means you take ownership for your life and you decide I am NOT gonna let people or circumstances are bad thinking or wrong choices litter my life anymore I am gonna make sure I clear the ground see feet we've all watched people that drop litter right and it's really not cool and you're not their parent but you want in that moment to be their parent and ask them why did your parents opposed to drop litter and now we try and find people for dropping litter but it's amazing what we will get upset about in someone else's piece of land but what we will excuse and make allowances for in our life and our life can be littered with all kinds of rubbish the enemy loves to litter your ground with lies some of you the ground of your life is full of lies you're not good enough you're a disaster you'll never make it your parents didn't like you you've never achieved what you should have achieved the lies that we allow to lay on the ground of our life mean that when a battle comes against us we already are struggling with the stuff we let lay in our life for way too long some of us have litter in our lives of gossip that is tripping us up in moving forward in a healthy relationship some of us have litter in our lives of past offenses that are crippling the ground of our marriage moving forward to be healed and become whole some of us have let litter in our lives of fear and intimidation which means we live smaller than God created us to live but God's saying I can't pick the litter up for you you have to clear the ground yourself if you want when it comes to battle time to have the best advantage in battle you know you need all this stuff from around your ankles you're gonna trip you're gonna fall even before the enemy approaches you so we have to spiritually learn how to pick up a broom and begin to clear our lives begin to say that does not belong in my marriage that offense is keeping us from moving forward that negativity and stress does not belong here that fear is litter in my life I'm gonna make sure I remove it don't wait for a fight to clear the ground clear the ground now do it while you can pick up the room and you might say well I didn't drop the litter snot that's not the issue it's on your life so if it's dropped on your life go pick it up and go put it where it belongs in the garbage or take it to the place where you burn stuff right now my husband burns stuff every night in our garden I'm like we are like literally sending smoke signals every night through in the neighborhood so much so that our neighbor knocked on our door two nights ago and said about that burning that's going on I was like yes he goes you don't think I could join in do you I have 12 bags of rubbish that I really need to get rid of next thing I know he's in he's full-on he's a doctor a heart surgeon he's in his full-on you know smart clothes hauling rubbish up my garden tipping it and lighting a bonfire my husband's like would you like a glass of wine while we ever bonfire I'm like what's going on we start a communal fire burning in our neighborhood but I tell you you got to learn how to clear your ground I don't have room for it sort of you don't have room for the good stuff because you've allowed all the bad stuff to be on your life you don't have room for the good stuff and you're waiting for someone to come and clear the ground but it's your ground it's your life so whatever is littering have you ever been to one of those parks and there's those signs keep off the grass that's because someone's saying I work hard to keep this like this so you need permission to come on this summer's let everybody walk all over a life that everybody litter our life everybody's opinions on the lawn of our life our ground is scattered with confusion our ground is scattered with different voices and you have to know if you're gonna go to battle you need your battle ground to be cleared it requires ownership it requires diligence it requires an eye to in other words you will be negligent of secondly we need to know how to cover the ground cover in the ground in Romans 12 verse 1 sounds like this in the message Bible so here's this is the Bible so here's what I want you to do God helping you take your everyday ordinary life you're sleeping you're eating you're going to work I mean people that say the Bible isn't relevant to our lives today need to go back and revisit the Bible she's talking about you're sleeping you're eating you're going to work you're walking around life and place it where before God as an offering embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking hello instead fix your attention on God you'll be changed from the inside out we need to cover our ground you need not just ownership of your ground but you need a lordship of your ground is the ground of your life covered by the one who gave you the ground what I mean by that is what we just did a moment ago with those precious kids is we just said you know what this is ground we've been entrusted as a family to raise this child to do our best by this child but I don't want to do it on my own I need some cover over this ground so I'm gonna ask for prayer and support I'm gonna ask for people with faith and a belief to add their cover to this part of our life that's exactly what we just did but it's no good just doing it once in your lifetime you have to cover the ground of your life all the time and we've got to make sure that every area is covered is the ground of your finances covered with the lordship and with prayer and faith and with the right confession is the ground of your relationships got some covering of God's lordship on them of God's wisdom in them we need to also cover our ground which means that we need to have a reverence and not an arrogance and not just do life any old how or fit into our culture but instead say in my sleeping in my going to work in my going out in my relationships I'm gonna place it before God as an offering changes everything makes you aware this life that you have entrusted with is not all about you but there's someone greater there's someone that is over it all and through it all we got to cover the ground and then finally we also have to keep the ground once you've cleared it and once you've covered it you have to keep it in the same passage of Scripture it goes on to say in verse 11 don't burn out keep yourself keep who yourself know someone else keep you keep yourself fuelled and a flame be alert servants of the master cheerfully expectant don't quit in hard times pray Oh the harder hello what's he saying once you've gained ground keep the ground it's nothing worse nothing more sad then seen someone that's gained ground in their life gained a place of influence gained a place where people listen because they trust what you say and then to see that same life that same person stop clearing their ground which there means they stop covering their ground which eventually means they begin to lose ground and several bad choices later the ground that had been gained is completely lost but not only do they lose out but all the people at the other side of their choice also lose out the enemy doesn't want you to keep what not one part of the ground you gained don't be so confident well I got this far that you'll stay this far have an awareness I only stay this far when I don't quit when I stay alert when I pray when in hard times I do it even more and I pray all the harder that's the kind of commitment it takes to keep your battleground battle ready so for the last few moments I want to take you to the story of someone in the Bible who did such a good job gain so much ground walked this journey of taking ground and clearing ground and when you read his story in the Bible there's so many things that you go that was good and that was commendable but the sad part is at the end of his life he lost the same ground he gained just some small things that he didn't keep his I to tell you the big fights in our life are lost on the smallest of decisions big decisions that you think are gonna change everything often not as important as the small decisions daily that will help you keep the very thing you gained you might make a big decision on your wedding day of a vow but how many of you know that was one day when you made one statement you only keep that ground by every day after that day dealing with the small decisions to help you keep that ground grow that ground and maintain that ground his story is in 2 chronicles his name was ASA and ASA was a ruler who turned things around for the better and I want to just compare and contrast some of the things he did do well and some of the things he did not do well so that we can learn like I said earlier how to do our lives better a sir in 2 chronicles 14 we begin to read his story I'm gonna read it from the message Bible and he says the ASA was a good King and he did things right in God's eyes listen to the first thing he did when he came into rule what did he do he cleaned house what was he doing he said I'm gonna clear the ground I've just been entrusted I'm gonna make sure that in my kingship the place that I've been told to bring rulership to I'm gonna clean house and for him that meant like getting rid of the pagans and the altars and the shrines and he went round to the people of Judah and told to send to their lives in God the God of their fathers to do what the law said and to follow the commandments and then he went round and because the land was quiet and I love this piece of wisdom because the lamb was quiet when's the time to get ready for war when the land is quiet when's the time to clear your ground when the land is quiet when's the time to deal with the small stuff when the land is quiet because the lamb was quiet and there was no war he was able to build up a good defense system and God kept the peace an ace was said to his people while we have the chance and the land is quiet let's build a solid defense system less forty five our city with walls we have this peaceful lamb because we saw God and He has given us rest from our troubles so they built and they enjoyed prosperity when's the time to build into those children values and wisdom and pray over them and cover them and invest in them when the land is quiet don't wait until they are troubled eighteen year old to try and say something wise start when they are a seven year old or a six year old begin then to teach them a principle that will hold them steady for the next season of their lives when's the time to get wisdom and get help like Steve said earlier in your marriage not when you want to kill each other hello when the land is quiet well we're doing good well because you're doing good now's a good time to do even better now's a good time to build even stronger now's the time to invest in our marriage and our relationship and ASA when he came to rule he said I'm gonna take ownership years ago ice preached a message some of you may remember and its title was simply this own your zone on your zone every single one of us has a zone in life owned it you don't like what's growing in your zone own it you don't like the conversation that's happening your kitchen own it you don't like the behavior in your household own it you don't like the attitude in the office where you work own it you don't like the gossip that is around you own it own your zone pull up the weed say I don't want to be a part of this pray for peace deal with it stop whining and complaining about something you have no desire to change but if you want to see difference you have to say I'm gonna clear the ground I'm gonna get rid of some of this garbage it's been in my life way too long it's tripping up my kids it's affecting my job I'm getting rid of it I don't want to in my life anymore I'm gonna pick you up and I'm gonna clear the ground own it own it if you smell like rubbish own it say you know I think I've been hanging out in the rubbish too long I think it's time for me to throw it out so ASA said while it's quiet let's get busy you know when you take ownership it will require diligence ASA also was very aware that in his ground he needed lordship he knew about law was ahead of him and he was way outnumbered and some of you might feel in your life right now you were way outnumbered and he says ASA with an army Zephyr either Ethiopian went to war against ASA so this is the person coming against him and they came against him with an army of a million-plus okay that's a big battle people that's not like you know a couple of people in the dog this is a million plus three hundred chariots and ASA met them there and prepared to fight them and then ASA what did he do he covered his ground he had ownership because he cleared it and he was prepared but now there's lordship and he says oh God you aren't impressed by numbers nor are you intimidated by a show of force because once you decide to help help us Oh God we have come out to meet this huge army because we trust in you and who you are don't let mere mortals stand against you and God defeated the Ethiopians before ASA and Judea and they ran for their lives God is not intimidated by the size of your enemy God just wants to know have you covered your ground he will fight for you but you gotta invite him into the fight an ASA in the beginning of his rule had such reverence for God's Word and for God's voice in every part of his ground and finally a fire he kept the ground in his stewardship and we go on in 2 chronicles 16 to see how there was a word came to him about taking more territory and he says his response was to roll up his sleeves in verse 8 of 15 he says he took a deep breath he rolled up his sleeves and he went to work and he began cleaning out all the spaces in other words he said I'll be a good steward I'll take stewardship of what you've given me but why did he end losing ground well the flipside of Asaph story is that where he once had ownership and he was diligence it says in verse 16 of 2 chronicles 15 that he cleared all the big stuff out but he says this verse but in his local area he left the shrines standing fear diligence in some ways but he had negligence in others and don't be fooled that if you're dealing with the big stuff everything's gonna be okay you know it's the little comment that begins as a little comment that you have to be diligent about just as much as the big thing that offends you because negligence will mean that you begin to cover the ground with the wrong stuff an ASA left areas open for compromise which meant later where he had ownership he now lost ownership an ASA the one that said God if you with me I'm gonna go to battle his reverence for God later turned to arrogance because he's 7 2 chronicles 16 this same story unfolding that he was facing a battle and he did not ask for God's help anymore he just made a deal with the enemy and he made a truce with some people and the Prophet came and said you've lost your victory because you stopped asking God for help you're not covering your ground anymore in fact in 2 chronicles 16 verse 11 it tells us that ASA came down with a foot infection and he didn't ask God for help and he's dead trusted on the doctor and then he says this one line ASA died ASA who always went to God and say God your word first your opinion first God you have lordship of my life and I'm covering every aspect of my life with prayer became arrogant where he used to be Reverend let's not become so relaxed and familiar we stop asking for God's covering in our marriage covering of our children let's pray over them when they're seven days old but let's pray over them when they're 17 years old let's pray over our marriage when it's in its early ages but when we be married over 20 years not some stop giving God the covering of our ground ASA lost ground because he went from a place of reverence to arrogance from lordship to doing it his own way finally it says that he was a good steward rolled his sleeves up and he got busy but at the end of his life in 2 chronicles 16 he said ASA got mad at God and he lost his temper and he was mean to the people who had served him all these years and had he not stopped being faithful in little he would have realized it's no good me stewarding this well but then handling people poorly we can't just be the ones that clear ground in the areas that people see we have to clear ground in the areas that people don't see in our own personality in our own character I don't want our lives to gain ground and lose ground I don't want you to move forward and then find yourself the same place next year but you've gone backwards I don't want us to say I'm making progress in my business but then lose all the progress because of a poor character or an unwillingness to change we all have ground and we are all responsible for that ground so my question is have you cleared your ground or do you need to get the blue brown have you covered your ground or do you need to bring some of it back to that place I've been an offering and are you keeping your ground which means a daily discipline to do with your temper to do with your speech to do with your thoughts to do with your actions let's not blame the devil when he comes to attack us if our ground is littered with things there were always before us let's not trip ourselves up and instead clear the ground so when the fight comes not only are we back already in our outfit but we are back at ground ready in our preparation [Music] you

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Length: 31min 40sec (1900 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 16 2019