#8 - Spiritual Warfare Part 2 (Turn, Turn, Turn)

There is a battle going on right now, not the battle in Iraq (though it is similar), it is an unseen battle. The battle is not for land or a political system, it is a battle for our souls. It is like a guerilla war – it’s not about one major end-all battle (yet), it is about a series of little defeats over time. It’s the little attacks – depression, becoming disheartened, etc. – that add up over time and cause problems.

Ecclesiastes 3
1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

We need to put "turn, turn, turn" in there in a few places, right? J There is a time for everything under Heaven. The problem comes when the negative emotions stay too long and keep building up inside of us.

We try to take God out of our schools, our athletic games, even off our money. Without God, our lives become meaningless. We are just on the Earth, going around for X number of years, and then that’s it. No singing praises to God for eternity, no streets of gold, no place prepared for us, nothing. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth living for, does it? No wonder depression and suicide is high…

How many people are looking for something to fill that void inside of themselves? How many people turn to things of the world – drugs, alcohol, food, possessions – and are disappointed when the effects are temporary? How many have become more depressed, and gone deeper into the void? It is when we are depressed – feeling low – that we are more likely to turn our eyes from God, and try to find a quick fix. Once we start off in a new direction, "an object in motion will continue to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force. How many times has it taken something big or tragic to happen in our lives to turn us back to God?

---There are many lies that can pull us away from God. Below are some examples.
"You can never be too rich or too thin." There is an old saying that asks how many people lying on their death beds, would wish that they could have spent more time at work. Would you rather have a million dollars, or peace of mind? Can you have both?
Matthew 6
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

How many recovered anorexics – ones who have almost starved to death – would agree that you can never be too thin?

---If only I were more like __________… If we had a choice, would we rather be like __________ or be like God? How many Godly role models do we have in mainstream culture? How many remember the story of Cain and Abel?

---I’ll never be good enough to ___________…
Matthew 6
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

2 Corinthians 4
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

The lies have only as much significance and meaning as we allow them. We don’t have to or need to believe them. Because, despite the pain, the lies, the suffering, and everything going on around us, there is a ray of hope shining through, named Jesus.

John 3
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Not whosoever has a lot of money, or the most stuff, or who has everything together, but whosoever believes in Him. Without Jesus, we are destined to go deeper into the pit until we reach the ultimate pit.

So keep the following in mind always:
2 Corinthians 4
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.