Keith Battle - This Is How I fight My Battles - Part 3

When you’re in a fight, you need to know this truth: God loves me, He cares about me, He is in control, He is sovereign, and He allows things to happen. He causes some things to happen, and He permits some things to happen, but nothing occurs outside of His control. All things work together for the good of those who love God. You must remember this truth when you’re in a fight.

Here’s the next thing: the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is so important; this peace is essential because of what it protects. It protects my heart, and my heart is incredibly vulnerable in a fight. He says, «I want you to be righteous.» This is crucial because some of us, when we’re in a battle long enough, think we’ve earned a «sin pass.» After caregiving for others, helping my Nana, taking care of sick individuals, and doing all this, it makes sense for me to do something to comfort myself. But God says, «I still want you to be righteous, even in a fight.» Hmm, why are you all so quiet?

Next is peace. I want to walk in peace. Wartime is the antithesis of peace, and God says, «I can keep you in perfect peace if you keep your mind on Me.» God, give me Your peace in this fight; give me peace that won’t let me panic because I already won. I just need You to manifest the victory—peace.

What’s the next one? The shield of faith. The shield of faith was a large shield; it wasn’t just a small thing. It covered the whole body. Fiery darts would be shot, dipped in flammable material, and they would fly as flames toward people. So, they would put their shields in water to douse them. Here’s the thing: God, whenever I’m attacked, let me respond with faith. Let me not fight back; let my faith stand up against every attack.

I have to hurry. The next piece is the helmet of salvation. Somebody said, «Keep my head, Lord. Keep my thoughts right.» This week, don’t let it drive me crazy; don’t let me lose my mind. Help me keep my thoughts aligned because you know what I’m thinking. Whenever you are in a spiritual fight, you start contemplating doing things that aren’t righteous. Somebody say, «Amen.» Lord, help me think like a Christian; let me think right so I can speak right.

Next, we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. You must have a system in place that regularly connects you with the Word of God. Finally, let’s not forget prayer—prayer after proper attire. He says, «Pray in the Spirit; be persistent in your prayers.» Some of us just have a prayer list that we go through like a wish list, but praying in the Spirit means you stay tethered to God. You want to know what He’s up to: «What should I do in this situation? I want Your guidance. What should I say? What should I not say? How should I move?»

Now, let me say this: some may ask, «Why do I have to go through all this warfare?» I believe there is no greater tool to keep us tethered to God than difficulty. Nothing prepares us for our assignment better than these kinds of challenges.

As we stand, let me quickly tell you a story because we have to go. During the Super Bowl, I was watching a local pastor I admire. He kept going back and forth about which team he was rooting for. At the start of the game, he wore a Kansas City Chiefs hat and said online, «I’m with the Chiefs!» But as the game progressed and it looked like the 49ers were going to win, he posted again, wearing a 49ers hat, and said, «I told y’all! I told y’all! 49ers!» Then, when things turned around, he came back with his Chiefs hat on, saying, «I told y’all it was the Chiefs!» It was all in good fun, but I want to ask you something serious.

I challenge you to make a choice today, like Joshua told the Israelites: «Choose this day whom you will serve.» Some of you have been vacillating between following God or dabbling in darkness. I encourage you to choose the light. I’m challenging you to make that choice today.

So, I’m inviting four groups of people up today. The first group is anyone here who says, «Pastor, I want to choose to follow Jesus.» If you’ve never done that before or made the decision to give your life to Him and follow Him, I want to give you a chance to do that. Wherever you are today, if you’re in Zion Church Woodbridge, I want you to follow me on this. I’m going to give you an opportunity to come to the front and say, «I want to follow Jesus today.» Maybe you’re in the second group…