Spiritual Warfare: Starting from a Finished Work
Spiritual Warfare: Starting from a Finished Work
Sermon Synopsis
Jesus the Christ is totally Victorious over sin, Satan, and death. In Christ, we, too, have complete victory. Victory to…
… walk with God in close-knit intimacy and see Him for who He truly is;
… understand our identity in Christ as secure sons and daughters, released from condemnation and fully accepted in the Son;
… continually grow in Christ-like maturity and displaying His image to those around us;
… know others and be known by them, walking together in committed relationships;
… be joined together with God and each other to see His purposes and plans established in the earth;
… enjoy Christ in all His fullness, both in part now and in full one eternal Day.
As we look into the reality of Spiritual Warfare from a Scriptural standpoint, we are operating from a finished work. These two months are an opportunity to revisit the truths of our Victory in Christ. May the Father dispel the lies we’ve believed with His marvelous truth. May this truth be the foundation from which we stand and build our lives. May we walk in the fruit of abiding in Christ Jesus’ finished work!
Matthew 3:16–4:17
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”