Defeating The Enemy | Mike Woods, Sr. | 26 May 24

Well, grace and peace be multiplied to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is Mike Woods. For those of you who are uninitiated, and welcome to Sunday Night Live. And listen, boy, do I have a word for you. The Lord dropped something on me this afternoon that I just really need to share with you because I believe that every person that will tap into this tonight, every person of purpose, any believer who has discovered their true identity. This season right here has presented to you an unusual warfare that the enemy has brought against your life. And you know, as the Lord began to show me the burdens that people are carrying in their marriages and their families, in their finances, you know, with their children, with their careers, you know, just with the way the world is set up, man. The enemy is taking the people of God into this place of idleness to try to thwart their authentic purpose. That's what it's all about. See, the attacks that you're dealing with, whether it be in finances, in your faith, in your family, no matter what you're dealing with, it's not about where you are. I want— no matter where you are, it's not about where you are. The attacks are about where you're going. And if you're not being attacked, it's probably an indicator that you're really not going anywhere. So stay tuned tonight. Let's get into this word, and it's gonna bless us. Let's pray. Father, In Jesus' name, I thank you for another opportunity tonight to teach your word, to share this word with your people. As Satan, we serve notice on you right now. The Lord rebuke you. The blood of Jesus be against you. Cast the devil out of the mind. Break down every stubborn will. And Father, we say yes to you tonight. And Father, as we disseminate these tools tonight on defeating the enemy. I decree and declare, God, that your people will never be the same. In the mighty name of Jesus, I declare that the worst is over and that we've stepped into days of victory. We've stepped into the very best days of our lives. And God, I praise you for it. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Amen. My God, tonight I am so glad to be here. I hope you're here. Listen guys, if you're joining us tonight, please share, whether you're live or by replay. Hit that share button. The Bible says that we are blessed to be a blessing. So if these teachings bless you— I know in this day and time people want short videos, they want to scroll and go through reels, but I know that, you know, my purpose is to disseminate the word of God with understanding and to give you tools that you can use in your life to help you actually operate in a raw dog, a dominion mindset where you can take authority in your life. The reality is, man, everybody's not going to be able to grasp dominion. It's going to be those who are disciplined, those who take the position of a learner, and I pray you're one of those people. And if these things bless you, share it with others. Listen, if it takes you a couple of days to listen to these teachings, I want to challenge you, go ahead and make sure you do that so you can get everything you need. Tonight again, we're talking about defeating the enemy. I want you to know, guys, there's a real enemy that literally disdains you. He hates you. He disregards you. He has no respect for you. And he's afraid of you. This is the interesting, uh, piece to all of this. With all of the things he brings to us, he's actually fearful. Now, he's not fearful of where you are. Hear me. This devil is fearful of where you going. I need you to grasp that you have an enemy. What you've been dealing with in your home and your marriage and your finances and your life and your career, no matter where the warfare has come from, it is all because of where you're going. The enemy wants to distract you. That's how he starts. It gets you distracted with a problem, with an issue, with some attraction that distracts you from purpose. Oh my God. I get you going down the wrong road so he can ultimately detour you. And then, then the final result will be to destroy you because he comes to steal. That's distraction. To kill, detour. He kills your progress in the detour because he's got you going the wrong way trying to take shortcuts. And then to destroy. His ultimate goal is to destroy your purpose. He doesn't want you to arrive in the space, in the place that God has created for you. But you have to decide tonight, friends, that you're going to finish and you're going to defeat him. The Lord showed me this afternoon that many of you are going through situations in your life right now right now, where you're under attack and you literally don't know how to get out of this mundane, uh, reputative, repetitive, redundant thing that's happening in your life. It just seems like you're going in circles and you're never really progressing to the next step. It's because the enemy is creating that habit. I want to give you some tools tonight to help you defeat it. You know, one of the things we have to learn, guys, when it comes to warfare— first of all, we got to recognize that warfare is really real. You know, there's a real enemy that you cannot fight with bullets and guns. Hallelujah! There's a real enemy that a Uzi cannot defeat. And I don't care how many Bentleys you get, I don't care how much money you get, you can't fight this enemy with natural things. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We must war this battle in the realm of the spirit. Here's the problem. I think the body— listen to me tonight, guys, uh, on this hot day in Georgia, this hot Sunday in Georgia. Glory to the name of God. The last Sunday in May. I want you to hear me. I think that we've been engaging the enemy wrong, and I think we feel like the deeper we look, the louder we are, uh, the more authority we have over him. Now don't get me wrong, I am a Pentecostal by nature. I love noise, okay? I love deliverance. And sometimes in the act of deliverance, when I have been used by God on many occasions to cast out devils, there have been times where my optics and my volume will be louder, and there will be different things involved with that process. It just depends on the situation. But I want to set a rule here that what moves the enemy is not our way of doing warfare. It's actually learning to do warfare God's way. You know, it's not how we wave our hands and how our tongue sound. You know, none of that matters if you have no power. I know people who speak in tongues with no power. I promise you, I know people who prophesy have no power. I've seen people lay hands on others with no power. And so it doesn't matter if you go through the, the atrical process of what deliverance looks like. If you have no authority over the enemy, you don't recognize where that authority comes from. Because when you understand where the authority comes from You could speak in a small voice and he'll have to back down. The enemy will have to be removed. It won't— you won't need an organ, you won't need drums. Listen, you need power. So we have to learn to do warfare God's way, and we're gonna, we're gonna get into this tonight. Amen. Also, we got to recognize— and I just want to share these things off the top— that innately, when you receive the baptism in the Holy Ghost, you receive exousia, which is inherent ability. So when the Holy Ghost comes upon you, not only do you receive the gift of speaking in other tongues, which a lot of people stop there, and that's another message for another day, the reality is The Bible says when the Holy Ghost has come upon you, you shall receive power. So now I have the authority of God— hear me— operating in my life, that— and this authority gives me power over the enemy. Matter of fact, Jesus said in the Great Commission that he's gave— given us power over scorpions and serpents and to tread upon the enemy. Oh, I dare you, just shout it right here: I have power! And this is— you gotta— you need to remember that as I teach you tonight. You are a powerful being, and there is no force— hear me— whoo— that can come against you that you cannot defeat because you have the power of God— listen— working on the inside of you. Oh my God, in the name of Jesus, we rebuke you tonight, Satan, and we decree and declare you will not distract us. You won't distract our focus from receiving this word. There will be no atmospheric disturbance that stops this word from going forth, but we declare now In the name of Jesus, that this word will go forth with power and it will go forth with authority. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Omansiya. Ye kiskoto tobo siyantai. Branse ikushiai. Eman tobo. God, we bless you. Oh, we bless you. We bless you. So We must learn that doing warfare God's way— watch this— means to rest in his power and to use his methods to defeat the enemy. I'm gonna say that again. Doing warfare God's way means to rest in his power and use his methods. Listen to this: to defeat the enemy, not something you conjured up, because it doesn't work. Hear me, hear me. Not, not calisthenics, but power and resting in him. You stretch forth your hand He brings forth the deliverance. You open your mouth, he speaks out of your mouth, he brings forth the deliverance. Resting in his control to bring victory over the enemy that opposes our life. Well, I got to get through this, so let's, let's build a foundation. We— you cannot have warfare or a, what I want to call this, or a, you cannot have warfare or a intensive, you cannot have warfare with an enemy without 3 things. We got to lay this foundation. So number 1, there has to be a war. So I need you to understand that there is a war. There cannot be a war without battlegrounds. We're going to talk about those in a moment. All right, so you got to have— we're going to have a war. Glory to God. Secondly, you got to have an enemy. All right, we have an enemy. Our enemy is the devil and demons. They are spiritual and not physical. I'm gonna say that again. Your enemies are not people. He will use people and work through them to attack you, but at the end of the day, it's not the people per se. Your weapons are not carnal, and neither is your enemy. You fight against a real devil who employs real demons who operate through idleness. We're gonna, we're gonna get into this. Thirdly, you cannot have warfare without weapons. And again, we're clear, our weapons are not carnal. For this war, we're not going to pull out nuclear weapons. We're not going to pull out M16s. We're not going to pull out Uzis and machine guns. Oh my God, AK-47s. We're going to war in the realm of the spirit through Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, let's read 2 Corinthians 10, uh, verses 3 through 5, and I want to read this in the New International Version. Listen, it says, for though we live in the world We do not wage war as the world does. Verse 4: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. You hear that? On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. So the weapons we fight with have divine power to demolish strongholds. So let me, let me just break down what a stronghold is really quick. A stronghold is a barricade that is designed— watch this— to keep what's in, in, and what's out, out. A stronghold— watch this— can be good or bad. On the defensive side, we build up strongholds in the spirit. To seal what God has done and what he is doing and to keep the enemy out. This is why you need prophets. This is why you need apostles, people who can war in the spirit in the stratosphere, who can make an impact in the realm of the spirit so that the enemy cannot— oh my God— disrupt what God has. This is why so many people get stuck, they get stagnated. They get broken, they quit, they give up because the stronghold has been broken in the realm of the spirit that keeps the enemy out. And what breaks it is idleness. But on the defensive side, or when we're warring against our enemy, he builds a stronghold— watch this— to keep what's bad in and to keep the things of God out. But there's— watch this. So you got to decide that you're going to tear down and demolish the strongholds of the enemy so that you can erect supernatural strongholds that guard— oh my God— what God is doing in your life. I got to get through here, but I'm almost done for real. I'm, I'm getting somewhere. Verse 5, it says, we demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive— listen to this— every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Are y'all hearing this? So in warfare not only are we demolishing strongholds, but we're demolishing arguments that come to refute our identity, that come to refute who God is, that come to refute our destiny and our purpose. So through the power of God, we demolish those arguments and those false pretenses that try to tell us we're not capable. They try to tell us we're not able. They try to tell us, glory to God, that what God has promised us is never going to happen. But I'm here to tell you tonight, I don't care what the devil has said, what God has promised you shall and will come to pass. I need you to hear that tonight. I'm talking to somebody right now that's on the verge of giving up because you bought into the argument, you bought into the lie, the attack against your identity that you wasn't good enough, that you didn't have what it takes, that you didn't have the goods. But I'm here to announce to you tonight, you're still going to finish. You're gonna finish strong. Matter of fact, we bind up those arguments, we bind up— glory to the name of God— every false pretense that tries to— oh my God— make you feel like you're the person of your past. And I want to declare to you tonight, you're not who you used to be. Glory to God, you're free. You've been washed in the blood of Jesus. You've been made whole. You're new. Glory to God, in the mighty name of Jesus, every false pretense is bound, even now. Glory to God. Where you have not trusted who God says you are. Oh, glory to God. So again, you cannot have warfare without war, without enemy, without weapons. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 shows us all three of those. But, but fourthly, you cannot fight a war without armor. Oh my God. And I'm just in my introduction. I'm telling you, I'm going to get where I need to be. But in order to fight the enemy You have to have armor. Just like our weapons are not carnal, neither is our armor. Watch this, uh, Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 18. Stay with me tonight. The Bible says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. So after you've gotten saved, after you've gotten all the gifts, after you're living holy Finally, Paul says, I still need you to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Can I say something to you tonight? Woo! Being strong in the Lord and in his mighty power is not something you choose in a particular season. This is something that is ongoing in your journey and your walk with God. I'm gonna say that again: being strong in the Lord and the power of his might is something that is ongoing in your journey and in your walk with the Lord. Verse 11, he says, put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. The devil has strategies, he has schemes. What helps me to be guaranteed victory is that I put on the full armor of God, not all, not half of it, all of it, so I can stand against the devil's scheme. This text is telling me there is no way— listen to this— I can stand against what the devil throws at me in my own strength. I have to put on the armor of God, the full armor of God. This is why again we fall in sin, we miss the mark, we fall short, we lose hope, we lose faith because we don't have on the armor and we get idle. And the idle mind is the devil's workshop. Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God. He says, verse 12, I got to read. He said, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Verse 13, therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to stand, stand— hear this— Standing against the enemy is only guaranteed if you have on the full armor of God. Woo! Verse 14 says, stand firm then, yeah, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. Verse 15, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Verse 16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ah, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions. With all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the Lord's people. Interesting, he says put truth on, be shod with the gospel of peace, be at peace. Let— put the word in your feet so nothing— feet, you're not confused. You know you have the presence of God's assistance, you have his skill. That's the gospel of peace. Shield of faith so that you can extinguish any arrow that the enemy throws at you. Faith destroys it. He said, take the helmet of salvation, guard your mind with salvation. You're saved, glory to God. And then he says, take up this defensive weapon called the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Notice all of the other pieces of the armor were merely defensive. He says, take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is warfare God's way. So God says, I want you to put this other stuff on just to protect you so while you're in battle you don't get hurt. Take up my word and do battle with this word and with praying in the spirit. Listen to this. This is why you need the Holy Ghost. This is why you need a prayer language so you can pray in the spirit on all occasions. He said, keeping this in mind, be alert, always be watchful, and keep on praying for all the Lord's people. So again, I cannot have warfare without war, without enemy, without weapons, without armor. Ah, here we go. Fifthly, you cannot have warfare without a battleground. Now, in spiritual warfare, just let me take my time with this, uh, and one of the scholars that I love that uh, communicates this so effectively is Francis Frangipane in his book The Three Battlegrounds. He precisely and accurately talks to us about the battlegrounds that exist when we are in warfare as humans engaging in spiritual conflict. Hear me. The 3 battlegrounds. Number 1 is the battleground of the mind. Uh, it's the place of the skull. It's Golgotha. Ah, Jesus battled on the cross to defeat sin and death. So watch this: as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. We're gonna get there. Watch this. You got to understand, you got to guard your mind, and you got to win the battle here because everything in your life Flows out of your mind. Being broke flows out of your mind. Being rich flows out of your mind. Money's not currency, your mind is. Being successful flows out of your mind. Not being successful comes from your thinking. So you gotta win the battle in your mind, in your skull. How do I do that? You gotta consecrate that mind with the blood of Jesus. And then Philippians 2:5 says, Let this same mind, Philippians 2:5, be in you that was also— hear me, oh my God— in Christ Jesus. Oh God, oh God, oh God. He said let the same mind that Jesus had— would let, which means you got to open yourself up, become acquiesced to how Jesus thinks. There it is again, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, which means I gotta infuse God's thinking from his word in my mind. I gotta let it be in me. Literally mean that I gotta let the mind of Christ take control of my mind. I gotta lose my mind for his sake. Are y'all hearing this? Hear me, guys. We are defeated so many times because we allow our mindset to win the battle in the mind. And we many times will put it on, well, God ain't hearing my prayers being answered, or, you know, maybe I don't have enough faith. No, your mind is defeating you every time. You're not even expecting what you're praying for because you don't have the mind of God. How do I get it? You gotta take the position of a learner. You need teaching. You don't just need quick 1-minute reels. You need teaching. Yeah, you need to take seriously opportunities to hear the word. Faith come by hearing, hearing by the word of God. So you got to let that mind be in you. So you got to hear the mind of Christ talk. You got to study the mind of Christ and meditate on that mind and let it get in your heart and soul and take control of your life. Listen, I learned this a long time ago. If you really want to see— watch this— the hidden strongholds in your life, watch this, all you need to do is survey the attitudes of your mind. Find those attitudes in your mind that are contradictory— hear me— to the word of God. Oh boy, find those attitudes in your mind that are contradictory to God's word. Secondly, secondly, I gotta move. Every area, watch this, of your thinking, listen to this, that is interested in God brings hope. And every area you're thinking that trust God is an area where Christ has liberated your mind. I'm gonna say it again. So the areas in your life where your mind just glistens for the things of God and you want to obey— you know, I've seen— I've watched people's lives so long. I've seen people that could do all of the stuff that We're taught in church, don't fornicate, don't, don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, don't drink. They bam, they get liberated quickly with those works of the flesh. But you tell them to trust God for $1 million, trust God for a business, trust God to pay your bills, trust God to heal your body. Their mind struggles because their mind hasn't been really liberated by Christ because they don't spend enough time. They're not disciplined enough. To spend time in the word. Oh boy, to spend time in prayer where they can get inebriated. So you got to liberate your mind and let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Oh my God, because any system of thinking— I got to move, but let me say this— that does not give you hope that does not bring you joy. Ah, there's a system of thinking that is blocked by a demonic stronghold that has to be pulled down so the mind of Christ can get in. I'll say it again. Somebody told you you were supposed to be in debt. Somebody told you you're supposed to be broke. But the reality is that's not true. Your mind just needs to be liberated to what's yours. Somebody told you you're supposed to always be hurt and in pain and going through all the time. No, you ought to have some hope and liberate your mind that better is coming. Oh, just touch yourself and say, better is coming. Oh my God, better is coming. Better is coming. Better is coming. I don't know who I'm encouraging tonight, but better is coming. You got to believe that, that the way it is now, it's not the way it's going to be. Better is coming. Woo! God. You gotta liberate your mind from all that junk, all that stinking thinking. Hallelujah. Secondly, secondly, secondly, here we go. So you gotta have a battleground in mind. Francis Frankopane brought this out clearly. Ah, you got to have the battleground of the church. That's the ecclesia. We're the called-out ones. That's a battleground. So the church fights for identity in the world because it carries the truth. Especially in this day and time, the world is trying to strip the church of its stand and its authority. It's trying to adjust the word of God to appease what men want. Oh my God, whether it be through sexuality, whether it be about money, whether it be about marketplace ministry and business, municipality, government The— watch this— the church finds itself in a battle for— watch this— what is right and what is actually wrong. And the church feels like it has to adjust what we know to be right just to be relevant, and that's not what God has called us to do. No ma'am, no sir. We cannot change the constitution of the Bible to appease the desires of men, but there's a battle going on on that front, and we need some people with boldness. We need some people with authority. We need some people that don't mind— hear me— standing up and telling the truth. Being a whoremonger is wrong. Being an adulterer is wrong. Being a homosexual is wrong. Being a lesbian is wrong. Listen, we can't change the Bible to fit these ideas. Hear me, hear me, man. We gotta stand on what's right. We gotta win this battle. The ecclesia, we're the called-out ones. We're supposed to be different. We should be putting difference between that which is holy and that which is unholy, that which is clean and that which is unclean. There's a problem, there's a problem when my life stands next to a sinner and you can't tell the difference. Now I'm not talking about how we dress or none of that. I'm talking about pneumaticos, the behavior of spiritual people. Pneuma, which is God-breathed, the breath of God. Attikos, which is Behavior patterns, how we behave as spiritual people. We got to fight for that. We got to defeat the enemy on that front. And we got to make sure that we're living, ooh, epistles that can be written and read of men. What will they write? About you. Oh my God, if they could go home with you and see the things you do in secret— God help us— what would they write? Is your life consistent on the inside as it is on the outside? We gotta fight for our testimony. We gotta fight for our witness. Ooh-wee! How do we do that? How do we do it? 1 Peter 5:9. I gotta go. The Bible says, resist the devil, standing firm in faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of suffering. So the entire ecclesia is under attack because we're the body of Christ. So if I'm under attack, the body is under attack. If, if my hand is under attack, my feet is also under attack because it's all a part of my body. Listen, at the end of the day, we're the body of Christ. We're his people. We're his family. And so we all have to stand firm in the faith. Saying, hey, we ain't wavering to the left nor to the right. We're standing on truth. We're standing on the word of the living God. And we are not going to change our mind about this. We gonna be righteous. We gonna be holy. We're going to please God. I got to get through this, man. So how do I defeat this enemy on these battlegrounds of the battleground of the mind, the battleground of the church? And then thirdly, Francis Frankopane, again, he paints a beautiful picture of the battleground of heavenly places. In the heavens, there is a battle going on consistently and constantly between the spirit of Jezebel and the spirit of Elijah. Jezebel— watch this— the Bible said Jezebel called herself a prophetess. Watch this, but she was a witch. Which gives me to know, I don't care what your title is, your title doesn't make you— oh my God— who you are. You are who you are— watch this— based on A, what God says, B, your pneumaticos, how you behave. So if you're really a prophet, you're gonna speak like a prophet, act like a prophet, pray like a prophet. Hear me, you're not going to use prophecy to manipulate people, to control people. Oh my God, oh my God. So it's not what you call yourself, it's who you are. So this spirit of entitlement Oh my God, it's fighting against the spirit of Elijah, who is a prophet. Elijah. See, the spirit of Jezebel wants to control our life into a, a pseudo way of being, being things we're not. This is why social media is so dangerous, because people can be whoever they want to be. Oh my God, they can be whoever they want to be, and at the end of the day, that's a terrible piece Oh God, help us! Because you know what? You could fake the funk for so long, you start believing the lie yourself. And then— and the spirit of Jezebel, that witch, has got her claws in you. She's manipulating and controlling your life and pulling you away from the purpose of God and leading you to hell. Oh my God. Yeah, I said that. I said that because you got a group that believes there is no hell. I'm here to tell you there is a hell, and if you don't get saved and if you let Jezebel pull you out of the will of God, you're going to hell. Ah, yeah, okay, okay, I'm sorry, but you are, you are, you are if you do not walk out God's will for your life. Hear me, you're going to miss the mark. And if you die in sin, you're going to hell. So Jezebel fights this prophetic spirit of Elijah, the, the spirit of accuracy, the spirit of determination, the spirit of the supernatural, to keep it from operating in your life. But we got to defeat keep the enemy— glory to the name of God— on his ground. And, and anytime he brings a battle to us, we got to know what to do to tear him down. Hear me good. So when you start talking about this, Michael, what do you say? I'm glad you asked. I want to look at spiritual armor and I want to look at weapons really quick, all right? And I'm gonna be out of here, man, all right? So spiritual armor and weapons. So let's look first at the warfare of rest. We're talking about again doing warfare God's way, right? So our weapons and our armor, uh, is doing things the way God will want us to do it. So we want to do warfare God's way. So we want the warfare warfare of rest. Watch this. The warfare of rest, uh, we, we read it in Ephesians 6, really, when he said, having done all, stand. The word stand in Greek literally means— is congruent to the idea to abide and rest. It doesn't mean that you're doing anything yourself. You're allowing the things that God has provided to protect You're allowing the things that God provides in your mind through the sword of the Spirit to fight for you and defeat the enemy. You just— you got to abide and rest. Hear me, okay? Hebrews 4:3 and verses 10 and 11 tells us to enter rest, which means to cease from weariness and pain and to cease from human labor. Cease from doing it yourself. You just got to enter something, you got to walk into it. You have to change positions. You have to give up the right to do it your way and do it his way. And many don't want that because everybody wants to do it their way. They want to do it their way, or they want to find a way that they align themselves with so they don't have to do with— oh my God— in God's way. Uh, and then they'll put God's name on and say this is God's way. And at the end of the day, God's way is through his word. It's the sword of the spirit. So I'm abiding in his word and rest. I stopped trying to fix stuff myself. Matter of fact, let's look at Hebrews 4:3. The Bible says, now we who have believed, believe, enter that rest just as God said. So if you're a believer, if you have pistuo, if you're absolutely confident in God, relying upon God— that's what believed is— if you have given your trust over to him you enter that rest just as God said. This is Hebrews 4:3. So I declared an oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest. And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. Verse 10 and 11: For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us therefore, verse 11, make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. So here's how you quickly fall into disobedience: by not abiding and resting in God's way of doing things. You trying to fight, you trying to get a gun, you trying to fix it yourself. When God says, I want to do something for you supernatural, I want to do something for you that's beyond your control. I want to do something for you that you have no ability to do for yourself. Oh my God, today! Oh my God, today! So we see here that believing causes us to enter, believing in and through as well as for. So I'm gonna believe in God Hallelujah. I'm gonna believe through God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. No matter what I'm going through, I'm going to believe through that thing, and I'm going to believe for God to move in my life. Matter of fact, let's look at Hebrews 10:35-36. We got to have patience— hear this— to receive the promises that God has given us. This is Warfare of God's Way. Watch this, uh, 35. It says, so do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. So no matter what it looks like, let me help somebody tonight. Don't throw away your confidence, your trust, your assurance, your belief in God, because that confidence is going to be rewarded. But you know how you throw it away? You start leaning on your carnality. You start allowing your mind to win the battle over his mind. Oh boy, he says, verse 36, you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he promised. Are you hearing this? You know, I believe, I believe that there are too many people— this is why they give up, this is why they lose their confidence— because they're overly impressed with the problem. Can I submit to you tonight, and I'm going quickly to a close, don't be impressed by the problem. Matter of fact, let's look at Philippians 1:28-29. I'm going to show you why the Bible says, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. Touch yourself, say, I'm not afraid of my enemies. He says, this is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God you will be saved. Verse 29, for it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him. So watch this, don't be impressed by the problem because God has a promise over your life that the problem is going to be defeated. Right? And you're gonna be saved. You're gonna win. You're going to overcome. Oh, Michael, what are you saying? Yes, you're gonna win. You're gonna overcome. Ah, God, I got to get out of here, y'all. Many times When we're waiting on the promise— yeah, I've been teaching this series, When God— when we like, God, why won't you come sooner? It's because God is getting us ready, man, for the front line of battle. Let's go to Isaiah 41:10. He says, so do not fear, I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous hand. See, the process qualifies you for what he promised. So don't be pragmatic and, oh my God, abort the process, because aborting the process by default aborts the promise, because it's the process that qualifies you for the promise. God says, don't fear, I'm with you. I'm— I just got to get you qualified for what I'm about to release because I don't want you to mess this up. Psalm 94, verses 12 and 13. Let's read it. He said, blessed is the one you discipline. Listen to this, Lord, the one you teach from your law. You grant them relief from days of trouble till a pit is dug for the wicked. Oh my God, oh my God. So God disciplines us by trial. Watch this. So we learn to stay calm in adversity. You know, you keep going through trials because you keep getting bent out of shape in adversity. I'm just teaching you stuff I've gone through in my life, man. I've been through seasons of stuff that I couldn't understand. Why am I still in this season? It's because I wasn't learning the lesson. I was doing too much complaining. I was doing too much whining. Trying to get out of it too fast. Glory to the name of God. I'm just telling you, if you listen to me, you'll shorten some of the things you're dealing with. And you want to do all that whining and pouting because God's not showing up? Hear me, God will grant you relief from days of trouble, and he will dig a pit for your enemy. That's Bible, man. Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God. So, so, so, so, so, so we've seen the warfare of rest, right? We've seen the warfare of believing because that causes us to enter into the promise. We've seen, glory to the name of God, that hallelujah, that deliverance comes through process and preparation. Glory to God. But here, here's another type of warfare, God. Wait, is being seated, hear this, in heavenly places. Ooh, touch yourself, say, I'm seated. Hallelujah. I declare it tonight, we are seated. We are seated, man. See, you're trying to stand up and be seen and get a medal and get a Purple Heart for how you fight warfare against the enemy. Watch this, that you were never designed to fight. You're supposed to be seated and enjoying the fight and watching God fight for you. I got to get out of here, man. Just touch yourself, say, I'm seated. Ephesians 2:5 and 6, let me read it. Who has made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression. It is by grace we are saved. Verse 6: And God raised us up with Christ— watch this— and has seated us with him in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus. I need you to touch yourself. This word says it. You are seated if you're saved. You're seated. But if you're out here running wild, worrying about everything, trying to fix stuff yourself, full of doubt, full of unbelief, enemy kicking your tail all up and down the street because you're not seated and you have not accepted all the tenets that go with salvation. All you've accepted is that you're not going to hell. Hell. Reality is you're going through hell on earth because you're not seated. Sit your hind parts down and let God be God. Oh boy, oh boy. Let's look at Ephesians 1:20-22. Watch this. The power is the same mighty power. Again, this is Ephesians 1:20-22. The power is the same mighty power he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. Watch this. And seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. So in case you were questioning, well, that was for back then— no, we're seated with Christ not only back then, but we're seated with him now. And even the generations that will follow, that will be born again, they also have been seated. You just got to take your seat. You have a seat. Ooh, you ain't got to convince God to love you. You ain't got to convince God to bring you to the table. Oh my God, you ain't got to convince God. Hallelujah. To look out for you. Hallelujah. You already got a seat at the table. Hallelujah. You're accepted. Hallelujah. He's not upset with you, he's obsessed with you. I'll say that again. He's not upset with you, he is— oh my God— obsessed with you. And he has seated you Oh my God, at the table. I have a seat at the table. I know who I am. I know who I am. I wish I could sing it like I feel it. I have a seat at the table. I know who I am. I know who I am. I am loved. By you, loved by you, I am accepted. Oh my God, you're accepted. Sit down, sit down. Let him love on you. Let him fight for you. Let him take care— oh, let him take care of you. Watch this, verse 22: And God has placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Oh my God, you're seated, you're seated, you're seated. Revelation 4:2-3. I got to get out of here. Oh God, John the Revelator says this. He says, at once I was in the spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Where— oh my God, somebody say seated. Seated. Revelation 4:9-10. I just want to show you seated. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, The 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worships him forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, 'Oh my God, holy, holy, holy is the Lord our God.' Revelation 5:1, then I saw the right hand of him who sat— somebody say sit down, sit down, sit down— who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with 7 seals. I'm just trying to show you Jesus is seated and warfare his way is from a seat. Hallelujah! He set us next to him. And you know what I discovered? The warfare slows down and the warfare is at a minimum, and it ceases when I am seated. Only when I get idle, I get into these battles. I get distracted. Sit down next to your King. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Revelation 5:7, he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Glory to God. Watch this, Hebrews 1:3 and verse 13, the Son is the radiance of God's glory, not the S-U-N, the S-O-N. Listen to this, and the exact representation of his being. Sustaining all things by his powerful word. So you and I are in that all things. We're sustained by what he says. Listen to this. After he had provided purification for sins, that's what he did for you and I on the cross, then he ascended. The Bible says he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. To which of angels did ever say, sit at my right hand until I take your enemy? Enemies a footstool for your feet. Wait a minute, so when I sit down next to God and rest in him, Bible says here he's going to make my enemies a footstool. Jesus— all those verses I just read just told us something really simple. Jesus is always described as seated. If you want to be like Jesus, sit your hind parts down. Stop trying to handle his business. Do warfare his way. I don't care if it's in your finances, in your marriage, in your career. In your church, in your business, where— in your children. Sit down and rest in his mind. Rest in his word. To be seated means that you are fixed firmly in place. It is the foundation where one rests. I'm sitting here tonight teaching. I am sitting in a chair. You see that chair? I am sitting in a chair. Glory to the name of God. I am resting in him. This rest is not a rest from work where you don't work. It's a rest in work. It means you're a vehicle, you're conduit, and whatever God needs of you as you rest in him, you are available to do it. It is rest while being active, not inactivity. So you're actively involved with your life, with what God has called you to do, but you're resting in him. You're not taking matters into your own hands. I got to close, y'all. Hallelujah. It's the harmonious working together. I love this. Hallelujah. Of all your faculties. Faculties, because each one of your faculties— your body, your soul, your spirit— are found in this euphoric satisfaction in him. You don't need anything outside of what he desires to satisfy you. I'm closing with this, I promise you. Listen, see, the reason you get in trouble and you lose battles, you get stuck, you get distracted, you get delayed, you get detoured, and all ultimately destroy purpose. It's because you're not resting in him. You, you need some satisfaction from your strong drink. You need some satisfaction from your weed, your marijuana, your cannabis, your oo-wee. You, you need satisfaction from multiple sexual partners. Oh my God. 'Pareste in él.' Find your place. Some of you don't find pleasure unless you are involved in the fight, unless, you know, you got some bruises on you too. Well, he never told you to do that. He told you to rest. I'll never forget, uh, and I'm closing, um, when I was playing baseball in high school, we had a game and one of our rivals rivals. Matter of fact, West Fulton High School was our, one of our rivals, and we knew they were going to try to fight us if we won the game. And so we were prepared mentally. We gonna fight these guys, and they, you know, we not gonna let— hey, we're gonna fight this team, we're gonna fight the fans, whoever. We gonna, we gonna do our thing. Well, of course, we won the game, and, uh, we had a handful of people on our team that all the stuff they were talking before we went to the game went out of the window, okay? Because the moment the game was over, fans coming on the field trying to fight us, other team trying to fight us. That handful though, they ran to the bus and they rested and waited for the authorities, waited for the people in charge to get the fight under control. And bring us all back to the bus. They waited for, um, protection. Glory to God. Wow, that's cowardice. Glory to God. At the end of the day, that's what our fight with the enemy should look like. We should retreat and let God fight. That's all I'm saying, man. Rest is a spiritual place where I sit down and I cease from struggling on the inside. I cease from struggling on the outside. I cease the works of the flesh. I cease being upset or wrought about something. Listen, we are the sanctuary. We're the house of the Lord. We got to keep the house peaceful. So we gotta tell our mind, sit down. I'm closing. Tell our will, sit down. Tell our emotions, sit down. Listen, if your children are running crazy in the house, you tell them to sit down. You don't let them destroy the house. You say, sit down. They're getting on your nerves and they're talking too much, be quiet. Listen, you got to tell your mind, be quiet, sit down. Tell your emotions, be quiet, sit down. Tell your sit down no matter how bad you want to get in God's way. Glory to God. Hallelujah. You gotta wear your shoes of peace. I gotta close. I gotta go. I got more, but I'm gonna stop right here. In Exodus 14:13-15, you can read it later. Exodus 14:13-15, God tells the children of Israel, he says through Moses, "Hold your peace. The enemies you see today, you won't see them no more, for the Lord will fight for you." They had to make a choice to put on their shoes of peace. Here it is, the enemy is on their heels to kill them. Moses says, listen, Put on your shoes of peace, man. The enemies you see today, you will not see them anymore. The Lord will fight for you. I don't know who I was helping tonight, but I want to say to someone, put on your shoes of peace. The enemy that's warring against your family, that's warring against your finances, warring against your faith, your stand in God, warring I think it's your assignment, your business, your children. Put on your shoes of peace. I'm telling you, the Lord will fight for you. He wants to fight for you, but he will not violate your will. You must lose the will to do something, oh my God, that you were not created to do. The weapons of your warfare are not carnal, they are mighty through God. Let's work through him and let's get the victory every time. Let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you for this word tonight. I pray that it has blessed your people in a tremendous way. May your people be blessed by you and never impressed by me. Have your away, God. Do something unusual in their lives, something man cannot do. I bind the devil, cast the devil out of the mind, and I command the mind to sit down. I command the will to sit down. I command the flesh to sit down. I command the emotions to sit down and rest in you, as your word has told us tonight. And I praise you for it now, in Jesus' name. Amen. And thank I just need to God. Listen, perhaps you're listening to us and you're not born again. If you don't know Jesus in the pardon of your sins, listen, he called, led, and died for you to be saved. And you say, Apostle Woods, I wanna give my life to the Lord tonight. I just wanna pray with you real quick. Repeat after me, say, Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, say, I am a sinner. I want to be saved. Say, I repent of my sin. So I open my heart and I invite you in to live in me. Say, in Jesus' name, I believe you died and rose again, and because of that, I am saved. Listen, if you said that prayer, prayer, I want you to know tonight you're saved. You just need the next step. You need to be baptized. You need to receive the experience and the encounter of the Holy Spirit. And listen, it is available for you. I want you to do me a favor, just simply write me at info@ronachurch.com and say, hey Apostle, I prayed with you, I gave my life to the Lord. I have some important things I want to share with you to help you walk your walk with God. Listen, I love you guys, man. My time is gone. Please be a blessing to ministry tonight. Listen, you know, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Listen, anytime you release a seed, glory to the name of God, it leaves your hand but never your life. Get seed in the ground tonight and help us continue to do what God has called us to do. Listen, I love you guys with the love of the Lord, and ain't nothing you you can do about it. Y'all be blessed. Peace.