Bill Perkins

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Presented by Bill Perkins
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(No Transcript)
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Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of
the air and over every living creature that
moves on the ground. Genesis 128

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10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so
that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly realms. 13Therefore 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.
Ephesians612
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7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares
for you. 8Be self-controlled and alert. Your
enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that
your brothers throughout the world are undergoing
the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 58
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10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me,
nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this
boasting of mine. 11Why? Because I do not love
you? God knows I do! 12And I will keep on doing
what I am doing in order to cut the ground from
under those who want an opportunity to be
considered equal with us in the things they boast
about. 13For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of
Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself
masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not
surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as
servants of righteousness. Their end will be what
their actions deserve.
2 Corinthians 1114
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Jesus openly confronted Satan and his army of
demons
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Today the battle is spiritual and the war is for
your heartthe core of your being that serves as
the center of your intellect, emotion, and will.
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20 My son, pay attention to what I say listen
closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of
your sight, keep them within your heart 22 for
they are life to those who find them and health
to a man's whole body. 23 Above all else, guard
your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth keep
corrupt talk far from your lips.
Proverbs 423
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While part of us craves combat and victory, weve
believed the cultures lie that says were
spectators, not warriors. Weve been beaten
down. The disappointments of life have stripped
away our manhood.
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During a time of deep despair in my life I read
the story of Davids Mighty Men in 2 Samuel 23.
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Who were these men?
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1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of
Adullam. When his brothers and his father's
household heard about it, they went down to him
there. 2 All those who were in distress or in
debt or discontented gathered around him, and he
became their leader. About four hundred men were
with him. 3 From there David went to Mizpah in
Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Would you let
my father and mother come and stay with you until
I learn what God will do for me?"
2 Samuel 222
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Two cultural bullies dominate men like the Big
Bad Wolf
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Cultural Bullies

• You are what you own
• Medicate your pain with sex

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How do we stand
up to these bullies?
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We follow the example of Davids Mighty Men
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11   Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a
Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into
a troop where there was a plot of ground full of
lentils, and the people fled from the
Philistines. 12   But he took his stand in the
midst of the plot, defended it and struck the
Philistines and the LORD brought about a great
victory..
1 Samuel 2311-12
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Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite.
As one of the three mighty men, he was with David
when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas
Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel
retreated, 10 but he stood his ground and struck
down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and
froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a
great victory that day. The troops returned to
Eleazar, but only to strip the dead. 11 Next to
him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When
the Philistines banded together at a place where
there was a field full of lentils, Israel's
troops fled from them. 12 But Shammah took his
stand in the middle of the field. He defended it
and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD
brought about a great victory.
2 Samuel 2310
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How could he do that?
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7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will
fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will
chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase
ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the
sword before you. 9 " 'I will look on you with
favor and make you fruitful and increase your
numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10
You will still be eating last year's harvest when
you will have to move it out to make room for the
new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you,
and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among
you and be your God, and you will be my people.
13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to
the Egyptians I broke the bars of your yoke and
enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Leviticus 267-8
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We must stand our ground and fight in the
power of God.
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7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares
for you. 8Be self-controlled and alert. Your
enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that
your brothers throughout the world are undergoing
the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 59
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10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so
that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly realms. 13Therefore 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.
Ephesians613
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Shammah stood his ground and fought for a field
of beans. What must we fight for
in the battle for our heart?
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There are six battles we must fight and win . . .
The first is for our identity..
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I. Win the fight for your identity
A. See yourself as a mighty man of God
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8 These are the names of David's mighty men
Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of
the Three . . . 11 Next to him was Shammah son
of Agee the Hararite. 2 Samuel 238,11
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Weve all been wounded.
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The Bible is filled with men who suffered before
God used them.

• Joseph
• Moses
• Peter

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Whats in a name?
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Regardless of your name. . . Youre a mighty man
of faith. Thats your true identity Given to
you by the God who Created you and lives within
you.
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Living like a warrior demands you embrace the
inevitability of hardship rather than fleeing
from it.
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Hardship tempts you to See yourself as less than
a mighty man Or, try to avoid hardship altogether.
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I. Win the fight for your identity
A. See yourself as a mighty man of God B. Know
hardship will strengthen you
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All of Davids Mighty Men were veterans in the
war with hardship.
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1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of
Adullam. When his brothers and his father's
household heard about it, they went down to him
there. 2 All those who were in distress or in
debt or discontented gathered around him, and he
became their leader. About four hundred men were
with him. 3 From there David went to Mizpah in
Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Would you let
my father and mother come and stay with you until
I learn what God will do for me?"
1 Samuel 222
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A warrior isnt weakened by hardship hes
strengthened.
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7To keep me from becoming conceited because of
these surpassingly great revelations, there was
given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of
Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with
the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to
me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is
why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.
2 Corinthians 129-10
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Drawing on Gods strength when youre weak puts
you shoulder to shoulder with other great warriors

• Elijah
• Daniel
• Paul

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Suffering and disappointment are Gods way of
exposing your weakness so you can find your
identity in his strength.
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God wired you to be a warrior and offers you his
unlimited strength to assure your victory.
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6So when they met together, they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the
kingdom to Israel?" 7He said to them "It is not
for you to know the times or dates the Father has
set by his own authority. 8But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."


Acts 18
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Beaten men are transformed into warriors when
they understand who they are and fight for
their identity.
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In the battle for your heart you
must fight for your identity. As you do
that, youll be ready to draw near to God and
fight the second battle.
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Battle Two Fight For Holiness
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Devils Tower National Monument Devils Tower
Wyoming
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The word Holy

• Is not synonymous with pure
• It describes the essence of all of Gods
  attributes.
• Separate, not in the sense of apart from, but
  possessing a superior excellence
• Transcendent as something that goes beyond
  ordinary limits, surpassing, or exceeding. God
  is above his creation.

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How does the holiness of God relate to evil?
Remember, were engaged in a war between good
and evil, a holy God
and an unholy army of
demons servants of God


and enemies of God
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Because God is intrinsically holy Evil can no
more invade his being than darkness can
infiltrate light.

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God lives unpolluted by evil God is light

and in him is no darkness at all.
1 John 15

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7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night,
and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp
with his spear stuck in the ground near his head.
Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 8
Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered
your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to
the ground with one thrust of my spear I won't
strike him twice." 9 But David said to Abishai,
"Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the
LORD's anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as
the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will
strike him either his time will come and he will
die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But
the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the
LORD's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug
that are near his head, and let's go."

1 Samuel 268-9
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David served a holy God, and had to separate
himself from all evil . . . Even
evil that might momentarily feel good and make
life easier.

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That brings us to a vital question. How
can we practice such holiness?


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Nothing is holy in itself. God must make it holy.


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18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a
man commits are outside his body, but he who sins
sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? You are not your own 20you were bought
at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 619
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9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that
you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people
of God once you had not received mercy, but now
you have received mercy.

1 Peter 29
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You possess all of Gods holiness. Your
responsibility is to allow whats within you to
work its way out in your life.


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14As obedient children, do not conform to the
evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
15But just as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do 16for it is written "Be
holy, because I am holy."
1 Peter 114-16
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(No Transcript)
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Presented by Bill Perkins
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Discussion questions

1. How do the cultural bullies, You are what you
   own and anesthetize your pain with sex shape
   mens identities today?
2. How do they bully men?
3. How does an awareness that youre in a spiritual
   war affect your identity?
4. How can hardship strengthen you as a spiritual
   warrior?