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Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren is urging Christians to not take any time off when it comes to battling spiritual enemies in his current sermon series called “The Invisible War.”
Warren said he is dedicating the entire summer to teach how to fight and overcome the spiritual forces that “attempt to destroy God’s purposes for your life.” His weekend messages from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., are broadcast live over the Internet from the church’s website.
Bible verses from Chapter 7 of Romans were used to illustrate Paul’s “internal struggle that goes on with all of us” during Warren’s 4th of July holiday weekend sermons.
Warren began by saying, “I read today that by the time our troops are completely withdrawn from Afghanistan, we will have been fighting there for 13 years – making it America’s longest war in history. But you are involved in an even longer war. It is the war against you. It is an unseen war that we call spiritual warfare.”
“It’s a war that happens from the moment you’re born to the moment you die,” he said. “The Bible tells us that there are three enemies that are warring against you, your family, and your soul. And this battle has eternal implications.”
“The Bible calls the three enemies the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is the corrupt value system around you. The flesh is the sin nature within you. And Satan and his minions are coming against you,” Warren said on Sunday.
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The megachurch pastor, who rose to fame after authoring The Purpose Driven Life, said that there are three things that he and Christians must do to be victorious in the spiritual battle within.
“The first thing that I need to do is deepen my understanding of Jesus Christ. And specifically, what Jesus did for me on the cross,” he said. “Remember, Paul is talking to Christians. He’s saved … the reason we have this battle going on inside us is that He resides in us.”
Detecting and dismantling the lies that we are believing was the second point Warren made about achieving victory. “Declaring my struggle to another” was listed as the third plan of attack against the enemy, he said.
Warren concluded the sermon by reading Galations 5:16 (NLT): “Live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t do what your sinful nature craves.”
Saddleback Church currently has 10 satellite or regional campuses within the Orange County area, including the cities of San Clemente, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, and Corona in neighboring Riverside County. Warren’s weekend messages are broadcast to each campus on Sundays.
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