Church On The Rock-Abilene
Wednesday Night Service 8/26/2026
  • WAY MAKER
  • God Is Good (All The Time)
  • GOODNESS OF GOD
  • James 4:10 NKJV
    10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
    Introduction:
    When we think about spiritual warfare, most of us immediately think about the enemy. We think about attacks, temptation, strongholds, spiritual opposition, and the armor of God.
    But before we talk about fighting the enemy, we have to talk about preparing ourselves for the battle.
    One of the greatest mistakes we can make in spiritual warfare is to become highly aware of the enemy while remaining unaware of ourselves.
    We can recognize what the devil is doing in everybody else, yet remain completely blind to our own pride, our own bitterness, our own insecurity, our own attitudes, and our own weaknesses.
    That is why humility is so important.
    Humility allows me to stand before God and say, “Lord, show me the truth about me.”
    Not so that I can condemn myself.
    Not so that I can become ashamed of myself.
    But so that there is nothing in my life that remains hidden, defended, or surrendered to the enemy.
    James tells us:
    James 4:10 NKJV
    10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
    Notice the order.
    We humble ourselves.
    God lifts us up.
    Preparation for spiritual warfare begins when I stop trying to prove how strong I am and become willing to admit where I am weak.
    It begins when I understand that my righteousness does not come from my perfection—it comes from Jesus Christ.
    And because my identity is secure in Him, I can afford to take an honest look at myself.
    So tonight I want us to understand this:
    Humility does not make us weak in spiritual warfare. Humility prepares us to fight from a position of strength.

    It is crucial that we understand who we are in Christ.

    2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
    21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
    True Christian humility is a direct reflection of our relationship with Jesus Christ.
    In our relationship with Him, we must remember that He is the One who did all the work.
    As we have talked about over the last several weeks, a lack of self-awareness leaves us vulnerable to manipulation from the enemy.
    Central to understanding who we are is first understanding and what He has done for us. who He is
    When we understand that we are saved, we also understand that we are saved because Christ came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He came to die for our sins. we could not rescue ourselves.
    The very fact that we needed salvation means that we are imperfect. Most of us have no problem admitting in a general sense that we are imperfect. The struggle comes when we have to become about those imperfections. specific
    It is easy to say, “I am not perfect.” It is much harder to say, “I was wrong. I sinned. My attitude was wrong. My response was wrong.”
    This is where the struggle with humility becomes real. We do not always mind admitting that we have weaknesses, as long as we are allowed to define those weaknesses in broad terms.
    When I was studying this, I began thinking about some of my own recent experiences. I realized that when someone points out something I have done wrong, my immediate instinct can be to justify myself. I begin explaining why I did it, what happened beforehand, or what someone else did.
    Sometimes my explanation may even be accurate. But the deeper issue is not always whether my explanation is correct. The deeper issue is that I do not want to be seen as wrong.
    But what happens if I am wrong? Does being wrong make me a terrible person? Does making a mistake destroy my identity? No. It simply means there is something in me that still needs correction.
    Because my righteousness is in Christ, I can face the truth about myself without being destroyed by it. This is where the grace of God becomes real in our salvation.
    I do not have to justify my sin in order to protect my identity. My identity is already secure in Christ.
    In fact, my righteousness is settled in Christ, so I am free to admit what Christ is still working to change in me.
    If I cannot acknowledge my sins, weaknesses, and mistakes, then I cannot surrender them. And whatever I refuse to surrender becomes an area the enemy can exploit.
    If I refuse to face what is wrong in me, I leave part of my spiritual armor exposed.

    Without humility, I set myself up to become a redeemed roadhouse for the enemy.

    How does that happen?

    I am so glad you asked!

    We were made from the dust of the ground.

    Genesis 2:7 NKJV
    7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

    What was the curse of the serpent?

    Genesis 3:14–19 NKJV
    14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
    What was the curse of the serpent?
    Galatians 6:7–8 NKJV
    7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
    We cannot live like hell in our lives and pray like heaven. Whatever I so with my brother or sister we will reap in the spirit.
    The law of sowing and reaping works in our lives both ways.
    It has a kingdom application and it has a carnal application.

    The question is than, what are you sowing to carnal or kingdom?

    The next question is how would you know?

    The enemy may accuse you of actual weakness.

    Revelation 12:10 NKJV
    10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

    When the accusation is true or close enough, go to with the accusation. If its true the Lord will minister to your weakness, if its false, the Lord will rebuke it.

    Matthew 5:25–26 NKJV
    25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
    Zechariah 3:2 NKJV
    2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

    Be aware and not condemned.

    Romans 8:1 NKJV
    1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

    1. Self-awareness should lead me to repentance, not self-hatred.

    The purpose of seeing my weakness is not so that I can despise myself. The purpose is so that I can surrender that weakness to Christ.
    There is a difference between saying, “I did wrong,” and saying, “I am worthless.”
    The Holy Spirit may confront what I have done, but He does not erase who I am in Christ.

    2. Conviction is specific; condemnation is sweeping.

    Conviction says:
    “This attitude is wrong.” “That response was sinful.” “You need to make this right.”
    Condemnation says:
    “You never get anything right.” “You will never change.” “God is finished with you.”
    The Holy Spirit puts His finger on something so that it can be healed.
    The enemy tries to turn one failure into a definition of my whole life.

    3. Conviction draws me toward God; condemnation drives me away from Him.

    When God exposes something in me, the proper response is not to hide.
    It is to come closer.
    Condemnation makes us want to run from prayer, avoid Scripture, withdraw from fellowship, and hide from correction.
    But grace says, “Come boldly.”
    Hebrews 4:16 NKJV
    16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
    The very moment I become aware of my weakness is the moment I need His presence most.

    4. I can acknowledge weakness without surrendering my identity.

    My weakness is real, but it is not my identity.
    My failure may need correction, but it does not cancel what Christ has done for me.
    This is where the first point comes back into the sermon:
    If I know who I am in Christ, I can admit what is wrong with me without believing that what is wrong with me is all that I am.

    5. Repentance closes doors that condemnation wants to keep open.

    When I repent, I agree with God about my sin and turn toward Him.
    Once I have confessed it, surrendered it, and begun walking differently, I do not have to keep paying emotional penalties for something Christ has forgiven.
    Condemnation tries to keep me standing in front of a door that grace has already closed.
    1 John 1:9 NKJV
    9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

    6. Spiritual maturity means learning the difference between conviction and accusation.

    The mature believer does not automatically reject every uncomfortable thought as the devil, but neither does he automatically accept every accusation as the voice of God.
    He asks:
    Is this true? Does this agree with Scripture? Is the Holy Spirit leading me toward repentance and restoration, or am I being driven into shame and hopelessness?
    That discernment is part of spiritual warfare.

    7. The goal of awareness is transformation.

    God does not reveal weakness merely so that I can become better at describing everything wrong with me.
    He reveals weakness so that I can become more like Christ.
    Awareness without grace produces shame.
    Grace without awareness produces immaturity.
    But awareness joined with grace produces transformation.
    I think that last line may be the strongest summary of the whole third point:
    Awareness without grace produces shame. Grace without awareness produces immaturity. But awareness joined with grace produces transformation.
    Conclusion:
    Spiritual warfare is not simply about recognizing what the enemy is doing around us.
    Sometimes the most important question is:
    What is God trying to show me about me?
    We have learned that we must first understand who we are in Christ.
    Our righteousness is not based upon our ability to get everything right. Jesus did the work for us.
    Because of that, I do not have to defend every weakness.
    I do not have to justify every mistake.
    I do not have to pretend that I have no areas that still need to grow.
    Then we learned that without humility, we can leave areas of our lives exposed.
    Sometimes we call everything an attack when some things are consequences.
    Some things are correction.
    Some things are conviction.
    Some things are simply the harvest of what we have been sowing.
    And finally, we must learn to be aware without becoming condemned.
    God may show me something that needs to change, but that does not mean He has rejected me.
    The enemy wants to use awareness to produce shame.
    The Holy Spirit uses awareness to produce transformation.
    So when God reveals something in me, my response should not be:
    “I am terrible.”
    My response should be:
    “Lord, thank You for showing me. Now help me surrender it.”
    That is humility.
    Humility says:
    If it is true, I will repent.
    If it is false, I will trust God to defend me.
    If it is weakness, I will surrender it.
    If it is sin, I will confess it.
    If it is an area that needs growth, I will allow the Holy Spirit to change me.
    We do not prepare for spiritual warfare by pretending that we have no weaknesses.
    We prepare by making sure that every weakness is surrendered to Jesus Christ.
    So before we ask God to expose the enemy around us, perhaps our prayer ought to be:
    “Lord, expose anything in me that the enemy could use against me.”
    Because humility does not leave us defeated.
    Humility makes us ready.

      • James 4:10NKJV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21NKJV

      • Genesis 2:7NKJV

      • Genesis 3:14–19NKJV

      • Galatians 6:7–8NKJV

      • Revelation 12:10NKJV

      • Matthew 5:25–26NKJV

      • Zechariah 3:2NKJV

      • Romans 8:1NKJV

      • Hebrews 4:16NKJV

Church On The Rock-Abilene
churchontherockabilene@gmail.com
3256725446
https://church-on-the-rock-abilene-tx.faithlifesites.com
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