Intro / Hook

Last week we learned there’s an unseen battle — not with people, but with principalities, and awareness was the first win. Today we’ll be taking a step forward in our study on being “Battle Ready” and it has everything to do with preparation.

• You ever notice a firefighter never waits for the fire to start before putting on his gear.
• He is already clothed and his suit is already ready before the alarm ever sounds.
• Why? Because when the call comes, it’s too late to get ready — you’ve got to be ready.
• Same thing for a soldier: No one steps onto a battlefield wondering what to wear that day.
• They train, they prepare, they armor up — because they expect conflict.

Now, what if I told you that’s how a believer is supposed to live?

• Last week we learned there’s an unseen battle — not with people, but with principalities.
• We pulled back the curtain and saw that there are three battlefields happening simultaneously
  • What is going on around me/What is happening to me. (External)
  • What is happening in me? The Internal
  • What matters. My faith and witness for Go—The eternal.
• We learned that awareness was the first win.

But awareness without preparation still leaves you vulnerable.

• Knowing there’s a battle doesn’t protect you from it.
• Recognizing the devil doesn’t stop his arrows.
• You can’t just know there’s a war — you’ve got to dress for it.

And that’s where too many of us get hit. It’s noot because we don’t love God,

but because we didn’t prepare for the fight.

• We walk into Monday still dressed in Sunday’s emotions. Thinking our emotions are going to carry us.