Men's Retreat, Night 1

I'm currently at our annual church men's retreat, and since there will be a lot of info flowing through my head in the next few days, I'm going to try to keep record of it so I can later digest it. This will be free-flowing, but hopefully it will help me establish some real thoughts and motivations going forward.

Night 1: Spiritual Warfare by John Bishop

1. The scriptures
   
   • One book
   • One story
   • One history
   • One Person
   • Two Themes: redemption (coming to Christ) and restoration (becoming like Christ)
     
     • it is essential to recognize that the scriptures must be taken as a whole
     • without the OT, you cannot get a full picture of God's true character
     • Neglect of the OT dishonors the Holy Spirit. Why?
       
       • He wrote it
       • He orchestrated the events
         
2. At War
   
   • Genesis 2:16:17 - "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
   • Bible pre-supposes the existence of evil
   • evil occurred before creation
   • warfare is an underlying theme throughout scripture
     
3. Strategic Targets
   
   • The scriptures - Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
     
   • the church
   • women
   • men - there is a relationship between work and sanctification
   • work is designed to be a relationship between you and Jesus
     
   • Genesis 2:5 -- "before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground"
   • Genesis 2:15 -- "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."
4. The Enemy's Success
   
   • How many men...
   • hate what they do to make a living?
   • tolerate what they do to make a living?
   • wish the could change what they do to make a living?
     
5. Result = Square Pegs in Round Holes
   
   • 1 Tim. 6
     
   • Consequences:
   • Not generous - lie is that the way to escape hardship is through wealth --> disobedience
   • Matt 13: deceitfulness of riches
     
   • passivity
   • addictions
   • loss of creative energies
   • frustration in marriages
   • weaknesses vs strengths
     
     • strength - activity that strengthens you
     • weakness - activity that weakens you -- this may even be something that you're good at
       
   • rejection vs acceptance
     
     • fear of rejection
     • search for significance
     • at the end of the day, do you sense God's acceptance in you and your significance in Him
       
6. Tactics
   
   • Fathers
   • Acceptance
   • please
   • church (evengelical thinking)
     
     • Call to service - we are by nature servants
     • John 21 - Jesus made breakfast for his disciples
     • Matt 16 - church is instrument of warfare
       
7. Finding your Sweet Spot
   
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