life... Battleground, Not Playground — Shane Idleman

Life as a Spiritual Battleground

We are in a battle. We are in the battle for the very souls of our nation. We are in a battle for the souls of our family. Make no mistake about it. Life is a battleground, not a playground. The problem with the heart of men, let me be honest with you, is what Elisha said.

How long will you waver between two opinions? How long will you falter between two opinions? If God is God, follow Him. And I must warn you, I did not come to tickle the ears. I came to challenge the hearts.

Surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ

I didn't come to teach. I came to preach. And to be honest with you, I didn't come to build up. I came to tear down. And we can talk about blessings all day long and prosperity and abundance and God will do these mighty things.

But He won't do anything if we're not men surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Period. The angels cry, Holy, Holy, Holy. You will cry, Holy, Holy, Holy. So we need to remove this whole thing we have in the church that Christ is a butler.

Rejecting Blessings Without Repentance

Give me what I want, anything. I'm just going to dance and sing. I'm not going to turn from porn. I'm not going to turn from judgmentalism. I'm going to continue to yell at my wife. I'm going to continue to treat people like junk.

It doesn't matter because the Lord is going to bless me. No sir, you are deceived. Think about that. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of our life. We have no time to spend in time in God's Word.

Guarding the Mind Against Ungodly Influences

We have no time for worship. We have no time for church. We wonder why there's no holiness, why there's no consecration, why there's no joy in my life. Why does God seem distant? Because we're filling our mind with things that directly oppose Him.

Look at all the big popular things now. Glorifying witchcraft, the occult, vampires, sexual perversion, and it entertains the church. I have a problem with that. Things that God calls an abomination, we enjoy.

Things that God calls an abomination, we love to watch. Things that God calls an abomination, we say I'm going to allow into my homes, I'm going to lead my family astray, I'm going to allow Satan in to influence us.

Consecration, Surrender, and Holiness

I go to church and raise holy hands on Sunday, but I'm going to live like hell on Monday. The man's spiritual life has got to be challenged. It's got to be a life of consecration, a life of surrender, a life of holiness.

Well, I don't like that. Well, then you don't like what the Bible says that the genuine follower of Jesus Christ. Go back. Go back if you think this is hard. Just take a few months. Start in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephani, Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi.

Returning to God Through the Prophets

They're saying the same exact thing. Return to me, O backsliding Israel, and I will return to you. The Lord is far from you. What we're putting into our mind either builds you up spiritually or it tears you down.

The Need for Repentant and Righteous Preaching

Did you know there's no middle ground? There's no middle ground. What we're putting into our mind either builds you up spiritually or it tears you down. This is why the pulpits of America are not flamed with righteousness.

This is why you're not turning on the TV and hearing these kind of things. This is why nobody's filled with the power and the presence and the holiness of God because they're filling their mind with things that directly oppose Him.

This message will not win me a popularity contest, but when I get home I can stand before God and say I did what you called me to do. I'm not trying to tickle the ears. I'm not trying to win popularity contests.

I'm not going in for a position where I get everybody's vote. I'm tired of the condition, the lukewarm condition of the church in America. We're a mile wide but we're an inch deep and somebody's got to start sounding the alarm.

There's no call for repentance, no call for holiness, no call for righteousness. We don't talk about judgment. We don't want to talk about sin. We don't want to offend anybody. Guess what? You just offended God.

Jeremiah’s Warning Against False Prophets

Is not my word like a fire, like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? He told Jeremiah, don't even listen to those false prophets for they prophesy a vision of their own heart. Don't even listen to them.

They don't speak in my name. But had these prophets truly stood in my counsel, they would have turned the people from the error of their way. We don't stand in the counsel of God. We don't turn anybody from the error of their way.

Choosing Faithfulness Over Popularity

We tickle the ear. We have them leaving feeling good but on their way to hell. We pervert the words of the living God when we come up here for the wrong reasons and the wrong motives, when our heart's not right.

I'd rather clear the room and have ten people ready to get on their knees and pray out to Almighty God that the judgment hand does not fall upon our nation for the condition of the family than fill this church and tickle the ear.

Life Is a Battleground, Not a Playground

Men need to be challenged. We are in a battleground, not a playground. We are in a battleground, not a playground.