All Episodes

May 29, 2024 20 mins
Certainly! Here are in-depth sermon notes on "You Are God's Battle-Ax" based on Jeremiah 51:20. --- **Title: You Are God’s Battle-Ax** **Introduction:** - Begin with a warm greeting and an opening prayer. - **Introduction to the Topic:** - Introduce Jeremiah 51:20 (NKJV): "You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms." - Explain the imagery of a battle-ax as a powerful and decisive tool used by a warrior. It symbolizes strength, precision, and purpose. - Emphasize the honor and responsibility of being chosen by God to be His instrument in spiritual warfare. **Scriptural Foundation:** - **Jeremiah 51:20:** - Context: God's message to Babylon through the prophet Jeremiah, indicating His power to use people to accomplish His will. - Interpretation: Believers are seen as tools in God's hand, used for His divine purposes. - **Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Armor of God):** - Context: Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, instructing them on how to stand firm against spiritual forces of evil. - Interpretation: Equipping ourselves with spiritual armor prepares us for the battles God calls us to fight. - **2 Timothy 2:21 (Being a vessel for honorable use):** - Context: Paul’s letter to Timothy, encouraging him to remain pure and prepared for God's work. - Interpretation: Believers must be ready and sanctified to be used effectively by God. **Main Points:** 1. **Understanding the Role of a Battle-Ax:** - **Characteristics of a Battle-Ax:** - Strength: Made to endure and inflict damage. - Precision: Designed for specific tasks in battle. - Purpose: Used by the warrior to achieve victory. - **Believers as Battle-Axes:** - We are created with strength through Christ (Philippians 4:13). - We are given a precise purpose and calling by God (Jeremiah 29:11). - We are instruments to achieve God’s victories on earth (2 Corinthians 10:4). 2. **God's Purpose for His Battle-Ax:** - **Accomplishing His Will:** - God uses His people to bring about His plans, just as He used Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt and Esther to save her people. - **Jeremiah 1:5:** “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” - **Diverse Roles and Tasks:** - Each believer has unique gifts and a role to play (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). - **Ephesians 2:10:** “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 3. **Preparation and Equipping by God:** - **Process of Preparation:** - God shapes and molds us through experiences, trials, and spiritual disciplines (James 1:2-4). - **Jeremiah 18:1-6:** The potter and the clay; God’s sovereignty in shaping our lives. - **Being Sharpened and Strengthened:** - Daily prayer, reading the Word, and seeking God’s presence equip us for battle (Ephesians 6:18). - **2 Timothy 3:16-17:** All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 4. **Engaging in Spiritual Warfare:** - **Understanding Spiritual Warfare:** - The battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12). - Believers are called to stand firm and fight using spiritual weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). - **The Armor of God:** - Belt of Truth: Grounded in God’s Word. - Breastplate of Righteousness: Living a holy life. - Shoes of the Gospel of Peace: Ready to spread the good news. - Shield of Faith: Protects against doubt and fear. - Helmet of Salvation: Assurance of salvation. - Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God, our offensive weapon. - **Practical Steps:** - Engage in regular prayer and fasting. - Stay connected with a community of believers for support and accountability. - Continually renew you
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

The Burden

The Burden

The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.