Fight Like A Believer-Begin With The Win In Mind-03022025 -

·1 hr 10 min·5 clips

Pastor Jeff Hager explains why believers should always know they'll win spiritual battles before they even start fighting.

Pastor Jeff Hager opens the episode by welcoming viewers and inviting them to Living Word Church in Columbus, Ohio. He announces a new teaching series titled 'Fight Like a Believer,' framing life as a continual spiritual battle between good and evil. Hager reads 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 as the foundational text, emphasizing that believers' weapons are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. He introduces the concept of beginning with the 'win in mind,' arguing that victory is guaranteed through Jesus. Hager expresses pastoral frustration at seeing knowledgeable believers struggle unnecessarily. He delves into the pressures facing the church, including government attempts to co-opt churches through threats to 501c3 status and cultural influences pushing churches to conform to worldly standards. Hager explains that spiritual warfare requires different tactics than natural conflicts, using marriage as an example of learning to fight where both partners win. He details the weapons believers possess: pulling down strongholds (changing mindsets), casting down arguments, imprisoning unfruitful thoughts, and punishing disobedience. Hager lists five critical battles: fighting for faith, family, finances, future, and freedom. He references 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to discuss disciplining the body to avoid disqualification. Hager advises knowing your goal, opponent, strength, weakness, weaponry, and advantage before engaging in spiritual fights. He identifies the enemy's three primary tools: temptation (offers requiring disengagement from God), deception (lies mixed with truth), and intimidation (fear-based manipulation). The sermon concludes with an analysis of Jesus' temptations in Matthew 4, showing how Satan attacked provision, pride, and purpose. Hager gives an altar call for those wanting to initiate or reinitiate a relationship with Jesus, followed by practical steps like visiting the church website, attending services, sharing the message, and financial partnership.

As heard by us

A direct sermon frames spiritual warfare as the discipline of imprisoning thoughts that should not be lived out.

Faith is treated here as a matter of custody: what gets admitted to the mind, what is held back, and what is allowed to travel into speech or action.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a sermon that treats spiritual warfare as a battle over what you do with a thought before it becomes speech or action.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Jeff Haygood, Pastor