2026.05.17 Sermon Notes: Hold The Line: Three Battles Every Man Must Win

Westside Family Church

Hold The Line: Three Battles Every Man Must Win

Pastor: Jonathan Hansen

Notes: 

Faith should NOT be domesticated.  The bears at the zoo verses Kings Cave, bear can, 20-30 yards away.  See the stars where there is no light pollution.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (be courageous), be strong. Let all you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NIV)

My thesis: If you win the internal battle of the soul, you can win the external battles of work and the relational battles at home. But if you lose the inner war, the rest of your life eventually crumbles.

The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

1 Timothy 5:24-25 (NIV)

The fight is not a sign that you're broken. The fight is a sign that you're alive.

Notes: 

Battlefield 1: The Internal War (The Soul)

Thesis: Win the Internal Battle or lose everywhere else.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Why would be casual about guarding our own souls.

Saving Private Ryan - to find the one son that hasn't been killed to bring him back to his mom so she hasn't lost all four of her sons in the war.

Don't let your guard down.

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

You're in a battle everyday!

Sniper of Pride "I've got this".  The message of the Gospel is very simple: "You don't got this!"

BE ON GUARD!

SNIPER of apathy and passivity wants to take over!

SNIPER of Isolation is huge for man. We never know or learn how to bring others in. We stay isolated.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13 (NIV)

John Owen famously said, "Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

Notes: 

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

Before God can mold you, He must break you. You cannot become a good man without first being a broken man. God will always break us before He shapes us and molds us into who he created us to be.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

Big Idea: To win the internal war you cannot manage your sin; you must put it to death. Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.

Notes: 

Battlefield 2: The External War (Work, Calling, Provision)

God said to Adam, 'cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you…By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV)

Work is a gift of God!  What am I good at?  Where does my skill set fit?

Thesis: There are not free lunches in life. Life is hard and the way forward requires reframing your idea of “work” and “career” as an act of worship and the means by which God is going to grow you up into the man you are meant to be. Work is part of taking responsibility as a man to provide and make your way in the world. Hone your skills, become world class in the areas where you are naturally wired and gifted. Add value. Work is hard as a result of sin; the struggle is the forge by which God molds us into who we are called to be.

Mark Clark: Ask God to bring someone to you to tell the Gospel

Notes: 

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Ditches to Avoid:

Apathy: Drifting, blaming, quitting, laziness, entitlement, expecting handouts. Idolatry: Making your career your god—winning "out there" while losing "in here" and "at home.” But here's the trap: don't make the mountain of your career your god. It is a battlefield to be won, not an idol to be worshipped. Your paycheck can't fill an empty soul that is aimless…No matter how big it is.

Verses 6–9 – Warning About Causing Sin
Jesus delivers stern warnings against leading believers, especially impressionable ones, into sin. He uses strong images: a millstone around the neck and fiery Gehenna. Anything that drags a person toward sin—hand, foot, or eye—is to be severed or cast away. Radical self-denial is better than eternal loss

https://biblehub.com/matthew/18.htm

Notes: 

Battlefield 3: The Relational War (Home, Marriage, Fatherhood)

Thesis: Be famous at home.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:25 (NIV)

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.

Psalm 127:3-4 (NIV)

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord.

Psalm 128:1-4

Sermon Takeaways

Jesus didn't die to make you safe; He died to make you dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. You become what you behold. You cannot manage sin; you must put it to death. Be famous at home.Your name is greater than your résumé. The fight is not a sign that you're broken. The fight is a sign that you're alive.

Notes: 

Your 30-Day Challenge (Pick One This Week):

Internal: Confess one hidden sin to a trusted brother. Spend 15 minutes daily beholding God in His Word. External: Identify one area of work where you've been cutting corners and fix it with integrity. Relational: Schedule date night. Pray with your wife nightly this week. Pray for your kids as you drop them off at school.

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