July 27, 2008
Morning Worship
Text: 2 Kings 6:8-18
Subject: Winning the Battle Against an Unseen Enemy
Title: The Invisible Battle
I remember as a child the scary movies we used to watch on Saturday night in St. Louis. Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, and the invisible man. I always thought, how difficult would it be to fight against someone you couldn’t see? Throughout movie history the invisible enemy has been the most dangerous enemy. More recently the Star Trek movies provided an unseen and terrifying enemy when the Romulan Starships were equipped with “cloaking “ devices that made them invisible. Thank goodness for men like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock!
Of course all those enemies are make believe. But you know that we do have an enemy who is invisible and can wreak more havoc in your life that any number of movie villains. This enemy is the enemy of your soul and his name is satan, the deceiver, the snake, the serpent, the spirit of the anti-Christ. And he wants to do more than just bring physical death to you. He wants to bring spiritual death to all mankind.
Even though we do not see our enemy we see the results of his treachery; drug and alcohol abuse; physical and sexual abuse; sexual immorality; lust for money; violence… it’s all around us. And satan’s vast army is bringing the charge against the saints of God and in fact against the whole world.
What can we do about it?
Fortunately we also have an army fighting for us that is greater than satan’s army. We can’t see it taking place but we do see the results of the battle.
I want you to follow along with me as I share the steps of the invisible battle that is taking place.
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches…
I. A HIDDEN ENEMY (8-13) 8Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
You know the first thing you need to do is understand that there is an enemy. Elisha understood that Israel had an enemy and by operating in the spirit realm he was able to be proactive in the battle instead of being reactive. I want to tell you something. Too many Christians today are reactive in their battle against the enemy. We don’t enter into spiritual warfare unless the enemy starts the fight. For many Christians by that time it is too late. The enemy has brought sickness or poverty or bad relationships into your home and now you have been beat up so bad you don’t have the strength or the faith to stand against him and fight. “Well, it must be God’s will that I’m poor, sick or heartbroken.” That’s the easy way out and it always leads to defeat. But there is a better way that leads to victory. Proverbs 3:5-10, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 6in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (the Holy Spirit)
Elisha was hearing the Word of God and acting on it. He was protecting the people of Israel by being one who stood in the gap for them. He was their intercessor.
Obedience to the Word of God launches a preemptive strike into the enemy’s territory and will win future battles for you. Here is a real problem for us though; too many people in the world do not even know that there is an enemy. But the Bible says we have a responsibility to warn them of the unseen enemy. Ezekiel 33:1-6, 1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ For many of our friends and family it may be too late. The deceiver has them firmly entrenched in his ranks, fighting for him against God’s people. For many we won’t be able to warn them of the impending disaster waiting for them. But there are so many others – and I don’t think people want to go to hell – there are so many others that just need someone to tell them about Jesus and every believer is called to be the person who is a watchman – to warn others about their doom should they resist the call of the gospel. That’s the type of battle that Elisha was waging. He was confounding the enemy before he could even attack and the people didn’t even know what was going on. So we need to be sharing the gospel and praying for people relentlessly, before the attack comes, so it isn’t too late.
II. AN IMPENDING BATTLE (14-15) 15When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. There is only one way to be prepared for the battle to come. Stay one step ahead of the enemy. Paul said we are to “Pray without ceasing”… He also tells us to put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:9-18 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Stay prayed up. Stand in truth. Stand in righteousness (God’s, not your own); Stand ready to take the gospel to a lost and dying world. Stand in faith. Stand on the surety of your salvation. And stand with the Word of God on the tip of your tongue so that when you go into battle the first words you would say is, “Thus sayeth the Lord.” AND PRAY IN THE SPIRIT! By praying in tongues you confound the enemy. He doesn’t have a clue what you are praying. All these things will prepare you for battle. Verse 16, 16“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
III. THE REAL BATTLEFIELD. The battles that we fight take place in a real battlefield. It is the battlefield of your mind. The enemy knows that if he can convince you or sway you somehow to believe that God’s word isn’t true, he has won a major victory. He’ll tell you that prayer doesn’t do anything. All those weapons mentioned in Ephesians 6 are your preparation for battle. Now it is time to put them to use. Look at what prayer and faith does for you in battle. 17And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha didn’t know that the army of God was encamped around them just because he was a prophet. He knew it because he knew the nature of his God. He knew it because he walked by faith and not by sight. He knew it because he understood what Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 seven hundred years before Paul wrote the words. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. The greatest weapon that we have is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It is the only offensive weapon we have. With it we can pull down strongholds. With it we can demand that demonic activity cease. With it we command healing into sick bodies. With it we receive all the promises of God that are rightfully ours through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of the Word of God we understand that, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. With the Word of God we know that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… This is the same power that declared that Jesus is the Son of God through the resurrection… it is the power of God working in His people through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is the power that we have been given to carry on the ministry of Jesus. It is the power to be able to stand and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Hallelujah! It’s the same power that called the angels to Daniel’s side when he prayed in Babylon. It is the same power that is available to you when you pray and God puts his angels in to motion on your behalf. There is a battle just waiting for you to enter. You have two options – you can either enter in on the front lines or wait for the enemy to blindside you.
IV. THE SURE VICTORY. 18As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria. Do you see that the only way to win a victory in any battle is to confront the enemy face to face? In any military action it is not always the one with the best equipment or the most soldiers or finest training that wins. It is the army with the most resolve and commitment to the cause. Listen, we have the best weapon. We have the Word of God. We have the greatest game plan – it is the plan of salvation given to us by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57, 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory has already been won for us. What is there left for us to do? It is time for us to invade the enemy’s camp and start setting spiritual POW’s free. It is time for the gospel of Jesus Christ to take its place as the premier weapon in the hand of warriors to pull down strongholds. It is time for the people of God to begin to walk in the anointing of God and the power of God to make an immediate impact for the kingdom of God – right here, right now!
Let’s recap what I have told you today.
1. There is an enemy. His name is satan or lucifer. He is a difficult enemy in that you can’t see him. Even if you could he masquerades as an angel of light, presenting himself as beautiful and right. But he is a liar and the father of all lies. He comes but to steal kill and destroy.
2. There is a battle. It is waiting for you to enter in. You have a choice. You can fight the battle before the enemy brings it to you or you can wait till it comes to you. You can pull down his strongholds right now by praying.
3. There is a battlefield. It is your mind. Your enemy will attack you and try to convince you of things that are not true. It’s the same trick he used in the Garden of Eden. “Surely God didn’t say…” But you are called to renew your mind and not to be conformed to the patterns of this world (satan’s stronghold). You have the mind of Christ!
4. There is a victory. It is a certain victory, but it is not for those who become weary in the fight and turn tail and run. Jesus spoke to the churches in Revelation 2 and said this, “26To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
Let’s enter into the battle today. Let’s strike the enemy. He has already been dealt a deathblow when Jesus rose from the dead. It is time to take control and stem the tide of the enemy’s advance. It’s time to stand in the power of God, on the Word of God, with the Son of God and be a part of the greatest army ever established.
Are you ready to do that?
Everybody say:
We’re not going to let him steal our families.
We’re not going to let him affect our health.
We’re not going to let him control our finances.
Satan, you can’t have our schools.
You can’t have our government.
You can’t have our church.
We rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
Hallelujah!
