I. Introduction
A. You get up one morning early to give yourself plenty of time because you have a big presentation to make at work.
a. When you get in the shower the water is inexplicably cold.
b. You go to get dressed and that skirt, or pair of pants, that you knew was in a certain place in the closet is missing.
c. You’ve had a cold shower, you finally find your pants, but then you kids decide to get up early and they’re asking you a million questions and want you to do a million things for them.
d. Now you’re starting to panic, because what was a perfectly planned morning is now becoming chaotic.
e. But you got up early so you know you still have plenty of time.
f. Then you get in your car and the car won’t start.
g. Fortunately your husband or wife is off so you jump in the other car, thinking you’ll worry about the other car later.
h. You get halfway to work and then panic sets in when you realize you left your report in the car that wouldn’t start.
i. You may not be late for work by the time you go back and get it, but you can now forgot the calm and peaceful demeanor you planned to have when the day began.
B. Does that story sound familiar to you?
a. Take the framework and put your own story in its place and we all have similar stories.
b. What I like to call war stories.
c. Stories in which one of Murphy’s Laws always seems to come into play: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
C. But we very seldom see those battles for what they really are.
a. We have a tendency for whatever reason to separate our spiritual life from our regular life.
b. Our church life from our non-church life.
c. We tend to think most spiritual things happen only at church.
d. But that is not true; every battle begins in the spiritual realm.
D. Turn with me to Revelation 12:7-9.
a. John describes his vision of the war that took place in heaven when Satan rebelled against God.
b. What I mainly want you to see here before we go deeper is that the war spills over onto the earth.
c. And so there is a larger war going on, of which you and I are caught right in the middle.
d. As a matter of fact a large part of the war has to do with you, but I’ll get to that later.
II. The Battle
A. Most of us live our lives as if our story does not have a villain.
a. We may say we believe there is evil in the world.
b. We may even say we believe in the devil.
c. But we don’t really live like it.
d. I love the History channel and watch it anytime Beth will let me watch it.
e. I don’t know why they’re on the History channel but from time to time there will be a show about aliens and flying saucers.
f. Those shows always ask the questions, “Are we alone in the universe?” and “Have we had visitors from another world?”
g. I’d like to go on those shows and say, “No,” and “Yes.”
h. No, we are not alone in the universe.
i. And yes, we do have visitors from another world and they walk among us every day.
i. Some of them mean to do us great harm.
ii. And some are bent on protecting us.
j. The Bible talks about these entities all the time.
i. They are called angels.
k. Revelation talks about the war that took place in heaven in which a third of the angels, led by Satan, rebelled and were cast out of heaven and to the earth.
l. And so our story has a villain, and that villain has lots of minions.
m. A third of the angels would be millions upon millions.
B. The battle is about you
a. Why was there war in heaven between the devil and his angels and those who remained faithful to God?
b. The Bible never directly tells us, but it gives us enough hints that we can fill in the gaps.
c. Number one, Satan was filled with pride and thought he would supplant God and put himself in His place.
d. Number two, Satan was filled with jealousy because God had made a special creation, you.
e. The Bible tells us in Ezekiel that Satan was the most beautiful of all God’s creation, perfect in all his ways, until iniquity was found in his heart.
f. But as an angel Satan did not enjoy the same kind of relationship that God had with Adam and Eve, who were made in his own image.
g. And so he rebelled, first by leading Adam and Eve astray, and then a third of the angels.
h. And to this day Satan has been out to destroy you.
i. James says he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
j. You see, we live in two worlds.
i. One we can see, and one we can’t always see.
ii. In the one we can’t always see there is a war constantly being raged.
iii. And the war is over your soul.
iv. There is an enemy who is out to destroy you, and a God who is out to redeem you.
v. There is an enemy who hates you, and a God who loves you.
k. The Bible says Satan is a liar and the father of lies.
i. As a result he’s convinced many people that he is not the enemy.
ii. Or, even worse, he’s convinced many people that he doesn’t even exist at all.
iii. He exists, he hates you, and he’s out to destroy you.
l. The Bible makes it clear that the battle is about you, and that the battle never begins in the physical realm.
i. Ephesians 6:12 says, “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.”
ii. So remember that when you’re tempted to make your boss, or your coworker, or your neighbor, or the person that’s giving you a hard time the enemy.
iii. They are not the enemy.
iv. Satan is.
C. The Battle is winnable.
a. Ephesians 6:13
b. Victory begins in the spiritual realm as well.
III. Conclusion
A. Here’s what I’m getting at this morning.
B. A war is being waged all around us, and it encompasses every aspect of our lives.
C. If you can grasp the reality that your feet are in two worlds it would help you to see that winning the battles we face in life aren’t won by fighting with physical weapons.
a. Winning your battle starts with your relationship with Christ.
D. Want to win the battle?
a. Realize your enemy is real and he hates you.
b. Put on your army.
c. Get ready for battle.
d. Declare victory.
