The Art of War
Pt. 1 - Waking Up Dead
I. Introduction
In Harm’s Way, released in 1965, and starring a truly great actor in John Wayne, has a lengthy opening depicting Navy dances and various romances occurring on Saturday night December 6, 1941. Sailors and military personnel in Hawaii prior to the Japanese invasion were living as if there was no real enemy. They were not expecting to be attacked. Why? Because the Japanese were engaged in a massive deception, trying to convince the US that the Land of the Rising Sun was seeking peace, all the while planning war. The next day is a "Day that lives in infamy" because those who should have been on guard and alert were instead lulled to sleep and therefore caught completely unaware. The result was that on December 7th, 2403 of our own woke up dead and our nation was thrust into war!
With that great loss and wake up call in the back of our minds. I have noticed that most of us spend fortunes on protection. Car alarms. House alarms. Computer alarms. Perimeter fences. Prickly shrubs under the windows. Deadbolts. Door chains. Sirens. Motion detectors. Cameras to see who has been on our porch and for all this effort and expense given to protect and fortify our homes we seem to have forgotten that there is a war that is taking place in the unseen, unfilmable realm and we seem to give little to no effort to secure our hearts. Elaborate systems in place to lock up our car and our valuables but no thought given to locking down our spirit. I realize Seems an odd topic right after celebrating our greatest victory which is Easter. However, how many of you know that we are often most susceptible immediately following our greatest triumphs simply because we let our guards down? It is absolutely essential for us to understand that following resurrection Scripture is filled with warfare wording. I recognize because of Easter that the fight is fixed. The ultimate outcome of the war has been decided and is not in question. We win. However, too many of us, embracing that ultimate outcome, have also begun to live like this is a cake walk and if we are not careful we will wake up dead! Dead in bondage. Dead in powerlessness. Dead in influence. Dead in authority. Dead in brokenness! It is time to wake up and realize we are at war!
If we have read the Old Testament, then we know that God calls a people His chosen ones who are a people of war. So do we think that Jesus would come to this planet, die the horrible death He did and conquer the grave so that we
In fact, what Jesus really did was show up to clarify our enemies tactics (kill, steal and destroy) so that we could be better equipped to participate in his destruction. He didn't come and die so we could meet Jesus and end up on easy street. We aren't supposed to be less effective in battle than Israelites who saw daily miracles, angelic intervention, and mind boggling victories. We are supposed to be war ready. And yet, even though on in at least 11 New Testament passages that use language like stay alert, be watchful, be fully aware, be ready, stay awake, be on guard, watch and pray, we continue to taste defeat daily because we are like the United States on Dec. 6th. Asleep in a war zone!
This is a call to arms. We are at war.
Listen to what Paul says,
Ephesians 6:10-18 (Message)
And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (12 For our fight is not - we wrestle not - against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.) Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
and then in 2 Corinthians 2:11(Message)
After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways! (might not outwit us).
Before we dive into Ephesians, notice that in 2 Corinthians Paul makes it clear that we are only susceptible if we are unaware. Our government has whole departments dedicated to the purpose of studying and dissecting the strategy of enemy. Stay one step ahead. Yet we fall to same same ploys over and over again because we aren't aware.
So, there are three things that Paul exhorts us to do in Ephesians that will help us not to wake up dead!
A. Identify Our Enemy
I guess the people of Paul's day had the same issue we have . . . they didn't know who they were fighting. So, instead of expending their energy and their efforts on fighting their real enemy they were fighting each other! Paul tries to clarify our target - we don't wrestle against each other. I know that seems like the issue - they are an easy target to spot - their attitude, the way they cock their head at you, their tone of voice, they push our buttons and so we label them enemy. But Paul wants us to know that they aren't the issue. He says we need to wake up and recognize that we have a real enemy that makes that flesh and blood enemy look like a pushover. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. It doesn't say we don't wrestle! This enemy is real! This enemy is strong. This enemy is smart. This enemy must become our target. So Paul says quit shooting at one another and shoot at the real bad guy.
Therein lies a big problem. Too many of us can't identify the enemy because we have focused our attention only on what we can see or worse we don't even believe we have a real enemy that we can't see.
A recent Barna survey found that 4 of 10 Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is nothing more than a symbol of evil.” Another 19% said they “agree somewhat” with the perspective. How can we fight a spiritual battle when 60% of Christians don’t think that the enemy is real? While we question his existence he kicks our rear.
Maybe I should remind you that Satan is mentioned 29 times in the Gospels, and 25 of those references are from Jesus own lips. Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament and in every New Testament book as a fact.
Listen, I am not a demon behind every bush kind of preacher. He doesn't cause every flat tire and every bill to come due at once. He is definitely why your cat acts like it does but he didn't cause the dog to tear up your house. So, he isn't behind every bush, however, the French Poet had it right when he said, "The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!"
He has convinced so many of us that he doesn't exist so that now we aren't even ware enough to see the enemy standing right out in the open. He doesn't even have to hide or mask himself - he can march right out in the open as tolerance for sin! He can wrap his philosophies in entertainment and get the pretty and wealthy to sermonize for him and we will swallow anything. He can use our own theology against us and we will allow our Christ given liberty to turn into license and we end up choosing destructive habits and scream grace while we drink our way, drug our way, relationship our way right into defeat. There is an enemy. Wake up or wake up dead!
Jesus made it clear there is a thief! He is our mortal enemy. He hates you. He is after you. He will destroy you. He said the enemy came to kill, steal, and destroy. He didn't come to play nice, patty cake, or be your friend! David declared in Psalms 144 that God had trained his hands for war! We don't even recognize our own need for such training if we don't first recognize and identify the real enemy!
B. Identify Our Weakness
It isn't enough to just know you have an enemy if you don't also know that your enemy knows your weakness. But more importantly you have to know your weakness. If we aren't self aware to know our own weakness, then we will continue to fall for the same exact ploys, schemes, and tricks of the enemy! Paul said it like this . . . Keep your eyes open!
What is your weakness - pornography - then why aren't you aware enough to limit access?
Financial - then why aren't you willing to go through and actually apply the principles taught in Financial Peace University? Why won't you cut up your cards?
Alcohol? Then why are you hanging out in a bar?
Promiscuity? Then why are you dating a nonbeleiver or even a believer who doesn't have the standards of holiness that you are trying to live up to? Why are you going on dates alone rather than in a group? Why are you hanging out in each other's house?
Anger? Then why are you spending your time around people that make you so mad or feed your anger to the point you fall to sin?
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12 that he "will boast in his weakness" so that the power Christ may rest upon me. However, you can't boast about or allow the power of Christ to rest on that area if you don't even know what your weakness is.
Identify your weakness and take steps to make sure you don't fall to those things! If you don't believe that the enemy of our soul will try to capitalize on a weakness then take a moment and read Luke 4:13 - When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. He tried to tempt Jesus and failed and the Word says he left and planned on coming back at a more opportune time. He was looking for weakness. A crack. A let down. A moment. A better time to attack. Don't you know that if he will try that with Jesus he will try that with you? He won't come to attack when you are strong. He will hit you when you are weak. Too many of us make our enemy's job way to easy because he is more aware of the opportune time than we are!
C. Identify Our Wingman
Paul says, "You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."
In other words, we are in a war but we aren't supposed to be fighting this war alone. It is too much for us to do by ourselves. Paul also makes it clear that our ability to win victories is directly contingent on our willingness to stay connected!
He is telling us to know the guy in the foxhole with you and watch his back so that he can in turn watch yours. In the armor that we will discuss later in this series there is nothing listed that protects our back except that Paul tells us that the person next to us is supposed to do that! Why? Because this is a war and we have an enemy that is looking for opportunity. Our back is his opportunity. If we are not watching out for and identifying who we are responsible for and who is responsible for us, then there will be casualties and even fatalities. If you don't identify wingman, then it leads to friendly fire.
You better have a bunker buddy! You better be a bunker buddy!
Why are you going this alone? Why are you fighting alone? Why are you letting those around you fight alone? Like it or not you are assigned to watch certain people's back and if they fall it is partly because you weren't where you were supposed to be doing what you were supposed to do! It is time to identify your wingman! Who can you call when it gets hard? Who can you count on when the arrows are flying? Who can count on you? Some of you are violating war rules. Find a wingman. But you won't even hang out in the lobby 3 seconds after service. You won't dare talk about anything but weather and sports. You wall out wingman and then wonder why you are continually defeated!
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who sows clean seed. However, when harvest time comes they discover the field is also full of thorns. The workers ask the farmer how this could happen and his response is an indictment against those of us who are finding thorns in our harvest. He says, "while I slept an enemy slipped in sowed weeds among the wheat!" Too many of us have carelessly drifted off to sleep and the enemy is sowing into our lives. It is time to wake up before you wake up dead!
