Understanding Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:10-18
Intro-
Good Morning to those listening online- Happy New Year
We are glad that you are here- if you would turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 6,
We will be looking at the armor of God and how it works or doesn’t work in our lives.
Because we are or we are not using it.
I am calling this series “When the enemy attacks” and have talked about it in both our Wednesday prayer sessions, Men’s meeting last Thursday, and coming at it hard in this morning.
We try to do our best to understand that God loves you, coming out of Christmas I hope that you see just how much the Lord loves us that He would come to this world and redeem mankind that desperately needed a savior.
What we also do not understand if God loves us that much that Satan because He hates God will also hate God’s people and does not want them to have that relationship with Him.
As hard as Jesus is trying to show His love, Satan is trying to destroy any chance of that relationship taking place.
Satan hates you. He hates you if you are a child of God.
It is not a question of if we are going to be attacked, it is what are you going to do when you are attacked.
Scripture tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
The Lord tells us to humble ourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
1 peter 5:8” Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy (adversary) the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”
This is a familiar verse, but how many of us apply the teachings to our lives.
Paul is talking to the church about how we can keep the devil off our back and influencing our lives.
Peter tells us the devil is out to devour us and destroy and be aware of his tactics and Paul tells us how we can do that.
Ephesians Chapter 6:10-18 Read from the Bible
Chapter 6
He says children should obey their parents,
Parents should bring their children up in the fear of the Lord.
Workers should honor their bosses,
Bosses should do right to their workers.
Then he gets to the meat of the chapter and tells us what God has provided for us to defeat the enemy of our lives
Not by our strength, but by the power and strength of the Lord.
Like armadillo warfare, because most people are like that commercial for the personal credit card. He is a super hero in a armadillo outfit and his wife and kids surprise him in his cave and he gets scared and balls up as a defense.
Most put on this big show of how strong a Christian they are until something happens in their life and they roll up into a ball and get kicked around.
I have said before that when you’re in a crisis is not the time to wonder what you’re going to do. Where you’re going to put your trust.
In war there is always an objective.
Sometimes it’s over land like Russia.
Sometimes over a superior race like Hitler tried to accomplish.
The Gulf war was because a smaller country was going to be taken over by a larger country for their resources.
The war on terrorism where extremist kill and destroy anyone who doesn’t believe like them.
Our mission as a Christian is to rescue people from the grip of Satan and show the mercies and the love of Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:23
“Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment”.
Our battle is spiritual. We must win our battle first spiritually and then physically. Sure there are the Ben Ladens, Hitlers, Castros, Chevezes, because they are willing tools that spread evil dominance in the world.
Aim Today: not to scare anyone, not to advocate violence.
To lead people to understand how they can take up the full armor of God as they move forward in the call of Jesus Christ for their lives.
Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord.
He tells us it is a spiritual battle first before it’s physical.
There are many kinds of strength, but the most important strength you should aim to have is the strength of the Lord in your life.
There are Toeholds and Strongholds.
A Toehold: is an aggravation,
A Stronghold: is something you just cannot get away from.
Some Christians treat things going on in their life as toeholds, but truth be told they are strongholds because they cannot get rid of them by themselves.
Apostle Paul talking about the full armor of God and then using an example of protection that we understood, the Roman soldier’s armor.
Paul was chained to the wrist of the soldier. Night and day, a soldier was there to ensure that he did not escape. Paul was literally an ambassador in chains
As he writes the church, the soldier’s armor suggests a picture to him. Christians too have armor; and item by item Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.
Put on this armor so that you can “take your stand” against the devils schemes.
You put the armor on before you go to battle, and you put it on completely.
Roman 13:14- “Cloth yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ”
Cover yourself with the things of God that protect you from getting hurt in battle.
There are no openings for your head, feet, heart, belly, eyes, ears, tongue.
Armor provided by God lest you be not able to stand. (All vital spots of our body)
The devil is the chief foe for the kingdom of darkness, opposed to you because you belong to the kingdom of light.
“Wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil”.
Wrestling implies hand to hand combat!
We do not have to make the armor, we are to “take up” and “put on” the armor.
David when he wore the Kings armor to fight Goliath had troubles, because it was manmade and it was designed to fit someone else. (1 Samuel 17)
Put on God’s armor, it is the only time that one size fits all, and it will actually fit properly.
2 times, v 11, 14, we are told to stand, to maintain our ground, not yield, or flee.
When you have done all that you know to do, stand firm with the armor of God.
David said to King Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Phillistine; your servant will go and fight him.” “Let’s roll” like Todd Beamer said in battle on 911.
“I cannot go in your armor, because I am not use to it and it doesn’t fit.”
David looked at the opponent (Goliath) and said “you come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled”
Who won that battle?” God’s servant
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Shield of Faith
Shoes of the Gospel
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
When my son Tony was in the military, our granddaughter Hayley (who was five) would tell everyone that her Uncle Tony was in the Lord’s army.
She thought that if he was in the army, he must be in the Lord’s army. Listen,
God gives you these 6 protections so that you will not be naked and do things in your own strength.
The armor of God has already been tested, faith is never misplaced in God.
We will obviously not be able to look at all six this morning.
We can look at the Belt of Truth and then look at the other 5 another time.
Belt of Truth-
It is the first piece of armor, it is not by coincidence that it is the first piece.
A belt holds up everything else you are wearing.(Guys with pants falling, need a belt of truth)
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.”
Spiritually and physically a belt holds things together.
Truth is having the clarity of a sound doctrine. What do you believe? Are you aware of what
Christ has done for you? Does that truth cause you to live a life pleasing to God?
Truth in our heart makes us sincere and teachable before God.
Truth in our mind helps to strengthen our wills to serve the Lord.
These two, a sincere heart, and a determined will, will combine to give us a firm girdle that keeps us rooted and grounded in Christ.
2 Timothy 2:15-
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” ) (NKJV)
How do you put on the belt of truth?
Since it involves our heart and mind, we have to make adjustments to put it on.
Daily check if you are right with the Lord.
Is there untruth or sin in your life?
Relationship with others right?
Make sure you are embracing sound doctrine.
***Jesus is the Word, and the Word is truth, every word that Jesus has spoken or ever will speak is the truth of God.
( Whether someone wants to believe that or not )
John 17:17:
“If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”.
There is victory when we take God’s truth and apply it to our lives.
Above human reasoning. Above circumstances. From our spirit to God’s ears.
Illustration
A story is told by a holiness preacher of one of his people in great need and she was home praying… Lord fill my pantry to overflowing. I know Lord that you are able to do more than I can even imagine! After praying that prayer many days she walks out unto her porch and there are numerous bags of groceries on her porch. She begins praising the Lord and saying “God did it” “God did it” and just then the neighbor come out from behind the bushes and says that he heard her praying and that he is an atheist and just wanted to hear her praising and thanking a God that he did not believe in! She again says God did it! God did it! He says you don’t understand, I heard you praying, I am not a believer. I got in the car, spent my own money, went to the store and bought these groceries so that I could watch you praise a God that does not exist. She looks him right in to eyes and said God did it, God did it, and he made the devil pay for it! God did it!
Satan main attack is lies.
There is only one thing that defeats the lies of this world, God’s Truth!
Closing:
We can no longer accept what the world considers normal.
Need to find the truth? It is God’s word.
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask and it shall be given you, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you, for everyone that asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocks, the door shall be opened”
Illustration
Get a mental picture of you waving your sword of the spirit at the devil with one hand and trying to hold up your pants with the other. The belt of truth keeps it together. You must keep it tightly buckled so we don’t give the enemy the opportunity to disarm us.
Each piece of God’s armor protects us and keeps us productive.
John 14:25
“All this I have spoken while still with you, but the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
Prayer
