“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
In the late 1960’s there was a TV show called Land of the Giants. Seven people from earth found their spaceship caught in a warp of some kind and ended up on a planet where everything was twelve times larger than on earth. Each week they battled giant cats, children, and soldiers. It was a little strange but raised an interesting question. What would we do if everything and everyone was a giant accept for us?
The truth is that we do live in a land of giants. There are things that are bigger than us which seem to stand between us and being where God wants us to be. In the Old Testament, God sent His people, Israel, to a place called The Promised Land. It was a great place to live but it also was inhabited by giants which they would have to face and defeat. We to live in a land of giants which we must face if we are to be where God wants us to be.
I. THE WARFARE WE FACE
A. The Necessity of This Warfare
We must all face the fact that spiritual warfare is a necessity. God never varnishes over the fact that there is going to be warfare for His children. He told Moses there would be blessings and enemies in the Promised Land (Exodus 3:16-17). He promised Joshua the Land but told him he would have to be strong and courageous to face its challenges (Joshua 1:1-7). He promised Gideon he would save Israel but he would have to face the Midiantes (Judges 6:15-16). He anointed David to be king as a youth but David still had Goliath and Saul to fight (1 Samuel).
Our Savior was no less forthcoming with His disciples and with us. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20). In other words, there is great joy and blessing in following Christ but there will also be battles to fight. They are a necessity and they are very real!
B. The Nature of This Warfare
Consider the nature of the warfare we have to fight. We are to be engaged in offensive warfare. We are not called to hold the fort against the giants of life. Unfortunately, that is the plan many Christians seem to have. They want to circle the wagons at the church building and hold off the devil until Jesus comes back. That is not God’s plan!
When Goliath challenged Israel, Saul hid in his tent and just hope everything would work out. When the Midianites were destroying Israel, Gideon was hiding in a wine press. They had adopted the philosophy of that great theologian, Charlie Brown. He told Lucy, "I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time."
We aren’t called to run for cover either. A mother came home from shopping to find five of her children sitting quietly in a circle. When she looked inside the circle she saw they had five young skunks they had found outside. Without thinking, she yelled, “run children, run!” They did, but not before each child grabbed a skunk to take with them. We are often like those children. When faced with the giants of life we panic and make a mess out of things.
God has called us to pull down strongholds (v.4). The word pull down means to dethrone. When the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel at Ephesus many people were saved. In coming to Christ they realized they needed to get rid of their idols of the goddess Diana (see Acts 19:21-27). As people gave up their idols, the local idol makers became alarmed that they were losing business. They said that Paul’s preaching of the gospel had destroyed the magnificence of Diana. In other words, the gospel had pulled down the stronghold of that false god. That is what we are called to. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ we pull down the strongholds of this world system we live in.
We are also called to cast down imaginations (v.5). That means we are to conquer them. We are to attack and conquer imaginations of this world. What are these imaginations? They are the deceptive and fleshly way of thinking common to this world system. Paul spoke of this in Colossians 2:8-10 when he said, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that a giant is anything that exalts itself above God. We are to cast down every high thing. These are those things that seem too far above us to even hope to win against them. Goliath towered above everyone else in Israel. He was even taller than their king (Saul), the tallest man in all the kingdom. No matter how big Goliath was, Israel could bring him down if they let God fight their battle for them. There are many things that tower above us.
·Intellectual Giants – People that seem to have all the knowledge. They are “experts” and we are not. How can we stand against their evidence?
·Philosophical Giants – People who seem to understand life so much better than we do.
·Material Giants – People who have so much more than we do. Who are we to question what they say or believe?
In the end, a giant is anything or anyone that refuses to give God His rightful place. It is what exalts itself against the knowledge of God. This includes people who are operating in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, circumstances that make it appear that God is not in control, and attitudes that puts man before God.
II. THE WEAPONS OF OUR FIGHT
A. Weapons We Cannot Trust
It is imperative we understand that there are weapons we cannot trust. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (v.4). We cannot face the giants of life with weapons of our own making. It is that carnal or fleshly nature that is our problem in the first place (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3).
B. Weapons We Can Trust
God has given us weapons we can trust. These weapons are mighty in God (v.4). Though we live in this world and face the problems of this world, we have a different way to face those problems. This is the emphasis of Galatians 2:20 which reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
We cannot trust weapons of this world – we must trust God’s weapons. David refused to fight Goliath with the weapons of Saul. He knew he must fight God’s battle God’s way. We must guard against trusting in the flashy and appealing answers of this world rather than in the trustworthy weapons of God’s armory.
“ So Saul clothed David with his armor … And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine."
(1 Samuel 17:38-40)
In future messages we will learn in detail the weapons God has given us to fight His battles. For now let’s take a sneak peek. He has given us:
·His Word – it never returns void.
·Prayer – He is always listening and ready to answer.
·His People – He often has reserves He has prepared to help us fight.
What giants do you face in your life? Do you find other people, circumstances, or things within in your own heart and mind coming between you and obeying God with your whole heart? Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the ultimate answer for all the giants of life – “Look to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith…”
