This Means War!
Thesis: We Christians need to understand that we are in a spiritual war. This war is for the souls of the lost who are all around us. These individuals need to be rescued from the enemy which is made up of spiritual forces of evil. It’s our job as Christian warriors to fight for their release.
Introduction:
Our country is at war with Irag. This time of war is nothing new for this world in which we live. Wars have been happening since mankind fell in the Garden of Eden. The Bible has a lot to say about war. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says there is a time for everything under heaven. Listen to King Solomon’s words:
There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under Heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
Yes the Bible says there is a time for war. Webster’s Dictionary tells us that war is defined the following way, It is a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism which causes a struggle or competition between two opposing forces with each one fighting to get their particular way.
There is another realm out there that is involved in this war with Irag. It is a demonic world. These car bombers are demonically inspired. They are deceived into thinking that they are going to go to Heaven if they blow themselves up for their way. Notice how they play on the sympathy of the soldiers then kill them. The story this week broke about a pregnant women who motions for help to some soldiers. They respond and go over to help and the car blows up. The soldiers along with others are killed. These terrorists focus on the caring and kindness of the soldiers to kill them. A religion based on hate and tactics like this is not of God. Here me on this the Bible is very clear what is of God and what is not of God.
Islam is a religion which is birthed out of the lineage of Ishmael and is a religion of bondage not freedom. Galatians 4:21-31 explains the condition of someone living under Islamic spiritual control and someone living under Jesus spiritual control:
Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law? Abraham, remember, had two sons: one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born by human connivance; the son of the free woman was born by God’s promise. This illustrates the very thing we are dealing with now. The two births represent two ways of being in relationship with God. One is from Mount Sinai in Arabia. It corresponds with what is now going on in Jerusalem—a slave life, producing slaves as offspring. This is the way of Hagar. In contrast to that, there is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother—this is the way of Sarah. Remember what Isaiah wrote:
“Rejoice, barren woman who bears no children,
shout and cry out, woman who has no birth pangs,
Because the children of the barren woman
now surpass the children of the chosen woman.”
Isn’t it clear, friends, that you, like Isaac, are children of promise? In the days of Hagar and Sarah, the child who came from faithless connivance (Ishmael) harassed the child who came—empowered by the Spirit—from the faithful promise (Isaac). Isn’t it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern? There is a Scripture that tells us what to do: “Expel the slave mother with her son, for the slave son will not inherit with the free son.” Isn’t that conclusive? We are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
I want it clear that you understand that God does not delight or rejoice in war. It says in Psalm 68:30 “Scatter the nations who delight in war.” It is clear from this passage that no one should delight in war. If you do God will scatter you. We should not rejoice or delight in war either. War is ugly and many innocent people get hurt and killed. The word of God tells us to make sure we seek guidance before going to war Proverbs 24:6 “Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.” I want us to ponder our current situation and to seek guidance from the Lord about war. I believe our leadership in this country has seriously sought God’s guidance about this war. I have read how President Bush and his wife prayed about what to do with Irag. President Busch feels “It was time for war.” I want us to understand that the war is Irag just started but the truth is we have been in a state of war from our birth. You see we are at war when we are born into this world. Especially when we become Christians we are told we become a part of the army of the Lord. Let’s read Paul’s thoughts on this war.
Main Scripture Text:
Ephesians 6:10-20:
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.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Ephesians 6:10-20 The Message
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH
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.
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 don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Paul in our passage today warns us that we are in a war and we must know how to defend ourselves and how to use the weapons of spiritual warfare that the Lord has provided for us. We need to understand that this war is for the eternal lives of the people around us including our families. It’s a war for control of the spiritual condition of mankind. We are on the side of good and on the other side is evil. One side represents freedom and life the other side represents bondage and death. Good will follow the rules of godly combat the other side will use any means possible to win. They will lie, cheat, deceive, use terrorist attacks, chemical weapons, they will use innocent humans to protect their cause, they will sacrifice their babies to win, they will use torture because their leader is called destroyer. He roams around seeking to kill steal and destroy and the only force holding back his attacks is us the Christian army of the Lord.
Video Illustration: Ghost – Toward the end of the movie Sam the departed soul battles his friend who is trying to kill his wife. The man ends up killing himself in the battle and discovers he has made a wrong choice and he is hauled away into torment and darkness by demonic spirits. Sam tells his love when the Light of Heaven appears that the Love inside is what you take with you when you go to Heaven. This scene paints the picture that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers.
The truth is we need to put on the full armor of God to fight in this spiritual battle. I would like to make some comparisons between the War in Irag and the equipment used in it and the spiritual weapons that the Christian should be using to win the war in the spiritual realm for the souls of those around us.
I. The first thing our text tells us is we need to be strong in the Lord not in our strength – ability – or knowledge (Verse 10-13).
a. We do not have the weapons to defeat this spiritual enemy we are warring with.
i. We must use the equipment provided by the Lord to win this war.
ii. We are fighting against spiritual forces of evil they are not defeated by conventional natural means. We must use spiritual weapons of warfare made available to us by Jesus Christ.
1. Reference the Prayer song played on KTIS.
b. The Bible warns us to make sure we understand who we are fighting. We need to know our enemy.
i. Good generals will tell you to understand your enemy. Learn their tactics and their strategies for doing battle.
1. If you have ever seen the story of Patton. You may recall that when Patton’s armor meet Rommel’s army he defeated him because Patton had read Rommel’s book on how to fight.
2. Patton yelled out after the defeat “I read your book Rommel!”
3. He was able to defeat the enemy because he knew his tactics and strategies.
4. The same is true of the Generals in the Irag War they have study their enemies and they anticipate his tactics and strategies and use the counter measures to defeat the enemy.
c. We should learn this lesson well because Ephesians tells us to take our stand and fight against “The Devil’s Schemes”.
i. But to be able to stand you must know how your enemy operates.
1. Satan is a deceiver, a liar.
a. He seeks to kill steal and destroy.
b. He will come even as an Angel of light to deceive people into thinking he is speaking from God and give direction contrary to the word of God.
c. Saddam has been used by the enemy this way saying people who commit terrorists acts will be guaranteed a place in heaven,.
i. The Islamic radicals have promoted that they will die and go to heaven and be honored by God. This is a lie from the pit of Hell.
ii. So therefore we need to understand that if the enemy can deceive others like this he can you to. And he did years ago with the Crusades to the Middle East.
iii. So much was done under the name of God but and the enemy appeared to Christians and deceived them into thinking they were speaking for God.
1. Listen to me Deception of any kind comes from the enemy.
2. Lies and putting on Charades will get you into a lot of hot water with the Lord.
3. The Crusades got so bad they believed that the Lord told them to send children into battle because they would win the annihilated in combat.
a. See story from Christian History
T.S. – The first step in Spiritual warfare is to know your enemy’s plans and tactics so you can counter them. The next thing is we must do is have our spiritual warfare equipment on.
II. Then warrior Paul in Ephesians tells us to make sure we put on God’s Armor for this war we are in because it will save our lives for eternity (verses 14-20).
a. These are the weapons and protective gear given to us from the Lord to use for this Spiritual war we are in.
i. The Belt of truth- This is the support system that holds you pants up in battle.
1. For the Soldiers in the Gulf they have belts that hold up their pants while in combat.
2. For us the belt of truth is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the belt of truth we are vulnerable on the battlefield.
3. The sons of Sceva discovered this when they tried to take on the spiritual forces of evil without the truth.
4. They lost their clothes in battle
a. Same is true today if you try to fight the enemy without the belt of truth you will lose your pants and be shamefully exposed and destroyed. There are many dropping their pants in battle because they don’t have the belt of truth keeping them on.
b. The second protective gear is the breast plate of righteousness.
i. This is like the flak jackets and bullet proof vests that the soldiers use in Irag to protect their vital organs.
ii. It is positioned over their vital organs to given them protection in the fire fights
iii. The spiritual implication here is the same the breastplate of righteousness is there to protect your heart from the devils bullets.
iv. If you expose your heart in battle by taking off the breastplate of righteousness your can and will eventually be killed.
1. Your righteousness is the armor that lets you live for eternity. If you lose is or take it off your open to eternal death.
c. The third element needed in warfare is that your feet are fit with the readiness.
i. In other words it reflects back to our text last week that Christ will come back like a thief in the night and that the soldiers need to always be ready to go with him into battle.
ii. We need to be ready to fight for Jesus t a moments notice.
iii. He’s coming back and is you ready. Got Jesus are you ready to wage war on the enemy of your souls.
1. Or are you fat and out of shape spiritually are your weapons loaded and ready a or are you sleeping like the church in Revelation not ready not prepared a sleep at the front will only get you ambushed and killed.
2. You must be ready.
3. The convoy that varied of course was not ready and they paid the price.
d. The next item we need for battle is the shield of faith.
i. Faith is your shield in the mist of war. When you superior officer tells you to do something you have to trust have faith that what he says to do will make the difference between life and death for someone in your outfit and for your life.
ii. Article on faith- we use faith everyday
iii. But in spiritual warfare the shield of faith is like the patriot missile it knocks out the enemy’s missiles from hitting you its target.
e. When we are in spiritual combat we must have the helmet of salvation on.
i. The helmet and the uniform in the gulf designates who side your on. It’s the uniform an d helmet that allows you the ability the ability to be in the war
ii. The helmet is also there to protect your head and mind. To survive in this battle you must have the mind of Christ and that is the mind of salvation.
iii. Salvation the helmet allows you the right to be in the war and it protects in the fire fights.
iv. It’s there to protect your mind and designate what side you are on.
v. It’s either life or death-blessings or curses.
f. The sword of the spirit is the next weapon in the arsenal of God for us.
i. We are to use the sword of the spirit against the enemy.
ii. Jesus used in Matthew 4 in the temptation and it drove the enemy away.
1. Use cross – sword/ Cross prop to make point.
2. I want you to know that this is an offensive weapon.
3. The problem in the church is no one uses this weapon to go after the enemy
a. We think Jesus just wants us to leave sin alone and no make war.
b. Wrong O!
g. The next weapon is prayer I call it the stealth bomber.
i. You cannot see it coming but when it hits you know it.
ii. We need to have more stealth bombers in the army of the Lord. Prayer is the force that creates miracles and allows God the opportunity to meet a threat head on with his power.
1. See Illustration Story “Gulf War Miracle.”
iii. By the way it’s important to note that the stealth planes are first in battle. Is prayer paving the way for you in battle?
h. I want to add one more for our list of spiritual weapons it is found in Luke 10:17-20.
i. We need to make sure we use the power of the name in battle. Just this name alone terrifies the enemy and the demons and the enemy runs for cover.
Conclusion:
Today we have discovered that we have been in a war for years with spiritual forces of evil in this world.
We have also discovered that the Lord has given us specific insight into how to defeat this force trying to impose its way on this world.
We have also discovered that the Lord has provided us with the uniforms, the protective gear, the offensive weapons necessary to win this war and defeat the powers of darkness in our lives and in others lives.
But it all comes down to us acknowledging first that we are in a war.
The second thing we must do is we must be willing to fight in this war.
The third action is we must learn about our enemy.
The fourth action is we need to put on the armor of God to wage war with our enemy.
Once we have taken these 4 steps of action we will see the enemy driven back in our lives and in others lives. We will see that we have the stronger force on our side and that the battle is ours to be won in the power of Jesus’ name.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s go to war!
