29, February 2004
Dakota Community Church
The Essentials
The Essential Characteristics of Conquerors
WEEK THREE: BATTLE GEAR
Introduction:
We have been talking about defeating the giants in our lives this year. We looked at the necessity of courage and at the importance of competence in defeating our enemies.
Tonight I want to take a look at our battle gear, what it is and how to effectively use it.
Illustration:
Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Indian warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, “What are we going to do?” Tonto replied, “What you mean ‘we,’ White man?”
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2Timothy 2: 23-26
23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Ephesians 6: 10-12
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.
1Peter 5: 7-9
7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
James 4: 7-9
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(A.) The Nature Of Our Battle
1. Our battle is against the devil not people.
Ephesians 6: 12
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.
In warfare, there is always an objective.
- In many wars, the objective is land.
For example, in the Middle East, Israel and the Palestinians are fighting because they both want to have the same land.
- In Afghanistan we’re fighting because we want to destroy the power base of terrorism.
- Hitler fought because he wanted to create a “superior” race.
- The Northern states fought the Civil War because they wanted to be free the slaves in the Southern States.
- The Gulf War was fought because the U.S. wanted to end the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, so they could have access to oil.
I mention all of these wars, not because I want to say who was right or wrong, but to show that in every war, there is an objective.
There is a reason we are fighting the war. And the same is true with spiritual warfare.
If we are going to wage war on Satan’s kingdom, we have to know what our objective is.
- Our objective, our mission is to rescue people from Satan’s grip.
- To free them from his control.
Jesus said so at the start of his ministry:
Luke 4:18-19
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
Jude 20-23
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
In the recent, attacks against Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, tried to present our fight as the U.S. or the Christian world against the Muslim world. And he tried to present it as the U.S. against the Afghan people. So, President Bush had to very definitely state that our war was against, terrorists and those who support terrorism, not against the people of Afghanistan.
It is the same with our fight against Satan’s kingdom. Even though there are many people involved in this fight, we have to recognize that our fight is not with them. Our fight is against Satan, not the people whom he has under his control.
Even, under his control, these people may fight against us, but the fact is that our problem is not really they, but the one controlling them. Our fight is with sin, not with sinners. President Bush was very careful to state that the Afghan people were victims of the terrorists, just as much as the Americans were. And the same is true of those people who come against us in our fight for God’s Kingdom.
The people that come against us are not our enemy. They are victims of our enemy, and our very objective is to free them from the clutches of that enemy. Even though, it’s sometimes very difficult, we have to refuse to see the people who are under Satan’s control as our enemy. If we fight them and defeat them, we haven’t accomplished anything. It’s only when we fight against Satan that we accomplish our objective.
So then:
1. Our battle is against the devil not people. And:
2. Our battle is spiritual not natural.
Often, in our culture that really denies the supernatural, we are tempted to look for a natural solution to everything. Education especially gets a lot of attention. It seems that no matter what the problem, AIDS, gun violence, domestic violence, rape, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, or anything else, the solution, in the mind of our culture, always involves more education. We also like to throw a lot of money and resources at our problems. We think that if a problem gets enough funding it will go away.
In a culture like that, it’s easy for the church to begin to fall into a mentality that there is a natural solution for every problem.
Acts 3: 1-8
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Peter recognized that even though he didn’t physically possess anything to help the man, he possessed something far greater. He possessed spiritual authority over that man’s problem. He somehow recognized that the man didn’t need a physical temporary solution, but he needed a spiritual permanent solution. He needed something more than money; he needed a healing. And the same is true of so many things that we will encounter as a church. The problems may manifest in the natural realm, but they are really spiritual problems.
Now, James encourages us that when we are able to help with something tangible, like money, we have an obligation to do that, but we also have to have the spiritual discernment to know when the problem is deeper than something physical. We have to know that our real fight, even though it shows up in the physical sometimes, is really in the spiritual world.
It’s like a cold medicine. The cold is a virus. Medicine cannot cure you of a cold. You can take anything you want, and as much of it as you want, and it’s not going to shorten your cold by one minute. Oh, it may cover up your symptoms. It may take away your cough or your runny nose or your sore throat, but it isn’t going to take away your cold. A cold is a virus. Now, these medicines really do make you feel better. They may even help you to feel like the cold is gone for a while. But all they’re doing is masking the symptoms. They’re not treating the problem.
Now with a cold, it’s not detrimental to mask the symptoms instead of the treating the problem, especially because there really isn’t anything else you can do. However, in our warfare against Satan’s kingdom, we MUST treat the root problem. We may treat physical symptoms, but unless we defeat the root cause, that is, unless we can solve the spiritual problem, our work is useless.
In order to deal with these spiritual enemies we must understand and use our spiritual tools.
Ephesians 6: 13-18
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.
(B.) Our Defensive Weapons
1. The belt of truth.
Put on the belt of truth:
- To protect your loins, the place of strength.
- To protect the sensitive reproductive region.
- To keep your pants up. We all know the embarrassment of being caught with our pants down in a lie. My weight loss problem.
- The truth of the gospel is what holds everything in place for believers.
Remind yourself everyday that you are a man of truth, honor and integrity as an ambassador of heaven.
Quotes:
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
C.S. Lewis
Peace if possible, truth at all costs.
Martin Luther
2. The breastplate of righteousness.
Put on the breastplate of righteousness:
- To protect your heart and vital organs.
- As a reminder of the freedom you have been given from sins control.
2Corinthians 5: 16-21
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
3. The shoes of readiness.
Put on the shoes of readiness:
- Because everywhere you go the gospel of peace goes.
- A sure foothold comes from personal peace.
Philippians 4: 6-7
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Walk in peace and take the gospel of peace everywhere you go, the enemy will be defeated before you.
4. The shield of faith.
Ephesians 6: 16
16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
How many saw the movie, “Gladiator”, with Russell Crowe?
Remember the flaming arrows?
That is what the enemy is launching at you on a daily basis.
Take up the shield of faith!
- It is a shield of belief in God’s word.
- It has the power to put out the enemies fire.
Your shield covers all arrows but you must use it or it will do you no good.
If the arrow is sickness hold up the shield of belief in healing.
- I stand believing in Is. 53:5 and 1Peter2: 24 that say by your stripes I am healed.
If the arrow is financial hold up the shield of God’s provision.
- My God supplies all my needs according…
- Ps. 37: 25 says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
If the arrow is that the church will not succeed hold up the shield of belief in God’s purposes.
- Matt. 16: 18 Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
You’ve got it so use it!
5. The helmet of salvation.
Acts 19: 13-16
13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
16Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Do not become involved in spiritual battles without the helmet of salvation.
- The battlefield is the mind in many cases.
- We are to take every thought captive and make it obey the truth.
(C.) Our Offensive Weapons
1. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Matthew 4: 1- 11
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
4But He answered and said, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
5Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
"He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,
"In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."
7Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."
8Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
10Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."
11Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
2. All kinds of prayer.
- Fellowship prayer.
- Petition prayer.
- Praying in the Spirit.
Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background. One minister shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship. The second suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees. The third suggested that they both had it wrong--the only position worth its salt was to pray while stretched out flat on your face. By this time the phone man couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected, "I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground."
3. Alertness.
The fact is that while we’re waging war on Satan’s kingdom, we’re also involved in many other activities of life. We still have to live our normal lives. It’s so easy then to forget that we’re at war. And the enemy wants to lull us into complacency where we forget that we’re at war, so that he can blindside us, and attack us when we don’t expect it.
But because we already know this is his plan, we have to determine to remain alert. When the enemy tries to attack we’re ready for him. That means we have to pray continually, because we never know when the battle is going to happen. We have to meditate on and study God’s word continually, because we never know when the battle will come. That’s the message of this alertness. You can’t segment your life into Spiritual warfare and the rest of your life. You can’t be a soldier for God on Saturdays and Sundays and Thursday morning, but not be a soldier the rest of the week. When you enlist in God’s army it’s a full time commitment. There are no reserves. Once you make that commitment, you have to remain constantly vigilant.
A guy named Pete gets a job as a switchman with the railroad, and he had weeks of training. Finally the day came, and the supervisor takes him into the switch booth to test his readiness. The following conversation takes place: Supervisor: "Imagine you were sitting here alone and you learned there was a train coming from the North on that track, and another coming from the South on the same track. What would you do?" Pete: "I’d throw this switch right here and put one train on the other track." Supervisor: And what if that switch didn’t work?" Pete: "I’d go down to the track and throw that big switch lever there, putting one train on the other track." Supervisor: "And what if that switch lever didn’t work?" Pete: "Then I’d come back here and call the dispatcher to stop both trains." Supervisor: "And what if the phone didn’t work?" Pete: "Then I’d go to that gas station across the street and use their phone." Supervisor: "And what if their phone didn’t work?" Pete: "Then I’d go get Uncle Joe." Supervisor: "Uncle Joe??? What would he do?" Pete: "Nothing, but he ain’t never seen a train wreck."
