SPIRITUAL WARFARE
& THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD (SERIES)
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan
www.TawasBaptist.org
What is Spiritual Warfare?
„« Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
PRAYER
Our battle is not against evil people, nor temptations, but the spiritual force behind these things, the devil and his minions.
-Remember Flip Wilson? ¡§The devil made me do it!¡¨ No he didn¡¦t. He tempted you to sin and you accepted the temptation. He didn¡¦t MAKE Adam nor Eve eat from the forbidden tree, and he didn¡¦t make you sin. If you didn¡¦t do this of your own free will, then it wouldn¡¦t be sin.
The devil has already lost this war. He lost, and he knows he lost. He lost that glorious day when Jesus uttered in his dying breath, ¡§it is finished¡¨, and the sacrifice completed, Jesus became our savior and from that point forward through time, anyone submitting themselves to Him now belong to Christ¡¦s kingdom.
Spiritual warfare is many things. The never ending battle between our flesh and our spirit, the trials and tribulations we face in our everyday life, the people and things that come against us when we are living godly lives.
Envy, strife, bitterness, gossip even hatred attack us.
Sometimes our spiritual warfare doesn¡¦t directly involve anyone other than ourselves and our own imaginations. Our flesh and spirit will not be one until we are glorified at Christ¡¦s second coming!
Although this warfare can take on many different appearances, it all comes from the same origin. The dark forces of our enemy.
We must remember that God is in control! But we do have an enemy that is in full scale battle with us in the unseen spiritual realm, and he has influences all around us.
These forces behind this unseen revolt are non-physical and super-natural. Just because the battle is unseen to our naked eye, does not mean it is not taking place.
„« Points to remember
„« When we accept Christ, we are enlisted in God¡¦s army
„« Matthew 13:19 (NIV) We are attacked for hearing the word
The devil steals the seed before it has a chance to grow. It is much easier to destroy a seed than a sapling, but to destroy a mighty Oak is much more difficult.
„« Acts 4:25 (NIV) We are attacked for being a threat to the enemy
„« Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV) We sometimes battle the devil
„« Matthew 8:28-34 (NIV) We sometimes battle people influenced by the devil
„« Galatians 5:17 (NIV) We sometimes battle ourselves
„« Sometimes we battle against God and His Word
We need to remember that the devil is recruiting out there, and we are not the only ones sowing seed.
„« Matthew 13:24-26 (NIV)
Jesus tells us here that Satan is also sowing seed as well. Jesus came sowing good seed on earth. After he ascended, the enemy came and sowed tares (a false grain or weed). Among us believers who have the good seed there are tares planted by the devil. This is to cause discord, havoc, and an attempt to tear down what God has built up.
As we know from Psalm 127:1 ¡V Unless God builds the house, those who labor, do so in vain.
„« 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
¡§Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy 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 kind of suffering.¡¨
„« Matthew 10:16 (NIV)
¡§I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.¡¨
The scriptures tell us to rejoice when we are being attacked for Christ. If we are being attacked, this means we are doing something right and we are a threat to the enemy¡¦s kingdom. The devil would not waste time or resources on attacking a non-believer because they are no threat.
Next week we will discuss some of the ways we are attacked today and see if we are prepared to defend ourselves or if we are just sitting ducks.
