Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:10-13
Introduction: We are in the middle of a battlefield this morning. The war being fought on this battlefield is not being fought with guns and bombs. It is a battle that often cannot be seen though it rages continually. It is being fought for the souls of men and women – and for your very soul. The war is a spiritual war that has three formidable foes pitted against us – the Devil, the World, and Self.
I. The Devil
A. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
B. “There is no truce in the invisible war. Demonic activity is both real and relentless. There is no R & R for Satan’s army. These soldiers work around the clock, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, year after year.” (Chuck Swindoll)
C. The Devil is REAL! He is not some cute little character running around in red union underwear carrying a pitchfork. He is a real being created by God. He intelligent, crafty, wily, and powerful. Christ believes in him. The Bible says he is real. He is real!
D. Understand he is our adversary. In other words he is your opponent – your enemy!
E. He is a powerful enemy. – a roaring lion
1. He is stronger than you are.
2. Proverbs 30:29 – 30 There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any;
3. Jude 1:9 (NASB) But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
4. Daniel 10:12 - 13 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
F. He is an actively pursuing enemy. - seeking whom he may devour
1. 2 Corinthians 4:4 He blinds people spiritually
2. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 He masquerades as an angel of light.
3. 1 Timothy 4:1-6 He instigates false doctrine
4. Acts 5:3 He stirs up trouble in the church and seeks to neutralize its witness.
5. He seeks to disturb the unity of the church by creating discord and division
6. The devil has a Master’s degree in Trickonometry. – Ken Crockett
7. When a lion walking in the mountains sees that it is being hunted, it erases its tracks with its tail; it always sleeps with its eyes open.
G. He is a persistent enemy. - walks about (takes every opportunity)
1. A mature lion can consume 30% 0f his own body weight at one setting.
2. He is a ferocious foe who is never satisfied with his conquests.
3. He feeds on the carcasses of his prey and he rises to hunt more.
4. The devil has a Master’s degree in Trickonometry. – Ken Crockett
H. He is a Beaten Enemy
• Hebrews 2:14 – 15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
II. The World
A. John 15:18 – 19 “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.
B. The world will certainly speak well of Christians when they are zealous about giving away food, money, or other donations, but the world hates Christians when they stick to the details of Christ’s Word, as John writes, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world,” (John 17:14).
C. Jesus indicates that we do not belong to the world—we are not to be like the people of the world. We are to be different. The people of the world will hate us. Why? It is not because of our superior moral lives. They hate us because we tell them there is only one way to God and that it is not by “works”.
D. If you are living in a world where everyone limps, a person who walks normally is considered abnormal." – Peter Lord
E. They hate us because we tell them the only way to God is Jesus Christ. They hate us because we tell them that they are headed to Hell unless they repent. They hate us because we will not join them and confirm them in their abominations. They hate us because we are different; we are intolerant and we are not afraid to say so.
F. 1 John 2:15 – 17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
G. The areas the world attacks the believer with are;
1. Lust of the Flesh – the attraction to satisfy all the sensual pleasures of life
2. Lust of the Eyes – the attraction to obsess over material things
3. Pride of Life – literally, "arrogant assumption": vainglorious display – the desire to be somebody and live pompously.
H. The world system is committed to at least four major objectives, which I can summarize in four words: fortune, fame, power, pleasure. First and foremost: Fortune, money. The world system is driven by money; it feeds on materialism. Second: Fame. That is another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody in someone else’s eyes. Third: Power. This is having influence, maintaining control over individuals or groups or companies or whatever. It is the desire to manipulate and maneuver others to do something for one’s own benefit. Fourth: Pleasure. At its basic level, pleasure has to do with fulfilling one’s sensual desires. It’s the same mindset that’s behind the slogan: "If it feels good, do it." - Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity
III. Self
A. Our greatest enemy is not the devil, nor the world, but self.
B. James 1:14-15 ...each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
C. The place where the fiercest battles are fought is not out in some seedy location or in the devil’s lair but in our minds. It is in our thoughts, in our minds, in our thinking and in our imaginations that the seeds of sin, the seeds of our destruction are sown.
D. Romans 7:15 - 24 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
E. We like to say that the devil made me do it or someone else pressured or lured us into sin; but realize thatevery person is responsible for his or her sinfulness. No one forces us not to love God and to violate His statutes.
F. We need to realize that although we might be saved our old nature is just as vicious and rotten and sinful and wicked as it ever was.
G. The conflict in the lives of believers between our human (fleshly) nature and that of the Holy Spirit residing within is often extremely intense. Here is where the most desperate battles are fought in the conquest of sin. It is only when the self-nature surrenders its own way and becomes willing to accept God’s way that we are enabled to choose right over wrong. The contest over the control of the will lies at the heart of every victory and every defeat. - copied
H. 2 Corinthians 5:17 …if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I. Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
J. An old Indian, who had newly found Christ as his Savior, expressed the problem in this way: "In my heart there are two dogs that are continually in battle, a white dog and a black dog." The missionary asked him, "Which dog wins the battle?" The answer was simple, "The one that I feed!"
