Ready For Anything (Part 4: Going On The Offensive) Series

Intro

We are dealing with spiritual warfare using Ephesians 6:10-18 as our text. Every Christian needs to know how to do spiritual warfare because every Christian is a soldier. Like it or not, you are in a fight with the devil. His intentions toward you are not good. He hates you because he hates the God who loves. You cannot pacify him because he is fully set against anything that belongs to God. Your only option is to defend yourself and fight back.

The reason we are in this study is to learn from Scripture how to do that.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26: “I do not fight like a man beating the air (NIV).i The NLT says, “I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.” A boxer can throw a lot of punches, but if none of them hit the opponent, he will lose the fight. This is one reason a boxer trains so that he punches with skill. He not only needs to know how to hit his target when he throws a punch, but he needs to know how to assert proper force behind each punch. A jab serves a different purpose than a hook. Technique matters. Heart matters. A champion boxer must know technique, but he must also have the heart of a fighter. He must be tenacious and persistent. He must know how to take a punch as well as give a punch. Paul told Timothy to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3 KJV).

That boxer also needs to know how to defend himself against the onslaughts of his adversary. For spiritual battles, Paul tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). God has given us what we need to win our battles, but we have to put on the armor he provides. A soldier may possess the armor, but if he does not put it on, then he is just as vulnerable as the man who has no armor.

Last week we began addressing the specific pieces of armor listed in Ephesians 6. We discovered these pieces of armor represent something very practical. They involve a biblical mindset and an obedient lifestyle. Obedience to God is the key to your success in spiritual warfare. You outmaneuver Satan by following your commander’s orders. Satan is smarter than us. He has been around for thousands of years. He has more experience than we have. If we try to match our wits against his, we will lose. That’s why Proverbs 3:5-8 gives this instruction:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.” Our victory is always found in our obedience. We will see that more clearly as we address the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

In our previous message, we discussed the first four pieces of armor. We learned that the belt of truth is a belt of truthfulness. It is “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). It is avoiding all forms of lies, hypocrisy, deception, and manipulation because that is the devil’s turf. Gang members in these big cities understand the value of staying on your own turf. They know it is dangerous to get on your adversary’s turf. If a gang member goes onto a rival gang’s turf, they will gang up on him and beat him up. Our turf is truthfulness. We stay off the turf of lies and dishonesty. When we operate in truthfulness and honesty, God has our back. When we are where we are supposed to be, doing what we are supposed to do, then we are safe.

I was sitting on my deck at home one day this week having a brief devotional with the Lord. I looked up into a tree and saw a very small bird, a tiny yellow finch. I looked at him, and he looked at me. He was perched there without a care in the world, feeling safe and sound on his God-given turf. There were predators on the ground that could have devoured him if he were on their turf. This finch was safe because he used the equipment God had given him (two-wings) to fly up into that tree, and he stayed in the scope God had assigned to him. God has given us armor that will keep us safe if we put it on. And there is safety in simply operating in the assignment God gives you (2 Cor. 10:13).