Spiritual Warfare

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”.