"SPIRITUAL WARFARE #1"
Ephesians 6:10-19
As we start today a series on Spiritual Warfare, I am going to share with you 3 principles of Warfare each week for the next couple of weeks. You may not understand all at first, but you will by the time we are through.
If you will latch onto these principles, you can live a life full of happiness, health, peace, prosperity and accomplishment. If you ignore them, YOU WILL LIVE A LIFE OF DEFEAT----- & DEPRESSION------ & FEAR- -----& UNCERTAINTY----& SELF DOUBT----A LACK OF DIRECTION-----FINANCIAL RUIN---- CONTINUAL DISCOURAGEMENT------because that's Satan's objective.
Without this spiritual armor you have no chance of survival! NONE! Not any! You are like a baby in front of a wild tiger. Satan is a roaring (say it with me) seeking whom he may devour. And he will devour you. PhD and all, if you do not have on the whole armor of God.
How many of you want to live victorious and exciting lives? Let me see your hands. How many of you are willing to fight to live victorious lives? I have a clue for you. There is no victory without fighting. And you are going to have to learn that Jesus is no peacemaker. He came to destroy the works of the devil. And He has ask us as the army of God, to attack the strongholds of sin. And in the next couple of weeks I want you to develope a whole new mentality about who you are and who Satan is and how you can CLEAN HIS CLOCK on a regular basis.
Eph. 6:10 and following. (read verse 10, then ask them to read verse 11 with me) (read 10-13) Now Paul starts with the loins, (verse 14-19)
Let's pray. Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, may our minds be anointed to receive the Word of God--and for us to see that we are in a supernatural, spiritual warfare, and if we do not train for combat, and if we do not suit up for combat, that we will be devoured, by Satan, who is the roaring lion, seeking to rip to shreds, the body of Christ. In Jesus name we pray. And all God's children said Amen.
The first thing I want you to see about Spiritual Warfare is that there are 2 kingdoms at war. (say that with me) There are 2 kingdoms at war. In Matthew 12, verse 22- 28, Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself, and every household divided against itself, will not stand." If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself and then how shall his kingdom stand.
The point is this. Jesus said satan has a kingdom. He said the kingdom of satan is not divided. He said the kingdom of Satan is highly organized with the fallen angels and demons as his command staff. Jesus continued by saying, "but if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Spirit of God has come unto you." Jesus is saying that God has a kingdom. And that He is driving out evil spirits by the Spirit of God, proving the superiority of the kingdom of God.
Listen to that. Being able to drive out evil spirits says 2 things. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS REAL----AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS SUPERIOR TO THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. Jesus was constantly controlling evil spirits and that was fully 25% of His ministry.
Do you see how far the church has come from the pattern of Jesus? THE BUSINESS OF THE CHURCH IS TO GET RID OF EVIL, SUPERVISE IT. I believe that we are to cast out evil spirits, not interview them. A lot of churches interview them, but they don't cast them out.
God has a kingdom, that kingdom is superior to the kingdom of darkness.
And then in Col. 1, verses 12-14, Paul says, "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the kingdom of light, for he has rescued us [listen to this], he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of God."
In this one verse Jesus says there is a kingdom of light and there is a dominion of darkness. The word dominion is the Greek word "ex-zoo-zia", which means authority. The message is, no matter if you like it or not, satan has authority, and he is the ruler of the kingdom of darkness. John 12:31 says "Satan is the prince of the air." PRINCE is someone of authority.
In the book of Ephesians the church is 5 things. It is first an assembly, then a family, then a temple, then a bride, and then an army. A bride is a lover. (says that with me) A bride is a love. An army is a fighter. Now some of you are lovers and not fighters. And you do not fight because you do not see the relationship [now listen to this], you don't see the relationship between what's going on in your life and satan's attack upon you. You don't know that the problems in your marriage, and the problems in your health, and the problems in your finance, and the problems in your peace are instigated by satan himself.
One of the things satan wants to be is incognito---he doesn't want people to think that he is real, or be anywhere around, or has any kind of power, and belittles anyone who would advocate the fact that he is powerful and is a ruler. But God's Word plainly says he is.
If I told you that a cold blooded killer was coming to your house tonight to kill you and your family, would you get ready to resist him. I'm telling you on the authority of God's Word, satan is a cold blooded killer and he's coming to your house to destroy you, heart, soul, mind and body. To ruin your marriage. If he can ruin your marriage, he can divide the family. If he can divide the family, he can divide the church. If he can divide the church, he can divide the city. If he can conqueror the city, he can conqueror the state. If he can rule the states, he can rule the nation. If he can rule the nation, he can rule the world, and that's his objective.
He is your enemy. Our strategy is simple. Jesus said, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you". (Say that with me) The word resist means fight. (say that) Fight. Now for some of you that's sticking in your throat. You are just love-peace at any price. Would lay down and let a steam roller go over you to have peace. (say it with me) Fight. In a couple of weeks your teeth are going to be like razors. (grrrr) As you fight the devil, not each other.
You see, the church is cursed with comfortable Christianity. The Church of Jesus Christ is prepared for banquets, not battle. WE are prepared for bazaars and book reviews--but not battle. WE have peace and grace, but we don't want to hear about battle. I WANT YOU TO HEAR SOMETHING. No war was ever won on the parade ground. In the church we have prima donnas who are full strategy and carnality. Who are waving the scabbier, but the sword is gone.
Do you know what it means to rattle your saber? It means to rattle your sword in the scabbard. It's a bluff, you don't intend to fight. I'm telling you in Jesus' name, when satan gets in your backyard, DON'T RATTLE YOUR SCABBARD, PULL OUT YOUR SWORD AND RUN HIM THROUGH, because the victory's ours.
The church of Jesus Christ is not developing Her recruits into disciplined soldiers. We are fighting the greatest battle of our life with Bible thumping brats, who couldn't find John 3:16 with a seeing eye dog.
They don't know about the invisible war. They don't know about the whole armor of God. And if the devil is real, he doesn't bother me because I certainly do not bother him. We wrestle not--totally describes their spiritual relationship. They don't resist anything.
Let me ask you something. If strict disciple is necessary in the arts. If a person will practice the piano 8 hours a day to be a good pianist. If a man will shoot basketball 8 hours a day to be a good basketball player. If a man will study 8 hours a day to be a good doctor or lawyer. How can we expect to advance against the kingdom of Satan--with an army of fat cats and sanctified saints. How can we. How can we expect to assemble an army in 60 minutes each Lord's day. It is not possible. You are going to have to make up your mind to take Jesus out of His church with you and take Him out to the battle front where the enemy is and engage the enemy in eye to eye combat and decide in Jesus name that YOU are going to win, because Jesus has made victory possible.
The sad situation of today is the situation is desperate, but the saints are not. The trumpet is sounding the call to battle, but we sit in smug satisfaction, UNCOMMITTED, UNTRAINED, UNDISCIPLINED, UNCARING, while satan's forces rip us apart right and left. We can't even identify the source of the attack.
Let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever gotten into an argument with your spouse? Let me see your hands. Come on, higher.
I'm going to preach a series on lying sometime. She says to her husband, "You have a great personality but not for a human being." And he says to her, "You have everything that a man could want. Muscles and a mustache."
Who's providing these juicy thoughts? Who is? Satan is. You see the Bible says, "He infects your mind with fiery darts". In Paul's time they had these fiery darts and on the end of these darts they put a special tar and the lit it and it burned. And when it stuck in you, it was not the dart that killed you. It was the infection from the burn because there was no drugs to cure you. You were dead.
The Bible says that Satan infects your mind and your heart and your body with fiery darts and you catch them with the shield of faith. But while you are in your house and you are passing these compliments one to the other...satan places the fiery dart in your hand and says, "Here, take it and stick it in him." And it does, it sticks in his mind. And he loads up your hand and you let go and it sticks in her mind. Back and forth it goes. Back and forth. Back and forth. When does this stop? When one of you wakes up to the fact that the devil is in your bedroom. And he is having a field day with your mouth.
And the one who is most spiritual will say, "Hey, this is not of God. And this is destroying our relationship and brings no glory to the name of Jesus, and only exubs the presence of satan." You let enough days like that go by and your brain become so infected with rotten thoughts, you're on your way to the court house and a lawyer. Is satan attacking your marriage. PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND FIGHT. Is satan attacking your health, PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND (say it with me) FIGHT. Is satan attacking your finances, PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND (wait for them to say fight). Is satan attacking your peace, PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND (wait for them to say fight.). Is satan attacking your children, PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND (wait for them to say fight). Because the victory is ours in Jesus name, let's win it (praise the Lord.)
The second principle. The Warfare is supernatural. Say that with me. The Warfare is supernatural. 2 Cor. 10:4 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." The word stronghold means a satanic fortress. Then in Eph. 6:12, "for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers and authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." That's the NIV. It plainly says the warfare is supernatural.
The word ruler in this text, means evil forces that have authority over specific geographical places to carry out the purposes of satan. Jesus refers to this principality in His teach as the strong man that must be bound by prayer by those who are following him before the kingdom of God can have total victory in that geographical area.
Let me give you some Bible illustrations and literal illustrations. Certain cities in America have certain personalities because of the evil principality that rules over it. There is no doubt that the evil spirit that rules over New Orleans is witchcraft. It is the by-product of the culture of voodoo and magic in that area. There is no doubt that the spirit of murder rules New York. More people have been killed over the years there than in all of Europe combined. That Los Vegas is rule by a spirit of greed, gambling. That San Francisco is rule by a spirit of homosexuality. These major cities have definite personalities because they have specific evil purpose and a specific evil personality, ruling over them, carrying out the purposes of satan.
You don't have to be too smart to know that satan is attacking the minds of America's youth. They don't have on the helmet of salvation. You put on the helmet of salvation by reading the promises of God's Word that deals with hope. Drugs destroy the mind. Rock music destroys the mind. Suggesting murder and rape and suicide and satanism and incest and drug use and every kind of social violence. Mind control is exploding across America. Transcendental Meditation, ESP, Yoga, Eastern Philosophies. People walking around staring into crystals and going (hum). I'm talking about bright people.
Pornography controls the mind. Very in depth medical research has taken place and doctors are saying when you see a pornographic picture, special ensimes are released in your body that burn the picture in your brain. And you can recall that picture in the nth degree, 10 years later. Why. Because, satan sees you without the helmet of salvation and he comes and he stick into your brain rotten thoughts, that fester and destroy and consume and devour, because you in your infinite wisdom have refuse the supernatural protection of God.
Like a baby in a battle zone, he wipes you out and destroys you because you are there on your own hook. The battle is for the mind. That's why Paul said, "Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus." (say it with me.) I will keep him in perfect peace. Not him who watch television and reads 3 newspapers a day. I will keep him in perfect peace "whose mind is stayed on me". The Bible says "the carnal MIND is an enmity towards God." Paul said, "Casting down every imagination and every thought that exults itself against the kingdom of God."
Satan sees you without your helmet.
I want to ask you this in closing. Is satan trying to invade your marriage and has he used your mouth to plant bitter thoughts of animosity between husband and wife. I want to tell you, that's his business. Is satan attacking your health? Is satan attacking your peace? Put on the Helmet of salvation, which is the Word of God. How many of you want God to answer your prayers? Put on the helmet.
Do you know why you are timid in your witness for Christ? Proverbs 28:1 says, "The righteous are as bold as the lion." You sound like a mouse because of the inpurity of your mind. Purity and righteousness bring power and you can witness when you are filled with the Holy Spirit but you cannot witness because your mind is filled with those things that are not of Christ. Do you get the picture? When you have on the helmet of salvation you can wade into the arena and the victory will be yours. But when you refuse, the devil is going to run you through and kill your marriage, your children, your health, your hopes, your dreams.
What do you want to do. Put on this, (Bible), and living by the standard of God, or live in your own blood, defeated and destroyed. The choice is yours.
Can we stand. Father, in Jesus' name, thank you for your Word, the helmet, and thank you for we have in the Son, life ever lasting. In Jesus Name. Amen.
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