Stand And Fight: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You Series

CRAIG HERBERGER ILLUSTRATION

For a state trooper, there is a uniform that they put on each and every day. There is not one piece of gear that they would feel comfortable leaving the house not wearing. Each piece is vital. They have something to communicate with and to call for help with. They have something that covers their heart and protects them from bullets. They have a gun if a situation calls for the use of deadly force. They have handcuffs to subdue the enemy. A trooper hopes that he will never have to use some things in the course of duty, for a Christian, the reality is that we will use every piece of this armor on a regular basis as we fight to advance God’s kingdom on Earth. Paul says, put it all on, the whole armor. Each piece is as important as the next because there is one rule that is certain in Spiritual Warfare, if you are making a difference for God and He is using you, you will come under attack. If you are comfortable and unwilling to take spiritual risks and living a life that is having no impact on anyone for the Kingdom of God, Satan is not going to waste his time on you, why would he? You’re already playing into his hands. But if you are growing in Christ, if you are serving, if you are sharing, if you are following where god leads, if you are living the life of one who is set apart by God to accomplish something for his kingdom, whether big or small, you will be noticed. Satan will attack.

But Paul says to put on the whole armor of God and to move forward in the confidence of God’s strength and you will have victory. It’s a promise. It’s not a guarantee of a pain free easy life, but it is a promise to provide everything that you need to stand strong and to receive your reward in eternity. Put on the belt of Truth, the breastplate of righteousness, fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Grab a hold of the shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, and lift high the sword of the Spirit, God’s word. In the weeks to come we will be digging into what each of these pieces provides for us and the responsibility that comes with wearing them. For now, the important thing to remember is that we are in a battle and we’ve got to dress the part.

The third principle that Paul gives us for spiritual victory is to:

3) Know Your Enemy

You wouldn’t think of entering into a war without gathering as much intelligence about the enemy as you can get. Paul gives us the background on what and who we are fighting against.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As you begin to understand this battle, you need to understand that it is played out in and through the lives of people, but it is a spiritual battle and its roots are in the heavenly realms. There are some who simply cannot believe this, it sounds too sci-fi for them. But I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears the evidence of these forces and I assure you that they are real and closing our eyes and trying to convince ourselves that they don’t exist does not make them any less real nor will it make them go away. Another step towards victory is to understand and to know your enemy. One of the reasons that America is a free country today is that the British did not know their enemy in the Revolutionary War. They were expecting one thing and we gave them something completely different, we didn’t fight in conventional ways. They failed to adapt and as a result, they lost the war. We hid in fields and trees and shot at them from unexpected places. That’s how Satan works. He lurks and waits for that perfect opportunity when our guard is down and that’s when he attacks.