Our teaching today will come from the book of EPHESIANS, chapter 6. You can turn there now and we will come back to it in a few moments.
But first, I want to tell you about a soldier who tearfully left his girlfriend back in the states as he shipped off to war in Iraq. Several months went by and all of a sudden, she quit writing him. And she didn’t reply to any of his letters asking if something was wrong.
He began to get more and more preoccupied with his worries until he finally received a letter from her. As he read it, his eyes filled with painful tears. It was a "Dear John" letter. In this letter, she asked him to send her picture back because she wanted to give it to another man.
After two days of moping, he did what most of us do in similar situations. He devised a plan to get her back! He went around and explained his plan to all his buddies, and asked them for pictures of their girlfriends. When he had about 40 pictures, he put them in a box along with her picture. He wrote a letter and put it in the box before he mailed it to her.
As she opened the box, she saw the pictures with a letter lying on top of them. As she read the letter, her spirit of happiness over this new found love turned to one of anger and humiliation, just as the soldier had planned. This is what the letter said: "Please take your picture, and return the rest --- I have tried, but for the life of me, I just can’t remember which one you are!"
In that situation, the solder’s heart was vulnerable, and he saw the need to guard it, and like most of us do, his first choice was to strike out and "get even."
Today, I want to talk to you about war. And how we need to protect ourselves from the onslaught of our enemy.
It seems that every generation has its own war, doesn’t it? And our great nation has had more than its share of wars, too. The first war we had was to fight for our own independence; to fight so that we could win the right to govern ourselves; to make our own national decisions and to have that precious freedom to worship the way we choose to worship, not the way somebody else tells us to worship.
And make no mistake about it; there was no way we could have these freedoms today had we not gone to war and fought for them yesterday.
The war I want to talk about today is a different kind of war. It is not like the physical wars America has fought. It is a very personal war that each one of us fights every day of our lives.
We do not actually see this war, but we can see the results of this war, because this war is a spiritual war. It takes place in the spiritual realm. That is where Satan does his best to overthrow Jesus Christ and takes His position on the Throne of Glory.
And every one of us are soldiers in that war. To be an effective soldier, we must first know who the enemy is. We must then understand what the enemy wants to take from us, so we will know how to defend ourselves. And once we understand all of this, we must put on our armor of protection; our battlefield uniforms.
The Apostle Paul tells us about this war. Let’s go back to our main text in EPHESIANS. Paul finished chapter 5 by telling people to treat their slaves with mercy, for they both have the same ultimate Master in Heaven. And then he goes into -
EPHESIANS 6:10-12 [NIV]
‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.’
‘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.’
And in verse 13, Paul begins to give us details on how we can best defend ourselves.
‘Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground ….’
There is an old saying that says we cannot be aware of ore than we have been taught. So, with that in mind, let’s learn some things about this spiritual war.
1. THERE IS AN INVISIBLE WORLD
Not long ago, Diana and I stayed up a little later than normal and watched a movie on TV. It was one of those movies that seemed to capture our full attention while we watched, but the next morning, neither one of could remember what it was about. We have all done that, haven’t we?
In reality, were we really paying that much attention when we watched it? Probably not, because we generally give our full attention to only those things we can see, hear, feel, touch, or smell. Our five physical senses tend to run our lives.
But what about our spiritual senses? Too often, we find that we don’t really have spiritual senses. Oh, we know something about God, and we have even read a little of the Bible (very little), but we have no real sense of the spiritual nature of things.
This is not an afternoon at the park, playing softball and coming home afterwords. It is not a movie that we forget about the next day. This is real, for keeps, a life or death fight to the finish - between God and Satan. And we are in the middle of it all.
It isn’t like the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is a war where we might not be able to see our enemy. It is a war where we won’t know when we are under direct attack. And this is a war that affects more than our physical lives today; it affects our spiritual lives forever.
Our weapons consist of prayer, faith, love, and Jesus. But it is no good to just use them without taking the precaution of putting on armor to protect ourselves against the arrows of Satan’s weapons. That would be like taking your training manual out on the battlefield but leaving your weapon in the barracks.
Do we have what it takes to win this war?
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 tells us that we can do everything through Him who gives me strength. If you have invited Jesus into your heart, He has given you the power to withstand the onslaught of this enemy.
EPHESIANS 1:3 [New Living Translation]
‘All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.’
Beyond this physical world, there is another world that is of a spiritual nature. In this spiritual place, both good and evil live. And it is in this area that the war takes place.
Earthly wars are fought over territory or power. This war is fought over hatred and possession. The devil hates God so much he wants to keep us for himself rather than have us live with God. It is in this arena that we fight the daily fight against the principalities of darkness; you and I; in everything we do.
Now, let’s talk about what this war can do to us.
2. THIS WAR WILL AFFECT YOU FOREVER
Have you ever prayed for something and didn’t see your prayer being answered? Have you ever wondered why it took so long to get that answer? We are given an example of that in the Old Testament. Daniel had been praying and had not received an answer. Finally, an angel of the Lord appeared before him and explained the delay.
In DANIEL 10:12-13 it reads -
’Relax, Daniel,’ he continued, ’don’t be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. But I was waylaid by the angel-prince of the kingdom of Persia and was delayed for a good three weeks.’
‘But then Michael, one of heavens chief angel-princes, intervened to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia. And now I’m here to help you understand what will eventually happen to your people. The vision has to do with what’s ahead.’
We might not understand a lot of what this means, but one thing is very clear: There is some kind of spiritual warfare going on, isn’t there? The angel from God was sent to give Daniel a message, but the angel prince of Persia (Satan) blocked his way.
It was only after the archangel Michael came to the other angel’s rescue could he continue on to Daniel. But what did he do? He left Michael there to deal with Satan.
And in verse 20, the angel says,
‘Soon, I will return to fight against the prince of Persia.’
These verses, along with many more throughout the Bible, reveal to us a place filled with both satanic forces and heavenly forces. And it reveals that we are smack dab in the middle of the whole thing.
Some believe that Ancient Persia is where the devil landed after he fell from heaven. They claim it is the birthplace of evil. Ancient Persia is today’s Iran.
Another passage tells about the Spiritual Realm. It takes place when Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the entire army of King Aram. The servant saw many chariots of the enemy and began to fear. But what did Elisha say?
2 KINGS 6:15-17 [New Century Version]
‘Elisha’s servant got up early, and went out. He saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, "Oh, Master, what can we do?" Elisha said, "Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one that fights against us."
’Then Elisha prayed, "LORD, open my servant’s eyes, and let him see." The LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’
What did the servant see? He saw the physical enemy around the city, ready to attack. But then God also allowed him to see the army of God, in all its splendor, glory, and power, ready to come to their defense. God let the servant get a peek into the spiritual world where the warfare of a lifetime is raging – and it is raging against us!
We cannot see into that realm. And since we cannot see it, we tend to have a hard time believing it is real. We look at it as if it were a story from some obscure book, and fail to see just how real and horrible it really is.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:4 [New Life Version]
‘The eyes of those who do not believe are made blind by Satan who is the god of this world. He does not want the light of the Good News to shine in their hearts. This Good News shines as the shining-greatness of Christ. Christ is as God is.’
You might be sitting here without being in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Or you have been confused and are having doubts or don’t fully understand what I am talking about. It might be that you are engaged in that spiritual war and are unaware of it because Satan has blinded you to the truth of Jesus.
And the archangel Michael is still doing battle with him today.
3. ARE WE TRYING TO WIN AS MUCH AS THE ENEMY IS?
What is the quickest way to lose a battle? If you go into that battle knowing you are going to win hands down, you will hand the victory of that battle to your opponent.
I had seven semi-pro boxing matches. I won all seven on points. I got the big head. So when I prepared for my eighth fight, I didn’t train as well. I knew I didn’t have to because I was going to win. I didn’t take the precautions to protect myself. And what happened? I got kicked all around the ring!
And then I lost my self-confidence and lost the remaining six bouts. Then I wised up and quit before I really got killed. The principles that involved me during that time are the same principles that involve every single Christian today: The principles of spiritual warfare.
When a Christian underestimates the power of Satan, we fail to protect ourselves with those things God has given us. And when we fail to protect ourselves, we hand the victory to Satan – and we suffer the consequence of our actions just like I did when I lost that boxing match.
1 PETER 5:8 [NASB] describes what the devil is doing.
‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’
Satan is a reality in our lives whether we want to admit it or not. He wants nothing more than to destroy our faith, take away our credibility, and lead us to stumble into sin. We have to be prepared for his attacks, and we need to show him some level of respect as far as his abilities are concerned, for he is not God, but he is much more powerful than any of us can imagine.
The Archangel Michael, who fought Satan over the body of Moses, didn’t even argue with Satan. In JUDE, verse 9, Michael opted to just tell Satan that God would deal with him.
And in verse 10, it tells us that men abuse and disrespect those things they know nothing about, and it goes on to say that it will be those things that destroy them!
Be very careful how you speak to, or about, the devil. Tell the truth, but do not use disrespect. Ask anyone who has done so, or who has challenged the devil and see what kinds of things they have suffered. And how is it that we think we can do something even the Archangel Michael could or would not do?
So we know that there is an invisible world that is on a spiritual plane, and there is a war of all wars going on in that realm. We also know that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy us in any way he can.
We also know that we need to protect ourselves. But how do we do that?
4. THE ARMOR OF GOD
To be able to put on the armor of God, we have to know what it is, don’t we?
EPHESIANS 6:14-18 [NIV] describes it this way:
‘Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.’
‘In addition, to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’
If we were to enter into the spiritual war that goes on around us without any protection, what would happen to us? We would be defeated, wouldn’t we? God loves us and does not want us to be defeated, so He gives us His armor. Let’s talk about that armor now.
The devil is the liar of all liars. His only power that can destroy our faith is lies and deceit. And that is what he uses to get our attention away from the Lord. And we fall for it because are not prepared to withstand it. So we need the belt of truth. It protects us against all the lies and falsehoods that the devil uses to destroy our belief and faith in God.
What is the most vulnerable part of our body? It is our heart. Our heart pumps the lifeblood that flows through our veins, our heart controls our emotions, and it controls much of our thinking. The devil knows this, so he will put things in your mind that, if you aren’t careful, will slip down and take residence in your heart.
So we need to put on the breastplate of righteousness. It covers our hearts from the weapons formed against it. We received that breastplate when we received Jesus Christ as our Savior.
We cannot stand still physically or mentally, can we? If I told you to stay in one spot, how long could you stay there without moving? If I told you not to think, how long would it be before you had a thought? All too often, we go where we should never go, either physically or mentally. So to keep us safe from taking these dangerous trips, we need to put on the shoes of readiness. With these shoes, we will then be able to travel the road of righteousness without having to worry about tripping and falling down on the road of sinfulness.
How many of you have seen the giant shield that adorns the top of Rhema Bible College? Do you know the meaning behind that? It is the shield of faith, which is the Word of God. With that shield in front of us, we no longer have to worry about those sinful and tempting darts from Satan. That shield of our faith deflects them before they reach us.
As gold is purified in the fire, so is our faith. Just because you have faith in God does not mean you will never be tempted or have doubts. What the shield of faith will do, is give you the knowledge from the Word of God so that your faith will stand strong in the face of attack.
When you start becoming tempted to do something, or if you start having questions about God, go to His Word. Read it. Pray for understanding of it. And your temptations and questions will leave.
There are many false teachers and preachers out there today. And most of them tell just enough truth mixed in with their lies, it is hard to distinguish which is wrong and which is right. Satan uses these people to attack your minds; to distort your understanding of things so you start having questions and if you don’t check them out in the Bible, you soon fall away from the faith.
So, wear your helmet of salvation. By wearing your salvation, or by standing firm and being a witness for Jesus Christ everywhere you go, you will keep your mind from falling prey to the lies of the many antichrists who abound today.
And finally, pick up the Sword of the Spirit. It is used to fight off the attacks of the enemy. That sword is sharpened by your knowledge of the word of God. To a Christian, it is a beautiful weapon of God. To a non-believer, it is a thing to be feared, as it can cut right to the heart of their thoughts. It is the Word of God. Satan knows that so he tries to keep his children away from the sword.
By outfitting ourselves in the armor of God, or a thorough knowledge of the Word of God, we are protecting ourselves in every way from the constant and misleading temptations and lies from Satan.
Now the last part of this message is a personal favorite of mine.
EPHESIANS 6:18-19 [NIV].
‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel ...’
Praying in the Spirit is not uttering some quick prayer or giving God a grocery list of our top 100 favorite wants. Praying in the Spirit is giving God your complete, and undivided, attention without having any thoughts as to how long you are going to be in prayer.
It should be continual, not sporadic. It should be led by the Holy Spirit, not our own selfish desires.
Lastly, like Paul did, I request that you pray for me. Pray that God will use me to the extent that every time I open my mouth, His words come out and His mystery is revealed.
INVITATION
