Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:10-18
As a Christian, when we have lived a prayerful and faithful life, it becomes pretty clear that life is not a playground. But it is a battleground. We have come to realize that life is not always easy, even though we cherish a lot of fun, lightheartedness, play and excitement. We will be going through times of pain and anguish and struggle. Someone has said that life can be described bittersweet. It has sweet moments that we cherish and embrace, but it also has bitter moments that bring us to tears, hurt and pain.
The Apostle Paul is writing, and he concludes his work to the church at Ephesus about the battleground of life. In Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We call it spiritual warfare, because he is not just talking about a simple kind of battle. He describes this one specifically by calling it the evil day. The evil day is when you are overwhelmed. Yes, life has its normal ups and downs, but that's not what he's talking about. Here he is talking about when you are under a major attack, when your world is being shattered, when your dreams are being destroyed, and when your hopes are being dimmed. Because that evil day is a day when demons are after you and your name will be tested by the Lord. Paul says when that day comes, when that period of time where you are under major assault comes, he wants you to understand how to approach these times. Because on that day you are going to NEED the strength of the Lord. (verse 10) Be strong in the LORD and the power of His might. Normal solutions will not work and coming to church because of simple habits won't work. Paul says on that day, you are going to need the supernatural. You are going to need prayer. This is how we are called to face our Spiritual warfare.
I. The Supernatural Power of God
Remember, everything visible and physical is preceded by that which is invisible and spiritual. So Paul wants us to know that if we want to address our visible and physical struggles and attacks in our life, we need to do it from the perspective point of the invisible and spiritual.
Heavenly Places: He gives us a term which he uses throughout the book of Ephesians; “heavenly places”. Heavenly places mean the spiritual realm. Paul is saying, when you are under assault, when your life is being shattered, and you are trying to be in the will of God, you are trying to walk with God, but you are being attacked. And your wellness is being attacked, your dreams are being attacked, your health is being attacked, your stability is being attacked, your resources are being attacked, your future is being attacked, and you are completely lost. Paul says, during those times, you have to look things from the location of heavenly places or the spiritual realm. If you're going to be strong and walk through these troubling times, he wants to set a plan in place for how you are going to make it through the evil day.
Stand Firm: When you are under assault and your stability is being shaken, Paul states during those times I want you to stand firm, stand firm, stand firm; don't quit, don't quit, don't quit. He states this three times. Because the temptation of the world will make you easily give up for many people.
Paul says the first thing I want you to understand is that you wrestle not against flesh and blood. (v.12) In other words, people aren't the source of your problem. They may be the cause for your problem, but they're not the source of your problems. For we, Christians, wrestle not against flesh and blood, but with the principalities, powers, and forces that are located in heavenly places or the spiritual realm.
When you are under the fire of oppression, when you are under the fire of the evil one, when you are under fire of demonic attack, and when you are under the fire of suffering. Paul says you must take your stand on the ground where Jesus Christ has already been burned for you. Where Jesus Christ has already suffered for you, you only need to grab a hold of the strength that the Lord has. Too often, from fear, may our faith waver and some forget to hold on to God. When you are in the midst of the evil day, you have to run to God. Because you are now engaged in spiritual warfare and your life is being attacked. It is not the time to run from him, but it is the time to run to him. It is not the time to invade him, but it is the time to embrace him. Paul says stand firm and hold onto your faith in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of the suffering and the pain and in the midst of the struggle.
Armor of God: Paul continues and tells the church of Ephesus about how to dress for spiritual success. We are called to put on the armor of God. The Lord is calling us to get dressed for the battle now. When you are in a war or when you are in a parade, many people will showcase their weapons. When you are in a spiritual war, you use the weapons of the Lord to battle your evil days. You have got to get dressed and put on the truth, put on righteousness, and put on peace. Paul goes on and states, you need to put on faith, you need to put on the helmet of salvation, and you need to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Paul describes these six pieces of our spiritual arsenal or spiritual armor. Every believer is called to utilize it when taking a stand in the evil day or when you're under a spiritual attack or spiritual oppression, which is affecting your physical or financial circumstantial or emotional and family well-being. Take your stand stronger than you have ever taken before. Put on this armor.
If you may not remember all the pieces of the armor, there is also an easy idea because Romans chapter 13:14. It says, put on Christ if you can't remember all the pieces. Remember this one thing; put on Christ. Why? Because he says, I want you to be put on the truth. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The Lord says, I want you to put on righteousness. And the scriptures say, Christ is our righteousness. The Lord says, put on peace. Jesus said, in this world you will have tribulation, but I give you my peace. The Lord says, put on the helmet of salvation. And the scripture is clear that Jesus is the author and finisher of our salvation. And then He says to put on the Word of God and use the sword of the Spirit. John 1:1 says, in the beginning was the word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus says, He is the word. So if you don't remember the truth, remember Jesus. If you don't remember righteousness, remember Jesus. If you don't remember peace, remember Jesus. If you don't remember faith, remember Jesus. If you don't remember the helmet of salvation, remember Jesus. If you don't remember the Bible, remember Jesus. Because Jesus is the full armor of God.
The story was told from a mental hospital, which has a unique way to determine when their patients were ready to go back into the world. They brought a release candidate to a room where a water faucet was left on so that the sink overflowed, and water was pouring all over the floor. Then they handed the patient a mop and told them to mop up the water. If the patient had enough sense to turn off the faucet before mopping up the water, they were ready to be released. But if the patient started mopping while the water was still flowing, they kept the patient for more treatment.
As a Christian, dear brothers, and sisters, like the patients in the hospital, until we realize where the source of evil is, we will make no real contribution. To overcome evil in the world means that we must conquer the evil that is pouring forth from our own heart. That is conversion. Then, to deal with the evil around us, we need a “mop and bucket,” the Spiritual armor that God has provided for us.
When you put on Christ, you become centered in him. When the doctors don't have answers, when the bankers don't have answers, when your friends don't have answers, and when you don't have answers, you need to be centered on one person: Jesus Christ. He has offered you all the spiritual tools, but He is calling you to put Him on. The question is: how do you put Him on? In Ephesians 6:18, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
II. The Power of Prayer
We must put on Christ to move through our spiritual battles with prayer. Prayer is a relational communication with God. Many people who want to pray but have not prayed with their spiritual crisis. In other words, they don't know how to stand strong in the Lord, because they haven't been constantly standing strong with the Lord in their peaceful times. But now when they are in an emergency, they need the Lord. Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord is calling us to stay in touch with him all day. Every day of every week of every month of every year. That's why 1st Thessalonians 5:17 says, pray without ceasing. In other words, stay in touch with me.
Pray in the Spirit: Paul explains, we must pray with perseverance. It is the key. He says in Ephesians 6:18, pray in the spirit. Pray not just to have a conversation, but we are called to pray in the Spirit. The Bible talks about the role of the Spirit in our lives. The Spirit delivers the mind of God to us. In 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man. The things which God has prepared for those who love him.” But God has revealed them to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
When you are in the evil days, people cannot help you. When you're in the evil day, there will be limitations of what others can do for you. You need something that you have not seen. Something ears have not heard, and the imagination has not conceived. You need the supernatural to enter into the natural. God wants you to always be in the Spirit. He doesn't want you to just be visiting during hard times. He wants you operating in the realm of the spirit. What is the realm of the Spirit? The realm of the Spirit is a spiritual mindset. In Romans chapter 8:1-13, Paul gives this extended discussion about the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. And he says when you have the Spirit, you have the mind of the Spirit. This includes how you are thinking, your mind, and your thoughts. He wants you to think spiritually not earthly. He wants you to think Biblically not worldly. He wants you to think with the mindset of Christ, not the mind of man. In Galatians 5:16-17, “I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
There is a Battle: He says there is a battle, and it is a battle between the spirit and the flesh. The flesh is the desire to please oneself independently from God. The flesh is the desire to please yourself as opposed to pleasing God. We all battle with the flesh and strive to walk in the spirit. Paul didn't say you won't be faced with those desires. Because the flesh can face many temptations and desires, but the spirit will overcome it. Walking in the spirit gets rid of the desire of the flesh. Walking in the spirit will overrule that which is the flesh. The ability to do what you need or what God wants done, will be activated in your experience as you walk in the spirit.
Now, many times people may say I'm praying, but nothing is happening. What would happen if we, as humans, went into the water and tried to breathe. What would happen if we started to inhale and exhale in the water. You are doing the right thing, but you are doing it in the wrong environment. Many Christians pray, and they are doing the right thing, but they are doing it in the flesh. They are doing it in the wrong environment. And if you are doing the right thing in the wrong environment, the right thing will not work. Some people say that I am praying in the morning, I am praying in the evening, and I am praying at bedtime, which is good in the sight of God, but is it coming from your flesh or Spirit?
The wind of the Spirit: The Bible calls the Spirit a wind. A wind that blows in the Bible. And when you are in the spirit, the Holy Spirit will guide us like the wind. He pulls us and pushes us to where we can walk and should walk. But we are not walking alone now, for now we are walking with some power. We are walking with the Spirit of the Lord. We are walking with some strength, because we are walking with the mind of the Spirit, consistent with the revelation and the Word of God.
We are called to pray always in the Spirit. The Spirit will lead us and therefore is our only solution. So we must cry out to God and trust in God. We must make a prayerful lifestyle of walking in the spirit and not just a visit. The Lord wants you to stay in contact with Him all day, every day. Dear church, I want this congregation to be known as a house of prayer. Praise God for our praise and worship and praise God the preaching, and God’s glory, but if we don't contact heaven through the Spirit, then all we did was come to a religious event. Therefore, we, as a church, must take the responsibility to cry out to God and pray to Him through the Spirit. Pray with the Spirit of the Lord.
Sometimes when we contact God, the timing is wrong, He will tell us to be patient. If the request is wrong, He will say no. If we are wrong, He will tell us to grow. But if the request is right and the timing is right, the Lord will fulfill all of our needs. However, not every fulfillment is the same. Sometimes God will take you through your evil days and deliver you out, but sometimes God just gives you the strength to deal with it. His glory is proven in many ways, and He decides how His glory will be shown. But you will always know, He is always right there in your midst. He changes your perspective in the midst of your evil day.
There is a story of two hunters in Alaska. They were being paid $5,000 for every wolf they killed, because there had been overgrowth in the wolf population. They were creating an imbalance in nature. So these two buddies decided they were going to Alaska to make money. When they arrived at the Alaskan forest, they set up their tent so they could leave in the morning to hunt wolves. So they went to sleep to get ready for tomorrow. In the middle of the night, one of the men heard a noise. He turned on his light, and he could see through the tent sheets. They were surrounded by wolves. They had gone to hunt wolves, and now the wolves were hunting them. There were 25 wolves surrounding their death. They growled at him and came closer, ready to attack. He quickly woke his friend up. “Bob, get up! Get up! Get up! Look!”
Bob said, “what?” He looked around and replied, “We're rich!”
Perspective can change everything. Trust in God and your evil day will also be used for the glory of the Lord. Sometimes, God calls us to change our perspectives.
Dear brothers and sisters, as Christians we will without a doubt face times of Spiritual warfare. It is our duty as Christ’s disciples to stand firm in our faith and prayer life during the times of Spiritual Warfare. We must understand the spiritual realm. The source of some of our struggles may come from spiritual sources. Therefore, the Lord calls us to stand firm in our faith, rise up, and put on the armor of God. Put on Jesus Christ in our lives. This is how you must fight your spiritual battles. And most importantly, God calls us to fight our battles in prayer. The Lord calls us to pray in perseverance. Pray in the Spirit. Pray not in the flesh of this world but pray in the Holy Spirit God has given to you. For when we pray in the spirit, the spirit shall be like a wind, pushing and pulling you to glory. It will carry you to a brighter tomorrow. But understand, dear church, the perfect ending is not always how we may expect it. God’s plan is always perfect, and sometimes we need to change our perspective to understand and see it. Will you put on the armor of God today? Are you ready to battle through prayer? Amen.
