THE REAL ENEMY
Rev John W. Gerald
I. A WORD FOR CHILDREN
Eph. 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
II. A WORD FOR FATHERS
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
III. A WORD TO SERVANTS
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
IV. A WORD TO MASTERS
9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
V. A WORD TO THE BRETHREN
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Boast not of physical strength, but of The LORD. Our focus must be in Him. Our strength must be of His strength.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
1.) Flesh and blood not the enemy
The conflict may seem to come from people of flesh and blood, but they are merely instruments of spiritual powers. We should focus on those powers.
2.) Principalities.
The forces of spiritual conflict are huge. The heirachy of demonic powers includes demons over large areas. They influence governments, races and all other ethnic groups.
3.) Rulers of Darkness
These spiritual powers are rulers, and forces of spiritual darkness (blindness). Jesus, the light of the world, is excluded. The world is under their power. This is evident in our daily news, where reports of their activities are made every day.
4.) Wickedness in High Places
Moral principles are lacking. Evil is put into effect through arbitrary decisions. There seems to be no remedy, they are anserable to no one. They are untouchable! These powers are exercised in political, governmental, religious and secular areas. We tend to focus on the persons we see in these categories. We should recognize the spiritual powers behind them.
VI. THE SOLUTION
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
He who stands for nothing, will fall for anything. We must be like our fathers of old, whose stand was known by all! We must be able to withstand the onslaughts of the devil. He is like a persistent storm, attacking every weakness of ours. Our determination should be strong, and our commitment great to prevail.
VII. THE EQUIPMENT
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
1.) The Girdle of Truth.
When we are wrapped in truth, we have a strong defense! Jesus said "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!"John 8:32
2.) The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs. It takes a great breastplate of righteousness to protect our emotions and affections. The devil attacks us in these areas continually. We certainly need a great defense against these attacks.
3.) The Preparation of the Gospel
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
The preparatin of the Gospel puts the "go" in your feet. You will yearn for the lost. You will seek to save them at any cost. Many witnesses for Jesus, whether missionaries, or students of the Gospel, have risked their lives just to take the gospel to the unreached. More have suffered martyrdom in our day than in any other time in history.
4.) The shield of Faith
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
If we do not believe in the work we do for Christ, and if we are not driven by confidence in the message, we will be fatally attacked by our spiritual enemy. He is ready to take us down through the least doubt we have in our hearts. Faith helps us ward off these attacks.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Our minds are under constant attack by Satan. What can we do without a defense to secure our minds? Salvation gives us the right perspective for our thinking. We can see things in their true light with the helmet covering our thoughts.
The sword of the Spirit is the Christian’s only offensive weapon! We can attack spiritual foes only with the Word of God. The devil fears no material, or human weapon. He fears only the Word of God. By it we can defeat the devil and drive him from us.
5.) Prayer
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing. 25 Brethren, pray for us.
Prayer is necessary in all things. Each of us needs the prayers of others. The Apostle Paul asked for the prayers of his disciples often. We should not be timid in asking for the prayers of others, nor in offering prayers for each other. Even Jesus sought a quiet, private place for prayer many times. We have no less need for prayer than these two.
Jesus commanded his disciples to watch and pray in the garden. "And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" Mt 26:40
Jesus said, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mt 26:41
Our spirit may indeed be willing, but surely we will find the flesh weak. We need the strength we receive through prayer to stand in this spiritual battle.
VIII. THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Mark 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
The time of testing, or the time of Christ’s return could find us unprepared. We must keep watch in prayer. Watching and praying go hand in hand. We are doing our best watching while we are praying.
