EPHESIANS 6 SPIRITUAL WARFARE SERIES PART 2 THE WARRIORS2006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 6 Spiritual Warfare Series Part 2 The Warriors

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006.

But we finished off the book of Ephesians with a summary, an overview really, of Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 20, and that is the spiritual armor, the whole armor of God, and dealing with the subject of spiritual warfare. And now over the next couple of weeks here on Wednesday evenings, we're going to go through a piece at a time of this portion and get a little bit more in depth. Now, by no means is this

going to be an exhaustive study of spiritual warfare that would take a much longer time than we have. But we're going to kind of get a better grasp of this idea, this subject of spiritual warfare. And so let's begin in Ephesians chapter 6, starting in verse 10. It says this, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all,

To stand. Paul, as he is writing to the Ephesians, he's encouraging them in practical ways to live. As we've been looking, or we had been looking at chapter 4 and chapter 5 as well as chapter 6, included for us very practical steps that we could walk with God as a result of chapters 1 through 3, all that God had done for us. And so, as we look at this whole subject of spiritual warfare, there's...

Something that we need to keep in perspective, and that is that Paul is not dealing with some really freaky, mystical thing that you really need to be terrified of or concerned about, but he's dealing with some practical things that we need to realize and that we need to implement in our lives. First of all, we need to understand that spiritual warfare is real.

It's not fake. It's not something that was the product of someone's imagination. But it's real. It really does take place. It really is raging incessantly without ceasing. We need to be aware that spiritual warfare is real and that it is much more practical than we might think. Now, it's so important that

To know that spiritual warfare is real because you and I are involved. In fact, every human being on the planet is involved in spiritual warfare. And so we need to know being involved in this war. We need to know that it's real. Can you imagine what would happen to a soldier in the midst of a battle who insisted that he was not on the battlefield? He would be wiped out.

Very easily eliminated. You and I, we can't insist. I'm not a part of the battle or we can't claim ignorance. I didn't know I was a part of the battle. Now, the Bible teaches us very clearly about these things that we'll be studying. And so we need to remember they are real. Unfortunately, many Christians today are not living today.

With the understanding that spiritual war is real. And you can tell by the way that we live our lives. By how seriously we take our Christian walk. Now Paul says, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. If you do not know that we are in a war, or if you're not living in such a way,

Well, with the understanding that we are in a war, then looking at this and well, we need to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. It just kind of sounds like that in your head. But Paul is saying, listen, guys, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might to stand because there's a battle that's raging. There's a battle that you and I are involved in. If you are not strong in the Lord, you don't know that you are in a war.

And by not being strong in the Lord, you're guaranteed to lose. We need to be strong in the Lord. Paul says here in verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand. What's the implication? If you don't put on the whole armor of God, you will not be able to stand.

And so Paul isn't saying this is a good idea. If you really want to, you know, kind of go to the next level of Christianity or following Jesus, then then you want to take these things into consideration. No, that's not what he's saying. He's saying, listen, if you want to survive as a Christian, survive in the Lord, if you don't want to be a casualty, then you need to be strong in the Lord and put on the whole armor of God.

If you do not read your Bible on a regular basis, if you don't spend time devotionally with the Lord, you're not strong in the Lord and you don't know that you're in a war. If you do not faithfully come and be a part of fellowship from Bible studies services on Sundays or Wednesdays, if you're not plugged into a fellowship to a church, you don't know that you're in a war.

You're not being strong in the Lord. If you don't pray regularly, consistently, constantly, if you don't spend time before the Lord and with the Lord, you don't know that you're in a war. You will not be strong in the Lord. If you're married and you do not do those things with your spouse, you're guaranteed to lose. You don't know that you're in a war or you don't believe that the war is real. We could go on and on and you get the point. You get the picture.

The air's thick in here right now because I'm laying it on heavy. But I need to because we need to get it into our hearts. The war is real. This isn't the Christian game or the just kind of club that we have. But God has saved us from the clutches of the enemy. He saved us from eternity in hell. He died on the cross to keep us from that place. Judgment is real.

Sin is real and the wages of sin is death. The battle that rages, it's real. And Paul calls us here to take it seriously and to be strong in the Lord. Now, being strong in the Lord is not about longevity. In other words, it doesn't matter if you've been around church for a long time or you profess faith in Christ a long time ago.

It's not about longevity, but it's about maturity. You know, a new believer, someone who's just given their heart to God today can be strong in the Lord. And a person who is given their heart to the Lord 15, 20, 30, 80 years ago can be weak in the Lord. It's not about longevity, but maturity. It's a position of our hearts. It's a position of reliance upon God.

Now notice, Paul says, the whole point is to stand. In spiritual warfare, you and I are called to stand. Now that's comforting. This is good. A while back, there was an author, Frank Peretti, who wrote some books. They were fictional books, but based around this whole concept of spiritual warfare. Great books. His doctrine was a little bit off. He was talking about praying against sin.

demons by name and so on and so forth and things that the Bible does not teach. But it was a good book to help you consider the fact that we really are. There's a war that's taking place. There's so much going on behind the scenes that we do not see. If you've been influenced by Channel 40 at all, you might think that we're called to track down any type of demonic presence that we might suspect in our house or a neighbor's house or a friend's house or

our co-workers or wherever. You might get the impression that we're called to chase after these guys and scream at them and yell at them and fight spiritual warfare in that way. But here's what Paul says. No chasing, no running, no screaming. Stand. This is what you and I are called to do. We're called to stand. Now, you and I, in a battle or if we were thinking of maybe a sport and someone's just standing there,

We'd say, man, that's weak. You're just standing there. What are you doing? But in spiritual war, it's different. To stand means that you are strong. We could possibly think, you know, I don't really need to be that strong in the Lord. I just stand around. I don't do very much. I'm not involved in that much. No, Paul says, if you are not strong, you will not stand. It's that simple. Why? Well, because we are in a war.

And if you try to stand in the midst of a battle, you better be strong. You have to be strong because the enemy will come against you. There will be forceful attacks upon you. And you and I as Christians, we need to be strong in the Lord. Otherwise, we will not be able to stand. Paul says again in verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand because otherwise you will not be able to stand.

We could easily have the mentality, I'm just, you know, a regular Christian. I don't teach or lead Bible studies. I barely serve. And so, you know, it's not a big deal if I don't know the Bible that well or read it very often or if I miss part of worship or miss services here and there, if I don't spend much time in prayer or around other brothers and sisters in the Lord. It's no big deal. If that's your mentality, then you have believed the lies of the enemy.

He's got you fooled and deceived. He's got you set up. He's going to take you down. We're in a spiritual war. Listen, the essentials are essentials because they're essential. Very deep, I know. You might want to process that one for a second. The essentials are essentials because they're essential. There's no substitute. If we want to be strong in the Lord, we need to read the Bible.

We need to pray and spend time with God intimately, just him and us. We need to spend time in fellowship, involved in Sunday morning service or Wednesday evening service, Bible studies throughout the week, encouraging one another, spending time with brothers and sisters in the Lord. We need to spend time sharing with others what God is doing in us. They're essentials.

If we want to be strong in the Lord, we must do them. And if we want to stand, we need to be strong in the Lord. You, before you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you were on the enemy's side. Ephesians chapter 2 talks about the enemy, Satan, the devil, at work among the sons of disobedience. That was you and I before Christ. We were those who were disobedient.

And Satan was at work among us. We were on the enemy's side. We were against God. But in Christ, we switched sides. Now, all of a sudden, we're for God and against the enemy. And so now you've switched sides, but you're still in the enemy's territory. You're still on their side of the battle lines. And they've got you surrounded. The enemy is.

is all around us. We're still here in this world. The enemy's turf. And if we're not strong, we will quickly become a casualty. Now, can a soldier in battle say, you know, I don't think my gun is very important today. Just leave it back at the bunk. Well, sure he could. He wouldn't last very long, but he could do it. And the same thing goes for you and I as believers. They're essentials. And they're essentials because they're essential. They're not optional things.

If we want to be strong in the Lord, we must engage in personal relationship with him through the word, through prayer, through fellowship and receiving. We need to be strong in the Lord again because spiritual warfare is real. We're playing for keeps, guys. This is the real thing. It's not a game. You can play with sin if you want. You're going to get burned. It's going to destroy you because the wages of sin is death.

You can try to be lukewarm in your walk and not really be involved in spending time with God, not be on fire and passionate for him, but it's going to cost you because the war is real and you need to be strong. As we look at spiritual warfare over the next four weeks, we're going to be looking at four specific areas.

The first area that we'll be looking at is the warriors that are involved in spiritual warfare. The warriors, that's what we'll be looking at for the remainder of the evening. Next week, we'll look at the wrestling that's involved in spiritual warfare. More in depth of how we personally are involved in spiritual warfare. The following week, we'll look at the wardrobe, the armor.

What we're called to wear in this battle. And then finally, the last week, we'll look at the weapons that God has given to us. Mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. The warriors, though, that we'll be looking at this evening, there's five groups that we'll be looking at. The first is God. Obviously, he's involved in spiritual warfare. The second is Satan, the devil, whom I often refer to as the enemy. The third are angels.

Fourthly is demons. And finally is us. You and I. These five groups are involved in spiritual warfare. We'll kind of be looking at the big picture this evening and then narrowing down the next few weeks really what that means to us. But let's talk about God for a second. How is God involved in spiritual warfare? Well, first off, we know that God is the creator.

He's the creator of everything, visible, invisible, everything. As the creator, he has no equal. There's no competition when it comes to God. There's not someone who comes close or competes or is his opposite. Many times we could think of the devil as God's opposite. No, the devil is a created being. And all those who are involved in spiritual warfare are created beings. They're created by God.

And therefore, it can be eliminated by God at any time. All he has to do is say the word. So God is involved in spiritual warfare in a different way than the rest of the groups that we'll be looking at. But it brings up a question, doesn't it? So if God is the creator and he's the ultimate power and he has the power to squash Satan and the rebellion, why did God create Satan in the first place then?

If he knew, since he knows everything, if he knew that he was going to rebel against God and cause so much hurt and pain, why did God even create him? Or another question we might ask is, well, why does God allow Satan to continue to harm and to cause so many problems? Now, there's many.

Not a real good answer to that, because any time you ask the question, why did God or why does God, you can be sure that there's no absolute answer unless God tells us. Many of those why questions about God will have to be answered as we are on the other side of eternity. But a simple way for us to understand a basic answer is the whole idea of choice.

God created us for fellowship. He wanted to be intimate with us and have relationship with us. But in order for that to take place, we had to have a choice. If there was no choice, there's no real relationship. And so if God did not give us a choice to follow him or to not, then we would just be robots commanded by God and just doing what God says, doing what he essentially programmed us to do.

But God gives us free will and then he honors the choices that we make. And so if we choose to follow him, he honors and he even strengths and helps us in that choice. And if we choose to rebel against God, the same is true. He honors that choice. He allows us that choice and he strengthens us and helps us in that choice. That's what happened to Pharaoh when he hardened his heart and then God helped him harden his heart.

And so God is operating on the basis of yours and my choice. He's saying, I give you the option. And he gave that same option to the angels. And so Satan chose to rebel against God. And that's why he exists. Now, why does God allow him to continue? Well, you'll have to take that up with him when you get there.

But something else we must understand is that God did not create Satan to punish us, you know, if we don't follow him. You know, God wasn't thinking, well, what happens if these guys don't really follow me or they don't pay attention to my commands? I know I'll create an evil person to come and discipline them whenever they don't follow me. No, no. See, if we think that way, we've got it backwards. God gave the angels a choice. The devil chose to rebel against him.

But the devil was originally an angelic being, just like the other angels who worship God, who is there in the presence of God. But he chose to rebel and he took a third of the angels with him. They chose to rebel against God. God doesn't tell us anything.

Not to do things just so that he can punish us if we do. He tells us not to do things because he loves us so much that he wants us. He wants to keep us from doing the things that destroy our lives. That's why sin is sin. God calls it sin because it's harmful to us, not because he just for whatever reason doesn't want us to do it.

God tells us to follow him because that's what is best for us. That's when we're blessed. That's when we're protected. God says, follow me. So God being the creator, what is his part in spiritual warfare? Well, he has the ultimate part, really, because the first thing that he has done in spiritual warfare is he sent his son to die. The ultimate victory in spiritual warfare is there at the cross.

He involved himself personally by sending his son to die on the cross. John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. There's a spiritual battle that was conquered there. God was victorious there at the cross. Another way that he's involved is he fights for us on our behalf.

There was a song that we would sing a long time ago. The battle belongs to the Lord. That's the truth. The battle is God's. It's not ours. We look to the Lord to fight our battles. In 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9, the Bible tells us, The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him.

That was shared with the king to rebuke him for not relying upon God, not allowing God to fight for him. Now, we have some examples that might be readily available in your mind. A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Dylan shared out of Second Chronicles, chapter 20, the story of Jehoshaphat, who was up against this army that could have wiped them out. But in obedience to God, he went out to meet them.

Setting people up to sing and to praise God as they went out. And as they got to the battlefield, they found the victory was already theirs. It had already been won. God had taken care of them and wiped them out. You might remember Gideon outnumbered 132,000 to 300. And yet God fought for them. The battle was his. Or you might remember Hezekiah in 2 Kings chapter 19.

The Assyrians were camped against him. He went before God and relied upon the Lord. And God sent an angel to wipe out 186,000 men of the Assyrian army in one night. And the king went away defeated, was killed by his own people. The battle is God's. God fights for you in spiritual warfare. We don't have to fight. We have to stand.

And let God fight our battles. The final area that we'll look at, the third thing, not verse 3. The third thing is that he works all things for good. God is involved in spiritual warfare. Number one, that he sent his son to die. Number two, that he fights for us. And then number three,

He works all things for good. Romans 8, 28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. There's a spiritual war that's raging and there's the devil that's chosen to rebel against God and to seek to put himself in the place of God.

There's people that have chosen to rebel against God. They're working together. It's like a huge conspiracy. But God has the ultimate victory because he works all these things out for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. It's like the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. His brother sold him. All these horrible things took place. He's in prison, falsely accused. But at the end, he's able to tell his brothers who betrayed him.

Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. God works all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. So God is involved in spiritual warfare in a different way than the others that we'll look at tonight. But he has the ultimate victory and he's orchestrating it all for good, fighting for us. But the ultimate victory was that he sent his son to die for us.

You can also check out the book of Revelation and find out again that God is in control. He's victorious. He's doing it in his time, not our own, but he has the final say, the final victory, the ultimate conqueror in spiritual warfare. The next person that we see in spiritual warfare is the devil, Satan. Now, again, we need to understand that Satan is a created being. He is a fallen angel, right?

An angelic being created by God who has chosen now to rebel against God. And Jesus told us this in Luke chapter 10 verse 18 where he says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Where did he see that? Well, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 14. Isaiah chapter 14. Let's read verses 12 through 17. It says this.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you have said in your hearts, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit. Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners? Here Isaiah is dealing with the nation of Babylon.

But he has in here this dual meaning, this dual purpose of the portion that we just read. And not only referring to the king of Babylon now, but referring to Lucifer, which is the true name of Satan, his original name, his God-given name. And the problem with Satan, as we saw in verses 13 and 14, was that he was lifted up in pride, that he desired to be like God, to replace God.

He rebelled against God and has been nothing but trouble ever since. Now, many wonder why. When did this happen? And the Bible is silent in that area. He does not tell us. There's all kinds of speculation, but we won't get into that. We know, though, it happened sometime before Genesis chapter three, because there in Genesis three in the Garden of Eden, Satan seduced and deceived Eve.

Both Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. And as a result, every human being, you and I, were born with a sinful nature. Adam was our representative there in the garden, as Romans 5.18 tells us. God had given Adam dominion over the earth. But in disobeying God, now, he surrendered this to Satan, to the devil.

And so we find throughout the New Testament, Satan is referred to in 2 Corinthians 4, 4. He's referred to as the God of this age. In John chapter 12, verse 31, Jesus refers to him as the ruler of this world. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 2 describes Satan as the prince of the power of the air. And finally, 1 John 5, 19 says,

says, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. According to the Bible, God created man. He was perfect. But man chose, like Satan, to disobey, to rebel. In doing so, Satan has become the God of this world. He has become the one in power who

The one in control. He is the God of this age, the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air. And so now Satan is still warring against God, still trying to find some way to defeat God. And in the meantime, he is destroying as many lives as he can. That's why Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 5.8 to be sober, be vigilant, be

Because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan hates you. He wants to destroy your life, to wipe you out completely. Now, Satan's part in spiritual warfare. A couple things. Again, this is not exhaustive.

There's other resources if you'd like to do that. I would encourage you, if you want to read up more about this, you can talk to Richard and have him order for you the Spiritual Warfare book by Brian Broderson. It's a little book, but it gives you some great insight into spiritual warfare. Three quick ways that Satan is involved in spiritual warfare. Number one, he deceives. Revelation chapter 12 verse 9 talks about him deceiving the whole world.

In John chapter 8 verse 44, Jesus describes him as the father of lies. He says when he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it. Satan is involved in spiritual warfare by deception. That's why there's so many false religions, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, atheism, all these different things to deceive people.

To think that they're okay, that they're in right standing. But Jesus said, there's only one way. I am it. In John 14, 6. No one comes to the Father but by me. Yet there's all these other ideas because people are deceived. The whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. So many other ways, but we must move on. The second way that he's involved in spiritual warfare is through oppression.

Through oppression. Now, 1 Peter 5, 8 said to be sober, be vigilant because your devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And then verse 9 of 1 Peter 5 says, resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. What Peter is saying is, listen, the enemy, he's out there and he's oppressing you through sufferings.

Be steadfast. Know that you're not the only one. Others are going through the same things, but you're experiencing the oppression of the enemy. Finally, number three, Satan's part in spiritual warfare is he manipulates or controls. Again, 1 John 5, 19, the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. The world system, society, he's manipulating it, controlling it.

Again, through deception, through oppression. But turning people away from God, pushing them farther and farther away. The liberal agenda, the homosexual agenda, the anti-Christian mentality in the world. It's all the manipulation, the control of Satan.

He's opposed to God. And so he's doing all that he can to defeat the plans and purposes of God to cause the word of God to fail. But he will not be victorious. Revelation chapter 20 verse 10 tells us the future of Satan. It says the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

That is the end. That is what happens to him on Judgment Day. So God is involved in spiritual warfare. Satan is involved in spiritual warfare. Next, angels are involved in spiritual warfare. The word angel literally means messenger.

Now, angels, again, are just created beings. They're created by God to serve him, to minister to him, to worship him and to minister to those who believe in him. According to the book of Hebrews, not a whole lot is known about angels. The Bible doesn't go into great detail about them. We know from Hebrews 114 that they are spiritual beings. They do not have physical bodies necessarily like we do.

We know that there's different types of angels. There are some that are classified as seraphim in Isaiah chapter 6. Others that are called cherubim in Genesis chapter 3 and all throughout the Old Testament. There's another that's mentioned as the archangel that's in Jude verse 9. And that's the archangel Michael. It's interesting, only three angels are actually named in scripture.

Michael, the archangel, in Jude 1-9. Gabriel is mentioned in Daniel chapters 8 and 9, as well as Luke chapter 1. And Lucifer in Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12. These three are really the only three mentioned. Now, some teach that...

All three, Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer, are archangels and that they correspond to the Trinity. Michael, his name means who is like God. And so they ascribe him to be the the archangel of God, the father. Gabriel, we see him often as the messenger, always as a messenger. And Daniel, as well as Luke, he's bringing a message here.

much like the Spirit was sent. And so they see Gabriel as the archangel of the Holy Spirit. And finally, Lucifer, star of the morning, and we know that Jesus is referred to as the morning star. And so they say that possibly Lucifer was the archangel of Jesus, but of course he rebelled. And that is why he's so opposed to Christ and always looking for a place to take the place of Christ to receive the worship.

Now, that's all speculation and some of it fits and you can wrestle with that one if you'd like, but it's not necessarily scriptural. But angels are God's creation. They do God's bidding, deliver God's messages and worship him.

What is their part in spiritual warfare? Again, three quick things. Number one, they're messengers. In Luke chapter 1, the angel appeared to Mary and Elizabeth. In Acts chapter 27, verses 23 through 25, there on the stormy sea, the apostle Paul is on the ship that is about to sink. And an angel there delivers a message, encourages him, says, hey, you're not going to be lost. All you guys stay on the boat. It'll be okay. It'll be okay.

God's going to preserve your lives. And so they're messengers of God, delivering God's messages wherever he sends them. We also find them offering physical protection. You might remember the story of Daniel and the lion's den in Daniel chapter six and verse 22. It says that God sent his angel to stop the mouths of the lions.

We also find them in the book of Second Kings, chapter six, when Elisha is surrounded by the Syrian army and a servant goes outside and there's all the Syrians surrounding them. He gets all freaked out and Elisha just prays, Lord, open his eyes. And then he sees around Elisha all the angels, the spiritual hosts that are there protecting him. So they're involved as God's messengers. Number one, number two, offering physical protection.

And finally, they're involved in war, in battle. Revelation chapter 12, verse 7. I love the first line. It says, And war broke out in heaven. And it goes on to say, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. And so we see them involved in war. They're in the book of Revelation at the end of days. The next group we find involved in spiritual warfare are demons, demonic beings.

Now again, demons are, like Satan, fallen angels. They're angelic beings who chose to follow Satan rather than God. The demonic forces are organized by Satan in his attack against God, against God's purposes, against God's plans, against God's word.

Now, there seems to be an indication, as we looked at Ephesians chapter six, verse 12, of different rankings within the demonic beings.

He says in verse 12 of Ephesians chapter 6, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The word principalities, it means the first person or thing in a series, the leader. And so the first and foremost, the leaders within the demonic ranks.

Powers refer to those who possess authority. Rulers refer to those who lord over or that it's also translated as the prince of this age. And then spiritual hosts would kind of be an all encompassing of the demonic realm. But the whole idea is that it's an organized attack. It's not random, but it's carefully orchestrated by the devil and.

To, again, deceive, to oppress, and to manipulate and control. Now, the part of demons in spiritual warfare, again, they're just like their master. Number one, they deceive. Paul warned about this in Galatians chapter 1, verse 8. He says, There's going to be angels that appear to try to deceive and preach another gospel.

They also are involved in temptation, which is also part of deception because temptation is saying, hey, you'll get away with it. It'll be fine. It's not as important or serious as the Bible says, whatever. But first Thessalonians three, five, for this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be in vain. Demonic beings are involved in oppression, right?

We see it played out in different ways. Again, I'm not going to go into all of the details, but one example is in the area of disease. We find in Luke chapter 13, verses 11 through 16, a woman that had been bent over for 18 years, oppressed by the devil, bound by Satan. Jesus describes her and he sets her free. Finally, they're involved in manipulation and control, physically, mentally.

This can take place in demon possession. Matthew 9.33, when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled, saying it was never seen like this in Israel. Manipulation, controlling, powers, campaigns, agendas, and people, nations as well as regions, as we also see in Daniel chapter 10, and we'll look at that in a moment.

So we have God, we have Satan, we have angels, demons, and finally us. We're involved in spiritual warfare. In fact, this world and the lives of the people that live in it are the battleground for spiritual warfare. Satan is trying to use this world and you and I, the people within it, to defeat God's plans and purposes. Now,

As we look at our place in spiritual warfare, it's important that we understand our position. Did you know that we are not very powerful beings? I hope you know that. Psalm chapter 8, David writes out, You can imagine him out there in the field watching the sheep, looking up at the smogless sky, the not lit sky, but lit by now the stars of heaven.

And he says, when I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained. He asked this question, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him? Notice verse five of Psalm chapter eight. For you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor. David says, you've made man lower than the angels.

You know what that means? Where does that place us? We have a great disadvantage in spiritual war because we're not powerful beings. Angelic beings are very much more powerful, more intellectual. Their strength, their intellect, their power supersedes ours by more than we can imagine. But as Christians, that's a different story because we have Christ in us. And that's why we need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Because it's only then that we can be victorious. The spiritual forces of wickedness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness are stronger than we are. Turn with me now back to Ephesians chapter 6. Here again, we find our part in spiritual warfare. Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 13 again, says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand.

Brothers and sisters, what are we called to do? To stand in the strength of God. Now, a couple examples that we can get the picture of what God wants to say to us in spiritual warfare. You can on your own read Job chapters 1 and 2 and look at these things for yourself. But if you remember the story of Job, we're introduced to a heavenly scene. God is there on his throne. And there comes to him Satan. Satan.

enters into his presence, God says, hey, devil, where are you coming from? What have you been up to? And Satan says, well, I've been roaming around to and fro. According to 1 Peter 5.8, that's seeking whom he may devour. He leaves that part out when he talks to God. God says, well, let me feed you one. Have you considered my servant Job? He's upright, man of integrity, honors me in everything he does.

And Satan begins to slander Job and he says, well, he only serves you because you've put a hedge of protection around him and you won't let me mess with him. If you let me mess with him, he'll curse you to your face. God says, OK, you can do anything you want, but you can't touch him. He gives him authority permission. And so, you know, the story that Job is there and a messenger comes to. I was there out in the field and.

There's this raid by the Sabians. They came and they took away all of your flock, all of your cattle. While that messenger was still speaking, another messenger comes. Job! I was out there with the sheep and fire came down from heaven and just wiped them all out. While that messenger was speaking, another one came. Job! The Chaldeans came and raided and took away all your camels. All of his livestock now are gone. While that last messenger is speaking, the final messenger comes. Job! Job!

I was with your sons and daughters at this one house and they're having a great time, a feast. And suddenly this wind came from out of nowhere, hit the four corners of the house and knocked it down flat. Wiped out your family, your children. These four messengers, one on top of another, come to Job. Now, Job does not curse God. He doesn't wrongfully blame God.

And so in chapter 2 of the book of Job, we find Satan entering in again. Same thing happens. God says, hey, where you been? Oh, I've been roaming to and fro. Hey, what do you think about Job? You tried your tricks and didn't work. And Satan says, oh, skin for skin. Let me afflict his body and I'll curse it to your face. So God says, okay, you have permission, but you cannot take his life. And in chapter 2, we find that there's painful boils upon Job from head to toe. Now, this is...

Not something we would typically think of maybe for spiritual war, but indeed it is spiritual war that's taking place. And through it, we learn our parts. Think about for a moment the different roles that are played. What is God doing in this battle? He's giving permission, setting the boundaries, controlling how much is allowed. As the Bible says, he will not allow us to go through more than we can handle. 1 Corinthians 10, 13.

Satan, what's his role? Well, we find some disturbing things. Satan has a lot of power. In chapter 1, verse 15 and 17, he causes the raids of the Sabians and the Chaldeans to take place. He's able to orchestrate an attack against Job. In verse 16, we find that he caused fire to come down from heaven to consume the sheep. In verse 19, we find that he caused the great wind to come and to knock the house down.

Great power. He has much more than we might think. In chapter 2, verse 7, he caused painful boils from head to toe on Job. So God gave permission, controlled how much. Satan brought the afflictions, organized the attacks, demonstrated great acts with fire coming down from heaven. What was Job's part in this spiritual warfare? To stand, to endure, to go through it, trusting in God.

holding to his faith in God. And he's successful. We see at the end of Job, 42 chapters of misery, yet God blesses him abundantly more. And so we can trust God. Again, he works all things together for good. And even in those worst of situations, the heaviest attacks were to stand, were to endure. Another example, the example of Daniel. You can read on your own, Daniel chapter 10, really through chapter 12 is the entire story. But

In chapter 10, we find Daniel and he's mourning. He's fasting for three weeks. There's a burden upon his heart. And God sends Gabriel with a message and he delivers him this message about the end times. But in the story, we find Daniel is fasting and praying and in mourning for three weeks, for 21 days. And when Gabriel gets there, he said, I would have been here sooner. I came. I started coming just as soon as you started praying. But verse 13, the prince of Persia.

Not talking about a physical person or the king of Persia, but a spiritual entity. Maybe a principality or a power, a ruler. One of the spiritual hosts of wickedness withstood me for 21 days. And I was there. I was stuck. He was standing me. I couldn't get past him to come and deliver this message until Michael the archangel came and delivered me and helped me against the prince of Persia. What are the roles that they played? God. He sent Gabriel with the message.

Now I should note, it's assumed it's Gabriel. His name is not actually mentioned in chapter 10, but it's mentioned in chapters 8 and 9. But God sent the messenger, the angel, probably Gabriel, with the message. The demonic power in this spiritual warfare withstood this angelic being for 21 days. There's some type of conflict that takes place there. What did the angels do? Well, the angel, probably Gabriel again, delivered the message to

After he had gotten past him and Michael, the archangel, delivered the angel from the prince of Persia. But again, what was Daniel's place? What did Daniel do? He mourned, prayed and fasted for three weeks. No chasing, no running, no screaming or shouting. In essence, in the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter six, he stood in the strength of the Lord. That's what spiritual warfare is all about.

Looking at Job, looking at Daniel, what is our part? Our part is to stand. Again, Ephesians 6.13, Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. We stand and let God fight the battles for us. Now we will look more at the role that we play in spiritual warfare next week, at how it impacts us and affects us.

As we look at the wrestling, because we wrestle not against flesh and blood. But as we close this evening, some quick reminders, refreshers, spiritual warfare. It's not limited only to the spiritual realm, but it has great impact on the world and in our lives. You know, it's not like the war in Iraq. Some of you might be affected by the war in Iraq because you have family over there or friends over there, people that you know over there.

But in a large part, we're not that affected by the war in Iraq. Spiritual warfare is not that way. Every single one of us, young or old, strong Christian, weak Christian, been a believer for a day or a hundred years, we're all involved. It affects each and every one of us. Spiritual warfare has real physical implications and impact. If you want an example of that, again, look at the book of Revelation.

The ultimate spiritual battle that takes place and how the world is ravaged. It rocks the world. And so three things I want to leave you with tonight as we endeavor to stand in this spiritual battle. Number one, from Ephesians 6.10, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Be strong in the Lord. Strengthen your relationship with God. Get to know him. Draw close to him.

Again, the essentials are essentials because they are essential. And if you spend time with God and make him your God, your focus, you will stand. Number two, love God. Love him that Romans 8, 28 might be fulfilled in you. Because if you love God, he works all things together for good for you. That's the condition. He loves you unconditionally. But

Is working everything together for good for you? It's conditioned upon your love for him. So love God. Love him. Fall in love with him. Pour out your heart to him and he will work all things together for good, even in the midst of the worst situations that you could imagine. Finally, thirdly, be loyal to God. Incline your heart to him. Devote yourself to him. Be loyal to him because 2 Chronicles 16, 9 says,

says he'll fight for you. His eyes are looking through the whole earth to find those whose hearts are loyal to him, that he might show himself strong on their behalf. So you be strong in the Lord, love the Lord, and be loyal to the Lord, and you will stand. Everything will work together for good. He will fight the battles for you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you, God, that you do not call us

To fight our own battles. But Lord, you offer to fight them on our behalf. Lord, may we truly say and give to you. Lord, the battles belong to you. And so God, may we just learn to stand. To trust in your word. To be strong in you. Strengthen in our relationship with you. Lord, may we learn to love you with all of our heart. Lord, that we may see all things work together for good. And Lord, may we be loyal to you. Devoted completely wholly to you.

to you. God, that you might show yourself strong on our behalf. Keep us, Lord, from compromise. Keep us from complacency. But keep us right in the center of your will. Lord, because this battle is real. It is raging. The enemy would love to destroy our lives and use us to destroy the lives of many others. But God, right now, we give ourselves to you. We throw ourselves at your feet, in your hands, and confess to you our love.

our adoration, our thanksgiving for what you've done for us. And we ask God, fight the battles for us. Be victorious in our lives. Show yourself strong. Right now we devote ourselves to you. You're such a good God. May we walk with you this week. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word.

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