Invisible War: Spiritual Protection
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As we have been discussing, there is a spiritual war going on in the unseen realm. A very real conflict that has real implications here in the physical realm. A war between good and evil, light and darkness, angels and demons, all over the souls of human beings created in the image of God.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
It was very good until the Satan deceived Adam and Eve and they disobeyed their Creator.
Sin entered humankind - a malicious virus attacked the software, sin is like a corruption of our genetic code that keeps us from living into all that God intended.
But God did not give up on us, rather he set out to rescue us - culminating with sending his son Jesus to die on the cross so that our sin would be covered and our relationship with God restored.
Before the cross: Satan used his platform to accuse us of violating God’s laws and therefore condemning us to eternal separation from God. If he couldn’t be a part of God’s family anymore, then neither would God’s precious image bearers.
The cross changed all that. Jesus’ death and resurrection gutted Satan’s hold on us. Our sin was forgiven - the ransom had been paid. Victory was declared when Jesus spoke his last earthly words “It is finished.”
Satan was cast out of heaven - his position on the heavenly court revoked.
Last week, we read a portion of Rev 12, but I want us to listen again, this time making our way to verse 17.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
There is a lot of allegory in that passage - images with meaning. We are not doing a deep analysis of this text - we will need to study Revelation at another time. But briefly, John was writing to a church facing persecution and His vision was to give hope in the middle of hardship and suffering. We know the dragon is Satan, the woman likely represents the Jews, and the offspring may be the persecuted church.
Key verse:
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
The spiritual war is between the serpent and his demons and the children of God - those who keep his commandments and hold the testimony of Christ.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Question:
What does Peter mean when he says “be sober-minded”?
What is the threat he is warning us about?
According to Peter, what do Christians around the world share?
This passage in Peter mentions suffering, and the entire letter was written to encourage persecuted believers. The devil uses persecution as a means to discourage Christians. The assault is emphasized in Revelation 2:7, where the church of Smyrna is warned that “the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you.”
Satan has a short period of time to keep as many souls as possible blind to the victory available to them. He fights the Church and the angels to keep the world in darkness.
Jesus said...
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
So how are we to be protected from such a vicious and strong enemy?
Be sober minded. Keep a clear head and remember who you belong to.
This is not a fair fight between Jesus and Devil. This is not ying and yang - two equal and opposing forces.
Jesus is the King of all Creation. All of Creation came into existence through Him. Satan is just one created being.
Satan has already been defeated. He has lost.
Read...
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus has given us his authority as we fight this battle. We fight from a position of victory. But we are not to spend our time boasting and declaring war on demons. This battle is not fought from a defensive position - were we are responding to every evil manifestation around us, rather, we are on the offense, carrying out the mission that Jesus has given to us, to share the gospel, to live lives pleasing to God and to rejoice knowing that that our names are written in the book of life. The Kingdom grows not by chasing demons, but by sharing the gospel.
Spiritual Warfare is the struggle to live holy lives in keeping with our heavenly calling while we are relentlessly being attacked on three fronts.
We are enticed to sin, to rebel, to disobey God by:
The world (external)
The flesh (internal)
Satan (supernatural)
The world is the organized system that rebels against God. It is often found in the status quo - the ways that are acceptable to society. It is the collective decisions of humans - the man-made rules that we live by. It also contains all that entices our flesh. 1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
2. The flesh is the internal struggle waging war within us. John calls it the desires of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Paul writes in Galatians 5:16-17
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The third front is Satan and the demonic which we have already discussed.
How do we fight this battle? How can we protect ourselves from such powerful forces?
We follow our Lord’s commands. He is the victor - we overcome by His power. We align our thoughts and actions with Him.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Question:
what does it mean to present your bodies as a living sacrifice?
What is meant by conform vs transform?
How do we test what we receive by our senses to discern God’s will?
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
This means that as Christians, we have to continually be aware of our thoughts and make sure they align with God's truth.
We need to take every negative thought captive and make sure it lines up with what God's Word says.
When we allow our thoughts to become negative, filled with doubt and fear, it opens the door for the enemy to come in and attack us.
2. We put on the Armor
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
In describing the armor of God, Paul was likely observing a Roman Centurion and using his armor as an illustration.
Question:
What are the components of the armor that we have available to us?
3. Power of Prayer
This is our greatest weapon!
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons in the spiritual battle. It is essential that we pray for ourselves and for others.
When we pray, we are inviting God to step into our lives and circumstances and intervene on our behalf.
We should also pray for our leaders, our families, our friends, our enemies, and our world
God does not leave us to fight this battle alone and he is not distant from it. Our Lord is with us. Therefore, we need to learn how to lean in, draw close, and receive instruction.
Listening to God
Trust you instincts: God gave them to you. Sometimes, they may be the Holy Spirit speaking.
For a Christian, intuition can be greatly enhanced by the Holy Spirit. He is the fountain of wisdom and understanding. Those who “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25) have the privilege of God’s own perspective on many life decisions as He guides us through His Word. We can fine-tune this ability to hear God by spending time in His Word, in worship, and in meditation. A. W. Tozer, in his classic work The Pursuit of God, writes, “Why do some persons ‘find’ God in a way that others do not? . . . The one vital quality that they all had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward.” This spiritual receptivity is the quality that can influence intuition to such an extent that we can walk blamelessly before God (Philippians 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Job 1:1).
However, we must be careful and not only rely on intuition. We need to check what we hear/sense against what God’s Word says. Our feelings can be wrong. As one writer I came across stated: A life not surrendered to the lordship of Jesus is easy prey for Satan’s suggestions.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Is God speaking to you in your dreams?
There are several places in scripture where God used dreams and visions to speak to his people.
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
In our current sermon series on Daniel, we have heard how God gave his servant Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams. Throughout the book, Daniel interpreted the dreams of kings as well as experienced his own dreams full of strange symbols that needed interpretation.
Much caution is needed when it comes to discerning whether or not a dream is more than a dream - but is it not possible that God may give warning or instruction through a dream?
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
Example:
On three separate occasions over the years, Krista has has had dreams with significant messages. They are different than other dreams, they warn of a hidden danger, they are symbolic in nature and require interpretation, and they are so realistic that she knows that they are not normal dreams. They have also preceded issues that we have had to deal with - conflicts that have had a spiritual underpinning.
Conclusion:
Thomas A Kempis
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Medieval Church Arm Yourself against All Sins
Let us arm ourselves against all sins, against pride, against hatred, against ambition, against envy, against covetousness, against sensuality. Let heaven see that, even on earth, it has those who stand on its side. Let hell know that, even on earth, there are those who make war against it with the Word of God. And let earth itself know that it is still capable of once more growing green and of giving much fruit.
