Life Is War

INTRODUCTION:

Life is hard. Amen? Last week I asked who could use an encouraging word and almost EVERYBODY raised their hand. Why? Because life is hard!

There’s not a single person on the planet for whom life isn't hard.

Even people with all the money in the world and who look like they have no problems, life is hard for them.

Life is hard because of the curse of sin. It’s not a blanket that lays across the earth that can be lifted up. It’s the infectious disease that has burrowed into nature and infected every person, place and thing. (Oceans, trees, solar system, all of nature)

Sin results in brokenness. Brokenness is what makes life hard. If you live in this broken world you’re going to get hit. You’re going to endure hardship. It’s the truth and can’t be avoided.

You might ask “well why doesn’t God just get rid of sin?” Answer: He could. There is a way for God to get rid of sin and one day he actually will.

The problem is, for God to get rid of sin he has to get rid of us. The only way to heal the brokenness of this world that has been so thoroughly infected by sin is to destroy it.

The thing is, God already destroyed this world with a flood and he made a promise he wouldn’t do it again. The next time God destroys this world this world isn’t going to be coming back it it’s original shape and form.

Since God can only get rid of sin by getting rid of us, he waits. Patiently waits. So that people, called by his name, will hear the Gospel and respond in faith. He’s not willing that ANY would perish but that all would come to repentance so he waits and waits and waits.

And because he has decided to wait so that people will have an opportunity to respond to the Gospel that leaves all of us in a world, broken by sin and life is just plain hard.

Not only is life hard because of the brokenness brought about by sin, if you’re a Christian, life is DOUBLY HARD because you’re trying to live for God in the midst of this brokenness.

The truth is, Satan is real. And when he looks at disciples of Jesus Christ he sees an enemy combatant. He looks at the church and sees an invading army.

You cannot live as a disciple of Jesus Christ in this world without getting beat up and experiencing hardship. You simply cannot have your “best life now.” That’ll happen one day in heaven - but not now.

Why? Well one thing is the curse of sin. But the second thing is because God’s purpose for leaving us on earth is that we might display to the world the glory of God and the sufficiency of his grace. We are God’s plan A for advancing the Gospel in a world cursed by sin.

So Satan looks at what we’re doing and he sees it as a threat. The closer we get to doing God’s will and advancing his kingdom and exposing the darkness at work in our world the more that darkness is going to fightback!

What we call “Sunday morning worship” Satan sees as an invading force into his terrain and he does not take it lightly and he will not take it sitting down. So he attacks!

We are an occupying force, occupying Satan’s territory and reclaiming it for the Kingdom of God and the redemptive purposes of Jesus Christ. That’s why we’re here!

So not only do we live in a world broken by sin. We are in a war against Satan and demons to reverse the curse of sin and rescue men and women from the bondage and slavery of sin so we take shots coming from BOTH SIDES.

If you are in Christ you are a soldier of God. You’re at war! So Satan hates you. Satan fights back. He does not just “give up” his territory. If you think life is hard in general you should try being a Christian. It’s even worse!

This idea is the last thing Paul addresses in his letter to the church in Ephesus. He says, “Finally brothers….” And closes with a rallying cry for winning the invisible war.

So, for the next several weeks (and possibly rest of this year) we are going to investigate this theme of Spiritual Warfare and how to win the battle that rages even now for your soul.

I think this is a providential gift from the Lord to us at Broadview Baptist Church. When the Lord led us to this book I had no idea how timely each series would be but they have been.

2020 has been one of the hardest years for so many people. As we close out this year we need a rallying cry of how to WIN and not be defeated. How to PERSEVERE and not give up. So that’s what we’re going to do.

This morning, we’re going to take a birds eye view of this Spiritual battle we are in. The nature and strategy of our enemy, and how to win the invisible war.

Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 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 firm.

This is such a powerful text and there are so many different ways that we can look at it but for today’s purposes lets’ begin by understanding the basic idea that the Christian life is WAR.

If you’re not able to see this then you’re already losing the battle. Life is not a vacation. It’s not a playground. It’s a spiritual battle. Daily. And you’ve got to be engaged in the fight.

Honestly, this is why so many so-called “Christians” never make it to the finish line. I would questions whether they ever really were Christians but the simple truth is they never finish because they never really saw the Christian life for what it really was.

Matthew 7 says “wide is the gate and easy is the path” that leads to destruction. And many go that way. But narrow is the gate and difficult is the path that leads to life and few find it.” So even Jesus warns us that life in his Kingdom is going to be hard.

In his parable about the seeds and the soils he says that some soil receives the Word quickly and with gladness. It springs up and bears fruit. But THEN the sun came, dried up the fruit because it didn’t have any roots. Other soil receives it but fails to bear fruit because of the hardships of this world, temptation to sin and distraction.

To win the war you’ve got to know it’s waging. You’ve got to know who your enemy is. You’ve got to suit up with your defensive armor and engage the enemy through your offensive weapons.

UNDERSTANDING THE WAR:

The first thing we need to understand about this invisible war we’re in is our enemy. And the enemy isn’t who you may think it is.

According to verse 12 “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” That’s important. Our enemy is not human!

It’s very easy, especially if you’ve been a Christian for some period of time, to slip into the mindset that our enemy is human. Somebody hurts us, hurts our family, causes an offense, and we focus all of our attention on THEM. PERSONALLY.

Those who hurt you are not your enemy. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Human who have not surrendered their lives to Christ - who are not walking in the Spirt - they are slaves of Satan. They are enslaved to do HIS will instead of God’s will.

In a way - they are themselves victims even though they victimize you. They aren’t the enemy though. As much as they may annoy you and make you mad and hurt your heart they’re not the one you’re ultimately at war with!

(By this I certainly don’t mean they’re not responsible for their sin. They are! I’m not saying they don’t need to make atonement and repent. They do. I’m just saying even IF all of those things happened. You’d still be at war because they’re not the enemy.)

The second thing you need to know about this war is that the enemy force we battle against is “Muti-faceted.”

Just like our US Armed forces is multi-faceted so also are the forces of darkness. We have a army, a navy, cost guard, Air Force, (marines, space force, etc). Satan has a similar set up.

According to Ephesians there are “rulers, authorities, comic powers over the present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We will drill down into each of these later on in our series but for now suffice it to say that the enemy is hitting us on various different fronts!

So our enemy (1) is NOT human, (2) is multi-faceted, the third thing you need to know is that this enemy is MUCH stronger than we are. Much stronger.

In our own power, according to our own flesh, we stand absolutely NO CHANCE of winning the invisible war for our soul. NO CHANCE.

This is why Paul says in verse 10, “Finally BE STRONG in the LORD.” That verb translated “Be strong” is what’s called a passive verb which means you cannot muster this strength yourself. You must be acted upon an outside force. You must be strengthened by someone else?

Who is that outside source of strength? It’s the Lord! It’s the LORD’s power that is our only hope of winning this battle. Be strong in the strength of HIS might.

Our battle is not flesh and blood, it is multi-layered, and the forces we battle against are way way way stronger than you and I. That’s why life is so stinking hard if you’re a disciple of Jesus Christ.

In the coming weeks we’re going to spend more time on this topic and really dive deep into what Spiritual warfare is and how it works but for now I want us to keep going so we get a birds eye view.

So now that we know a little bit about our enemy. How are we to do battle against this enemy? Battle strategy #1: “Be strengthened by the Lord.”

Verse 10 we just looked at it. It’s a present tense passive imperative. That means it’s something we cannot do ourselves, it must be done to us by the Lord. And it’s something we must continually do, day after day, hour after hour.

Did you know that there is a supernatural power available to you RIGHT NOW in this moment? It’s the power of God and it’s ready to be infused into your life right now.

Paul has actually been weaving this theme of the supernatural power of God being available to us throughout his letter.

It forms the major emphasis of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17-21

I pray “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."

This is mind blowing. The power that God has made available to us is the same supernatural power that RAISED CHRIST JESUS FROM THE DEAD.

The power we have available to us is RESURRECTION POWER.

Do you believe that? Are you experiencing that power? Resurrection power? Let that soak in. Power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you. The power that enabled him to ascend into heaven? Available to you right now!

The power that raised Jesus and put him over EVERY ENEMY. Ours and his - that power is available to us in Christ if we will be “Be strengthened by the Lord.”

If we need to be strengthened by the Lord and that resurrection power is available to us now, how do we get it?

In order to experience the resurrection power of God to overcome the enemy we face we need to suit up in what Paul describes as “the armor of God.” Battle strategy #2 “Suit up in the armor of God.”

When Paul presents this image of the armor of God he’s not talking about a physical material piece of clothing.

Rather, he’s describing a way of posturing yourself before God - a way of orienting your mind and your life under God so that you’re in a position to be strengthened by his resurrection power.

He actually mentions it twice which I why I think this is Paul’s answer for how to experience the supernatural power God provides. He says it in verse 11 “take up the WHOLE armor of God…” and again in verse 13 “take up the WHOLE armor of God…".

In-between and around each verse he talks about the enemy we face and the nature of God’s armor. So let’s look at this armor.

They’re listed out in Ephesians 6:14-18

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 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…”

Paul mentions seven different elements that when they are infused together make up the whole armor of God. These WORK TOGETHER synergistically. So this isn’t a Luby’s ala carte cafeteria meal for spiritual warfare. You need ALL of them together.

The belt of TRUTH,

the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS,

shoes shod with the GOSPEL of peace,

the shield of FAITH,

the helmet of SALVATION,

the sword of the SPIRIT (which is the Word of God)

and then ALL PRAYER.

We’re going to fly through these things mentioned by Paul but don’t worry if you feel like we’re moving too fast because we’re going to go through each piece slowly later on in the series. But for now let’s get a birds eye view.

SUITING UP WITH GOD’S ARMOR:

First, he says to put on the belt of TRUTH. Notice the emphasis isn’t on the word BELT (that’s just a rhetorical device) the emphasis is on TRUTH.

To put on the belt of truth means two things: first you come to discover and understand GOD’S TRUTH and secondly you come to affirm GOD’S truth as YOUR TRUTH.

We live in a culture steeped in subjective relativism. Truth is relative. Morality is relative. What’s true for me may not be true for you (or vis versa). You hear people talk about “my truth” this and that.

That’s not a Biblical worldview and you’ll never experience the resurrection power of God to overcome the invisible war with that kind of thinking. You cannot create your own truth and win. You must DISCOVER God’s truth and live out of that instead of your own.

Putting on the belt of truth means saying God’s truth is my truth. Jesus’ worldview is going to be my worldview.

God’s truth is capital T truth. Truth is that which corresponds with reality. Reality as GOD has made it.

God created this world. He created reality as we know it. He created it to operate according to certain laws. Cause and effect works in the spiritual realm just as effectively as it does in the physical realm. (Laws of gravity belong to God just as much as his laws of relationships and finances).

The book of Ephesians has been laying this out for us over the past year. We’ve seen God’s design for so many areas of our life. We looked as his design for marriage, for singleness, for parenting, for the workplace, for our speech, for our attitudes, for the local church, on and on we could go.

Putting on the belt of truth means saying “God’s design for those things is now MY design for those things. I’m going to switch from doing things MY way and instead start to do them GOD’S way. His truth is my truth.

Listen to me: unless and until you become willing to submit to God’s way of doing things, until you make his truth your truth, this world is going to beat you up and rob you of your soul.

Some of you know this because you’re living it RIGHT NOW. Maybe you’re living for God in EVERY arena of your life except this ONE arena. But if you’re honest, that’s the area in which you’re struggling the most because it’s not surrendered to Christ. That’s where the sin is. That’s where the shame is. The misery. The anger. The brokenness resides there.

God has a design for everything. When we deviate from God’s design it results in brokenness. It’s just how the world works. Why? Because we’re in a battle. You’ve got to live underneath the umbrella of God’s truth instead of your own.

This also means rejecting things outside of God’s design. Not only do you proactively pursue God’s design but you also proactively reject ideas or ways of doing things that violate God’s design. Why? Because nothing is neutral. We’re in a war!

The next thing Paul mentions is the breastplate of righteousness. This means you are becoming more and more conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moral conformity in regard to God’s holiness code.

Paul discussed this at some lengthen back in Ephesians 4:22-ff. Remember we were called to “put off the old self (corrupt through deceitful desires) and put on the new self “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness…” (Ephesians 4:24)

So righteousness is putting away falsehood and speaking the truth (verse 25)

It is learning to be angry but not sinning in your anger (verse 26)

Righteousness is doing “honest work with your own hands… not taking from others but being generous with what you’ve earned (verse 28)

Righteousness is putting away filthy speech and replacing it with words that build up, that fit the occasion and give grace to those who hear.(Verse 29)

Righteousness is getting rid of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice and replacing it with kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness and love that mimics the forgiveness of God in Christ. (30-32)

Righteousness, according to Ephesians 5:3 is a life in which accusations of “sexual immorality, impurity and covetousness” cannot even stick when thrown at you. Why? Because you’ve chosen to be conformed to Jesus Christ and his holiness.

Righteousness doesn’t mean you’re sinless. It doesn’t mean you’re perfect. But it does mean you’ve made an intentional choice to get serious about conforming your life to the image of Christ.

Do you see how these elements work together? You’ll never become righteousness unless and until you discover God’s truth and make it your own. These two things work together.

As you grow in your knowledge of God’s truth you also grow in your capacity and ability to conform your life to the pattern of Christ’s life. The more you pattern your life after the pattern of Christ the more you position yourself to be strengthen by HIS power.

The opposite is also true. You can have every desire to be righteous but if you don’t have knowledge of the truth you cannot do it. You may have lots of knowledge but if your not willing to put it into practice you’ll never experience the power of Christ. They work together.

The third thing he mentions is in verse 15. As for shoes we are to put on “the readiness given by the gospel of peace…” What is that talking about.

You might be surprised by this but Paul is talking about a readiness to engage in evangelism. A willing and eager heart to share the truth of the Gospel with others. (At every opportunity).

Feet fit with readiness means you’re willing and able. Like he told Timothy “be ready to preach in season and out of season…” Be living on G just waiting for O and boom you’re out of the gate.

This fits in with what Paul said earlier in Ephesians about walking in wisdom towards those who are outsiders. Why? So you’ll be ready and able to give answer when the opportunity arises. Let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt so you may know HOW you ought to answer any person who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you.

Connect other people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This isn’t just a duty given to you by Jesus. This is a posture that invites the power of God into your life.

A readiness and willingness to share the Gospel with unbelievers is one of the primary ways we position ourselves to be filled with the supernatural resurrection power of God.

You feel powerless right now? You feel depressed? You feel down in the dumps? Get up and go to the mall and look for opportunities to share the Gospel with somebody. Something will change in you. Why? Because it’s God’s promise!

Remember in the book of Acts that every time the Spirit of God would fall and the apostle would be filled with this supernatural power and boldness it would immediately be followed by them preaching the Gospel?

Our mission statement is Acts 1:8. “You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and ….. you will be my WITNESSES …”They’re linked. Holy Spirit Supernatural Resurrection power and evangelism always go together.

When’s the last time you started your day with an intentional choice to be ready to share the Gospel when the opportunity first presented itself?

This was convicting to me this week. I know this is true. When I’ve gone out and done door to door evangelism I can be totally not looking forward to it. But something changes as I start sharing. By the time I’m done sharing the Gospel I’m on cloud 9. Whoo hoo!

Why? It’s just a spiritual truth. It’s the way God designed our spiritual lives to function. When we engage in evangelism we are inviting the power and presence of God into our life. No wonder so many Christian feel powerless to overcome sin. We aren’t sharing the Gospel!

The fourth thing Paul mentions is the shield of faith. “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the faming darts of the evil one…"

The shield of faith is about trusting God. Its trusting that Jesus Christ really does know and will do what is best therefore I’m going to trust him. No matter what life looks like around me.

This is difficult thing sometimes, isn’t it? When life is hard it’s easy to question God’s wisdom. It’s easy to question his timing. It’s easy to question his goodness. But faith says - even when I cannot see I’m going to trust him!

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…” So even when I cannot see a way forward… even when I cannot understand how God is going to use this for good - because of what I DO KNOW about the Lord I’m going to trust him.

Paul says that kind of faith is a shield. It’s a shield that will protect you from the flaming darts of the evil one. Satan has purposes in your pain and his purpose is to kill your faith. To cause you to question God to give up. But you’ve been given faith to diffuse those attacks.

The last defensive element mentioned is the helmet of salvation and most commentators believe this refers to salvation itself.

Remember salvation isn’t just something that happened in the past. It’s a present reality in the life of the Christian and a future promise of glorification when Christ comes again.

This means as we battle against the spiritual forces of evil we do so with a confident hope that Jesus Christ, the ultimate warrior, has already won this war through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave.

When we have accusations thrown at us and when our own weakness causes us to succumb to sin and fail miserably in the battle for our soul that we don’t lose heart because our salvation is secure. We are being held safe in the arms of Jesus and we cannot lose.

This means even in the throws of resisting temptation and holding fast to the truth that we do so knowing we will one day no longer battle against these forces of darkness because there’s coming a day when salvation will be complete for us and all of the creation.

Paul closes out the armor of God by mentioning two offensive tools available to every Christian.

They are (1) the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) and (2) prayer. All prayers. These are our offensive weapons in the battle against Satan but they’re also two things that position us to experience the power of God.

This is as simple as it sounds. Listen to the Word of God preached. That’s a way to be filled with Gods resurrection power.

Read the word of God in the morning. Listen to it on your way to work. Read books that unpack and explain the word of God. Let the voice of God be the primary voice in your life.

Add to your Bible intake a time of prayer. Talk to God about everything. Meet with him through prayer. Pray at all times without ceasing.

The last element and second offensive weapon is prayer. And notice the difference. Prayer undergirds EVERYTHING else in the armor of God.

Did you notice how all the other elements have a reference point? Helmet, shield, sword, shoes, etc… But not prayer. Why is that?

It’s because Prayer undergirds everything else. Prayer is what keeps you in step with the Spirit.

Prayer is what enables you to discover God’s truth so it CAN be put on.

Prayer is what keeps you tethered to God in the midst of suffering so you don’t shipwreck your faith.

Prayer is the means by which we receive God’s grace and confess our faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation.

Prayer is how we resist temptation and pursue holiness and conform our life to the pattern of Christ.

Prayer is what precedes evangelism so that as we open up our mouths to share the Gospel the Spirit of God is able to do a special work we cannot do ourselves.

Prayer undergirds and empowers all of these other elements. Prayer is the divine means of moving God to act. It’s the primary means of receiving and asking for his power.

We have not because we ask not! When we ask we ask with bad motives. Will you pray for God’s power to fight the battle you’ve got in front of you this morning?

CONCLUSION:

We are in a battle. There are no neutral moments. Your enemy isn’t human. It’s multifaceted and extremely powerful. You need GOD’S POWER to win the war for your soul.

To infuse that supernatural power into your life you need truth, righteousness, evangelism, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer.

As you take steps towards these seven things you are moving towards Jesus Christ himself. As you move towards him then his power starts to step towards you. The closer you get the more power you will experience.

Some of you are powerless to overcome the temptation in your life right now because (1) you aren’t treating life like you’re at war and (2) you’ve fallen away from the Lord Jesus Christ. You’re not close to him. You’re far far away.

My prayer for you this morning is that you will hear this from the Lord. He loves you. He is near you. He didn’t go anywhere. Will you return home? Will you repent and believe?

Here’s the hope: the resurrection power of Jesus is available to you right now today if you will receive it. Will you receive it?

We are called to be an invading force against the powers of evil. Stop trying to “live your best life now” and get in the manhole and join Jesus in fighting this war!

If you’re going to walk with Christ it’s going to be hard. You want to walk worthily? You want to be the light that penetrates the darkness: then wake up! Get in the game! Suit up with the armor and fill up with God’s power.

What if we stopped looking at this warfare as if it was only defense and “getting by” and hoping it ends soon. Let’s change our perspective. Let’s play offense!

Let me close by giving you a few words of encouragement: I think the Lord wants to say at least three things to three different groups of people:

Some of you need to hear God say TOUGHEN UP.

Your life is hard but it’s not surprisingly hard. You acting surprised and your over reacting to what’s going on and you just need to toughen up.

Don’t be surprised by the fiery trial you’re enduring, James says, but rather REJOICE. Toughen up. Your hardships are making you strong. Receive it!

Some of you need to hear God say WAKE UP.

Isn’t it amazing that most Americans shun this talk of spiritual warfare, satan and demons and spirits? It’s not like that in other places around the world. We disbelieve to our own peril. We have a real invisible enemy who hates our guts.

The fact that we don’t believe in Satan and demons in the west isn’t proof they don’t exist. It’s proof that we’re losing the war. They’ve got us so blinded that we’re not even aware of the puppet masters that are pulling our strings.

We’re going to talk about this more next week but we need to WAKE UP and pull the curtain to expose the puppet master. We’re not lemmings. We’re not cogs in a wheel. We are ambassadors of Jesus and soldiers in the Lord’s army. Wake up!

Finally, some of you need to hear God say “HOLD FAST.”

You’ve gone through the ringer. You’re tough but nobody is that tough. You’re tired and weak and worn out and feel like “how long O Lord until…”

You need to know that your suffering may not be because of your sin. It’s not because God is angry at you. It’s none of those things. It’s just that you’re in a war. But God has not left you. He will not abandon you. And you need to renew your strength in the Lord.

Hold fast! Hold fast to Jesus. In the words of Hebrews 12:3 “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary of fainthearted."

This world is not our home. This fight is temporary. One day he will take you to heaven or come again and when it does the battle will be over. The victory is already ours in the Lord Jesus. Hold on! The game isn’t over yet.