What Is Spiritual Warfare?

Good Morning. Welcome to CCC. We are so very glad to have you here with us this morning.

I pray that the Is Your Life Balanced sermon series we just walked through was something that God used to grow you spiritually…as always you can check it out again or for the first time at cccnevada.org under media or the app under media

Just a quick reminder about the app....We will start using it exclusively starting on Sunday September 8th.....that is next Sunday. I will shut down groupme next Sunday so if you have not downloaded the app please do so.......once you download the app be sure to hit the messaging bubble in the top right corner and join Prayer Chat

That is the way we will communicate prayer requests and praises. As of this morning we have 94 app downloads which is awesome. Again if you have any trouble please let me know and I would be more than happy to help you

Again as we prepare to launch IT and completely change our mindset about ministry and doing God’s will both individually and corporately we must be ready for Spiritual Warfare because we will face it

Many already have, as I said last week the elders have all faced some sort of spiritual warfare for quite some time

The closer you get to God and the harder you chase Jesus the more warfare you will see and experience

With this new series Spiritual Warfare we are going to dive into warfare and look biblically at it

Right now I believe it is going to be 5 weeks

Today is week 1 What is Spiritual Warfare

week 2 Understanding your enemy

week 3 How do I survive spiritual warfare

week 4 and 5 will be spent looking at major battles temptation and obedience in week 4 and thought life and identity in week 5

Again my prayer is God grows you, edifies you, convicts you, brings you to repentance leading to salvation if you are not saved

Let’s Pray

START RECORDING

What is spiritual warfare? That is the question we are going to look at this morning

Why talk about Spiritual warfare?

Because it is real and as Christians must understand what spiritual warfare is because we all are promised to face it

You have experienced it

You may currently be experiencing it

You will for sure experience it in the future so you must understand it

Spiritual warfare comes in all shapes and sizes

It is very real

it can be very painful

it is for sure very difficult

Again the question is not will you face it but when and for how long and how intense and most importantly what is the outcome…what fruit will result from the warfare

Spiritual warfare puts on clear display where your faith lies

Spiritual warfare does 1 of 2 things

Destroys your faith or builds your faith

Maybe a better way to put that is it reveals the truth of your faith

it reveals the source of your faith

It reveals if your faith is authentic or not

It reveals who you belong to Jesus or satan

God is completely honest

He cannot lie

His Word is completely true

Jesus tells you you will face trouble

John 16:33

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“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

You will have trouble

you will have tribulation

The question again is not will you face spiritual warfare but where do you turn

how do you endure

how are you victorious

This morning I want to look to scripture to lay out spiritual warfare

You must understand you enemy and your battlefield

The more you know and understand the less you will be caught off guard

Ignorance is not bliss it is death

John 16:33.....Jesus wants you to know so He told you

Why did He tell you

Why does He want you to know

Peace

so you may have peace

isnt that wonderful?

You will face tribulation

You will experience spiritual warfare but you will have peace in the midst of the warfare if you stand on God’s Word

What is Spiritual Warfare?

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2 Corinthians 10:3–5

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“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

You feel the battle in the flesh vs 3

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You feel spiritual warfare

One of the things that makes growing in Christ....becoming spiritually mature.....moving from milk to meat hard is truths like this

The war is spiritual but it is felt many times in the physical

Many reject Jesus because they meet him

They see Him

They are touched by Him but they count the cost and refuse to become a disciple…they walk away because it is hard

Luke 14:28–33

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“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus speaks of this here

Jesus is clear

Being His disciple costs you everything because forgiveness cost Jesus everything on the cross

he gave all that He had and all that He was to die in your place

to pay for your sins

to endure your punishment

so in return you must die to yourself

you must give all that you have and all that you are to Him

So many when they realize that walk away

they are in love with the idea of being a Christian

in love with the idea of being a disciple

but they refuse to pay the price…die to self

Surrender lordship of their life to Jesus

In sports there is an old saying

Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the mouth

Winning sounds good until it hurts

So many claim they want to win…the love the idea of winning but when they realize how much winning costs they walk away

they quit when it gets hard

This is one reason the road to heaven is narrow…many quit because being a Christian costs you everything.

You feel spiritual warfare in the flesh…in the physical

However it is not fought in the physical

Weapons are not carnal vs 4

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If you attempt to fight spiritual warfare on your own

in your power

with your physical fleshly thoughts and weapons

you will be utterly destroyed

in fact could be eternally destroyed

So many try to fight spiritual warfare with carnal weapons resulting in their getting destroyed and then they turn and reject Christ and blame Him for their failure

We looked at failure two weeks ago…if you missed it or any of the last series it is posted on website and app

You must understand spiritual warfare is fought by God with spiritual weapons

as we saw in John 16:33 Jesus told you He has already overcome so not only are spiritual weapons used…fought by God but you come from a place of victory as a Christian because of Jesus

Your fight is a fight from victory not for victory

Isaiah 54:17

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“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

No weapon formed against you will prosper

the enemy will attack you with any weapon he wants but that weapon cannot prosper in that attack

weapons will however be formed against you

what are some of those weapons

anxiety

depression

worry

anger

hate

addiction

sex

money

power

success

busyness

laziness

being apathetic

poverty

sickness

Just to name a few

You feel all of those weapons

you feel them all in the fleshly physical realm

they may even seem to be successful to society and sometimes even to you if you move away from scripture

but God says they will not prosper

In fact what the enemy fails to realize is those weapons and attacks actually draws the true Christian closer to God the opposite of satans design and intent

You cannot be touched spiritually by satans weapons

2 Corinthians 5:16

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“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”

Flesh no longer matters only spiritual

Peace and freedom reside here

When you truly understand and believe and allow Holy Spirit to apply this truth to your life nothing that happens around you or to you can touch you

you feel it

it can hurt

it may even physically kill you but it has no spiritual power over you

You are safe

you are secure

you belong to Jesus....HE bought you with His blood

You are redeemed

you are free

you are sons and daughters of God Almighty because of Jesus!!!!!

John 10:27–30

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“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”

No weapon formed against you can prosper

No man is able to pluck you from God’s hand

You can choose to walk away

you can choose to reject

You can choose to leave

but no man

no weapon

no attack

can pluck you out of the hand of God!!!!!

I pray you get this

not in an intellectual way

not in head knowledge but in heart knowledge

Spiritual warfare is about perspective

I want us to have a proper perspective

A godly perspective not a wordly perspective

Psalm 91:1–2

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“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.”

I highly encourage everyone to read all of Psalm 91 and I had actually planned to walk down through the entire chapter but decided to just look at verses 1 and 2

This is exactly what our perspective should be

No this is what our perspective must be as a Christian

The place you defeat or defend against a spiritual attack is the secret place

People enter the secret place at different times however I believe first thing in the morning is the best time for secret place time

God knows everything about your day and as you seek Him in the secret place He prepares you for what is coming

The more you are away from the secret place the more open you are to falling to spiritual warfare and spiritual attacks

It goes beyond showing up

The secret place is about relationship with Jesus and it is that relationship that draws you to the secret place

That relationship is also what we rely upon for strength and protection and guidance

Vs 2 He is my refuge

refuge is a word we don’t truly understand or even define the same as when it was used here

Psalm is old testament so it was written in Hebrew

refuge comes from a Hebrew word that means shelter, hope, place of shelter, trust

During this time all cities were walled

Certain cities were called refuge cities

no matter what you had done

no matter if you were guilty or innocent

if someone was trying to catch you and kill you if you made it inside the walls of a refuge city you were safe

you were protected

you had to stay inside the walls but you were safe

God is your refuge

God is your refuge city

In Him and by staying in Him you are safe

Through Jesus and His work on the cross…becoming your sin…dying for your sin…offering you forgiveness

Jesus’ blood covers your sin....He is your refuge

As long as you are in Him.....satan....sin…condemnation…eternal damnation cannot touch you

you are safe

you are secure

you are protected

you are provided for

so many Christians today look to God as a genie in a bottle....they pray that He grants their wish and then they move on

Many Christians are on the milk of salvation…they are saved but not growing in Christ

They are not seeking

they are not desiring the meat of God and therefore wide open to spiritual attacks and warfare

He is my fortress

Look at this wording

No gray area here

If you are in God you are safe

The closest we have to a fortress today would be an active military base.....

it is protected on all sides usually by high fences with razor wire at top

heavily armed and prepared to strike at a moments notice

also protected by sophisticated radar and advanced warning systems

if you are on a military base you are safe

if an attack comes there are even areas designed to protect you from damage

That is God

He is your refuge

He is your fortress

He is your protector and defender

He fights you trust

Spiritual warfare no longer needs to be scary

It does not put you in any danger when you stand upon God and His Word

In this series we are going to dive into spiritual warfare

as we charge ahead with what God has for us here at CCC and individually

We will face spiritual warfare

My prayer is you will be equipped to withstand the attacks

If you hear nothing else…hear this

if you retain nothing else from today retain this

spiritual warfare is real

it is a real attack from a real enemy designed to steal from you, kill and destroy you

on your own with physical fleshly weapons you are no match for it

you will lose

God is your refuge

God is your fortress

You access that first through repentance leading to salvation by making Jesus your Lord and Savior

second seeking God in the secret place every single day making Him your all in all

allowing the Holy Spirit to fight for you

You stand on truth in full trust taking refuge in God and God alone

I dont know where you are but you do and God does

Spiritual warfare may be beating you up right now

you may have realized today you are fighting the fight and not allowing God to fight it

You may need to repent and confess sins to God that are allowing spiritual warfare to rage in your life

Come

Maybe you dont know Jesus

You have never accepted Him as your Lord and Savior

Come

Whatever it is come

STOP RECORDING

Invitation Surrounded How I fight my battles acoustic

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