We are A Warrior in God’s Army

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

If you think Jesus came into this world to make it instantly peaceful and comfortable. Then your thinking is not correct. Jesus clearly said,

Matthew 10:34

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

Jesus literally came to start a fight, and He has already won the initial battle, Jesus came and conquered sin, He has defeated death! I am here to let you know that the battle is not over yet. Jesus calls us into the battle to walk into the final victory with Him.

What exactly is the final victory? This is where we are caught up with Him when He returns for us.

The church, what exactly is the church? The church is the true body of Christ without any man-made denominations that takes precedence, just God’s people coming together as one.

The church is a fighting force if you really think about it, Christians are soldiers in the army of Jesus, and Jesus is our commanding officer. When we are called to becoming a Christian, it is a call in to the battle of Spiritual Warfare. We are enlisted into the forces of Jesus; we all should be wearing our battle gear, the full armor of God and use the weapons that He has given us.

Why should we put on battle gear, what exactly is battle gear, what weapons would we be using? Ephesians 6 will explain this to us.

Ephesians 6:12-17

12 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.

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.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We can clearly see that we must fight spiritual enemies Ephesians 6:12, and we must use spiritual weapons. The enemy is not a nation or its military forces, this enemy is far more dangerous. This war is not a conflict between any of the nations; the powers involved are greater than any nation. The weapons used are not guns and tanks, that destroy humans. It is the weapons of the Lord God Almighty, and these weapons blast open every bunker of evil and devastates demons alike, they flee from us by just mentioning Jesus.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

We as the church can clearly see that Christianity truly is spiritual warfare, with larger and longer lasting results than any political or physical war.

We know from God’s word that our warfare is spiritual indeed, it is not physical however, it is still warfare. We must stand up and fight for Christ, we are not to be appeasers, by this I mean that we should not swerve off from God’s word making changes to just to pacify someone, as a spiritual appeaser we see no reason for any type of conflict. Let us look at some of the old hymns “Onward Christ soldiers, marching as to war, or Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus as Soldiers of the Cross. We are surely fighting against Satan. This makes me wonder why there is no mention of this anymore, is it because Christian’s of today fail to see Satan as a threat? The bible tells us in:

1Peter 5:8

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I believe this passage shows us all as Christians that Satan is a definite threat to us. So, I ask you is Satan and his demons real? Are they a threat? YES ABSOLUTELY.

We as Christians know that we must fight against our own sin and Satan’s attacks against us, and we must join Jesus’ mission of bringing the gospel to others. That certainly is the whole point of the great commission, isn’t it?

Matthew 28:19-20

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

The church must mobilize people not for political and military conflict but for spiritual warfare. When the bible calls us, (the Church) and individual Christians into battle just like in Ephesians 6:12, it calls for something completely different from the wars and battles that make the news, like the ones in Israel right now. Scripture calls for warfare in the unseen of battling Satan and the power of sin. No, this doesn’t require us to use guns, tanks, and fighter jets, but it does require courage, determination, and strength that comes from the Lord God Almighty.

The bible shows us Jesus as a lion:

Revelation 5:5

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Scripture tells us that the righteous are as a lion:

Proverbs 28:1

The wicked flee when no man pursues: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

So, we are not supposed to sit at home like tame pets safe in our homes eating, drinking, and sleeping all day. We are to be of service to the Lord and be bold as lions. To live as a real Christian on fire for God, is to be bold, fierce, and strong. That means being obedient in all things that He gives us to do.

Wouldn’t bible studies be more empowering if we viewed them as making our battle plans to face spiritual warfare when we walk out into the world? Wouldn’t church services be better if we saw it as getting prepared for battling Satan in the week to come? I am here to tell you today, if you aren’t ready to battle sin, you are not ready to stand against Satan.

Don’t be an appeaser. Be a warrior. Stand against Satan. Fight him. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil and his schemes.

Ephesians 6:10-11

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.

I ask of you have you joined the Army of Jesus today? Don’t expect things to be easy.

His Mighty Power

We must remember the most important thing about spiritual warfare is to look toward the strength and leadership of the ultimate war hero, “Jesus Christ.”

Exodus 15:3

The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.

Why did Jesus come to earth exactly? Like I said earlier He came to pick a fight.

Matthew 10:34

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

Remember that the final outcome of Jesus’ returning will be peace, however, before He brings peace, He brings a sword against all evil He also brings division between those who are believers and those who are not believers.

The reason that the Son of God came to this world is to destroy the devil’s work.

1John 3:8

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The Son of God became one of us and died for us, to destroy him who holds the power of death that is the devil.

Hebrews 2:14

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

We see the Lord in so many different ways and many different names. Look at the handout.

Now we see our Lord and Savior in many different situations.

In closing:

Where exactly do we fight these battles of Spiritual Warfare? Oh, I am so glad you asked me that question…. Well brothers and sisters, we fight these battles upon our knees in fervent prayer (passionate prayer), we fight by studying God’s word, we fight by telling others about what Jesus has done for us by taking 39 stripes upon His back for our healing, hanging upon the cross shedding His life’s blood for the remission of our sins, we fight by telling others that Jesus arose from the grave on the third day defeating death. If we truly love our family and friends, why wouldn’t you as a child of God want to share the best thing that has ever happened to you? I know every person here has a personal testimony of what Christ has done for you, where you came from and where you are now. Don’t we??