How to Handle Spiritual Warfare

Introduction

Background:

Last week, we saw that v. 4-5 affirmed that the Holy Spirit calls people to ministry. If you want to accomplish something of eternal significance in your life, it can only be done in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The only way we can know if what we’re doing is worth it, is if we do it according to God’s power.

We also saw that a calling to missions is a legitimate calling. It’s not just pastors and evangelists that are called, but missionaries are called by God, and we have a responsibility to support missions.

Then, we ended with the acknowledgement that God is using you where you are right now. He’s not preparing you, but He is actively using you where He has placed you. If God chooses to move you to a new assignment, that’s His business…you just focus on living for Christ where you are now.

Context:

Today, we are talking about this matter of spiritual warfare. We can’t be blind to the reality that there are spiritual forces of darkness working against our families, our church, and our nation. Everywhere we turn there are acts of violence, there are assassinations, there are people trying to silence the truth, people trying to extinguish the light of the gospel.

These are not attacks of flesh and blood, but there is something seriously wrong with the spiritual direction of our nation. There is something seriously wrong with our view on spiritual warfare, for us to believe that people have the strength for such darkness. This kind of darkness that we are seeing is a coordinated attack from the depths of Hell.

And when we face spiritual opposition in our life, it’s one and the same.

I heard a preacher say one time that if you want to be in Heaven’s Hall of Fame, you have to be on Hell’s most wanted list. That all of Hell needs to be in a scramble when you wake up.

We are linked to the spiritual world in every way and in every aspect of our lives…walking through life ignoring the reality of spiritual opposition would be like crossing the highway without looking both ways…you might make it most the time but there will eventually be a wreck.

We have to know that there are forces of darkness working against us, and we have to know How to Handle Spiritual Warfare.

I. Recognize Spiritual Opposition Exists

Acts 13:6 NKJV

Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,

This trio is on the island of Cyprus, and they eventually come to what was at that time, the capital of Cyprus, the city of Paphos. And when they get to the capital, they find a false prophet who is named Bar-Jesus, which means “son of Joshua”. He was Jew who falsely taught the will of God, and earned his reputation because he was a magician.

We saw another false prophet in Acts 8 that performed signs in Samaria. And just like Simon in Acts 8, This Son of Joshua is going to go from someone who seems powerful to someone who is very obviously powerless.

Now, I made this point in Acts 8, and I’ll make it again here in Acts 13…

There is a difference between your efforts and God’s efforts. There is a difference when you call yourself into leadership or ministry and when God does it…

When we produce something, and when we live our life by our own efforts and initiatives, it will look pretty good, until we are cleansed from our sin and begin to see the real power of God, then our efforts won’t look so good.

For a long time I played RA basketball, and I thought I was a stud. I thought I was unstoppable…but when I stepped on that 7a high school basketball court it was another story…when I got there I went from unstoppable to barely getting playing time…

It was easy to look good when the talent level was low…but when I was compared to real athleticism and talent, all of a sudden I didn’t look so good.

In just a minute, Bar-Jesus is going to find out that he is outgunned and outmatched.

Acts 13:7–8 NKJV

[Bar-Jesus] was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

They’re in the capital, and chief Roman official has gotten word that they are great and mighty preachers, and in my mind they are performing miracles and showing the power of God.

So, this intelligent man, as the Bible calls him, calls for Saul and Barnabas so he can hear about Jesus.

But anytime God’s word is being preached, and anytime His work is being accomplished, there will always be opposition

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare

The Scripture says this, Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

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.

The Apostle Paul was writing this because he knew first hand the impact of spiritual warfare. It’s not mysticism, it’s not something that we say to scare Christian people…it is a reality of the Christian life, that there are spiritual forces that are working to disrupt your life, and that are working to disrupt the advancement of the gospel.

And, sometimes we read these stories in the Bible, and we neglect to feel the intensity of the situation, that there was a man, who was a sorcerer, and he is actively opposing Paul and Barnabas.

The principle here is this:

If you never tell someone about Jesus, you’ll never mess it up. If you never stand up for what is right, people will never criticize you for it. If you never help the poor, then you’ll never be taken advantage of. Never live on mission and you won’t have a confrontation with the Devil.

In my world, as your pastor I could just hold your hand, never challenge you, visit you when you’re sick, and keep you happy, but never accomplish anything for the gospel.

Or, as a church, as a pastor, we can work to advance the gospel by advancing our church…and we will face some hard times, we will face criticisms, we will suffer attacks, but if we aren’t suffering these things, then we’re not accomplishing anything.

In your life, if you want to just coast on through without opposition from Satan and his ministers from Hell, then never do what God has called you to do. Just do the bare minimum and Satan will leave you alone.

But, if you’re in this church today, and you are saying, “I am going to follow Jesus Christ, I am going to do what’s right”, then you’re life is just going to get that much harder…but Jesus says this,

John 16:33 NKJV

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Do what’s right, and allow God to take care of the rest.

II. Understand God’s Power Over Darkness

Acts 13:9–11 NKJV

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to believe that you have vision, to believe that you have power, but then to be struck blind by the power of God.

When Paul was on the road to Damascus, to persecute the Christians there, Jesus confronted him with a blinding light, and the man who though he had power and status, was being led by the hand to serve the person that he once hated, the Lord Jesus.

There are a couple of things we can glean from the blindness of Elymas the sorcerer:

No earthly power, and no power of darkness is stronger than the “hand of the Lord.”

Paul tells this sorcerer, this minister of satan, “the hand of the Lord is upon you”, declaring openly the power of God over darkness.

We live in a world that mocks God. They mock Godly principles, they mock the people of God…and it’s our natural inclination to mock them back, to write them off as hopeless, and to condemn them. It’s our natural response to want everyone that we consider to be our enemies to be cast into Hell…but the Lord says that His desire is that they repent and trust in Him…that His desire is that they don’t perish but have ever lasting life…

Imagine the life of Paul…there he is and he has murdered a dear friend of the church…and yet God used Him anyway.

We have a God that uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise…we have a God, as the Scripture says in Ez 33:11, God doesn’t delight in the destruction of the wicked but would rather them turn from their wicked ways…and that should be our prayer too.

We get afraid when we see the darkness of sinister ideology covering our land and we react out of fear…but we must remember that there is no power of darkness stronger than the Hand of the Lord.

This world suffers from spiritual blindness.

Elymas was a Jewish sorcerer, he was a renegade Jew, because even the hypocritical Jews despised sorcery.

Elymas *thought* that he was the only one with vision… and just as he *thought* that he unlocked the secret to power by serving satan, his so called vision was taken from him just like that.

In your life, you might believe that you are seeing things clearly, but unless you are living solely by the principles of the Bible, then you are a blind and in need of the light of the gospel.

This whole world is blind to the light…and the condemnation of the world is not that they have done evil things…but the condemnation of the world is that they love darkness rather than loving the light of Jesus.

John 3:19 NKJV

And this is the condemnation [of men], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Now, in your own life, whether you are a Christian or not, it’s easy for us to become blind spiritually, because so often we get back into our old way of living and our old way of thinking.

If, in your life today, there is any kind of darkness in you, any lack of righteousness in your heart, you need to ask the Lord to show you how to have victory over that.

Somehow we’ve gotten it into our minds that people who align with us politically are automatically lovers of the light. But unless they confess Jesus as their Lord, they are spiritually blind and lovers of darkness.

Do not automatically associate conservative values with the gospel of Christ. And do not, just because some one aligns with you politically, assume they don’t need the gospel…this world is spiritually blind and even some of the most staunch political conservatives are on a path to Hell.

Instead, church, be wise to discern good versus evil instead of always trying to look at left vs. right.

If any man thinks he stands, let him take heed, lest he fall.

This man who had the ear of rulers is now being led by the hand because he is weak and fragile.

We can’t get to the place in our lives, in our ministries, nor in our service where we think we are invincible, that we are above the law…but surely, God will reveal the weaknesses of every man whether in this life or the next.

James 4:10 NKJV

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

The opposite is true…build yourself up in the sight of the Lord, and He will tear you down..and have you led by the hand because of your weakened condition.

We are a fragile people…in so many ways so many people are like Elymas…they think they stand, they think they are wise, they think they have power…but God and God alone has the power over the world…and the Hand of the Lord will not be reduced because of the powers of Darkness.

To handle spiritual warfare, you first need to recognize that spiritual opposition exists and is the main factor of opposition in your life. Second, you need to understand that God has power over all of the darkness in this world.. third…

III. Actively Prepare for Victory

Acts 13:12 NKJV

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Elymas represents spiritual opposition to the work of the Gospel. But when the power of God was revealed despite the darkness of life, people began to believe the gospel.

You, in your life, are a display of the work of the Gospel. Whoever you are, however you carry yourself, you are a picture of God’s redemptive work.

If darkness is constantly working to oppose the gospel of Christ, then darkness is constantly working to oppose you. If darkness, if satan, can prevent you from living out the light God has given you, then what he’s done is he’s blown out the light of God’s gospel that shines from you.

Remember the children’s song we used to sing?

This little light of mine;

I’m gonna let it shine;

Not gonna let Satan [blow] it out.

Well, in your life, you’ve let satan blow out your light because you don’t have a sincere conviction that there is victory in Jesus.

You think that you’ll obtain victory by being bigger, faster, and stronger than your problems…but all you’re ever going to do is fall short.

Proverbs 21:31 NKJV

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:23 NKJV

Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.

To actively prepare for victory against spiritual warfare means to actively seek the face of God.

Psalm 105:4 NKJV

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

To seek God’s face means to know His character and to want Him and His presence more than any other thing that He can give us.

Do you know why we suffer defeat in our lives?

Because we want everything that God gives us, so long as He doesn’t ask us to do anything.

It’s like being a child that won’t leave home and won’t work…laying on the couch all day soaking up the air conditioning and eating the food…but whines and cries when it’s time to cut the grass or get a job.

To worship God means to seek His presence, to be in the presence of God is to be prepared for warfare.

What are the characteristics of a person who lives in the presence of God?

Patient in times of trouble

Do you get all bent out of shape when life doesn’t go your way? That’s a sign that you need to seek God in prayer.

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Does that mean to just sit around? No, being patient in times of trouble means to continue doing what you know is right and then allowing God to work out the details. He’ll do it if you trust Him, and if you trust Him, you’ll be patient as He delivers His victory.

They live sober-minded

They don’t follow this trend or that trend…they aren’t a wrecking ball…they are more like a coursing river that molds the earth to their flow. They rely on the Word of God as their standard and they aren’t blown around by every new and shiney thing…

A sober-minded person lives according to what’s true, not according to feelings.

They hunger and thirst for righteousness

Righteousness has to do with the hidden things of the heart. Their intentions are pure, their thoughts are holy, and they have a hunger for God’s word and God’s work. They have a thirst for His presence.

Some of you think you can come to church on Sunday, and then skulk around during the week in sin when no one is around to see…but that’s not a righteous heart…that’s a heart filled with deception. A righteous heart worships God in the secret places and stays far from sinfulness.

They Preach the Gospel

They aren’t ashamed to be a child of God. They’re not afraid to have conversations about how good God has been to them…they’re not afraid of prayer or spirituality, they are people who actively teach about the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace,

A person living in the presence of God have feet that carry the gospel with the,

They have faith in God’s Word

When God says it, they believe it. When they read it in the Bible, it’s as good as gold. They don’t try to make their own thoughts and feelings the focus of their life, but their whole perspective runs through the lens of God’s Holy Word.

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Do you lack in any of these areas? Patience, sober-mindedness, righteousness of the heart, a desire to preach the gospel, or in your faith of God’s Word? If you desire to have victory of spiritual matters, you must work to make yourself more like Jesus every single day.

The Highlight of the Story

The highlight of the story is this…that if you are faithful to preach what God says to preach, if you are faithful to live how God tells you to live…if you are faithful to stand up for Godliness when you’re friends, family, and the world stands against it…you’ll see people come to know Jesus Christ as their savior, just like Paul and Barnabas did when the proconsul believed.

Conclusion

Do you believe that missions are worthwhile?

Are you ready for the opposition of the Christian life?

Do you believe in the power of God?