The Spiritual Battleground

Intro

Context:

1 Timothy 1:18–20 NKJV

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

There is a fight that we all fight whether we want to or not.

Paul charges Timothy to fight the good fight with faith a clear conscience.

Not all who fight will last so Paul tells and charges Timothy because there are some LIke Hymenaeus and Alexander who started the fight but ended up giving up, rejecting and even fighting against the good fight.

Just cause today you stand and you think you’re doing good, BE CAREFUL lest you not only fall but fall so far away that you end up fighting on the losing side.

So what is this fight that Paul was going on about?

In Ephesians 6:12–13 “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. 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.”

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Paul tells us that this fight isn’t against the person to the right or left, vs the people who gossip about you, the guy who is bullying you, the school teacher, or your boss, or anyone who does anything wrong against you.

We fight against hell and its forces

But you may be asking, how do fight against something like that? I don’t see the principalities the rulers of darkness or the spiritual hosts of wickedness, how am I supposed to fight against something like that?

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Ephesians 6:18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”

PRAYER,

Here Is where we get to our passage where Paul says therefore, to connect to his previous charge:

Youre fighting the good fight therefore, therefore, pray.

Text:

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NKJV

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Fight the good fight and because you fight this hard and difficult Spiritual battle , I am urging that first of all you pray. The foremost thing you ought to do is PRAY.

Here Paul tells Timothy how to fight: By praying and making Praying the priority.

Prayer is not a side issue

Prayer is not something to check off

Prayer is not optional

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Church history has always knows this but one preacher put it more bluntly:

“No man is greater than his prayer life.

The pastor who is not praying is playing;

the people who are not praying are straying.

We have many organizers, but few agonizers;

many singers, few clingers;

many writers, but few fighters.

Failing here, we fail everywhere.”

Thats not meant to shame us but to wake us up

Prayer is the primary way believers engage and win in spiritual warfare

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How must we pray?

Now there are different ways of praying, some more general some more broad here in this passage we see 4:

Supplication: Where we go with our requests to God. Here we ask the Lord with the needs and desires of our hearts: “Lord I need help at school”, “Lord I’m struggling with loneliness and I need a friend”, “Lord I don’t know what to do and I want guidance”

Prayer: Us talking to God in general, because prayer at its core is a conversation with God. Prayer can be the most beautiful and liberating thing. You can talk to God as you would with your dad or mom or with a close friend. Jesus says to his disciples that they’re no longer servants but friends John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” It’s not a new thing Moses himself spoke to God in such a manner. People think that God in the OT was an angry judge who would just wait to punish sinners yet listen to what it says in Exodus 33:11 “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”

“Lord I’ve had the worst day ever today, where it was one thing after another”, “Lord I’m struggling with lust and I just keep falling”, “Lord, I’ve had a great day, its been one of those days where things just seemed to go right” “Lord, Jimmy just stole from me and lied, and I’m angry” “Lord I just hit 5 green lights in a row”

Intercessions: This is praying for and on behalf of others. Where you pray for their struggles, salvation, needs and anything that is for others

You praying for your parents, for your friends, for the pastor, for a classmate, a coworker, a stranger.

Pray for those who have wronged you

Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”

When Trump is president I’ve heard to pray for him a lot, yet when Biden was president I rarely heard it.

Thanksgiving: Simply thanking God for the things He’s done

Thank Him for health, for friends, for being alive, for parents, for Jesus and for anything and everything

Thank God even in the hard times

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

All 4 types of prayers are necessary

ASK: Which of these are you lacking in?

Are you only praying when you need something?

Are you only thanking God when life is easy?

Are you only praying for your friends and people you like and people that are close to you?

Now we pray for all men: That means for ourselves, for our families, for our church, for everyone, including people you dont like, but here it says for those people who affect your life the most. People with authority over you, meaning parents, teachers, bosses, and government officials..

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Why must we pray? What are the battles we try to win?

Battle for our life

Quiet and Peaceable life

God’s plan for your life isnt to make youre life hard - here it says that He wants you to fight in prayer to have a quiet and peaceable life

God knows life is hard and He says its a part of life that you will face many trials, temptations, pains and hurt, He doesnt enjoy you suffering for the sake of suffering, and He isnt indifferent to it, He uses when necessary for our growth.

We fight in prayer

So that we may have our daily bread and we dont have to work 80 hours a week just to survive, God provides for us so we can trust Him with our needs.

Jesus shows us in the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

So that the government doesnt ban church gathering - but rather we have the freedom to live our faith and share it with others

So that we have peace with our enemies

Verses?

Battle for our soul

Live godly life

Live a life of reverence / dignity

This is the most important battle for you and I. He wants you to be CHristlike. He wants you to live a life of godliness

Its why we also battle for a quiet and peaceable life because in our passage it says that quiet and peaceable life is to be lived in the life of godliness

1 Timothy 4:7–8 “But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things,…”

Battle for the souls of others

Salvation of all men

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

When you yourself are saved and living a godly life, when you have a peaceable life where you have the ability to share the Gospel you must also fight in prayer for the souls of others

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.”

We do our part and we pray to God, because you and I cant convert anyone so we ask God to do what only He can

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Who do we pray to? This is the most important part

Remember who youre praying to:

God

HE Is Almighty

Jeremiah 32:17 “‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

He is the God who sees

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

He is the God who answers

Jeremiah 33:3 “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”

Story of Elijah overview

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2. Mediator - Prayer only makes sense because of Christ.

Because of sin we stood as enemies of God. We deserved wrath and hell

Romans 5:10 “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Christ came as a ransom to save us from what we deserved, He removed the vail between us and the Father

Now He is the Mediator between us and the Father,

Hebrews 4:14–16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Because of Christ our prayers arent just wishful thinking, its not shouting at the sky waiting for some change, its not just hoping God might listen

Because of Christ, prayer is access. We dont come hoping we would be let in? We come boldly to the throne of grace because we have an audience with God almighty

To me this seems like the biggest waste is not when we have an unanswered prayer but rather the prayer thats never offered.

And that brings us back to the question Paul has been asking - not can you pray but will you?

Conclusion:

Paul didnt tell Timothy to be more talented,

He didnt tell him to be louder or smarter

He said: First of all PRAY

He said this because we fight on a spiritual battleground, not against flesh and blood.

So how are you fighting? Are you fighting?

Not how much you know

Not how long have you been in church

If someone looked at your prayer life alone, would they know you believe youre in a war.

Tonight Im not asking you to try harder, its to come boldly before the throne of grace.

If youve stopped praying because youre tired, come boldly.

If youve stopped praying cause youve failed, come boldly.

The fight is real, access is granted, the Mediator interceded.

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The only question left is: WILL WE PRAY?