Spiritual Struggle - Sermon Audio/Slides
Notes
Transcript
I am so thankful and encouraged by how people have engaged in this series on prayer and the different elements of prayer that help us go deeper into relationship with God.
I felt the importance of the last couple of weeks as we look at confession and forgiveness, and now we come to spiritual struggles.
And just as broad as speaking about prayer can be, so are spiritual struggles, as the bible is 100% clear that we are in a spiritual battle.
There is an active enemy.
Jesus' ministry was launched after 40 days of spiritual struggle in the wilderness.
Peter tells us
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
We can see in the world around us the stories of war, of human trafficking, of terrible things that humans do to humans.
And we know it is not just out there; your own personal experience is the daily battle against temptation and all kinds of attack.
In our western world, it seems that we don’t want to acknowledge that there is evil in the world because there is the false belief that we will just become better and deal with it ourselves.
C.S. Lewis
“There are two equal but opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence.
The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”
Spiritual struggle is the ongoing announcement of the victory of the kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness, played out in the human heart, our communities, and the world.”
So with that in mind, today we are going to look at Ephesians 6:10-20 and the principles of the 3 P’s of spiritual struggle.
How this plays out in the family patterns that uniquely shape our lives.
Finishing with overcoming fear that impacts all of our lives.
I think these two aspects show where we should take spiritual struggle seriously and where we should step out courageously in the power and authority of Jesus and fear no evil.
Spiritual Struggle
Spiritual Struggle
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Paul tells the churches around Ephesus to stand against the Evil. Not in our own strength but in what God has provided us through prayer.
“In Christian prayer … We find ourselves at the very seat of government, at the very heart of the mystery and purpose of all occurrence.” Karl Barth
This is a bigger view of prayer; this is saying that, in prayer, you take authority. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places.
We are partnering with God in order to exercise His authority and to advance his kingdom by standing firm.
So why do we need the armour if the battle has already been won?
Remember, Jesus on the cross overcame the adversary. He won the victory. As Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished”
The adversary has been defeated, but he is not destroyed, and we have a choice to live in the way of the kingdom or join the adversary of God on the path to destruction and final death.
We have to pray God’s kingdom into our lives and live it as well as praying it.
So when we pray, we pray from a place of victory and joy, not from a place of despair and desperation. Because the battle has been won, Jesus has the victory.
We are wielding the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; Paul puts it, because it overcomes.
We are running with the shoes of the readiness of the gospel, knowing that the victory has been won on the cross.
We are living in the days in between being saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the day when he will return, and there will be no more sin and sickness and suffering and evil in the world.
So we need to pray it. Pray in the victory and as a seat in God’s government
Pray it.
Practice it.
Preach it
Peter Creig - Spiritual Warfare - Spiritual Struggle
Practice it
As we pray, ask what the enemy is doing and what his strategy is. Then, by discerning through the Holy Spirit what the spiritual struggles are in your workplace or where there are strongholds in our city, then choose to live in the equal but opposite spirit.
For example, if there is loads of greed and materialism all around you, live with greater generosity. We are trying to pass this on to our kids by having a spend, save, and give jar for the money they collect from their weekly jobs; this also addresses the spirit of laziness.
Greed → Generosity
Self‑indulgence → Self‑control
Across the world, and no different in Launceston, even Newstead, there is loneliness that, as a church, we are trying to address with connection, kindness, and love.
Loneliness is not a sin — but it becomes a temptation when it pushes us toward isolation, self‑protection, or unhealthy substitutes for connection.
Loneliness has us collapse inward. Kindness and love open outward.
consider also
Lust (using people) → Love (honouring people)
Pride → Humility
Because otherwise the enemy will begin to tempt you with those very things, but by doing the opposite, you’re proving that Jesus has overcome them.
Pray it. The victor of Jesus
Practice it. Living out the equal but opposite fruits of the Spirit
Preach it.
At some point you have to tell people, we have to proclaim the gospel. We have to put on the shoes of the gospel and declare the victory of Jesus.
Something Paul also asked for prayer for.
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Let us turn to an example of the importance of praying it, practicing it, and preaching it in the family patterns that shape our lives.
Because if spiritual struggle is real, then we must look at the battlegrounds closest to home—our families.
Family Sin Patterns
Family Sin Patterns
Monday night, as we discussed, forgiveness and how we are to show grace to others is to not sit in judgment but in understanding. To ask what factors have led someone to respond cruelly, to be okay with devaluing others, and often it is because of the environment and family origins that have been passed on from generation to generation.
In the Bible, we see this right at the beginning
Abraham (lies about his wife)→ Isaac (also lies about his wife)→ Jacob (called the deceiver)
We have talked in this series, and many times, about how we are to imitate our heavenly Father, to become more like His character, but there is also a reality with the parts of our lives that we do not confess or for people that rebel against God.
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Punishes is an interesting word, and the rest of the bible and especially Jesus, say that sin patterns can always be broken and bring glory to God. How I interpret this minor line in the bigger picture of God's grace is that he is prepared to allow family sin patterns that keep generations in bondage until they seek the Truth.
We see this play out in reality; family sin patterns are devastating in their power and effect for generations.
Often we either become like our parents or rebel against it.
But there is no victory in rebellion. In a spiritual kingdom, there can be no victory through rebellion, only in submission to the king. Rebellion only leads to different forms of bondage.
Take, for example acholism, you might vow to never drink alcohol because of the abuse it caused in the home. However, you suffer all sorts of other compulsive and addictive behaviours like workaholism, pornography, or co-dependent relationships.
We have to recognise our vulnerability in these areas of our lives and the difficulty of breaking them.
One of the reasons it is difficult is because they have been modeled for us, and they were modeled for our parents before us, and their parents before them. They are entrenched.
As a side note, the bible also tells us about curses that occur when generational sin is in play and that these behaviours have a demonic-reinforced strength applied.
We can see that in our families there is a spiritual battleground, and we need to apply the same principles.
To pray into them, practice submitting to the equal and opposite spirit to bring freedom, and preach the victory from our bondage of family sin patterns.
How does this look practically?
Dr. Rob Reimer in Soul Care says
It starts with self-awareness: Admit the Family Sin Patterns
You cannot heal from that which you will not admit. You have to bring these patterns into the light.
This relates to my favourite slide
Discipleship Growth Circle
Reflection → Holy Spirit →Recognise → Fellowship → Accountability → New habit/action
All the way around, we are focusing on Jesus
Take the necessary time to reflect on your own family. What are some of the patterns that you see? How have those sin patterns affected you?
Embrace the truth; it is the only path to freedom.
Don’t compromise
When you have admitted the family sin pattern, you must not compromise, as the undertow of these patterns is strong; you have to be careful not to get sucked out to sea by the pull of these sins.
You may need to put up fences in your life that will allow for more freedom.
Where do you have vulnerabilities in the family sins that need more protective measures? Where can you use a no-compromise policy? How can you set up a few safe fences that ultimately give you more freedom?
Get Help
Ask others to keep you accountable, or a professional that can walk you through it.
Practice a new discipline - practice it - meditate on scripture
If your family struggles with self-gratification
Practice the spiritual discipline of self-denial, fasting, or doing good deeds in secret.
If you wrestle with people-pleasing or co-dependency. Try engaging in solitude and silence.
If your family is proud and defensive when wrongdoing is pointed out, practice confession and take the opportunity to apologise and admit when wrong.
Preach it. Tell others about God’s grace in your life.
This leads us to
Overcoming Fear
Overcoming Fear
If family sin patterns shape us, then fear is often the barrier that stops us from stepping into freedom.
This is why the single most common command in Scripture is “do not be afraid” or “Fear not! For I am with you.”
If God makes this the single common command to His people, how big of a problem fear must be in our spiritual journey. It is a fundamental spiritual development problem.
In our fear, we often put our trust in things other than God; we fail to follow him.
We trust in comfort, trust in job security, trust in family sin patterns.
We fear failure, fear rejection, fear conflict, fear stepping out in ministry
How often do we fail to take kingdom risks because of fear?
Pause
How frequently do we miss out on God’s path for our life because we play it safe due to underlying fears?
How many opportunities of eternal consequence do we pass up because fear makes us timid? (We have prayed it, yet failed to practice it or preach it?)
How many kingdom ministries remain unfulfilled and eternal destinies remain unaltered because we fail to confront our fears? We must recognise and overcome our fear, or we forfeit the joy of kingdom alignment in our lives.
God does not want us to live with our fears and be overcome by them. He has promised us peace and victory.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
We need to replace our fears with the peace of heaven.
Jesus has a peace that is tied to heaven. It is a peace that flows from the throne room of God. I think that Karl Barth's quote is relevant here
“In Christian prayer … We find ourselves at the very seat of government, at the very heart of the mystery and purpose of all occurrence.”
In Spiritual struggle, we need to have a peace that comes from the throne room and address the fears in our lives that are holding us back from stepping into the possibilities of Heaven on earth.
We need to work our way through our fears.
And the best way to do that is on the next slide. Any guess what it is
Discipleship growth circle
Self-awareness, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is the gateway to freedom.
If you are going to get free from your fears, you must begin by identifying your fears.
When you know that, and they begin to surface, be encouraged by this passage
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Overcoming fear - Dr. Rob Reimer
Begin with worship - There are only two times to worship: when we feel like it, and when we don’t, and when we don’t feel like it is the time we need it most.
Choose a gentle response — Paul is inviting us to slow down, surrender, and be gentle. Often when we are fearful, we act in impulsive, angry, defensive, controlling, self-protecting, and damaging ways. We need to “Be Still” and act on faith, not fear.
Remember the Lord’s presence, and fix your eyes on Jesus - Do I need to show that slide again
Overcoming your fears will involve redemptive suffering — when you fear, you will be tempted to go to a sin pattern that brings you comfort — like lust, fantasising, eating, or drinking. Go to Jesus instead. Feel the pain, and let his love, His presence, and His victory bring you comfort. This is redemptive suffering: Jesus heals us when we embrace the suffering and don’t seek to numb it out.
Overcoming your fears will involve surrender — so much of our battle with fear comes down to the question: will you trust God? You have to choose to believe that God is with us, for us, and trustworthy. It is a choice.
Overcoming your fears always involves action — In faith, you need to act in the opposite direction of your fear. Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is doing what is right in the face of fear. You may fear rejection or conflict. Being a follower of Jesus means we must deal with conflict in a God-honouring way and face rejection as he did.
As we come to the end of this message, I want us to remember that prayer is participation in the victory of Jesus. As Karl Barth said, “In Christian prayer we find ourselves at the very seat of government.” We do not pray from fear, or from weakness, or from desperation—we pray from victory, because Christ has already overcome.
And that victory must reach into the places closest to us. Into the family sin patterns that have shaped us. Into the stories we inherited. Into the wounds we carry. Into the habits we learned without even realising it. The gospel does not just save us from sin—it saves us from the cycles of sin. It breaks the undertow. It sets captives free. It affirms our identity in the kingdom of God.
But to step into that freedom, we must confront the fear that so often holds us back. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of repeating the past. Fear of stepping out in faith. Yet Jesus speaks into every fear: “My peace I give you… do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” His peace flows from the throne room of heaven, and it guards our hearts and minds as we rejoice, as we pray, as we surrender, and as we act.
So today, I want to invite you to take some steps.
One step of prayer: naming the battle you’re in.
One step of practice: choosing the equal but opposite spirit.
One step of preaching: sharing the victory of Jesus over your life and your family to others.
One step of courage: refusing to let fear write the story of your future.
So stand firm.
Pray boldly.
Live courageously.
And step into the freedom and authority of Jesus—who delivers us from evil, who breaks the power of sin, and who leads us into the life we were created for.
Pray
