“THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES”

“THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES”

Introduction:

ILL: During the War Between the States a Union soldier from Ohio was shot in the arm during the battle of Shiloh. His captain saw he was wounded and barked an order, “Gimme your gun, private, and get to the rear!”

The private handed over the rifle and ran toward the north, seeking safety. But after covering two or three hundred yards, he came upon another skirmish. Then he ran to the east and into another part of the battle. Then he ran west but encountered more fighting there.

Finally, he ran back to the front lines, shouting, “Gimme back my gun, cap’n. There ain’t no rear to this battle!”

A. Many folks would like to escape from their spiritual battles

with temptation and testing.

B. But there ain’t no rear to this battle, so you better learn to fight!

C. The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground.

The Christian life is not a field of flowers, but a field of war.

The Christian life is not the absence of problems,

but the presence of God.

D. Christians need to acknowledge there is a spiritual war going

on, and there ain’t no rear to this battle!

“Fight the good fight of faith” ()

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.” ()

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,

as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may

devour; Whom resist stedfast in the faith…” (,)

E. Christians need to quit running from the warfare, because

there ain’t no place to run. We need to start learning how

to fight!

F. There are five things you need to know to win this war:

I. Our Stand is Against All Evil. (12)

No flesh & blood, politicians, liberal media, homosexuals, gambling industry, pornography industry, atheists. This is mainly a Spiritual Warfare.

A. We must stand against a Warring Enemy.

· Satan is not a man in a little red suit, the boogie man, or a figment of our imagination.

· Satan is a warrior and he is on the warpath.

· He gives no mercy and takes no prisoners.

· He is pictured as a roaring lion on the prowl, a serpent in the Garden, a wolf amidst the flock, and a great red dragon deceiving the nations.

· He is our adversary, our antagonist, our accuser, and our enemy.

· He longs for our death and destruction, not our life and our liberty.

· If he can’t indwell you, he will try to influence you.

· Satan is fighting with you to try to take away your good name, your testimony, your joy, your blessing, and your relationship with God.

B. We must stand against a Wicked Enemy.

Satan doesn’t follow any rules, he doesn’t fight fair.

· Satan may transform himself into an angel of light, but he is really a demon of darkness.

· He tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

· He took Job’s health, wealth, family & friends, and urged him to curse God and die.

· He entered Judas and caused him to betray Jesus.

· He did tempt Christ in the wilderness and he will tempt you.

· Satan does not look after your best interests; he looks after his own interests.

· He won’t make you a champ; he will make you a chump.

· He will use you, abuse you, then lose you.

· Satan is a liar, not a lover; a hinderer, not a helper.

C. We must stand against a Wiley Enemy. (11)

“Wiles” means “cunning, crafty arts, stratagems”

· With his bag of tricks he makes the bad seem good, and the wrong seem right.

· He twists our thinking, muddles our minds, plays on our emotions, and enflames our passions.

· He puts out snares, mines, and traps, all designed to trap and destroy mankind.

D. We must stand against a Well-Organized Enemy. (12)

· He has an army with ranks.

· He has an army with rulers.

· He has an army with reconnasance.

o He knows your weak points.

o He knows your weak days.

How do we stand against such an Enemy?

II. Our Strength is from the Almighty. (10)

Our strength for the battle is not in ourselves, but in the Lord.

“Some trust in chariots, some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” ()

“…greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

()

“If God be for us who can be against us?” ()

“…whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” ()

“…we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” ()

“thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Cor.15:57)

“…thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” ()

Satan may be mighty, but God is Almighty.

Satan may be powerful, but God is All Powerful.

Satan may be ominous, but God is Omnipotent.

As long as we are in the hands of God, we won’t be in the grasp of Satan. (ILL: Shammah, ,)

III. Our Spiritual Armor Protects from All Harm. (14-17)

A. Note the Great Attacks of Satan.

1. Deceit. EX: Eve.

2. Desire. EX: Achan.

3. Delay. EX: King Agrippa.

4. Destruction. EX: Job, Peter

5. Despair. EX: Thomas

B. But Note the Great Armor of God.

1. The belt of truth delivers us from deceit.

2. The breastplate of righteousness protects us from

ungodly desires and temptations.

3. The sandals of preparation keeps us from delay &

procrastination.

4. The shield of faith protects us from the

fear/worry/anxiety of Satan’s attacks.

5. The helmet of salvation guards our minds from despair,

knowing we have a salvation we can never lose and

an eternal inheritance we are bound to win.

C. We must put on all the armor to be protected from all the battle.

· You may have on the breastplate of righteousness and be the most upstanding man in Stamps, but if you don’t have on the belt of truth, Satan will deceive you and lead you astray.

· You may have on the helmet of salvation and are sure of your salvation, but if you let down your shield Satan will hit your with a fiery dart that will send you running from the battlefield, afraid to go forward.

ILL: You wouldn’t want your family & friends in Iraq to walk around without adequate protection, because you don’t know when a terrorist may strike. You can’t walk around w/o spiritual protection, because you don’t know when Satan will strike.

IV. Our Sword Defeats All Enemies. (17)

This sword is the Word of God.

It is to be uses in the hand-to-hand combat we will have with Satan

Christ used it Himself when battling the devil in the wilderness.

Note that the sword of the Spirit is used in conjunction with the armor. ILL: No man goes into a fight with only armor or only a weapon, but with both.

A. The Word Enlightens into Truth.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: Thy word is truth.”

()

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that

needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of

truth.” ()

B. The Word Educates in Righteousness.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for

instruction in righteousness” ()

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin

against Thee.” ()

C. The Word Energizes to Action.

“…God…hath committed unto us the word of

reconciliation.” ()

“…as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that

preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good

things!” ()

D. The Word Emboldens our Faith.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word

of God.” ()

E. The Word Encourages our Hope.

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

()

Learn the Word—Live the Word—Love the Word

V. Our Supplications are to Edify All Saints. (18)

A. We are to pray at all times.

B. We are to pray about all things.

C. We are to pray for all saints.

1. We are not alone in the battle.

2. We need to pray for our comrades in arms.

· Pray for those who have been deceived by Satan’s lies.

· Pray for those who are being tempted by unholy desire.

· Pray for those who delay in doing God’s will.

· Pray for those who are afraid to step out in faith.

· Pray for those who are in the depths of despair and are questioning God’s presence and goodness.

ILL: One of greatest tactics of the Romans was the wall.

They would link their shields together and march forward.

Nothing could stop them.

Conclusion:

To overcome our enemy in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must remain resolute in our confidence in God and determine to never accept defeat.

ILL: As enemy forces advance during the Korean War, Baker Company was cut off from the rest of their unit. For several hours no word was heard, even though headquarters repeatedly tried to communicate with the missing troops. Finally, a faint signal was received. Straining to hear, the corpsman asked, “Baker Company, do you read me?”

“This is Baker Company,” came the reply.

“What is your situation?” asked the corpsman.

“The enemy is to the east of us, the enemy is to the north of us, the enemy is to the west of us, the enemy is to the south of us.” Then after a brief pause, the sergeant of Baker Company said with determination, “The enemy is not going to get away from us now!”