Life is War: Be Aware of the Battle

Introduction

We just came off of an amazing weekend where everyone in here that was at WNTR WKND experienced the presence of the Lord in this place and working in the lives of so many of you including myself. You can’t leave the presence of God and stay the same, but when you say yes to Jesus and turn your life over to Him you enter into a war with Satan and your flesh that you have never experienced before because without Christ there is no will to fight sin. SO, for some of you guys you have repented of your sin and started following Jesus for the first time this weekend, some of you guys have decided that you needed to follow through with believers baptism, some of you guys have been fighting this fight for some years now, and some of you guys are still wrestling with this whole Jesus thing and you’re trying to figure out whether or not you’re sure. Wherever you are in your spiritual walk you are in a battle and that’s what we are going to be talking about for the next three weeks. Before we can suit up for battle we have to understand what we are going up against and the fact that there is actually a battle to be fought within ourselves and in others when we go to share the gospel.

We need the Lord’s strength (6:10-11, 13)

Paul begins with “finally, be strengthened by the Lord and in and by His vast strength.” We must be strengthened by the mighty power of the Lord because we do not want to crumble when the evil one tempts us.

Do not look in the wrong place for strength. Our strength is not in our resources and abilities, in how long we have been a Christians, in how much we know about the Bible, or in how long we have been in ministry. Our strength comes from our union with Jesus Christ and His mighty power.In a different passage Paul alludes to being a soldier, Paul says, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 2:1). We are called to look IN THE RIGHT PLACE and IN THE RIGHT PERSON: JESUS. Say “Yes, I am weak, but I don’t have to remain weak. I will find my strength in the Lord.” (See Hebrews 11:32-34).

We have to remember who we are and what is ours in Christ. The strength that is mentioned in verses 10-11, and 13 implies that the Devil CAN be resisted as we walk in the Lord’s strength. NOTICE THE REPETITION OF TAKING A STAND IN THESE VERSES.

Standing is important. You can’t be a lazy Christian! Nowhere in Scripture does it promote spiritual laziness. That means if you’re not in the Word, if you’re not praying, if you aren’t sharing the gospel with others then it is going to be EASIER for Satan to kick you around because you aren’t STANDING in the strength of the Lord. We HAVE to understand that we are fighting against a powerful enemy, but we have an even stronger companion in Jesus. He has already conquered death, hell, and the grave. He has given us the authority to fight the powers of Satan and His minions. This isn’t a joke and this isn’t a myth. IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THERE IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE GOING ON FOR THE SOULS OF OTHERS YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST!!!! Why are we not winning our friends to Christ? We aren’t praying for them, we aren’t pleading with them to accept Christ as their savior, we aren’t praying against the strongholds that Satan has in their life that keeps them in bondage to the world.

We have to know our enemy if we are going to fight against him.

We need to know our enemy (6:11-13)

Paul already mentioned the Devil in Ephesians 4:27. He is known as the slanderer, he opposes, he accuses, Satan is our adversary, He is the head of the demons and his minions, he is the serpent, Beelzebul, the ruler of this world, the god of this age, the evil one, the dragon. His various names shows that he is wicked, powerful, and cunning. Paul tells us that he is evil. We need God’s armor because we are facing one who opposes God. Paul mentions “the spiritual forces of evil,” and “the evil day.”

Satan is STRATEGIC. Paul says that we need to be aware of the Devil’s schemes or tactics. Satan is wily, subtle, and devious. Paul has pointed out some of the ways he works already. HE TRIES TO GAIN A FOOTHOLD BY TEMPTING US TO SPEAK FALSEHOOD, HAVE UNCONTROLLED ANGER, STEAL, OR SHARE UNWHOLESOME TALK. These are the former ways of life, the ways we once walked before God made us alive in Christ. Satan can make things look attractive and desirable and distort the truth, camouflaging evil.

Satan WRESTLES. Is he in the WWE???? Paul says that we battle or wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil. Our battle with Satan is a close, intense battle, filled with manipulation and strategy. Jesus told Peter in Luke 22:31-32 “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Behind the physical is the spiritual that is running what is happening in the physical. If we are not engaged in that fight we are LOSING!!!!

The Devil has been DEFEATED. We can have confidence because Jesus has already won the victory for us. Paul does not urge us to win the battle here but to stand. The authority of the powers has been broken, and their final defeat is coming soon! When an army is defeated, they do not surrender easily. They get even more intense and vicious. We are not called into this battle as if the victory is in doubt. The decisive victory has been won.

Verse 13 says “the evil day”. Which is a combination of the present evil age that we are in and particularly of tempting situations. Think about Matthew 4:11 “then the Devil left Him.” This tells us that the Devil had come in force to tempt and destroy. While the evil one wanted to attack Jesus all the time, he came with extra force at certain times. We must stand against his schemes in our own days in which the battle is particularly intense.

Conclusion