Worship and Spiritual Warfare

Intro:

We are living in turbulent and uncertain times

If you have been following the news about China and Taiwan … you know that things are starting to get a little unsettling

China has been threatening to take military action against Taiwan [show slide]

Japan has made a promise to defend Taiwan if China attacks

China threatened Japan … saying that if Japan interferes, China will drop a nuclear bomb on Japan

Just this weekend, China demanded that the US remove their troops from Taiwan … and sever ties completely

It is a very tense situation … and the unfortunate reality is that war could break out at any minute

There is another war that is already raging … it is a spiritual war … a war being waged by Satan against the Lord and against his people

You and I are at the very center of this war …

In fact, humanity is the prize … the Lord is seeking and saving the lost … while the enemy is attempting to keep the lost from coming to the Lord … and to destroy as many lives as possible

But humanity is also in the middle of the battle … those caught by the enemy are being manipulated to do the enemy’s will … while those who have come to Jesus are being led by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the Lord’s will

Today we will complete our series on worship

And our focus today will be Worship and Warfare … because there is always a battle involved when you choose to worship the Lord … whether it be in song, in lifestyle or in deed … worship is a battle

Today we will take a look at the battle that rages when we worship Jesus … and how we can have victory in the midst of the battle

I. The Source of the Warfare

Why does spiritual warfare exist? … Why do we find ourselves in the midst of spiritual battles? … Why can’t we simply enjoy peace … as we would like to?

When nations go to war … the war generally begins with one nation attacking the other … and that one attack gives birth to war

The same is the case in the spiritual realm … there is a war that is raging … it is raging because one very powerful angel decided to attack the Lord himself

In Isaiah 14 … In the middle of a word of judgment that the Lord is pronouncing against the king of Babylon in Isaiah’s day … we find vs. 12-15

But most Bible commentators believe that vs. 12-15 are pointed, not at the physical king of Babylon … but to the spiritual entity working behind the king of Babylon … specifically pointing to Satan himself

Now, in the beginning, Satan was not created as an evil angel … he was actually created as the highest of all angels … the one who would stand in the Lord’s presence and lead the heavenly hosts in worship

He was the heavenly worship leader … and he radiated a special beauty … and was given very special talents when he was created

However … Satan began to become jealous that all the angels were worshiping the Lord … instead of himself

He began to become lifted up in pride … desiring the worship that belonged to the Lord … and his pride grew so big that he began gathering other angels … convincing them that the Lord didn’t deserve their worship

And then he orchestrated an attempt at mutiny … with 1/3 of the angels at his side, Satan attacked … seeking to take the Lord’s throne as his own

Why would he do something so crazy? (Didn’t he realize that God is way more powerful than him?)

Because Satan was blinded by pride … he desired to become like God … and that desire twisted him until he became full of evil and madness

Isaiah 14:13–14 ESV

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Isaiah 14:13–14 新改訳2017

おまえは心の中で言った。 『私は天に上ろう。 神の星々のはるか上に私の王座を上げ、 北の果てにある会合の山で座に着こう。 密雲の頂に上り、 いと高き方のようになろう。』

Now, Satan wasn’t victorious in his attempt to overthrow the Lord … instead, he and the angels with him were cast out of heaven and to the earth

And since Satan could not gain the worship of the heavenly hosts … he will do everything he can to stop you and me from worshiping the Lord

Satan’s attacks on humanity began in the Garden of Eden … where he tempted Adam and Eve … and led them into sin

Genesis 3:1–5 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1–5 新改訳2017

さて蛇は、神である主が造られた野の生き物のうちで、ほかのどれよりも賢かった。蛇は女に言った。「園の木のどれからも食べてはならないと、神は本当に言われたのですか。」 女は蛇に言った。「私たちは園の木の実を食べてもよいのです。 しかし、園の中央にある木の実については、『あなたがたは、それを食べてはならない。それに触れてもいけない。あなたがたが死ぬといけないからだ』と神は仰せられました。」 すると、蛇は女に言った。「あなたがたは決して死にません。 それを食べるそのとき、目が開かれて、あなたがたが神のようになって善悪を知る者となることを、神は知っているのです。」

Notice that the serpent (Satan) put into the minds of Adam and Eve the very same thought that caused his fall … “You will be like God”

Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation … giving in to the desire to be like God … and sin entered the world

Now we have people all over saying that we can “be like God” … or that we are gods … the pride of Satan has quickly become the pride of humanity

The reason that we are in a spiritual battle … it’s not because you or I have done something wrong … it’s because we have an enemy that desperately wants the Lord’s worship for himself

So he attacks … he attacks the world in general with wars, disasters, relational chaos … and he attacks us as believers … attempting to get us to stop worshiping Jesus … attempting to get us to live for ourselves so that we won’t be a threat to him

II. What Does the Warfare Look Like?

Spiritual attacks come in many forms … the more you know about war … the more you can see the different ways Satan tries to attack us

I would like to spend a few minutes talking about 3 types of attacks … I’ll call them Localized Attacks, Ambush Attacks, and Full-Force Attacks

Localized attacks

Localized attacks are spiritual attacks that primarily only affect you

Have you ever found yourself falling asleep while you were reading the Bible?

Have you ever fought with your spouse or a family member on the way to church?

Have you ever suddenly gotten a migraine right before a big day of ministry?

Have you ever found yourself angry for no reason … you realize that you are simply angry and don’t know why?

These are what we can call localized attacks … attacks that, for the most part, affect only you

These attacks are very common … they are not designed to knock us down … but to distract us from what is important … to keep us from spending time seeking the Lord … and to convince us to give up on doing whatever the Lord is calling us to do that day

Back when I used to play concerts with the band Hakugaijin … these attacks were very common

It was a normal thing for us all to show up for the soundcheck with migraines and other problems happening all at the same time … we quickly recognized that the enemy was trying to keep us from going on stage and playing Christ-centered music

Ambush attacks

Ambush attacks are spiritual attacks that suddenly come upon you and a group you are connected to

For example … you may have a time when your whole family is under a spiritual attack … when something happens that causes a rift in your family

Your workplace may go under heavy attack … or a group of friends

There are times when this church goes under intense spiritual attacks … and it affects everyone

Just like an ambush is designed to catch you off guard … these spiritual attacks come upon a group of people without warning …

And they are designed to scatter the group … to divide friends … to divide churches

There is strength in a group … so the enemy tries to divide the group so there will be no more support when he attacks individuals

Full-force attacks

Full-force attacks are just that … full-force spiritual attacks

These are the kind of attacks meant to cause so much mental pain and anguish that you completely turn away from the Lord … or at least from the calling he has given you

The book of Job is a good example of a full-force spiritual attack

Job was attacked in every way possible … he lost family, wealth, health … and the goal of the attack was to get him to curse the Lord

While this kind of attack is not as common as localized attacks and ambush attacks … full-force attacks are usually so strong that we begin to question what we believe

… we start to wonder if we are doing the right things in life … and if we don’t survive the attack … we decide that Jesus is not so trustworthy and that it would be better to turn my life in a different direction

Full-force spiritual attacks shake us to the core … and if we don’t have a strong group of believers surrounding us and encouraging us to keep going … we can easily be taken down

III. How Can We Have Victory in the Midst of Warfare?

We could go to many passages to answer this question … but I would like to focus on one thing found in Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6:10–18 ESV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Ephesians 6:10–18 新改訳2017

終わりに言います。主にあって、その大能の力によって強められなさい。 悪魔の策略に対して堅く立つことができるように、神のすべての武具を身に着けなさい。 私たちの格闘は血肉に対するものではなく、支配、力、この暗闇の世界の支配者たち、また天上にいるもろもろの悪霊に対するものです。 ですから、邪悪な日に際して対抗できるように、また、一切を成し遂げて堅く立つことができるように、神のすべての武具を取りなさい。 そして、堅く立ちなさい。腰には真理の帯を締め、胸には正義の胸当てを着け、 足には平和の福音の備えをはきなさい。 これらすべての上に、信仰の盾を取りなさい。それによって、悪い者が放つ火矢をすべて消すことができます。 救いのかぶとをかぶり、御霊の剣、すなわち神のことばを取りなさい。 あらゆる祈りと願いによって、どんなときにも御霊によって祈りなさい。そのために、目を覚ましていて、すべての聖徒のために、忍耐の限りを尽くして祈りなさい。

In Ephesians 6, we are encouraged to put on the whole armor of God

The belt of truth … the breastplate of righteousness … the shoes of the gospel of peace … the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation … the sword of the Spirit … and prayer in the Spirit

Why are we encouraged to put on the armor of God? Because we ‘wrestle with spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’

We don’t have time to look at each piece of spiritual armor today … but I would like to mention one … the shield of faith

We often focus too much on the sword and too little on the shield [show slide]

We need the sword of the word of God … but we also need the shield of faith

Now, we hold the shield of faith in order to “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one”

The shield of faith is so powerful that it can protect us against all the devil’s darts

However, we need to remember that it will only protect us if we use it

When the enemy sends darts your way … when he sends doubts … complaints … depressing thoughts … what you do you?

Do you entertain them? If so … you aren’t using your shield like you need to

Rather, we need to position our shield in the direction of the darts … to stop those thoughts and doubts in their tracks … and move forward by faith

The writer of the Art of War wrote, “All war is based on deception”

The darts Satan shoots our way are darts of deception … they are darts meant to cause us to doubt the Lord … to cause us to waiver in our faith

If Satan can get us to doubt the Lord … he will have no problem destroying our lives

But you and I hold the shield of faith … faith in Jesus and in his promises … and that shield is more than enough to stop every single dart that comes our way

Conclusion:

As you worship the Lord … whether it be in song, in lifestyle, in action … or whatever form it may take … the enemy will attack you … you will be pulled into a spiritual battle

You have the armor … the Lord has given you everything you need to stay protected when the enemy attacks

You have a shield … your faith in Jesus … and it is powerful enough to stop anything the enemy can throw at you

The battle will continue to rage until Jesus returns and deals with Satan once and for all

Until then, we are victorious in Jesus … so when you are attacked … whatever the type of attack may be … don’t let doubts enter your mind

Use your faith as a shield … hold on to Jesus and his promises

And continue to worship him in faith … it’s exactly what the enemy doesn’t want you to do … and it is exactly what you need to do to have victory in the midst of the battle