Everyday Warfare

Alright, we started our series Be Prepared last week and we are going through Ephesians 6:10-18 where Paul talks about the Armor of the Lord. Last week we started by reading the first couple verses where he says, / / A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

So, last week we looked at a few things:

/ / 1. Heads Up! Paul is warning us to take this seriously. / / A final word, or as Peter wrote it in 1 Peter 5, Stay Alert! These two apostles, early church leaders who helped shape and mold what the church would become are both saying the same thing, This is serious and is meant to be taken seriously.

/ / 2. Be Strong IN The Lord! Then we looked at what it means to be Strong in the Lord. Again, both of these guys are writing the same encouragement. Paul says / / Be strong IN the Lord and in HIS might power, and Peter wrote, Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Both saying the same thing: / / It is not by our strength that we overcome, but by the power and strength of God that we are victorious. And that takes humility, recognizing that we’re not all that and a bag of potato chips, and inviting God to move and act in our lives.

/ / 3. Stand Firm! And the third thing we looked at was that again, both Paul and Peter tell us to stand firm - not just in these two scriptures, but in others as well, In the book of Galatians, Thessalonians, Corinthians, all written by Paul, he’s encouraging the people in these young churches to stand firm, or what that really means, being a military term to / / resist the enemy, hold the position and offer no surrender!

We also looked at a bit of cultural, historical background that brings all of this into context. There’s more going on here than meets the eye. The early church didn’t have an easy time. There were constant threats.

If you watched the Christmas Special by the makers of the Chosen series, they did a really good job at painting the picture of the early church and the struggles they went through. There was this back and forth in the timeline between Mary Magdeline and Mary the mother of Jesus as she is older and sick, you kind of get this feeling that she might be on her death bed. And it shifts between that and then the story of her traveling with Joseph to Bethlehem and giving birth to Jesus.

But you see this story within the story unfolding. Mary Magdeline being snuck into the city, and then their conversation, mother Mary asks, “How are the boys?” meaning the disciples, because some were being martyred for their beliefs and teachings, thrown in prison, beaten, executed. This was not an easy time to be a Christian, and they give just a glimpse into this reality they would have faced. But this is interesting, Christian tradition and many historical accounts point to the fact that the city that Mary the mother of Jesus was in, was most likely Ephesus, the city we’ve been talking about. After Jesus was crucified and raised to life and spent time with the disciples and ascended in to heaven, at some point John is reported to having taken Mary, Jesus’ mother, who Jesus had said from the cross before he dies, “take care of my mom” - so John takes her to Ephesus, where they would have started the first church there.

If you are going by road, Jerusalem, where Jesus was killed, the starting point of that journey to Ephesus on the coast of modern day Turkey is about 1100 miles! That’s from here to Baltimore, on a donkey, or a cart, or walking… Google tells me that’s 384 hours of walking, which would be 48 days walking 8 hours a day.

And they end up in this city, Ephesus, which is a breeding ground for pagan worship.

That’s the backdrop. A city with the biggest temple to Artemis, another temple partly dedicated to Julias Caesar who they are now calling a God. And they walk in and say, “Let’s talk about Jesus…the Son of God, the savior of the world. The One True God!”

So, today we’re going to talk about the next thing that Paul says, leading up to where he describes as the armor of God, and he says in Ephesians 6:12-14a, / / For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground...

So, the title of today’s message is / / Everyday Warfare! the battle we can’t see that we’re right in the middle of…

The first thing we are going to look at is:

/ / 1. Know Your Enemy

To successfully navigate any conflict you have to know what you are up against and who you are engaged with. Every coach watches and makes their players watch game videos of the opposing team. Every general in history tries to figure out the mind of the enemy to engage in successful warfare. What is the other person thinking? What are their tactics? What do we think they will do so that we can do something that disarms and subverts any plans they might have.

Victor Hugo, the french writer who wrote Les Miserables, said, / / “A good general must penetrate the brain of his enemy.”

Now, before we get too far into this, I want to say this very clearly, / / We do not learn of the devils tactics and plans just to end up living in fear of them. The purpose of looking at how the enemy operates is to know ourselves how WE are meant to live.

There’s a story from the Civil War, it’s in the book by that name written by Jeffrey Ward. He tells a story that takes place in the height of the war. General Robert E. Lee, who led the confederate forces was very effective in his combat style. Even though the army he led was not nearly as large as the Union forces, or even as well organized, he used his ability as a brilliant tactician on many occasions to beat the Union army on various battlefields. Because of his ability and the way he would engage in these battles, he was gaining a very big reputation, almost bigger than life, to the point where the Union forces were actually terrified of him.

On one account, in a Union camp, General Ulysses S. Grant is walking by a campfire where some of his soldiers were having a conversation. They were talking about General Lee and how he was going to do something so unexpected. How he had done this, done that, what if he does this, what if he does that, what are we going to do? And General Grant walked up to them and said, "Oh, I am tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.”

The devil is nothing to fear. That doesn’t mean we don’t take him seriously, as we saw last week, Peter says, Stay Alert!, but it does not mean we live in fear. I’ve met people that somehow think the devil is going to win, because they have experienced some sort of loss. Looking around every corner, what is going to happen next? What if he does this, what if he does that, just like those Union soldiers sitting around the campfire waiting to lose a battle that hasn’t even started yet.

Pastor Greg Laurie says, / / Stop worrying about what the devil is going to do next and instead let him worry about what we under the command of Jesus Christ are going to do next...

My point is this, don’t let the unknown of the spiritual world build or breed fear in your heart. This you must hold completely and ultimately true, we win. Not because of anything that we do, but because of what Jesus Christ ALREADY did on the cross. The cross is the victory for us all. And it has already happened. So, as we look at this, to know our enemy, to know the strategies and the tactics of the enemy, never forget who has our lives already in His very capable hands.

Ok, first things first.

/ / The devil is REAL.

Let’s just get this out of the way. The devil has been used as a personification for evil and has had a bunch of different names, satan, lucifer, prince of demons, father of lies, beelzebub and a host of others.... and is so popularized in horror story lore and so cartooned and halloween costumed that there’s a whole part of society that think he’s just a fictional character, made up to make a good story, to scare children, to give a face to evil. The prophet Ezekiel wrote this about satan, which was given to him by God:

/ / You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone - all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given you on the day you were created. I ordained you and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in all you did from the day you were crated until the day evil was found in you… (Ezekiel 28:12-15)

Now, if we jump to the New Testament we read the story of Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit when he is baptized by John. It says after that that the Holy Spirit leads him into the dessert and it says in three of the 4 gospels, all of them say that / / ...Jesus was led BY the Spirit of God into the wilderness and there was tempted by the devil. [Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2]

The Greek word is / / diabolos, translated, Satan, false accuser, devil, slanderer.

I think biblically speaking there is certainly enough evidence that there is a world out there we cannot see. And that Satan, the devil, call him whatever you want, he is the enemy of our souls, and he is not a cartoon, he’s not a little red man sitting on your shoulder, and he’s certainly not a fun halloween costume.

And interesting that the only gospel that doesn’t record this story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness is the book of John, it’s like he skips over that one. He tells the story of Jesus being baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit, but not being led into the wilderness. But that doesn’t mean that John isn’t confirming the existence of the devil, in fact, in John 8:43, Jesus says to a group of people, / / “Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me. For you are the children of your father the devil [diabolos], and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

/ / The devil is a LIAR.

That ain’t just a cute phrase for your memes… Jesus is clearly calling out the devil as the father of lies - going as far as saying there is / / no truth in him, when he lies it is consistent with his character.

As I mentioned, one of the translations of that word diabolos is false accuser. In the book of Revelation 12:9-10 it says, / / This great dragon - the ancient serpent called the devil [diabolos], or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world - was thrown down to the earth with all his angels… For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth...

He is the one who makes false accusations, he lies, he deceives. hear that clearly… the one deceiving the whole world!

/ / The devil HIDES in plain sight.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:14, / / Even satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

All the way back to the beginning, when you read the story of Genesis, of Adam & Eve in the garden, they are confronted by a serpent…

Two things:

/ / …Ezekiel says of the evil, You were in Eden, the garden of God..

…Revelation says, the ancient serpent called the devil...

And what is it that the he does, he convinces Adam & Eve that he’s on their side, that he’s out for their benefit, to help them...I’ve seen some of the worst damage in peoples lives by what they believe is helping them, when it is actually destroying them.

I’ve said this before, isolation is one of the worst things for healing, especially mental and emotional health. You weren’t meant to go through things alone. This is why our goal here is to foster healthy community, because we are meant to go through things together, lift each other up, encourage each other, help each other. And this lie that you’re better off alone simply destroys people. Sure, we might not be perfect, but that doesn’t mean you’re better off without us!

But, if the enemy can convince you that you’re better off alone, then you’ll sit in your hurt and shame, or struggle without the help you desperately need, thinking that’s the best thing, telling yourself, “Time heals all wounds…I’ll just wait until i’m all better to go back out there.”…well, time might help, but sometimes time just makes things worse.... You’ve been lied to, you’ve been deceived by someone disguised as an angel of light.

/ / The devil is HUNGRY.

1 Peter 5:8 which we read last week, Peter says, / / Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

He’s hungry. We read last week John 10:10, / / The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.

Again, this is to be aware and alert, not to spark fear. Think of it this way. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, / / The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

So think of life in this analogy, there are always multiple roads, one that leads to life, and many that lead away from it, and the devil and his minions want you choosing the wrong path, getting stuck in the mud of your own decisions that lead to destruction that give him access to mess with your life. So we have these warnings, signs, and opportunities to turn back to the things of God and move forward on the road to life.

/ / 2. Know Your Battle!

I want to touch on this briefly this morning because sometimes people get confused and blame the wrong thing. This is all a part of being spiritually aware. I like how Peter says it, Stay Alert! It’s simple, yet, incredibly profound. Stay alert, there is more going on that meets the eye.

I was reading an article this past week that perfectly described this need to be aware and to truly understand and know what the battle is. And this article describe these two things that come up when we talk about spiritual warfare and the devil and all of this, and that is over-emphasis and under-emphasis.

/ / Over-Emphasis vs Under-Emphasis

I have met people that blame everything on the devil. Every sin they deal with, every conflict they encounter, every problem, it is all the devil and his demons and they need to cast them out or fight them back. It can be exhausting.

I have also met people, and I would say there are many many more in this category, that simply live life in what I would call blissful ignorance, or what they would think is just simply being pleasantly unaware. We have that saying, right, / / ignorance is bliss. It’s not true, ignorance is extremely dangerous. And as a result of that attitude they end up completely ignoring the spiritual realm and the fact that the bible directly tells us that we are in a conflict with spiritual forces, that Jesus himself tells us that the enemy of our souls is active and working to trip us up, AND as we looked at already Jesus himself was tempted by the devil.

The key to this is balance, and balance based on the bible. Yes, Jesus sometimes healed people by casting out a demon, we see that in scripture, and sometimes he healed people with no mention of spiritual influence. We can’t make a blanket statement that all sickness is demonic, but we also can’t make the statement that none of it is.

It is also very true that not every struggle, or every push back is the enemy. Jesus said in John 16:33, / / I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

The word in the ESV for trials and sorrows is tribulation, but that does not speak specifically of spiritual influence, and yet, we would be absolutely missing it if we didn’t recognize the influence and working of the spiritual world in our lives.

And we have talked about this often, the reality is that as humans we have free-will, don’t we? God doesn’t control us and yet he is all powerful, so we have no need to fear an enemy that is weaker than our God, who chooses not to control us. Our choice then becomes easy, follow after Jesus.

Despite inevitable struggles and sorrows, or trials, or tribulation, Jesus was promising peace because of one simple fact: / / HIS victory of sin, sickness, death and satan himself. The word “overcome” means to have victory. Jesus is saying that he has victory in this world.

And, as my friend Kyle shared with me one day, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”....sometimes what we experience is because we made bad choices, turned the wrong way, made the wrong move, did something we shouldn’t have, and there is a consequence and repercussion to our actions. Maybe my stubbed toe is simply a stubbed toe because I missed that step. Maybe the money I lost in crypto is money I should’ve never put in to crypto. Maybe the tension in my relationship is because I have still failed to control my temper. Whatever the case may be, there is more going on that meets the eye and we can learn to discern and navigate the world we live in by not focusing on the enemy and focusing on the negative, but like General Grant said, “Stop worrying about what the other side will do and start asking yourself what YOU will do.”

We don’t want to make this more than it is - we don’t want to blame the devil for everything, and we definitely don’t want to make it less than it is, we don’t let him off the hook. Don’t blame karma, don’t blame the universe. There are spiritual forces at play in this world.

Another thing we can end up doing if we are simply looking for struggle and attributing it to the enemy, is that we can end up wrongly identifying what God is actually leading us through. Is it possible that God is responsible for the push back we are feeling?

We read it already. Jesus said that the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road is HARD… So, having already answered the question, let’s ask, / / Does God make everything easy? Paul says in Romans 5:3-6, / / We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Rejoice in trial? Rejoice when we face problems?

/ / Strength is built through resistance. Anyone who has ever trained for anything, gone to the gym, started working out, or walking, or even wanted to learn something new. There is a learning curve and there is resistance in the process.

When they test the strength of anything, what do they do, they apply pressure or resistance until it breaks! it’s called the breaking point. And you don’t know what you can handle until you’re put to the test.

We’ve all had those moments where we pray, “God, give me more patience” and then we suddenly experience these opportunities in our lives to HAVE more patience… whoa whoa whoa, i did NOT ask for this… I rebuke you satan!

Well, that’s like going to the gym and saying to the trainer, “I want to be stronger” and he says, “Alright, grab the 10 lb weights there...” no no no no.. you misunderstand my idea here… Isn’t there something you can give me?

/ / Don’t confuse resistance as something that needs to be removed when it is meant to be pushed through for growth!. Some resistance is God giving us opportunity to grow, to show endurance. And what’s the promise?

/ / Endurance develops strength of character… What does that mean? It means we’ve gone through an experience and proved something. The test of our character is, are we really what we say we believe? You believe in patience, you’re asking for patience, will you BE patient? Trial gives opportunity to endure, endurance develops and refines and molds our character, the proof that we truly are being transformed by God!

So, we want to have discernment, to truly know what we are in the middle of.

Are we in a teachable moment where God is leading us to endure and develop character?

Are we reaping the consequences of our own actions?

Are we facing some resistance or attack from forces of evil?

We need to not just know our enemy, but know the battle as well, learn to recognize when we are in a battle.

And the last thing we need to know in all of this is:

/ / 3. Know Your Place

I find this to be the greatest encouragement in all of this. I know my place. I am NOT God. I will never be God. Victory is not mine through what I’ve done. The Lord is victorious and I share in His victory!

And this is really a call to know and grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the victorious one.

This is why last week we focused on what it means to be IN Christ. / / Be strong IN the Lord and in HIS mighty power.

OK, so, know your enemy, know the battle, know your place.

Now, let’s look at what Paul is saying here in Ephesians 6 as he talks about strategies and various elements of the spiritual realm.

He says, / / Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Well, we’ve already determined that the devil is the father of lies, his goal is deception and manipulation. If we read how he acted in the very beginning with Adam & Eve in the garden, his primary weapon there was trying to convince them that God didn’t actually say what he said.

Genesis 3:1 says, / / One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

This is just simple confusion, misdirection, distraction and manipulation.

They have this whole conversation where he eventually convinces her that God is hiding something. He’s not. He was very truthful and honest, and the appropriate response would have been, “Oh, I don’t remember, let me go ask him, ‘God....can you clarify something for me?’”

See, the strategies of the enemy haven’t really changed. He’s still doing the same thing today. Trying to get people to believe a lie, to turn on the truth, to embrace his ideals.

Greg Laurie said this, “We need to recognize that our adversary the devil moves in relatively predictable patterns. Therefore, we can anticipate what he is going to do and prepare ourselves. …he essentially uses the same tactics year after year, generation after generation… These strategies and tactics have worked so effectively for him.”

Second thing here is that the devil isn’t alone, but he’s also not God. Every demon, and the devil himself are created beings. They are not gods. What sets God apart from anything and everyone else is that God is eternal. He is uncreated. It’s a very hard concept to even consider in our human brains that are set in time and space, because God is outside of time and space. He has always been and will always be with no clock involved. God didn’t choose to exist, He just always has. What he did choose to do is create. He created us. He created this world. And He also created angels.

We read from Ezekiel 28 earlier where it says that gifts were given to Lucifer at the time he was created. It also tells us that he chose evil, chose to turn against God, believed he could be God and Revelation 12:4 says that when he did that he took a third of the angels of heaven with him and they were thrown to the earth.

So, when Paul writes about these various powers in Ephesians 6, / / evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against might powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. This is what he’s talking about, the angels who chose to follow satan out of heaven, turn against God, and we now call them demons.

Again, the conversation of a devil and demons is not something to fear, it’s simply something to be aware of.

Now, I am not saying this is his only tactic, but I’m going to connect all of this with this thought, what I believe the primary focus and ability of all of this ‘evil power’ truly is.

/ / Influence

I believe the greatest weapon and greatest power that the devil and his demons have in the lives of people is influence. This is what we’re talking about here. If we aren’t fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but our battle is against these evil powers, then what is the power that they have?

The story of Adam and Eve in the garden is the perfect example, this is where it all started. It’s the first deception, it’s the first sin, it’s the first moment of humanity turning from God because of the influence of the enemy of our souls.

We have talked about this plenty, it’s the truth of our humanity, we have free-will. God does not force us to believe in Him. He does not force us to be good. He does not make us do anything. He gives us opportunity and invitation to believe in Him, follow after him, and choose life!

The same is true of these evil spirits, this dark world we’re talking about. Influence. If you know the story it’s the very cause of Adam & Eve choosing to disobey God and eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent did not make them eat it. He didn’t pin them to the ground and force feed them the fruit.

God creates the world. Creates mankind. And creates this beautiful garden for them to live in. He gives them 1 rule, and 1 rule only. There is a tree that I don’t want you to eat from. Everything else is yours, just this one, don’t eat from it. IF you do, it will cause death.

Think about this. / / The wages of sin is death. And we’ve looked at Romans 3:23, For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

So, God sets a standard. And falling short of that standard is sin, and sin causes death.

This meant that in the garden, in Genesis 3, all satan had to do was influence Adam & Eve to make their own decision to follow something other than God’s standard. Just to fall short. And in doing so they open a door that only God can close, and that was eventually through the life of Jesus Christ put up on that cross.

But, the enemies goal is not to just get you to sin. The enemies goal as Jesus says in John 10:10 is to steal, kill and destroy. He’s looking for influence in your life to tear your life down.

This is a big topic, and we’re going to tackle some of these things throughout the coming weeks as we look at the armor that God gives us to resist and defend ourselves from these things.

But let me just share with you today how influence works, because influence can create captivity and captivity is where the enemy does his worst to us. Romans 6:16 says, / / Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

Ok, that word / / obey means to listen attentively, to heed or conform to a command or authority, to be obedient to.

What that is saying is that when we choose to align ourselves with the influence and lies of the enemy we are placing ourselves under his authority like we were his servants, or slaves. And when we live under the authority of something, we are ruled by it.

This is why we seek first the Kingdom of God, the rulership, the authority of Jesus Christ, because when we do that we are placing ourselves under HIS authority, under HIS rule and under HIS protection!

This strategy of the enemy is to gain influence in your life and get you to agree with his lies to entrap you under his authority.

What about Matthew 28:18 where Jesus says, / / “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”?

Great question. And here’s the answer..

Galatians 5:1 says, / / So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Or the ESV says it this way, / / For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Yoke there being the piece of wood that was placed over the back of oxen to plow a field or pull a cart or whatever. Essentially saying, don’t place yourself back under the authority of a master other than Jesus.

If the enemy can get you to agree with him, if he can influence you, then you will end up making decisions that match HIS agenda rather than the standard of God for your life.

Now, think about this in context to situations we have with people. If we aren’t fighting against flesh-and-blood, how does this effect our interactions with people?

Most of our situations with people that are not pleasant are because of actions based on beliefs. I believe differently therefore I act differently and it causes tension between us. My wrestle isn’t against flesh-and-blood enemies, I’m not fighting you, I’m up against the influence that the enemy has managed to gain in your life that’s causing you, in your free will, to choose his standard vs God’s standard.

And these are not evil intentions. This doesn’t mean you are willfully choosing satan. He is cunning, and crafty, and deceptive. Through my life experience I came to a place years ago where I believed wholeheartedly that I would never find love. That no one would ever love me or want to be with me. I was convinced.

Was that God telling me that? no.

Was I malicious or evil to think these things, or even intentionally choosing to ignore God’s truth that I am loved and wonderful and a masterpiece? no.

Did the devil make me believe it? no

Did the devil make people reject me, to reinforce that belief? no

Did the devil take every moment he could to put in a lie, a thought, a fear that reinforced these beliefs I had? absolutely.

Was I duped over time and as a result changed my behavior because of my experiences and those very experiences reinforced my beliefs and I grew more and more scared and depressed and sunk into those beliefs even deeper over time? yes most definitely

Was I trapped, wearing a yoke of bondage to lies and beliefs, living under the influence and direction of something other than God and myself? Yes.

Here’s the greatest part. Have I found freedom? YES!!!

And as Galatians 5:1 says, I have to learn to stand firm to LIVE in that freedom because just because I’ve been set free, does NOT mean the enemy gives up and stops trying to get me to believe a lie and try to regain that influence in my life.

Israel was 100% free from Egypt, and yet the mentality they carried was so deeply engrained in their hearts that they begged Moses to bring them back because freedom felt too unreal for them. They had been under that yoke of bondage and slavery for too long.

Influence. It’s a very powerful thing.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says, / / Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News.

I believed in Jesus Christ as my savior, but I was still blinded in so many areas. And it was as I gave my life more and more to the light and truth of Jesus Christ that I was brought more and more into freedom. As I was introduced to the truth the lie was removed. And when that happens, it’s pretty easy to resist the devil and then he flees from you, and that influence, and that yoke that he had on your back is taken off for you to live free.

And the real problem with influence toward lies and turning from God’s standard is that the extent of that can lead to a complete turning from God, a complete denial of who God is, of His salvation. That is the extreme. But if the devil can’t get me to deny Christ, it seems he’s happy enough to get me to deny his power in any and all areas of my life, so my beliefs because of his influences hold me back from experiencing the fulness of life, even though I am not robbed of salvation.

OK, last thing we’ll look at for today is what I would interpret this scripture to mean when it talks through these various descriptions of spiritual beings, he doesn’t just list their existence but their influence. He says, / / evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, mighty powers in this dark world, evil spirits in the heavenly places.

So, we have evil rulers and authorities, mighty powers, evil spirits, and they seem to be active in the unseen world, the dark world and the heavenly places. The ESV and most other translations interpret this into two things, / / the darkness of this world, and heavenly places.

I read that to express two things, 1. they’re in the dark, we can’t see them - they’re invisible, we don’t see them in this world, they are active in the darkness of this world, or as the NLT says it, authorities of the unseen world, and he also says they are active in the heavenly places, and I take that to be speaking of what we would call the spiritual realm. The space between heaven and earthy.

This gives us the idea that there are / / direct influences in peoples lives here on this earth, and what I would consider to be regional influence.

In the book of Daniel God sends an angel to Daniel to give him an answer to the prayers he’d been praying and it says in Daniel 10:13, that the angel says to him, / / “...for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.”

An evil spirit with influence over a region. If you look around this world it is not difficult to see different influences that we could very easily say are of evil intent over regions or even nations. Oppression, greed, anger, violence, sexuality, etc… How is that possible? Well, we have people that we put in positions of power and because of that physical power, they are also in positions of influence. If you can influence a person of power you can influence those he rules over.

In our School of the Heart class on Thursday evening this past week, Stephan was sharing how the demonic influence on Germany through the life and rule of Hitler had such widespread and long lasting impact on the people of Germany. The people were forced, not by an evil spirit directly, but by the dictatorship of a man influenced by evil to submit to the very authority that was influencing him. And that had spiritual implications for many. An entire nation of people deceived to follow an absolutely evil agenda.

So, the enemy is at work, Peter says Stay Alert, he’s prowling around like a roaring lion, and he’s dispatched his minions to gain as much influence as they can to wreak as much havoc as they can.

Now, not to end on that note, because, that’s not so encouraging. I’ll leave you today with this thought from Matthew 16:18, Jesus is speaking to Peter and tells him that he will be instrumental in establishing the church and he says this, / / “Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

It’s an interesting play on words here, his name is Simon, and even though Jesus had already told him previously that he was changing his name to Peter, he says it again and says, and on this rock I will build my church. Is he calling Peter the Rock that the church is built on? Yes & No, I think he’s giving him a direct insight into his involvement and importance in the coming days, but he’s also responding to what Peter had just said, and that was who he thought Jesus was, / / “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

THAT is what the church is built on. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11 / / For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ.

/ / Our foundation is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, anointed of God, the Savior of the world, and all the powers of hell can NOT stand against it!