Understanding Spiritual Warfare

Intro:

Today we are beginning a new series I have entitled Body Armor. This month we are going to be looking at the subject of Spiritual Warfare and how to walk in the Authority God gives us. This is going to be a base conversation on the reality of spiritual warfare along with some tools to help you live victoriously.

The most important initial aspect of the conversation on spiritual warfare is realizing that there is a spiritual war. The second reality is that you and I are involved in it every day whether we want to be or not. The idea of being in a spiritual war may be unsettling and undesirable, but it is a reality.

The origin of the spiritual war is revealed in Isaiah 14:12-17

it says, ““How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’”

We see further in Ezekiel 28:12-17

““Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.”

In these two passages we see a few key things:

1) Our adversary (enemy): Satan

2) The war that he brings to mankind. Makes the earth tremble, shakes kingdoms, makes the world as a wilderness and destroys its cities, and he is taking prisoners.

What began as a spiritual war against God shifted to involve mankind in Genesis 3. Satan tempts Adam and Eve, they give in to sin, and the result is an open door to death and destruction.

Jesus gives us insight in John 10:10 about the mission of satan, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

My prayer for this series is that we would gain practical knowledge of our enemy. Satans desire has been and will continue to be to be master over God’s creation. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Even though we cannot physically see our attacker we can see the effect of his attacks.

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For a moment lets think about natural war. In a war there are battles. Battles are smaller parts of the overall war and conflict. In warfare, battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity.   The same is true in spiritual warfare. As Christians, we are in a spiritual battle of some sort on a daily basis, and it has an effect on our lives.

Submit:

Our goal in this series is to help you become aware of it, and to learn how to navigate it.

As we wrap our minds around spiritual conflict lets for a moment lets think about natural war. In a war there are battles. Battles are smaller parts of the overall war and conflict. In warfare, these smaller battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity.  

The same is true in spiritual warfare. The initial war was between satan and God, but satan opened up a new battle front with humanity. His attack on Adam and Eve in the garden paved the way for multiple battle fronts against humanity. These battles have raged through ancient history, and continue today.

The ultimate weapon satan had against mankind was sin. Now it is continued sin due to the unrenewed mind. Ephesians 2:1-3.

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

An interesting concept is that Jesus has won the overall war against sin through His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus has broken the power of sin when He was raised from the dead. Yet the battles for mankind remain.

Satans ultimate weapon of sin has been conquered by Christ, but we have to actually enforce the victory of Christ through righteous living. To live righteous we will have to renew our minds with the word of God. Confronting places of sin, and living renewed by the Spirit of God.

We are freed from the enemy’s grasp through the blood of Jesus. Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14.

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

Colossians 1:13-14 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus has come and conquered. The war is already won in the heavens, but you and I will have to engage in spiritual warfare to live victorious in the earth. There will come a day when the final judgement of God takes place, but until then believers will have to continue to fight.

Do not let the reality of spiritual conflict cause you to stumble or be fearful. God has given us the victory through the finished work of Christ. We have every tool we need to gain the victory. Colossians 1:10-11.

Colossians 1:10-11 “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;”

God has moved in mighty ways on behalf of many people who have trusted in him throughout history, and we can rest assured that He is the same God today! We can gain wisdom and knowledge through the word of God to educate ourselves on Satans tactics in battle, and how we can defeat them.

The reason why many fail in the battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came. R.A Torrey

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Apply:

The Call to Persevere in battle. Victory many times comes through prayer and persistence. It is our time spent in the word seeking the face of God before the battle comes that prepares us for victory. Daniel 10:10-14.

Turn with me to the book of Daniel 9 & 10. I want you to see a practical application of perseverance. In this story Daniel is a captive of a pagan nation. He is educated in the kings court. He interprets visions, is promoted and receives executive authority, he is conspired against because of his trust in God. He is a devout man, filled with wisdom.

A little backstory Daniel sets his face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes for three full weeks. This time of prayer and fasting came after receiving a vision that troubled him. He understood the vision and that its appointed time was far off. At the end of the 21 days he has a wonderful encounter with a messenger of God.

Daniel 10:10-14 “Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.””

There was a period of 21 days in-between Daniel’s time of prayer and fasting and the encounter with the messenger of God. For Daniel his heart was heavy for what he saw during the vision. God desired to give him understanding and dispatched an answer immediately. Yet during this time between the prayer and the revelation there was heavenly battle that he could not see taking place. The messenger of God was resisted by the prince of Persia. This wasn’t a physical prince, but a demonic principality or power mentioned Ephesians 6. Daniel received from the Lord because He persevered.

This is a great lesson for us in spiritual warfare. We must learn how to persevere like Daniel. Many times we abort the answer from God because it is taking longer than we expected.

Without perseverance satan uses time to his advantage.

He works to bring discouragement and doubt into the life of the one seeking God.

He presents lies that God doesn’t care about you or your situation.

He wants you to focus on the issue or the problem.

To think that your situation is impossible so that you will take your eyes off of God and His promise. Ultimately robbing you of its fulfillment.

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Closing:

The one who keeps their eyes on Jesus and His word will overcome. The promises of God are yes and amen. Through Christ we will have the victory. Not just in eternity, but now.

We do not to need to be afraid of spiritual warfare if we are in submission to Christ, and living Holy before the Lord. When we are submitted to His ways He will fight our battles for us. In Christ, we have the victory.

As we pray, fast, believe, and declare God’s promises by faith the Holy Spirit will give us insight and direction on how to win the battles we face. Victory rest in our obedient response to the Holy Spirits directions through the word of God.

Know today that our situation may not always turn out the way we expected. We may face stiffer resistance from the enemy than we thought was possible, but we can rest assured that God is faithful to watch over His word to perform it. He will not leave us nor forsake us.

This morning as I close I encourage you to engage in the fight. Become submitted to Jesus. Trust in His word. Declare His promises. Fast and Pray. Wait on His word and direction. Be obedient to follow the Spirits leading. If you do these things you will be well on your way to walking in authority in Christ.

Lets’s Pray!

Lord open our eyes to see the battle.

Help us to not be overwhelmed by what we see.

Give us a heart of submission.

Submission always begins with surrender (Salvation).