There’s a battle going on
There is a constant war going on, but it isn’t one you’ll hear about on the news or read about on the internet. There are no bombs or swords, and the fight isn’t over territory or possessions. This is a war waged by the forces of evil, unseen yet very real. And guess what? As followers of Christ we have target on us. Our enemy is invisible, evil, and on attack. Isn’t it time we fight back?
Let’s take a look at some passages of scripture to gain some better understanding of this warfare.
Ephesians 6
New International Version (NIV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power. 11 Put
on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. 12 For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore
put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, 15 and with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the
shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. 17 Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
1 Peter 5:8
- Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walking about, seeking whom he may devour:
What does spiritual
warfare look like?
I grew up in church, so I’ve heard the term spiritual
warfare quite a few times. But I didn’t always understand it- what in the world
does it mean? Obviously, it’s spiritual, so how do we know what it looks like? Let’s
look at some clear examples that the bible has laid out.
Deception:
The enemy loves
sending deception our way, trying to make us believe things that aren’t true
and create a wedge between us and our Father. He has been deceiving since the
very beginning of creation. (Genesis 3:4)
The devil is called
the father of lies, Jesus said it himself that there is no truth in him. (John
8:44) He also explains that when Satan lies he is speaking his native language,
deception is his nature. He’ll tell you sin is fantastic and tell you you’re
free to do what you want. He’ll say you haven’t overcome that sin yet, that you
should stop trying. Or perhaps you’ve heard, ‘go ahead and do it just this
once, God will forgive you anyway.’ And you know what? If you give in he’ll
turn back around and tell you you’ve fallen too far and can’t be forgiven, that
you’re unwanted and unloved.
If we’re not holding fast to truth then we’ll fall for these
lies quickly.
Temptation:
Temptation will
often follow deception. When we allow ourselves to be deceived we become
tempted to sin. Now, temptation is just a dart flying at us, we can still block
it from striking us. Some Christians think temptation is the same as sin, which
caves into a deceived mindset that ‘if I’m tempted, I might as well go ahead.’
But temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted, but did not sin. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Now something to
mention, just because temptation is not sin, does not mean we should just be
relaxed around it. We are called to flee from evil, and to pursue what is good.
(1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22)
Accusation:
Remember when you
were tempted and fell? Well right after he convinces you sin is good, when you
realize what you’ve done he’ll be there to mock you and hurl stones your way.
The devil is also known as the accuser of the brethren.
(Rev 12:10) He will speak condemnation
at us over our past. He wants to make you think you are the worst Christian ever.
He’ll bring up every mistake of your past. He wants to silence you and isolate
you. He’ll say no one could forgive that, that you’ve fallen too far, that
you’ll never change, that if you ever told anybody that they would reject you.
The last thing he wants is for you to come into the light and find grace.
Divide:
We’re not meant to
walk alone. Our enemy will try and convince us we don’t need to be apart of a
community. When we’re hurt by another believer we will be tempted to stay angry
and be like ‘well, I’m not opening up again.’ Perhaps one of his most successful
deceptions is convincing us to hide our true selves. So many of us go to our
church outings, smile and say we’re okay, but are we really? We’re pros at
hiding what is really going on. But you know what? Healing and unity comes when
we give up our masquerade. We should surround ourselves by other believers. A solider
will fall quickly by himself in battle.
How can you win?
Jesus above all
I’m starting with this simple truth because it is the most
important. We can not win against the devil by our own power. No matter how
discipline we are or how many people we help, we cannot do this on our own. Everything
listed below is meant to draw us closer to Christ. There is a reason it’s
called the armor of God, not the armor of my will power.
Protect Yourself
No solider goes into war without proper armor- that would be
insane. The same is with spiritual warfare; we can’t expect to win without
properly armoring ourselves first. So what do we arm ourselves with? Let’s take
a look back into the first scripture we read.
13 Therefore
put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you
can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take
the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.So what are we suppose to put on? Truth, righteousness, readiness from the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God.
Pray
Be alert. Don’t close your eyes and try to deny or ignore
the battles going on. Always keep praying, commutation with the Father is not
only an important part of our walk as Christians but also an important weapon
in battle. Weather or not you think you’re under attack, pray. We are told to
never stop praying. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16)
Study
Study the word of God. When we know the truth we will be
better equipped to recognize deception when it comes our way. Develop the habit
of reading the bible daily and studying it. Devour it. When we have it in our
head and heart we can use it as a weapon. Jesus used the written word of God
when he was tempted. (Matthew 4:10)
Community
We know we’re supposed to go to church, bible study, etc. But
why? Community among fellow believers is important in the growing Christians
life (That’s all of us) and is also a weapon in battle. When surrounded by
followers of Christ we have accountability. We grow together, strengthen
together, encourage one another, and can lovingly hold each other accountable
in our actions. (Galatians 6:1-2, Matthew 18:15-17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Hebrews
10:24-25) A solider will fall quickly if he is alone in the battlefield. His
chances are better with a brother there to watch his back.
We have brothers and sisters beside us who are walking this
journey as well. We’re all at different stages with different spiritual gifts.
You may think you have nothing to offer or nothing to gain, but you do.
Stand Fearless
With all this talk about spiritual warfare and how the world
is against us, we need to remember to stand fearless. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of
power, love, and self-discipline.” ( 2 Timothy 1:7) We should not be afraid
or too focused on the demonic. Keep your eyes focused on Christ and the
greatness of our God, for who could stand against him? Remember that nothing
can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( Romans
8:38-39)
A Final Word
This world will wage for you heart. Empty desires will beg
for your submission. Lies will spill into your ears and fiery darts from the
enemy will come. We will be fighting battles until the day we see our Savior
face to face. Some we will win, some we will loose. However, the war is already
won! As Christians we stand in Christs victory on the cross. Let us never
forget to celebrate the victory we have in Him.
My prayer for you is that you would not live in consent
defeat or fear, but that you would stand firm on the promises God has given us.
Knowing full well who you are in Christ and remembering that the God of the
universe is on your side. I pray that we can stand together, helping each other
in this battlefield, while shining as a light to those who are still searching.
I’ll end now with a verse that has always brought comfort to
me, and I think it sums up this discussion fittingly, straight from our Saviors
mouth.
“I
have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Questions for
Discussion
Where do you see the devil’s schemes being playing out in
the world today?
In your own words or personal experiences, what does
spiritual warfare look like to you?
What have you been struggling against lately?
If you had to compare your spiritual armor to this list
where are you strong? Weak?
Why is it important to put on all pieces of the armor, not
just one or two?
What do you need to do to prepare for battle?
Why do you think the devil mixes the truth with lies?
How do you deal with the feelings of being attacked? Does it
need to change?
How are you with accountability? This question goes both
ways. Do you have someone in your life to keep you accountable of your actions?
Are you helping your friends stay accountable?
If Christ has already won the war, why should we bother
fighting battles?
Take the rest of the time to reflect and discuss on how the
war has been won by Christs victory.
