There’s a battle going on

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.