Spiritual Warfare, part 3

Sunday at Lifepointe Church in Carmel, IN, I continued the message series on spiritual warfare called Armor All. This is message three in the series and focuses on the ‘full armor of God.’ You can hear the message at www.lifepointeindy.com.

THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD

Just beyond the visible is an invisible world, the spirit world. Just as cell phone signals, radio and television signals are traveling through your home right now, so there is an invisible but real spirit world all around you. God dwells - and rules - in the world of the spirit. Angels also are keeping watch just beyond the visible. But so too are the fallen angels which are called demons and their ruler who is the devil.

The devil and his demons are no match for the True and Living God! But they are determined to oppose all that is of Christ, at least until their time is up.

KEY INSIGHTS

An important as to the nature and goals of the devil in spiritual warfare is what is commonly referred to as, ‘the temptation of Christ.’ The encounter is described in the Gospel of Luke, 4:1-13. I want you to notice two things about the nature of the devil’s attacks:

The Devil Attacks Identity.

Notice that twice in this temptation, the Devil says to Jesus, “if you are the Son of God.”
Now, of course Jesus was the Son of God! Yet, the Devil was brazen enough to try to get Jesus to doubt who was. He does the same thing with you. Spiritual warfare often involves self-doubt. Satan plants seeds of doubt: “if you really are Christian, you would not have done that, said that, thought that.” “You are losing your youthfulness, your husband is losing interest.” “If you were a good parent, you would have...” “You are not the kind of person God can use.” On it goes. Attacks on your identity as a person and as a Christian.

Please be sure to go back to last week’s message and see the wonderful truths about who you are as a believer ‘in Christ.’

The Devil Attacks Christ-likeness.

You are destined to be more and more like Jesus. That is God’s design for every Christ-follower.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. - Rom 8:29

That incredible goal for your life infuriates the devil. He is out to thwart your progress toward Christ-likeness. Christlikeness is manifest in two things:

The Character of Christ, and
The Cause of Christ.

THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST

So, the devil fights the formation of Christ’s character in you. He does so by tempting you to lay aside the teaching of the Bible and the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the small voice of your conscience in order to get involved in sinful behavior or speech.

The scripture urges you to fight for the formation of Christ’s character in your life:

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:21-24 (NLT)

Let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Rom 13:12

The Apostle makes it clear that Christian character is in itself armor for the battle.
But the main reason that the devil opposes character formation in your life is because of a larger goal: he does not want you to participate in the cause of Christ.

THE CAUSE OF CHRIST

What is the cause of Christ? I suppose that we could list many things but I believe the essence of His cause can be summed up in four statements:

Jesus has come to set the captives free!
Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil!
Jesus has come to give eternal life to people from every nation!
Jesus has come to establish a radiant Church which gives glory to God!

See Luke 4:18-19, I John 3:8, Matt 28:18-20, Eph 5:25-27

How do you fight back and win in this world of spiritual warfare?

SEVEN ESSENTIALS TO SPIRITUAL VICTORY

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 saints. - Eph 6:10-18

Here are the seven essentials to spiritual victory: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer. (Next week’s message is dedicated to prayer).

Consider each of the seven and how they help assure spiritual victory.

TRUTH -- Jesus said, ‘you shall know the truth and truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32)
The freedom you desire in any area begins with God’s Truth. Here is a sad reality, we constantly speak to ourselves - and often tell ourselves things that are not true! They are just idle speculations and imaginations, fears and doubts - often not confirmed by any objective evidence. The devil also deals in lies, he is the father of lies (John 8:44).
The way to combat lies is with truth! Know and use the truth.

RIGHTEOUSNESS -- today, many believe that righteousness is not necessary. Others believe that self-righteousness is all that is needed. Many others believe that what is needed is a church-based righteousness. But what the Bible teaches is that you need a righteousness that is not your own, but a righteousness is Christ’s and can be applied to your life by faith (Rom 3:22). Your victory over the devil and judgment is based upon the right standing you have with God based upon faith in Jesus work on the cross.

THE GOSPEL -- The heart beat of Jesus is found in Luke 19:10, one of the most important verses in the Bible. “I have come to seek and to save those who are lost.” People come to know Jesus, they are ‘saved’ from the wrath of God in judgment and given in exchange ‘eternal life,’ as a result of believing the gospel - that is, the story of who Jesus is and what he has done for us on the cross. (See John 3:16, Rom 1:16) A huge demonic goal therefore is to silence the gospel message. The application is transparent: every time a believer has the opportunity to witness and does not, the devil wins...and every time the believer shares the faith with another, the devil loses. It’s not mysterious or spooky - the gospel defeats the devil.

FAITH -- “Without faith, it is impossible to please God,” Heb 11:6. “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:4 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,” Eph 6:16. Faith is the most important aspect of Christian living! It acquires salvation, defeats the devil and accomplishes the impossible! So, as I have previously said, the ultimate goal of the devil is to destroy your faith! Listen to this and mark it down, every time that you emerge from a temptation, a storm, a set-back, a hurt or disappointment or illness or loss or offense and your faith is still intact - you win and devil loses!! This the message of the Old Testament book of Job. The devil said that Job would have faith only so long as everything turned up roses. When Job kept his faith even after devastating loss, the devil was done. Keep the faith is more than a saying - it is the core essential to spiritual victory!

THE WORD OF GOD - The bible has been attacked throughout the centuries and it is being attacked today. When you know God’s Word, obey God’s Word, trust God’s Word, and use God’s Word in sharing life with others, you win! It is by hiding God’s Word in your heart that you build a defense against the devil (Ps 119:9-11).

SALVATION - “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Rom 8:1)
Your ultimate and eternal victory is in the salvation provided through faith in Jesus Christ. You may have many set backs and disappointments in your journey of faith, just like most all who have gone before you, but you simply cannot lose when you know that you are saved by faith. This is the essential assurance that makes way for every other confidence in spiritual living. Do you know for sure that you have been saved by faith? Do you know without a doubt that heaven is your eternal home? If not, you can know today! You can experience the love and forgiveness of God right now! Just look to the right panel of this page. Read the good news of the gospel and pray the prayer at the end by faith! You will be forever changed, blessed and loved! Do it now, don’t wait!

When you do, let me know. Write to me at woody@lifepointeindy.com. I will send you some bible study material that will encourage your heart and ignite your spiritual journey.

17 The seventy-two disciples returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." 18 Jesus replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:17-20