SERMON: WRESTLING WITH GOD

 NAYLOR COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32:22-32

 

Genesis 32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- a couple of years ago, we stumbled across an outstanding sleeper movie called “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” starring Shia LeBeouf and Dakota Johnson -- it’s the story of two people who are running away from their pasts in search of a better future

            -- Tyler, played by Shia LeBeouf, is running from his ex-partners in the fishing business who are trying to hurt him for burning their fishing equipment -- Zak is a young man with Downs Syndrome who lives in a residential home with mostly older residents -- he runs away from his home to live out his dream of becoming a professional wrestler

            -- Tyler and Zak meet and become unlikely friends and, along the way, Tyler helps Zak make his way to a wrestling school where he finally gets the chance to wrestle in the ring as the Peanut Butter Falcon

 

            -- I was thinking about that movie this week as I was studying this passage in the life of Jacob and couldn’t help but think of the similarities between Jacob and both Tyler and Zak -- not only did Jacob get into trouble on a regular basis in which he had to run away from -- but in the end, he found himself in the middle of a wrestling match that he was not wholly ready for

 

II.  Background on Jacob’s Life

            -- it all started when Jacob was born -- Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah -- the grandson of Abraham and Sarah

            -- now, Isaac and Rebekah had difficulty conceiving -- but after twenty years of marriage, God blessed them and Rebekah became pregnant with twins

            -- apparently it was not an easy pregnancy -- the Bible says that the babies jostled within her and she cried out to the Lord seeking answers as to why this was happening to her -- in response, God told her that the descendants of the two sons she was carrying would become two mighty nations -- that they would be separated from each other and that one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger

            -- her difficult pregnancy was the result of her sons struggling with each other in her womb -- and she was told this struggle would continue throughout their lives and be carried on by their descendants

            -- and, as God had prophesied, when the time came for the babies to be born, they came out of the womb in the midst of conflict -- Esau, Jacob’s older brother, came out first, the stronger of the two, with Jacob grasping his heel in a portrait of who he was to become

            -- from the very moment of his birth, Jacob tried to grasp that which was not his own -- and he used any means possible to do so, including lying, cheating, and deceiving -- in fact, that's what a literal translation of the name Jacob means -- "he deceives" -- and over and over again, we read in the Bible of how Jacob’s deceit and scheming led him into trouble

 

            -- when Jacob and Esau were young men, Jacob connived a way to get Esau’s birthright -- the birthright belonged to the older son -- it included the family name and titles and a chief portion of the inheritance, "but it was more than just a title to the physical assets of a family -- it was also a spiritual position" -- and in the case of the people of God, "the birthright was the one through whom the covenant promise" made to Abraham and Isaac would be realized [http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-genesis-25-29-34.htm]

            -- but Esau didn't care about all of that -- he considered himself a self-made man -- he didn’t want to be seen as needing anyone else’s help in life -- so, the Bible tells us that Esau "despised his birthright" -- he didn't want it -- he didn't care about the promise of God -- in fact, it appears that he didn't care about God at all -- in Hebrews 12:16 Esau is described as "godless"

            -- his only concern was in getting what he wanted the moment he wanted it -- and when Esau came back from a hunt famished and found Jacob cooking a stew, he let himself be deceived and tricked by Jacob and willingly gave up his birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew

 

            -- the struggle between the twins came to head when Isaac was dying and it was time for him to give his blessings to his son -- as the oldest son, Esau would receive that blessing, which was all he had left since he had been tricked out of his birthright by Jacob

            -- a blessing in the Bible was a tangible blessing -- it carried with it great power and changed the lives of those who were blessed -- the blessing was considered the most important thing a father could pass on to his children

            -- Esau should have been the one to receive the blessing from Isaac, but Jacob and Rebekah conspired against Esau and came up with an elaborate scheme that involved covering Jacob in goat hair and having him wear Esau's clothing so that Isaac thought Jacob was Esau -- in this disguise, Jacob ended up with the blessing from Isaac -- but he got a lot more in the bargain -- when Esau found out what Jacob had done, he swore to kill Jacob -- so Jacob fled the land of Canaan and went east to the land where his mother was from -- Jacob’s deceit and trickery caused him to run away from home in fear for his life

            -- Jacob ended up in the home of his uncle Laban -- Rebekah's brother -- where he fell head-over-heels in love with his cousin Rachel -- he ends up marrying both Rachel and her sister Leah as he continues his deceitful ways in Laban’s household -- over and over again, he gets into conflict with father-in-law Laban because of his deceit and scheming -- eventually, the conflict reached the point where Jacob realizes it’s time to run away again

            -- as he’s struggling with the question of where to go now, God speaks to Jacob and tells him it is time for him to return to the land of Canaan -- the only problem with returning to Canaan is that it means he’ll have to face Esau and the trouble he left behind

            -- in the first part of Chapter 32, Jacob does what God says and heads home with his wife and family and all his possessions -- but before he gets to Canaan, he learns that Esau is coming with 400 soldiers to meet him, presumably to make good on the promise from Esau to kill him

-- Jacob gets scared and separates his family and possessions into two separate camps, in the hope that at least one camp will survive if Esau attacks the other -- and he comes up with a plan to turn away Esau’s wrath by bribing him with a gift of livestock and other possessions

-- as this passage opens, Jacob is at the ford on the river Jabbock and is getting ready to enter the land of Canaan -- he sends his wives and family across the river with all his possessions and has them split into two camps, each heading in different directions, while he stays behind

 

III.  Jacob Wrestles with God

 

-- so, let’s pick up the story of Jacob in the first part of verse 24

 

Genesis 32:24a -- So Jacob was left alone

 

-- for the first time in a long time, Jacob was alone -- there was no one there with him -- no people -- no family -- no possessions -- nothing but him -- standing there on the bank of the Jabbok river

-- the Bible doesn’t tell us why Jacob chose to be alone that night -- perhaps he wanted to prepare himself for his meeting with Esau -- perhaps he wanted a moment of peace before conflict came -- perhaps he wanted to meditate or spend time with God -- we don’t know for sure, but we do know that being alone is sometimes the best thing to be

-- you see, when we are alone, then there is nothing between us and God -- and it is in these moments of aloneness that we can experience God and hear from Him in ways we simply cannot in our regular lives that are so filled with noise and busyness and chaos

-- being alone helps us find and hear God

-- Jesus modeled that for us in the gospels when we read that He left the crowds and the disciples behind and went up on the mountainside by Himself to spend time with the Father

-- and we see that same spiritual discipline of getting alone with God practiced by the early church fathers and spiritual leaders throughout history -- getting alone with God is something that is highly encouraged in the Bible if we are to be who He has called us to be

            -- this biblical truth still resonates with us today -- in order to fully engage with God -- in order to fully experience Him in the depth of your soul -- you must be alone with Him -- you must put yourself in a place where you are alone and quiet and still and there is nothing between you and Him -- a place where you can hear His small still voice -- a place where you can experience His presence and nothing else -- a place where there is nothing but you and God

-- that is the heart of the instruction in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”

 

-- when you are struggling in life -- when you are struggling with a decision or with spiritual issues or with anything else -- it can be helpful to follow the pattern of Jesus and Jacob -- find a place where you can get alone so you can seek answers and peace -- comfort and blessings -- from being in the presence of God without anyone or anything else to distract you

 

            -- look back at the second part of verse 24

 

            Genesis 24:b -- “and a man wrestled with him till daybreak”

 

            -- now who is this man that came to Jacob while he was alone? -- where did He come from? -- and why did he wrestle with him?

            -- as we’ll see later on in this passage, this man was no mere mortal -- this man was God Himself -- God appeared to Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River in human form

-- an appearance of God in human form in the Old Testament is what we call a theophany -- the physical presence of Jesus in the form of a man appearing before the incarnation and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament -- usually, when God appears before men in this way, the Bible writers refer to Him in the text as “the angel of the Lord” -- if you ever run across that phrase -- “The Angel of the Lord” -- in the Bible, that’s a reference to God Himself in human form

-- so, this Man appeared to Jacob -- God in human form -- and wrestled with him until dawn

 

            -- what does it mean to wrestle with God? -- when we say we’re wrestling with something, it means that we’re struggling with something in our life -- usually a decision or a direction or something else that we are going over in our mind and trying to figure out what we should do

-- to wrestle with God means the same thing, but in this case, it means that we are struggling with God about something spiritual

-- generally, we find ourselves wrestling with God in three main ways

            -- first, a lot of us have wrestled with God during a time of spiritual doubt or spiritual drought -- a time when you’re questioning your faith -- when you’re questioning the truth of what you believe -- when you’re just not sure anymore and you have to make a decision as to whether to continue to believe and trust in God or not -- we wrestle with the reality of God and of spiritual things in our minds

            -- next, we wrestle with God when you’re facing a difficult task or trial -- maybe things are going really bad -- maybe you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom and you just don’t know how you can continue -- you don't know what to do -- you don't know where to go -- you see no way out and the promises of God seem far away -- and in that moment of doubt and despair and brokenness, you’re wrestling with your faith and whether you trust that God is actually capable of seeing you through

-- finally, a major time we wrestle with God is when He is calling us to change direction in lives -- it might be a situation where He is leading you and telling you to go somewhere that you don’t want to go -- or maybe He’s telling you to do something or to quit some sin or habit or activity, and you don’t want to do it -- and, so, you’re struggling with the decision -- you’re struggling with accepting God’s will and Lordship in your life

-- ask any pastor what it felt like when they were called into the ministry -- and I guarantee you that most of them will tell you it was a time they felt they were wrestling with God -- it was a struggle whether they were going to follow God down that path or continue doing their own thing -- and that happens with a lot of spiritual decisions

-- that’s what we mean when we say someone is wrestling with God -- it’s those moments in life when our will comes against God’s will -- when we have to choose whether we’re going to submit to Him as our Lord and Savior or whether we’re going to do what we want to do regardless of God’s command

            -- that's where we find Jacob that night on the banks of the Jabbok River -- he was coming to grips with who he was and he was seeing that he was not who he should be -- all his life he had been a deceiver and a schemer and cheat -- and now he’s about to face the consequences of his past life when he meets Esau, who is coming to kill him -- he’s wrestling with his past and he’s wrestling with God as God calls him to fulfill his birthright -- to fulfill the promise given to Abraham -- to change into the type of person who God wants him to be

-- and that’s why we read that Jacob wrestled with God on the riverbank until daybreak --he was working out all his frustration -- all his character flaws -- all his deception and lying and cheating -- he was re-living what he had done to Esau and was having to make a decision as to how he was going to deal with the consequences of the past and live the rest of his life -- whether he was going to continue to be who he had been or whether he was going to allow God to change him for the better

 

            -- verse 25

 

25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

 

            -- what an interesting verse -- the Man -- God -- wrestled with Jacob but could not overcome him -- what is this verse saying? -- what are we supposed to get from this? -- that Jacob was stronger than God?

            -- no, what this is saying is that Jacob was fighting God with everything he had and was refusing to submit himself to the Lord -- God was telling Jacob what He wanted Jacob to do and showing him who He wanted Jacob to become and Jacob was saying, "No -- I don't want that -- I want something else"

            -- some people are tough cases, and it takes a lot to break them -- it takes a lot to get them to surrender their will to God’s

 

-- God was wrestling with Jacob to bring him to submission -- to bend his will into alignment with God’s will -- God was wrestling with Jacob to get him to quit trusting in his own strength and scheming and plans and to trust and obey God in all things

            -- as Jacob wrestled with the Man by the river that night, Jacob thought he was fighting for his physical life -- in reality, this was a fight about his spiritual life -- Jacob’s body and will were strong -- and he fought with God until daybreak -- he refused to give up

-- eventually, God touched his thigh and put it out of joint -- touching the thigh was to humble him and make him powerless and aware of his own weakness -- at any point during the fight, God could have done that -- God could have destroyed Jacob at any moment with just a touch -- He could have reached out and broken Jacob’s body and spirit and will -- but God didn’t want to overpower Jacob in that way -- He wanted Jacob to voluntarily submit and yield to Him in humbleness and faith, the same way He wants us to come to Him on our own free will

 

            -- but God did what He had to do to get Jacob to the point of decision -- you see, God had a plan for Jacob's life that was greater than Jacob’s plan -- He had a plan for Jacob's life that would affect the spiritual life of all creation for all eternity -- Jesus was to come from Jacob’s family, but to bring it to bear, Jacob had to change -- he had to submit -- he had to follow God and God’s will -- he had to change who he was -- so, finally, God reached out and touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of socket

            -- God will do what He has to do to reach us and to change us into the people He wants us to be -- and if that means we have to suffer pain in our lives -- if that means we have to go through trial and tribulation in order to turn to God like Jacob or grow more mature in our faith, then God will do it

            -- He will never force His will upon us, but He will lead us to the point where our choice becomes clear -- just as He did with Jacob here in this passage

 

            -- verse 26

 

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

 

            -- we read that the Man told Jacob to let Him go, because it was almost daybreak -- God will not contend with us forever -- He will wrestle with us and lead us to the point of decision, but eventually we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or not

            -- when God showed Jacob his true weakness by touching his hip, Jacob reached that point of decision -- he finally submitted to God and realized that true blessings don’t come through our own scheming and planning -- they don't come through deceit and cheating -- we can’t create lasting blessings in our life -- true blessings only come from God

-- when God broke Jacob’s reliance on self, his fear of failure in life gave way to faith -- by surrendering to God, Jacob realized that he had actually won -- by putting his faith and trust in God for his life and his future, Jacob would be okay -- things would work out -- and, so, Jacob clings to God and won’t let Him go

-- these verses reminded me of the way Mary Magdalene held onto Jesus after the resurrection and refused to let Him go -- she was so in love with Him and so happy to see Him again that she just could not bear to be parted from Him -- she grabbed Him and held Him close and refused to let Him go until Jesus finally had to see, “release Me, for I have yet to ascend to the Father”

 

-- when you come to know God in a real and personal way, you can’t help but hold onto to Him with all that you have and all that you are -- Jacob had known God for twenty years, but God had never reigned in his life until this moment -- and now Jacob is holding on to God for dear life

-- as Dave Guzik put it, “Jacob was reduced to the place where all he could do was to hold on to the LORD with everything he had. Jacob could not fight anymore, but he could hold on. That is not a bad place to be.”

 

            -- Jacob says he won’t let God go until He blesses him -- and God looks at Jacob and asks a curious question, "What is your name?"

            -- several years ago, we had a Major who was working temporarily in our squadron -- he came through the Environmental section one day and walked up to me and said, “Who are you?” -- I told him who I was and what I did -- and he turned from me to my coworker and said, “and who are you?”

            -- it was all rather strange -- but it was his way of getting to know us -- not just our names -- but who we were -- what we did -- how we contributed to the squadron and the military mission

            -- God looks at Jacob here and asks him that same question -- “Who are you? -- What is your name?” -- and Jacob is forced to reply, “My name is deceit -- my name is schemer -- my name is heel-grabber” -- it was God’s way of getting Jacob to confess who he had been -- it was God’s way of getting the truth into the open -- of leading Jacob to the point of true repentance so that forgiveness could flow

 

            -- and as soon as Jacob confessed his past sins by telling God his name, God poured out His grace into Jacob’s life -- God said, “that is who you were, but your name will no longer be Jacob -- instead you will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome”

            -- when Jacob wrestled with God and eventually submitted his will to God, Jacob began the process of repentance and forgiveness and sanctification -- he began to change into the person God had called him to become

-- and, as a result, God’s blessing was to change his name to reflect this spiritual change in Jacob’s life -- he goes from being "the deceiver" to becoming "Israel" -- one who struggles with God and who is on the way to righteousness

            -- with that blessing, Jacob was no more -- Israel had been born -- a new name -- a new life -- a new person -- a new future

 

-- in verse 29, Jacob asks God, “tell me your name” -- this is significant, because at this point, Jacob was desiring more of God, not more from God like he had in his earlier life -- he wants to know who God is

            -- but God doesn't give His name to Jacob -- the name by which we know God comes through experience -- and God didn't want Jacob to define Him only through this one event -- God wanted Jacob's walk with Him to be one of revelation and discovery, not one of tradition -- He didn't want Jacob to only know Him as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but to come to know Him as his own personal God

            -- in my own life I have known God as provider, protector, savior, king, lord, leader, creator, and many more -- it was up to Jacob to come to know God as God led him down the path of righteousness -- just as it is up to us to learn who God is as He leads us each down our own paths

 

            -- verse 30

 

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- Jacob recognized this site as a holy place -- as the place where he wrestled with God and saw Him face-to-face and lived -- and as the sun rose above him, Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and began a new life with God

            -- one thing to note here is that as Jacob left, he limped because of the hip that was stricken -- although Jewish scholars say God eventually healed him, we are not told this in the Bible, and we have to assume that Jacob limped the rest of his life -- a physical reminder of an inward and spiritual grace that changed him forever -- and a testimony to all who saw him

            -- we always bear the scars of our paths in life -- some are physical, like Jacob's, while others are hidden and emotional or spiritual scars -- but they serve as reminders to us of God's presence and of His grace that doesn't give up on us when we fall and fail

 

IV.  Closing

            -- although Jacob began as a deceiver -- although he cheated and lied and did whatever he could to get ahead -- still God did not give up on him -- and that's encouraging to me -- because if God can reach down and change a deceiver into an overcomer like Jacob -- if He can reach down and change a murderer into an evangelist like Paul -- if He can reach down and change a denier of the faith into an apostle and elder like Simon Peter -- then He can reach down and change me into the person He wants me to be, too -- He can do the same for you, too

            -- the path to blessings comes through repentance and forgiveness -- it comes with a searching of the soul and wrestling in the dark of the night -- it comes when we finally can say and mean the words Jesus spoke in prayer that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, “No my will, but thine be done”

 

            -- as we leave here this morning, I want you to take a moment and consider where you are with God -- are you where you need to be? -- are you the person God wants you to be? -- are you struggling and wrestling with Him about your faith or about a decision or direction He wants you to take?

            -- and let me encourage you to get alone -- to find a place where you can be quiet and alone with God -- whether that’s high on a mountainside or by the banks of a river or in your quiet place at home -- find that place and cry out to God -- wrestle with Him if you must -- but seek Him and find Him and come to know Him and obey Him as Jacob did

            -- let us pray

SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 2

 Naylor Community Christian Church, Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-18

 

Ephesians 6:10 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.

 

            -- a few years ago, Paige Winter and her family were on vacation at the beach in North Carolina -- she was standing in waist deep water with her father -- just talking and enjoying the sunshine and the waves hitting their bodies -- when, all of a sudden, Paige disappeared

            -- at first, her father thought she was playing, but then he realized what had happened -- a shark had grabbed Paige and pulled her under the surface

            -- without pausing, her father immediately went on the offensive -- he dove under and attacked the shark -- punching it in the face over and over -- five times -- until it finally released Paige and swam off

            -- he helped his daughter to shore and got her to the hospital, where they unfortunately had to amputate her leg above the knee, along with several fingers because of her injuries

            -- in the media interviews that followed, the family praised the father’s efforts because the situation could have been much worse -- without his quick intervention, Paige would likely have been killed

            -- but thankfully, her father was there and ready to take action when something threatened his family¹

 

-- thinking about this story of Paige Winters and her attack by the shark, I couldn’t help but think about the dangers that surround all of us in our daily lives

-- just like her, we can be having the greatest time in our life -- standing there in peaceful, calm waters and enjoying life with family and friends -- when, all of a sudden, we are attacked and pulled under the water and left fighting for our lives -- maybe not against an attacking shark -- but against spiritual enemies who are even more dangerous to our eternal lives

 

-- this morning, we are continuing the message, “Walking with Jesus in Spiritual Warfare,” that we began last week -- this is the last message in the “Walking with Jesus” series from the Book of Ephesians that we have been going through

-- last week, we looked at what spiritual warfare is -- focusing on verse 12 from this passage, where the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are in a supernatural struggle with a spiritual enemy who is trying to do everything he can to keep us from growing in Christ and to keep others from coming to Christ for salvation

-- and Paul tells us that our situation is similar to Paige Winters’ situation -- we can’t see our spiritual enemies with our fleshly eyes -- we look around us and everything seems calm and peaceful -- but underneath, this enemy lurks, seeking to devour us and to lead us astray

-- we talked about the forms that spiritual warfare take -- from spiritual harassment and spiritual oppression against God’s people to include even physical and mental anguish and even sickness and disease, in some cases -- and we talked about how demon possession of unbelievers still occurred on occasion in our day, and how Christians are protected from possession because of the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling us

-- so, this morning, I want us to spend some time considering when spiritual attacks are most likely to occur and how we can counter them with God’s mighty power and in His strength

 

II.  Predicting Spiritual Attacks

            -- when our spiritual enemies attack us, it happens just like a shark attack -- sudden and immediate and deadly -- but unlike a shark attack, we can be aware that we are in imminent danger and take steps to avoid being attacked by our spiritual enemies and to be ready when such an attack occurs

 

            -- look back at verse 10-11

 

Ephesians 6:10 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.

 

            -- so, Paul tells us here to get ready -- to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and to put on His full armor, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes -- it’s that idea of the devil’s schemes that I want you to think about

 

            -- the devil has a plan -- he schemes against us -- as Peter put it in 1 Peter 5:8, our enemy is like a roaring lion -- going about looking for someone to devour -- scheming and planning how he can take us down and keep us from our walk with Christ

            -- and while the spiritual attacks that come against us are individual in nature and are designed specifically against us to take us down, there is a method in the madness -- there is a pattern to the devil’s schemes -- he has been attacking humans since the garden of Eden, and his methods and his schemes follow a similar pattern -- like a shark in the ocean, he is looking for an opportune time and an opportune occasion in which to attack

 

            -- the first danger point occurs when we first come to Christ -- new Christians are especially susceptible to spiritual attacks -- as babes in Christ, they haven’t taken in enough of God’s word and haven’t learned enough about God’s strength and power made manifest to them through the Holy Spirit to stand up against an attack by the devil

            -- that’s why the attrition rate among new Christians is so high -- that’s why you hear of so many people who have an experience with Christ -- who come to the altar and lay their lives down and ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior -- who just a short time later turn away -- who give up and go back to their old lives -- because they weren’t ready to defend against the attacks of the devil

-- that's why we need to make sure and follow up with new Christians and to disciple them in their faith as soon as possible -- we can't leave them out there alone to face an enemy that they are not prepared to face -- we have to help them and make them aware of the reality of spiritual warfare early in their Christian life

-- we have to be like the buffalo -- when wolves attack a buffalo herd, the wolves seek out the weak and the sick and the injured -- they seek out the young and the vulnerable -- and concentrate their attack there -- and if they can scatter the herd, they can easily pick off those who are left behind

-- but if the buffalo are ready -- if they are led by older animals who have experience with predator attacks -- they know what to do when the wolves come -- rather than breaking and running and leaving the weaker individuals on their own, they form a phalanx against them -- they put the young and the weak and the vulnerable in the middle -- and they face out against the enemy with their heads down and their horns visible -- daring the wolves to attack -- and keeping the most vulnerable safe from danger

-- that is what we must do as the church -- that is what we see told to us throughout scripture -- Paul told Titus to have the older women teach the younger women and train them up in the way they should go -- in the same way, he said the older men should be examples to the younger -- and that Titus himself should set them an example by doing what is good -- by teaching them the way of Christ -- and showing them how to live lives of integrity and how to say “no” to ungodliness and spiritual temptations

-- all of us who have been Christians for some time should find someone new in the faith -- not necessarily someone younger than us, because older people may be new in their faith, as well -- we need to find them and disciple them and mentor them and stand with them, so we can help them stand against the devil’s schemes and his attacks

 

-- the second danger point -- the second moment when we are more vulnerable to spiritual attacks is when we are going through trials and troubles -- when we are afflicted with life

-- not everything that happens to us is a spiritual attack -- some things happen just because we live in a fallen world and some things happen as a consequence of our actions and our sins

-- but when we are weak and already down -- when we are struggling with life or with spiritual issues -- when there’s sickness or death in our family -- that's a time when Satan likes to step in to deliver the coup de grace -- what better time to attack than when we are already spiritually weak?

-- we need to know that those times are dangerous -- we need to be aware of that in the lives of those around us -- and we need to step in and take care of them when they are most in danger

 

-- the third time we are vulnerable to spiritual attack is when we have achieved some notable success in spiritual things -- maybe we're taking up a new spiritual discipline -- maybe we're really growing in our spiritual lives -- maybe we've helped lead someone to the Lord -- or maybe we've exercised our spiritual gifts

-- remember as a kid when we used to play “king of the mountain” on the playground? -- and how easy it was for someone to knock us from our lofty position?

-- when we're at the height of the mountain, that's a good time to expect Satan to step in and try to take us down -- that's why we see so many successful pastors and church leaders fall -- it's because they've had some spiritual success and Satan has targeted them for destruction

-- if you’ve really been growing in your spiritual walk -- if you’re experiencing spiritual highs in your life -- be careful -- pay attention -- and keep your eyes open for any spiritual attacks that may come your way

-- as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:12,” if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”

 

-- the final way we are vulnerable to spiritual attack is when we are idle in our faith and isolated from others who share our faith -- when we’re not staying in the Word and not praying on a regular basis -- when we miss church and miss our faith communities and find ourselves more in the world than in the Way

-- it’s so easy for Satan to get to us during these times -- just a little push -- a little distraction -- a little temptation -- and we’ll reach for the trap like a kid reaching for a sucker -- we’ll give in and turn away from Christ and fall back in our faith

-- when you don’t feel like reading the Bible -- when you don’t feel like praying or being around God’s people -- watch out -- because you’re treading on thin ice and the bottom may soon give way

-- if you were Satan, who would you rather come against? -- the church of God, united together and standing firm against his attack -- or a lone person standing out there by themselves -- it just makes sense that someone who isn't coming to church or meeting with other Christians is vulnerable to attack

-- we need to be on the lookout for our brothers and sisters who haven’t been joining together with other believers for worship and life -- it is our responsibility to watch out for them and to protect them by standing alongside them -- if they won't come to church, then we need to be the church for them

 

            -- so, those are the four times when we have to be careful about spiritual attacks -- these are the times when it is likely for Satan to attack us and to try to bring us down and divert us from our Christian walk -- watch yourself and those around you in times like these, and be ready to stand against the devil’s schemes when they occur

            -- pay attention to your own personal lives and try to identify the times when you experience spiritual attacks -- is it when you are alone? -- with a crowd? -- on vacation? -- in a motel? -- certain times of the day or certain seasons? -- think about when you are most tempted -- when you are most distracted or diverted from your faith -- and know that that is when the devil has determined it is the best time to personally attack you -- and stand firm and get ready before those times occur

 

III.  Spiritual Defense

            -- so, we know what spiritual warfare is -- we know when it is likely to occur -- now, what do we do about it?

 

            -- the first thing to keep in mind is what Paul tells us in verse 12 -- look back at that verse

 

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.

 

            -- our struggle is never against flesh and blood -- it is never against another person -- they are not our enemy, although they may be used by our enemy -- remember that that rude person that is attacking you -- that person who is hostile to your faith -- that person who is under your skin -- they’re pawns in a spiritual battle -- they’re not your enemy -- so, don’t take the battle to them -- take the battle to the real enemy behind them

-- and since our enemy is not flesh and blood, our weapons and our defenses against them cannot be physical, either -- hold your place here and turn over to 2 Corinthians 10 with me or listen as I read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

-- Paul tells us here that we are not to wage war as the world wages war -- the weapons that we fight with are the weapons of Christ -- the Word of Christ -- the Love of Christ -- the Peace of Christ -- the Forgiveness of Christ -- against these, the enemy cannot stand -- against these, the enemy is powerless

-- Paul says here that these weapons have divine power -- the very power of God -- to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God -- you can think of strongholds as Satan’s castles -- as his forts -- as the places where his power and influence stand greatest -- but even these are no match to the power of God

-- Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against us, referring to these strongholds and places of satanic power in this world

-- notice that this battle is fought in the mind -- that it is a battle of thoughts that come against us -- those whispers of temptation that cause us to doubt -- that lead us astray -- that cause us to sin -- to defeat these spiritual attacks from Satan, we take these thoughts captive -- we make them obedient to Christ -- that means that we counter these false thoughts and temptations by wielding the sword of the Spirit -- the word of God against it -- by letting the Holy Spirit call to mind God’s scriptures to counter what the devil is saying

-- think of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness -- every time the devil tried to tempt Him, Jesus countered by saying, “It is written” and then He would quote scripture -- this is how we take every thought captive, by defeating it with the word of God -- but that means that we must know the word of God and have it hidden within us, ready to be used when the battle comes

 

-- go back now to Ephesians 6 and let’s finish up -- Ephesians 6:13

 

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.

 

-- the key to success in spiritual warfare is to not depend on yourself but on the power of God -- on our own, we will fail -- on our own, we have no chance against the devil and his schemes -- but when we stand in the mighty power of God -- when we are arrayed against the devil in God’s full armor -- the victory is certain

 

            -- the first piece of armor that he mentions here is the belt of truth -- the belt was the foundation of a Roman soldier's armor -- the belt secured the other armor and held it in place -- it was used to cinch down the armor -- it was where the sword was carried -- without the belt you could not fight -- it is foundational -- so the first piece of armor that we are told to take up is the belt of truth

            -- remember who our enemy is -- remember how he is described in scripture -- in John 8:44, Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of lies

            -- there is nothing more insidious than someone who lies -- someone who uses just enough truth to hide their deception and who want people to believe something that is not true so they will do what they want them to do

            -- how do you fight a lie? -- how do you come against false teaching and false beliefs? -- you combat lies with the truth

 

-- the next piece of armor that we are told to take up is the breastplate of righteousness -- the breastplate for a Roman soldier was analogous to the Kevlar vest worn by police officers -- the breastplate covered the heart and the vital organs

-- this is symbolically putting on the righteousness of Christ to protect our spiritual hearts -- one thing that we always need to keep in mind is that apart from Christ, we have no righteousness -- when He died on the cross, the very righteousness of Christ -- the right relationship He had with the Father -- the right lifestyle and holiness that He possessed -- His right way of living -- was transferred to us

-- by taking up the breastplate of righteousness, we are taking up Christ -- we are putting Him on -- we are standing firm in a righteousness and a holiness that is not our own -- but that was given to us to protect us from evil

 

-- here we're told to fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace -- what Paul was envisioning here was the footwear that the Roman soldiers wore when they headed into battle -- more like boots than sandals, with cleats to help the soldiers maintain their position on slippery ground and they laced all the way up the shins to protect the lower legs of the soldiers from the enemy’s weapons

-- we all need to put on shoes -- we all need to protect our feet -- our Christian walk -- our Christian witness -- but we need to wear shoes that fit us and us alone -- relying on our personal spiritual gifts and talents and abilities to stand against the devil

 

-- in verse 16, Paul writes: "in addition to all this" -- King James says "above all" -- take up the shield of faith

-- it all comes down to faith -- that’s the great principle that Paul gives us in this letter -- Ephesians 2:8-9:  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- faith leads to salvation -- faith leads to walking with Christ -- faith leads to believing the truth -- faith informs our Christian lives

-- Paul likens our faith to the shield that the Roman soldiers used to protect them during battle -- the Roman shields were large -- a soldier could hide behind them and keep all parts of his body protected -- the Romans would also link shield together -- forming what they called a phalanx -- an impenetrable wall of protection -- that would keep the entire army from being overrun

 

-- the next piece in our armor is the helmet of salvation -- the helmet of salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy and enables us to get back up when we fall -- the helmet of salvation makes us sure of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins

-- it protects our minds from the thoughts and the temptations that demons whisper to us -- and it helps us to take those thoughts captive in the power of Christ when they come

 

-- this next piece of armor -- the sword of the Spirit -- is both defensive and offensive -- it not only protects us from the devil's schemes, but it can be wielded with great power to regain the ground that the enemy has taken

-- the sword of the Spirit is the word of God -- there is no doubt about this -- you need to know this Bible -- like I said earlier, you need to learn the word of God and make it a part of you in order to protect yourself and to do what God has called you to do    

-- The Greek word that we translate as "word" here is "Rhema" -- a Rhema refers to a specific word or "saying" -- In this case, it means a specific portion of God's written revelation -- John 3:16 is an example of a rhema

-- when Paul says we are to take up the rhema of God, he is saying that we should use Scripture to defend ourselves and to resist the devil in our spiritual battles

 

-- and, finally, we are told to pray -- and while this is not comparable to a physical piece of armor, it is the glue that holds it all together -- because through prayer, we engage the very person of Jesus Christ -- in prayer, we call on the power of Heaven and the power of God in our lives and in the lives around us -- in prayer, we stand with a strength and a power that we do not possess on our own and that enables us to defend against all the devil’s schemes and against any way he might try to attack us

 

IV.  Closing

-- A few years ago at a Willow Creek Summit, Jack Groppel, who works with leaders to hone optimum performance, showed two video clips from a recent training event.

-- The first video was of a group of NFL linebackers. When they showed up for some leadership and team training at Groppel's center in south Florida, Groppel had an assignment for them: all the linebackers were to run through the woods on a forest trail to the fence which surrounded the camp -- once they were there, they were to grab a ribbon from the post at the center and come back to the facility

-- Groppel then added one final, important detail -- he told them that a wild boar had been spotted in the forest that morning. He explained how dangerous wild boars can be and how they all needed to be on high alert and ready for danger -- with that warning, these professional athletes -- all men trained and in the best physical shape possible -- took off on a run to get the ribbon off the post

-- Now, in preparation for the activity, Groppel had a cameraman hiding in the bushes along the trail -- and if you watch the video from that training event, you’ll see these massive linebackers come around the bend in the trail, but they’re not looking as confident as before -- they’re shaky -- they’re jumping at every noise -- the fear of the boar had them shaken

-- when the cameraman saw them come around the bend, he began to snort and rustle the bushes -- and immediately, all the football players turned tail and ran, squealing and screaming like schoolgirls

-- Then Groppel showed another video clip -- It was of the same training scenario, only this time it's with CIA operatives -- he gives them the same direction -- warns them about the dangerous boar in the bushes -- and sends them off

-- the CIA members take off, just like the football players did -- but when they come around the bend and hear the cameraman making noises and rustling the bushes, they didn’t turn tail and run -- each of them got into a combat position and held their ground against the potential attack²

            -- what made the difference? -- the CIA operatives were trained -- they were ready -- they were looking for danger -- they expected the attack -- and when they heard the noise in the bushes, they stood their ground

            -- that is exactly the attitude and the character that we need in our lives and in our churches when it comes to spiritual warfare

 

            -- spiritual warfare is real -- our enemies are real -- but that doesn’t mean that we fade away in terror or jump at every noise in the night -- no, we stand firm in faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- we stand firm because we know God stands with us

            -- to sum up how we should approach spiritual warfare in our lives, let me leave you with these four steps:

 

1.  Be aware of your enemy:  Know your enemy is real -- be aware of his schemes -- study the Bible and see how others have been attacked by Satan and his demons and how they either succeeded or failed -- the first step in succeeding in spiritual warfare is to know your enemy and be ready for his attack

 

2.  Be dressed for success:  Make sure the first thing you do in the morning before you face your day is to suit up -- to put on the full armor of God -- to envision yourself putting on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and all the other pieces as you pray and as you get ready to go out -- we succeed in spiritual warfare when we’re covered in the armor of God

 

3.  Be wary in vulnerable moments:  Learn when you are at your most weakest point -- whether that’s when you’re alone in the valley or on a spiritual high -- recognize the times in your life when you have fallen in the past, and guard yourself in the future when those times occur again -- prepare yourself before the battle

 

4.  Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power:  Remember that success only comes when we rely on God and His mighty power -- alone, we can do nothing -- but with God, we can do all things -- we can stand against the devil and his schemes -- we can turn away from temptation and sin in our lives -- and we can grow in grace and become more like Jesus everyday -- but we only do this through faith and trust in His power and not ours

 

-- with that, we’ll close this message and this sermon series -- so, if you would, let’s join in prayer for strength and protection and grace, as we go forward onto the battlefield

-- let’s pray

 

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1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/04/paramedic-dad-punched-shark-five-times-save-his-daughter-who-lost-leg-attack/

2 Source: Mark Buchanan, in the sermon "Courage," PreachingToday.com

 

SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-18

 

Ephesians 6:10 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.

 

-- this morning, we are finishing up our series on “Walking with Jesus” which has been based on Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus -- Paul spent more time with the church in Ephesus than he did in any other church that he planted or visited, so he was heavily invested in their spiritual success -- he wanted to see them become mature in their faith -- to grow in Christ -- and to become as much like Jesus as they could in this life

-- for that reason, the Book of Ephesians is like a mini-course in the basics of Christianity -- it shows us how we are to walk with Jesus in our daily lives so that we might become mature, too -- it’s a good practice to read through Ephesians on a regular basis -- at least once a year -- so that you can refresh yourself on the Lord’s instructions to us through Paul on how to live and walk with Jesus in our daily lives

-- so, in this series, we have talked about walking with Jesus in unity -- in holiness -- in love -- in light -- and in wisdom -- this morning, we’re going to finish up the series by looking at walking with Jesus in spiritual warfare

-- we’ve got a lot of ground to cover this morning, so let’s get right to it

 

II.  What is Spiritual Warfare?

-- spiritual warfare is a concept that doesn’t really get taught in churches a lot -- and for that reason, a lot of people don’t really understand what we mean by the term -- it all goes back to Paul’s instructions to us in this passage

-- if you would, look back with me at verse 10

 

Ephesians 6:10 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.

 

-- Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians on how to walk with Jesus by telling them that they will need to depend on God and His mighty power if they are to be strong in the Lord and live successful spiritual lives

-- all that Paul counseled us to do so far in this epistle -- to walk in unity and holiness and love -- to walk in light and in wisdom -- none of that is possible apart from the power of God in our lives -- we cannot live the life that Christ is calling us to live on our own -- we have to depend on God and His power

-- this power comes to us through Him and is made manifest in our lives by the Holy Spirit who strengthens us and enables us to live for Jesus supernaturally -- and by the term, supernaturally, I mean not relying on natural means to live the Christian life -- not relying on our own strength or willpower or emotions to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord -- but instead relying on the spiritual strength and power that comes to us supernaturally from God Himself

 

-- after telling us that, Paul then reminds us in verse 12 of an important spiritual truth that often gets overlooked -- he says that our struggle -- meaning our struggle to live the Christian life -- our struggle to walk in holiness in a fallen world -- our struggle to live with those who are opposed to Christianity -- our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual entities who come from the heavenly realms

-- what Paul is saying here is that we have a spiritual enemy who is actively fighting against us in our daily lives -- in other words, we have a spiritual enemy who is trying to do everything he can to keep us from growing in Christ and to keep others from coming to Christ for salvation -- and while we can’t see him with our fleshly eyes, this enemy is real and the battle rages all around us

-- when Paul speaks in verse 12 about the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm, he is referring to these spiritual enemies -- to Satan and his hierarchy of followers

 

-- I know that a lot of people in our day and age don't believe in Satan -- many think the devil was a myth that was invented by the church to keep people in line -- or they think that this was just the way that the ancient people used to describe those who had a mental illness or epilepsy or some other type of debilitating disease

-- but the Bible says that Satan is real -- Jesus Himself said that Satan was real -- in Luke 10:18, Jesus said that He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven -- and we know the biblical accounts of Satan and his activities throughout the Old and the New Testaments, including the tempting of Jesus in the wilderness after His baptism and the various accounts of demonic possession

-- Satan was originally created as the angel Lucifer -- and the Bible indicates that he was one of the highest ranking angels and led the worship to God in heaven -- but because of his pride and desire to become God himself, he chose to rebel against God and was cast out of heaven with his followers -- in Revelation 12:4, it says that one-third of the angels fell with Satan -- these are the rulers and authorities and powers that Paul is talking about here in verse 12 -- these are the spiritual entities that we more commonly call demons

 

-- when we talk about spiritual warfare, we are referring to any spiritual harassment or oppression that comes from Satan and his demons against humans, but especially against the people of God

-- spiritual warfare does include demon possession, which is often described in the New Testament, and which does occur in our day and age -- although not as common as it did in New Testament times, apparently -- but it is real and it does happen

 -- and before you start to get worried, let me give you an assurance here -- demons cannot possess a Christian who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit

-- if you've been in church at all during your life, at some point you've heard someone say, "there's a God-shaped hole in our hearts that can only be filled by God"

-- that's partially true -- all humans have a place in our bodies that was created to be filled by God's Holy Spirit -- but in the absence of the Spirit, that place can be filled by something else, and that's how demons get into a person

-- if that God-shaped hole is empty -- if a person has not received Jesus as Lord and Savior and received the Holy Spirit -- then something else can fill that spot

-- but if that place is filled with the Holy Spirit, then nothing else can come in -- so, Christians are protected from demon possession because that God-shaped hole is permanently filled with the very presence of God -- no other spirit can come in, although Christians can still be harassed or affected by demons in other ways

 

-- let me expand on demon possession before we leave this thought -- demon possession is real -- it is not common -- but it does happen -- on occasion, demons can enter into the body of nonbelievers and exert control over a person's thoughts and behaviors

-- in my experience and based on my conversations with others, when we see someone here in this country that is possessed by a demon, they don’t look like the girl in the movie, “The Exorcist” -- they’re not floating over their bed and turning their head all the way around and screaming obscenities and vomiting on priests -- the possession manifests in different ways

-- the demons influence the possessed person’s thoughts and emotions and behaviors and gets them to do things that harm their lives -- sometimes physically -- always spiritually

-- but you wouldn’t know that they were possessed just by looking at them -- in all likelihood, at some point in your life, you have seen people that have been possessed by a demon, and you didn’t know it -- for all intents and purposes, they looked and acted normal -- but that demonic presence was still there inside them, impacting their lives and the lives of those around them

-- so, I want you to be clear on this -- demonic possession does occur, but only in unbelievers who do not have the Holy Spirit within them -- believers are protected from demonic possession by the Spirit and by God’s mighty power

-- and it’s not that common -- don’t leave here and start thinking everybody you come into contact with is possessed -- that’s not what I’m saying -- demon possession does happen -- it is real -- but it is not that common

-- rather than worrying about others and thinking that everyone around you has a demon, I would encourage you to think about yourself first -- make sure that you are a true believer in Christ -- that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- that you have put your faith and trust in Him and asked Him to come into your life and to forgive you of your sin and that you have the Holy Spirit within you -- then you don’t have to worry about demon possession at all

-- the bottom-line is that unless you’re one of the people that God has called to minister specifically to those with demon possession, don’t concern yourself with it -- don’t worry about demon possession -- just make sure you are in a right relationship with God and that you have the Holy Spirit within you and focus on growing in grace and becoming who He has called you to be

 

            -- okay, now that I have scared half of you and got the rest thinking I’m as crazy as a loon, let’s move on

-- so, the Bible makes it clear that we are sometimes beset by spiritual foes -- the rulers and authorities and powers that Paul is talking about here -- so, when that happens, what does that look like?

 

-- in most instances, spiritual attacks are going to be subtle -- you won’t even realize you’re being attacked -- the demon’s intent is to deceive you or distract you or to discourage you from your walk with Christ -- sometimes they try to tempt you into sin -- they can’t cause you to sin, but as Paul says here, they scheme against us -- they can whisper tempting thoughts into our minds or arrange circumstances that tempt us to give into sin

-- let me give you an example of a very common scheme in the devil’s playbook -- how many of you have ever gotten sleepy when you try to read the Bible? -- how many of you have ever gotten up -- wide awake -- ready for the day -- and you pull out your Bible to have a moment with God -- and all of a sudden you get sleepy -- or you get hungry -- or you start to think about things you need to do right that moment? -- has that ever happened to you? -- I’m sure it has -- you’ve experienced a spiritual attack

 

-- I have felt this unnatural fatigue more than once -- at Bible study or in worship -- it is something that I have become aware of and when it happens, I know I’m under a spiritual attack -- and I’m not the only one who experiences this

-- Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch evangelist who wrote the book, "The Hiding Place," based on her life experiences hiding Jews during World War II and suffering in the Nazi concentration camps, said that she noticed the very same thing in America

-- she traveled all around the world speaking and telling people about Jesus, and she said that when she came to America, the moment she set foot on American soil, her body was filled with fatigue -- a heaviness wrapped around her and she felt sleepy -- but this would lift as she prayed and asked God for strength and protection -- she said that this fatigue was a spiritual attack against her

-- this is an example of the subtle types of attacks the enemy makes trying to keep us from spending time with God or sharing His word with others -- this is an example of spiritual warfare in your life

 

-- spiritual harassment is another type of spiritual attack that we see from Satan and his demons -- spiritual harassment is more direct -- it’s when circumstances or things or people start disrupting you when you are trying to serve the Lord or spend time with Him

 

-- we read about spiritual harassment in the Book of Acts, Acts 16:16-24 -- when Paul and Silas were ministering in Philippi, a slave girl who was possessed with an evil spirit started following them around -- everywhere they went, she would yell, “these men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” -- which sounds good, but her constant presence and yelling distracted everyone and kept them from listening to Paul

-- have you ever seen a street preacher yelling and preaching before? -- what did you do? -- in all likelihood, you avoided them because it was uncomfortable, even as a believer

-- that’s what was going on with this slave girl -- her yelling behind Paul and Silas was distracting -- it got the attention of the authorities and people avoided Paul and Silas -- finally, Paul cast the demon from her and ended up in jail because of it -- Satan obviously thought by doing that he would keep Paul and Silas from preaching in the city

-- this is an example of how Satan tries to harass us to keep us from doing what God has called us to do

 

-- I’ve seen this in my own life -- I was meeting one-on-one with a disciple at Chick-Fil-A several years ago

-- we were sitting in a booth by ourselves -- there wasn’t another soul in the whole restaurant -- but as soon as we opened the Bible and began to read, every single seat around us filled up, even though the rest of the place was mostly vacant

-- the people around us started to talk and laugh loudly to the point that we couldn't hear each other when we spoke -- and then, believe it or not, at one point when I tried to read a Bible passage out loud, the table next to us began to sing -- eight guys started singing, out loud, in the middle of Chick-fil-a

-- if you haven’t noticed yet, I sometimes struggle to hear when it’s noisy or when there’s a lot of background noise around me -- so, finally, I called it quits -- I told my disciple that we were going to have to leave and we’d just meet again later -- just as soon as we closed our Bibles and got up to leave, those guys stopped singing and everybody got quiet -- Satan had accomplished his goal of preventing us from meeting that day by harassing us and distracting us from what we were trying to do

 

-- these types of spiritual attacks are so very common -- I see them all the time -- that’s why I started telling people to get prepared when they try to open their Bibles and spend time with the Lord -- as soon as you do that, the distractions are going to start -- phone's going to ring or you’re going to get a text -- someone will knock at the door or something will break or something else is going to happen -- these are all spiritual attacks -- Satan and his demons trying to keep us from doing God's work

-- attacks like these -- deceit -- distraction -- harassment -- spiritual fatigue -- these are the most common -- but not all spiritual attacks are this innocuous -- spiritual attacks range from minor distractions like the one I experienced at Chick-Fil-A, all the way to major attacks against Christians and their families, including physical and mental anguish and even sickness and disease

 

-- so, spiritual attacks on Christians are real and common -- these do happen on a regular basis -- and if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you should be aware of these because I guarantee you have experienced them

-- the next step is for us to identify when these spiritual attacks are most likely to occur and how we can counter them with God’s mighty power and in His strength

-- unfortunately, I have run out of time for this morning -- so, it looks like I am going to need to continue this message next week to sum up this topic of walking with Jesus in spiritual warfare

 

III.  Closing

-- as we close, I do want you to take a moment to think about what we have talked about today -- spiritual warfare and spiritual attacks from our enemies are all too real -- they can affect our walk with Jesus -- they can hinder our mission and our ministry -- they can divide us and influence us and cause us to stray from the path of Christ

 

-- but when it comes to spiritual warfare, we need to be careful not to fall into two extremes:

-- the first is not believing that Satan and demons exist -- there’s a lot of people in our world today that dismiss spirituality and religion -- that don’t believe in God or Jesus -- and there’s just as many that don’t believe that Satan and his demons are real -- even Christians, especially those in more progressive and liberal denominations, tend to dismiss the accounts in the Bible about Satan or demonic activity or any supernatural event

-- as we’ve said, Satan and his demons do exist and the Bible identifies them as our spiritual enemies who actively influence our lives to try to keep us from becoming mature in our faith -- I hope today’s message has helped dispel this extreme and that you don’t leave here today thinking that there is no such thing as Satan or a demon

-- which brings us to the second extreme consideration in spiritual warfare, which is making a mountain out of the demonic -- thinking there’s a demon under every bush and that the devil is behind every tree -- some people go through life thinking that every bad thing that happens is because the devil did it

-- some of us are old enough to remember the comedian Flip Wilson’s tag line -- “The devil made me do it” -- and this type of thinking can be a trap for us to avert personal responsibility in our lives and to try to blame everything that goes wrong on the devil

-- so, while the Bible makes it clear that we have a spiritual enemy who tries to impact our lives, not everything that happens to us is because of demonic activity -- some things happen because we are fallen humans living in a fallen world and some of the things that happen to us are the consequence of our own actions or the actions of those around us -- some things happen because this is the natural course of events

-- if I don’t pay attention and trip going down the stairs today, it’s not because a demon pushed me -- it’s my own fault -- and I need to take responsibility for that

-- bad things happen -- and sometimes, bad things happen to good people -- it’s a fact of life -- but that doesn’t mean the devil made it happen -- keep this in mind:  spiritual attacks are primarily attacks on your faith and on your walk with Jesus -- so, things outside of this -- like falling down the stairs -- are probably because you weren’t paying attention or something was wrong with the stairs -- it is almost certain that falling down the stairs is not a demonic attack -- just to be sure, I’m going to take the ramp when I leave here today...

 

-- so, be careful of falling into either of the two extremes -- thinking that demons don’t exist or that there is not another supernatural and spiritual reality around us -- and thinking that everything is the result of demons

-- the truth is somewhere in the middle -- and we need to be discerning in our evaluation of what is going on and not blame someone else, including Satan and his demons, for things that are our own fault

 

-- the thing I want you to leave here knowing this morning is that spiritual attacks and spiritual warfare is a reality -- it’s something that we need to be aware of -- but we can’t let it encompass our lives or our thinking

-- always remember that we have an advocate in the Holy Spirit who dwells within us -- who works in our lives to empower us to counter the devil’s schemes and his attacks when they come

-- and our response should be to step out in faith in God and in His mighty power and strength to help us where our flesh fails

-- so, next week, we’ll try to finish up our thoughts on spiritual warfare -- and I hope to see you here

-- as a reminder, if you missed any of the messages from this series, you can find the videos and a link to the sermon transcripts on our Facebook Page for Naylor Community Christian Church

-- with that, let’s close in prayer -- let’s pray