Preached by Gregory W. Lee
1 June 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 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.
-- in the letter to the church of Pergamum in Revelation Chapter 2, Jesus tells the church that He knows where they live -- in the very place where Satan has his throne
-- the same could easily be said about East Portland, Oregon just a few years ago -- in this suburb of Portland, Satan's presence was not only real, it was visible -- drug crimes and prostitution were rampant -- gangs abounded -- and residents feared walking in their own neighborhoods
-- but one church decided that enough was enough -- in 2004, the Eastside Foursquare Church -- a new church with only 60 members -- decided to purchase, renovate, and run "a dilapidated hotel with a history of crime" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
-- wading into the very heart of the darkness, members found themselves face-to-face with the evil and the criminal activities that had taken place at the hotel site -- "they had just taken possession of the city's center of prostitution and methamphetamine distribution" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
-- but that changed quickly -- through the faithful actions of the members of this church, this hotel became a lighthouse of redemption, salvation, and peace in that area -- spreading God's love across the region in a tangible way -- rescuing people locked in addiction -- providing hope and jobs for people struggling to make a living in that depressed community -- and introducing people to the transformed life that is possible through Christ Jesus
-- shortly after the church had renovated and relocated to the hotel, it received a letter from the Portland police department that read, "We just want to thank the church -- they did in six months what the city could not do in 10 years" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
II. Satan's Spiritual Strongholds
-- this is an amazing story of how Christ's people -- empowered by the Spirit within them -- can stand up to evil and make a difference in their community
-- it is not secret that there are places in our communities that are hotbeds of criminal activity just like in East Portland -- I've had cops tell me that they know of areas that they can go to at any time and find illegal activity going on -- they say they could spend their whole career in those neighborhoods -- arresting people -- sending people to jail -- and never make a difference
-- cities -- especially big cities -- literally spend millions of dollars each year fighting crime in these areas -- but they rarely see any results -- at best, they just keep the crime and the violence and the murder contained in those areas -- and they just try to defend the rest of the city
-- the reason why these competent, well-trained men and women in law enforcement can't make a difference is because they are not fighting the right enemy -- they are only attacking the problem on the surface and are not getting at the root of the problem
-- the problem is not physical -- it is spiritual -- look back at this verse
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.
-- there's an old saying that says, "Behind every good man is a good woman" -- based on the teachings of the Bible, we could say, "Behind every bad man is an evil spiritual force" -- what Paul is referring to in this passage is something called a "spiritual stronghold"
-- if you were to look at a topographic map of Jerusalem, you would quickly discover that the highest point in the city is the southwestern hill -- a landmark currently known as the "Tower of David" -- if you were to stand on this hill, you would be able to see everything that goes on in all directions -- you would have a commanding view of the surrounding terrain
-- for this reason, a series of fortifications have been built on this site over the past several thousand years -- fortifications which protected the city of Jerusalem from attack from its stronger neighbors to the west and overlooked and controlled the entire city -- the citadel that currently exists on this hill is protected by a high wall and large towers, and it is surrounded by a deep moat
-- areas like this are known as strongholds because of their strategic importance -- whoever controlled these high places controlled the city, so it was important to fortify them and make them strong enough to repel attacks from enemies -- in fact, the first thing a ruler did when he took over control of Jerusalem was to make sure the fortifications on the southwestern hill were repaired and built up
-- so the purpose of strongholds is pretty straightforward -- they were created for defensive purposes -- to protect important, sensitive areas -- like the city of Jerusalem -- from attack by their enemies -- however, they could also be used as a base of power from which to send forth troops to attack others
-- another good picture of this are the forts that used to exist out west -- think about the old Western movies -- the forts in those movies were built to protect the frontier towns, with log walls surrounding them with spikes at the top -- if the Indians started to attack, they would shut the gate and get inside where they would be safe -- and at other times, the cavalry would rush out of there to attack the Indians
-- the Bible teaches that there are two kinds of spiritual strongholds -- satanic strongholds -- places of evil where Satan controls what is happening -- and Godly strongholds -- places of righteousness, where the Kingdom of God controls what is happening
-- in East Portland, the police tried for years and years to control the crime -- to stop the drug dealing -- to stop the manufacture of meth -- to stop the prostitution and the robbery and the violence -- but they never could make a difference
-- that's because this was a satanic spiritual stronghold -- it was a place of evil -- empowered by the spiritual forces of darkness -- and it was only when the Eastside Foursquare Church moved in and brought Jesus with them, that things began to change
-- what do we do when confronted with evil in our midst -- what do we do when we read in our papers of crime and violence in our streets and in our communities -- do we huddle behind locked doors for fear of our lives? -- do we warn our families not to go near? -- do we look the other way and just pretend that it does not exist?
-- we watched a movie this weekend called, "Blue State" -- it's a satirical look at the last presidential election -- and the basic plot is that a Kerry supporter vows to move to Canada if Bush is elected
-- well, we all know what happens -- Bush was elected -- and this guy decides to honor his vow and move to Canada because he doesn't want to live in a country that re-elected Bush for another four years
-- as the movie shows, that wasn't the right answer -- you can't run from your problems -- you can't go through life in a state of denial, saying that evil doesn't happen here -- you can't just ignore what's going on -- there comes a time when you have to do something about it -- when you have to make a stand
-- Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
-- as Christians, we are called to do something -- we are called to take action -- to do two things -- first, we are called to wage war against the evil spiritual strongholds in our land -- in our state -- in our communities -- and, secondly, we are called to establish Christian spiritual strongholds in their place
-- I want to spend the rest of our time talking about these two calls to action
III. Fighting Against Evil Spiritual Strongholds
-- for far too long, Christians have turned a blind eye to the evil in our communities -- when violence or crime breaks out, we gossip about it -- we debate about it -- but we do nothing
-- "that's what the government's for -- that's why we have cops -- let them handle the problem -- let them take care of it for us" -- but, as we've shown, there is just so much that man can do against the evil in our midst
-- if we truly believe the words of Paul in this verse, then we have to admit that struggling against flesh and blood is not going to solve the problem -- the only way to solve the problem is through waging war against the spiritual forces -- and that's where the church comes in
-- it's time for us to take a stand -- for too long, Satan has been bullying the people of this country -- he's been spreading his evil through our land -- and he's convinced us that he is more powerful that we can ever be
-- he reminds me of the legendary Philip of Macedonia -- when Philip armies threatened to storm the gates of Sparta, he sent a message to the besieged king..."If we capture your city we will burn it to the ground." -- the king of Sparta sent back a one-word answer: "If".
-- it's time we said "enough" to Satan -- it's time we called his bluff and started actively fighting against the spiritual strongholds that he has built up in our communities
-- how do we do this? -- hold your place here and turn over to 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.
6. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
-- we fight fire with fire -- we don't fight evil with the weapons of the world -- we fight evil with the weapons of God -- Paul says that these weapons have divine power -- they have the power of God to demolish strongholds -- to demolish every thing that opposes the Kingdom of God and His righteousness -- to change, not only the behavior, but the very thoughts of the men and women that are caught up in Satan's web
-- flip back over to Ephesians 6 and we'll run through our list of weapons
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.
-- you have heard us mention our missionary friends in Pakistan several times -- the last time we saw them, T. told us about their renting a home in Pakistan -- as they were looking around their new home, they discovered a statue of Buddha in the backyard -- a symbol of the false religions and of the evil strongholds that infect that part of the world
-- so T. and L. anointed the statue with oil and laid hands on it and prayed over it -- then they walked over their property, binding the evil that was there and loosing the presence of God in that place -- and, in that action, their home became a spiritual stronghold of righteousness for God
-- Paul tells us here in this verse that God has given us spiritual weapons with which we can wage war against the evil forces in our land -- spiritual weapons that can demolish satanic strongholds and set up Christian strongholds in our homes and our communities
-- the first of these is truth -- the truth of the gospel -- the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ
-- the second is righteousness -- not our righteousness -- but the righteousness of God working in us and through us to transform lives
-- the third is readiness -- the power to have the word of God ready when we need it -- the power to know that God is with us wherever we wander so that we don't have to fear
-- the fourth is faith -- knowing what we believe -- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see -- when we confront evil -- when we battle these spiritual strongholds of evil -- it may look like evil is winning -- but through faith we are sure that God is working even though we don't necessarily see it at first
-- the fifth is salvation -- the knowledge that your sins have been forgiven and that there is nothing that anyone or anything on this earth can do to you -- as Paul wrote in Romans 8:35-39 -- "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? -- shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? -- no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us -- for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation , will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
-- the sixth weapon is the sword of the Spirit -- the word of the living God -- the word that causes demons to tremble and the darkness to flee
-- and the last is prayer -- the ability to call on God's presence and His power in our lives and in our communities -- to tap into the source of strength that created this universe and to send forth His power to destroy and take captive the evil spiritual strongholds in our land
IV. Closing
-- in Matthew 16:18, Jesus told Peter, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it"
-- for too long, Christians in America have remained huddled in our homes and in our church buildings while Satan has gained stronghold after stronghold in our communities
-- it's time that we did something about it -- it's time that we took back the night -- that we spread the light of Christ in our communities -- and we forced the evil to flee
-- Jesus said that the "gates of Hell would not prevail" -- that implies that Christians were going to take the battle to the very gates of these spiritual strongholds -- they were going to take action -- they were going to wage the weapons of God and they were going to reclaim what the enemy had won
-- we have spiritual strongholds of evil in our community -- and we need to do something about it -- you know where they are -- you know the neighborhoods where they occur -- I want to encourage you this week to begin waging war on these strongholds
-- I want to encourage you to drive or walk through these areas and pray over them as you go -- go with another person if you can -- and pray through the list of spiritual weapons as you go
-- pray for God's truth to overcome any lies that are in those places
-- pray that the evil would be replaced by God's righteousness
-- pray that the gospel would be heard and received by the people in these areas
-- pray that the people would have faith and come to trust in Jesus as their Savior
-- pray that the spiritual forces of evil would be bound by the Word of God and pray that God's Word and His presence would be released in those areas
-- pray that God would protect the men and women of our law enforcement that go into these areas -- and pray that they would be effective in their jobs
-- and watch for God's power to come into those areas and make a difference
-- it doesn't just have to be streets and neighborhoods -- you can pray over parks and playgrounds -- pray over the mailboxes in the post office -- pray over the stores where people shop -- the places where people go in our community
-- I want you to do this with me -- let's do this for the summer -- let's start today -- June 1st -- and let's continue to Labor Day -- and let's see what God can do through our prayers
-- I'm going to close in prayer right now, and I want to invite you to start with me today as we pray against these spiritual strongholds right now
-- let us pray
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