Spiritual Warfare 101 - Shoes of the Gospel of Peace and the Shield of Faith

We’ve been studying the Gospel of Luke and and got as far as Luke 9 when Jesus sends his 12 disciples out to preach the Good News of the Kingdom, heal the sick and cast out demons and realising that as disciples of Jesus too, we will engage in Spiritual Warfare at times in our lives and there is a need for us to be better equipped for these times especially as the battle intensifies leading up to Jesus’s return.

When we look at the things that open doorways to demons, we can easily see that in New Zealand, as in many countries that have abandoned their Christian foundations, we have allowed the Devil in and once again we are in the position of having to suffer to win back lost ground that our forefathers gained.

The Bible says;

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Why are we having to fight Satan if he is a defeated foe? 

Yes, Jesus defeated Satan at the Cross. However, it is our responsibility in our generation to demonstrate and administer the victory of Jesus (The Great Commission). This is what Paul instructed the Church so clearly.

Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

When you become a Christian your enemy changes from being God to being Satan and you enter a cosmic war. When you’re not a Christian, the Devil won’t bother you too often until such point that you are on Death’s Door. He is quite happy for a nonbeliever to be at ease and think he doesn’t exist.

The Bible is a soldier’s manual and provides insight into the Cosmic War we are fighting in every one of us individually and as a Church.

Spiritual Warfare 101 begins with putting on all the parts of the armour of God before we find ourselves at the front line in hand to hand combat with the enemy.

Ephesians 6:14-18

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

I underlined the weapons and point out again that they actually humble and loving in nature. They are harmless to flesh and blood but they stand in opposition to our true enemy who is the opposite in nature to all of them. Can you think of a word to describe the Devil that is the opposite of each of the underlined words? 

Last week we understood we need the weapon of truth against that liar and how Christ’s righteousness protects our heart against Satan’s weapon of guilt by freeing us from the condemnation of the Law.

Let’s continue on to the next two pieces of armour the shoes of the Gospel of Peace and the Shield of Faith. 

Ephesians 6:15-16

and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Roman soldier’s were instructed to sleep with their shoes on. If you were awakened in the night because the enemy was attacking, the last thing you needed was to spend 10 minutes fluffing around in the dark finding your shoes and putting them on. The shoes also had spikes on them so that a soldier wouldn’t slip in combat. 

In order to bring the gospel of peace we need to be ready at all times to share the Gospel in an effective way. We can do this by our testimony and by knowing some key scriptures but we have to take the time to prepare so that when the opportunity arises, and it will, we are fully ready.

Peter said to be ready to provide a reason for why you believe as you do.

1 Peter 3:15

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Could you give your testimony in 3 mins? 

What would you say to give hope to a dying man?

Could you recall scriptures that could lead the person to Christ?

These are questions I ask myself!

Note that the gospel is of peace. Harsh words about sin and judgement will provoke a reaction, that’s a normal human defensive response. But if our delivery of the Gospel is balanced by the overall message of the offer of peace with God through faith in his Son, then it’s possible the hostility is from something darker. 

Jesus said something interesting in his instruction to the 70 disciples he later sent out in the next chapter of Luke;

Luke 10:5-6

But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.

This is using the authority of Jesus to give protection over yourself and the house. Remember we are not fighting flesh and blood. Yet there is nothing to fear as Satan is already defeated and God has promised; 

Isaiah 55:11

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

The Gospel delivered in Peace is a seed that God can use even if at first the person doesn’t appear to have listened.

But if we don’t have peace ourselves, we won’t be able to convince anyone. At least half the impact of any message is dependent on the demeanour and honesty of the person delivering the message. If the demeanour and the message contradict, or the character of the person and the message contradict, then people will have a hard time believing us.

With 1001 things on our mind, anxiety can easily rise up. Anxiety is the real pandemic of our time.

Matthew 6:25

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

God has given us everything we need, that is life, food, drink, a body and clothes. Can you see that is true? God provided all those things for you. And more then that. A home to stay in, a family, friends, simple pleasures like the sun and the ocean and so on. We can see him looking after us over many years, will we trust him for the future. So why are we worried about so many things ? Isn’t it ultimately because we don’t trust the Lord as we should?

And that’s a problem because it is impossible to give 100% to something or someone we don’t believe and have confidence in.

Peace comes from trusting the Lord.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

If Jesus is your focus, if your mind is stayed on Him, you will have peace. If you have the Holy Spirit, you will have peace.

Put on the shoes of peace. Walk in confidence in the Way.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Satan tries to attack us and disturb our peace by causing us to doubt God.

Perhaps the greatest challenge that the atheist throws at the believer is the problem of suffering. It is during life’s darkest moments that Satan attacks us trying to make us doubt God. His call, his promises, his salvation, our understanding of the world itself.

In addition to the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, it says above all take the shield of faith. This affirms faith is a priority as the Bible says.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

There is plenty we can say about faith, Hebrews 11-12 is devoted to the topic of  faith, I don’t need to stress it’s importance. 

But Faith is not only central to our salvation, it is our shield in day to day living and fighting in the war against the Devil. 

The Roman soldier had 2 types of shield. One was small and circular, useful in hand to hand combat because it was light and maneuverable. But the other type is the word used for shield in this passage. This shield was as big as a door. It could be locked to a soldier next door forming an impenetrable wall against arrows as a company advanced. This is the type of shield that can ward off the fiery darts or arrows of the enemy and it is the shield of faith. We are stronger together, our faith combined will keep us safe. It is so important to be in Church. Out of Church, you are a lone soldier and it is much easier for Satan to take you out. 

Satan loves to attack us when we’re suffering. He tells us that either God is not all powerful as he cannot prevent the suffering or else he is evil for allowing the suffering when he could prevent it. You’ll actually hear the atheist use this very argument. It is Satan attacking us from above by twisting the intention of God to make us think he is against us. We counter the attack with faith. Faith in God’s promises such as 

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

And this favourite of mine

Exodus 20:12

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

We have to take up the shield of faith. Now it is true that we have been given a measure of faith and that might make us think that some Christians have a bigger advantage than others 

Romans 12:3

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

But if we use the measure we’ve been given, if we’re trustworthy in the small things, then we will be given more. If we want more faith we have to use the faith we have ! Just like with our body which only gets stronger through eating well and exercising same principle to make our faith stronger. 

Faith is not based on feelings. Our emotions can fluctuate from minute to minute based on how things make us feel.

Faith is not the type that people talk about when they talk about their favourite sports team. One year your team wins, the next it loses, if you put your faith in a sports team you are going to experience a lot of disappointment and ultimately they will carry on without you. That kind of faith won’t save anyone. 

Our faith is in God, he is the object of our faith. We can have disappointments but we know we are on the winning side, we are going to be with him forever.

David Jeremiah asked a good question.

He said would you rather have a whole lot of faith standing on a quarter an inch of ice or a tiny bit of faith standing on four feet of ice. 

He said that the answers are split 50/50 believe it or not. He said he always takes note of the ones who said they would rather have a whole lot of faith in a quarter of inch of ice and put them on a list and never go fishing with them!

The size of our faith doesn’t matter as much as the object of our faith which is in the Almighty Lord God. Our faith can be the size of a mustard seed but if it’s in the Lord, then it will grow big and strong. 

So what or rather who is our faith in?

But in order to enter a battle with the Devil, your faith in God does need to have grown or you’ll be mincemeat. We need the courage that comes from faith as David showed when he went into battle with Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:45-47

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

David surely had a faith that had grown strong and he was able to say in the face of the enemy that he would defeat him because the battle is the Lord’s, and the Devil will fall down. Amen.

Spiritual Warfare 101 - Girdle of Truth and Breastplate of Righteousness

Sermon and Communion 24.05.26

Communion

1 Corinthians 10:21

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

You are either on the Lord’s side or Satan’s. Are you on the Lord’s side?

If so, our enemies are the World, the Flesh and the Devil.

Ephesians 2:1-3

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

When we come to the Lord’s Communion, we affirm our allegiance to him and we renounce/reject the Devil. We declare the Devil is our enemy.

Colossians 2:13-15

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Christ has already defeated Satan and all his evil principalities and powers totally and forever, we need to get this fact straight in our minds. Because of Christ’s victory on the Cross we have peace with God. Satan’s weapon against us is guilt, he is the accuser of the brethren, but Jesus has already forgiven us all our sins! Guilt is the key to our defeat but Christ’s righteousness is the key to victory. 

When the law was taken out of the way as the requirement for righteousness and replaced with faith as the requirement for righteousness, Satan could no longer use the law against us.

Communion is a time when we can have rest from the battle, lay aside our spiritual armour and come to Jesus knowing his forgiveness through the Cross makes a way for us to have friendship with God.

John 15:15

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jesus has reconciled us to God, he has made peace between God and us. 

Taking Communion doesn’t save us. Luke’s Gospel records that even Judas took part in that 1st Communion but not fully. John records he left after he ate the bread when Satan entered him.

Satan is not welcome at the Lord’s table that is why. After Judas left, Jesus gave the disciples deeper teaching, prayed for them and not just them but us also as future believers and sang hymns with him on the Mount of Olives. Through Communion they had close friendship, which Judas did not experience.

So as you take Communion today, examine your own heart before the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

Lord have mercy on each one of us, forgive us our sins and grant us grace and deliver us from evil.

Spiritual Warfare - Girdle of Truth and Breastplate of Righteousness.

I’ve been spending a bit of time over the last while thinking about Spiritual Warfare and the need for us to be better equipped in these times especially as the battle intensifies leading up to Jesus’s return.

I’m seeing the Bible both Old and New Testament in a new light as a soldier’s manual and seeing the insight  into the spiritual realm we are fighting against every one of us individually and as a Church. When God told Israel 

Deuteronomy 20:16-18

“But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.

Today, that is not an instruction against flesh and blood but against the evil spiritual principalities and powers that rule over flesh and blood.

We have to be ruthless against a ruthless enemy, you must be equipped and have a strategic plan to win. It is true that Jesus defeated Satan at the Cross once and for all but we still need to appropriate that in our own time because even though final victory is certain, there can still be many casualties if the enemy is able to gain or maintain strongholds as we can see in many places throughout the world and even here in New Zealand.

When we look at the things that open doorways to demons, we can easily see that in New Zealand, as in many countries that have abandoned their Christian foundations, we have allowed the Devil in and once again we are in the position of having to suffer to win back lost ground that our forefathers gained.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Why are we having to fight Satan if he is a defeated foe? 

Yes, Jesus defeated Satan on his own behalf in the Wilderness.

Yes, Jesus defeated Satan on our behalf on the Cross.

However, it is our responsibility in our generation to demonstrate and administer the victory of Jesus (The Great Commission). This is what Paul instructed the Church so clearly.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Because the forces we are up against are mighty, Paul goes on to say in 

Ephesians 6:13

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Because of our struggle against the wicked spiritual forces, we must put on the full armour of God.

When Paul says the evil day, that is not just the final tribulation in the future but today in our own lives. We will all face trials and tribulations, where life is turned on its head. We have to be prepared to go through it, our lives will be tested on which foundation they are built and Satan will always try and destroy us when he has us at our weakest where we have built on sand.

This is Spiritual Warfare 101 but we need to remember to put on all the parts of the armour of God before we find ourselves at the front line in hand to hand combat with the enemy. I’ve underlined them because you will notice that they are actually humble and loving in nature. They are harmless to flesh and blood but they stand in opposition to our true enemy who is the opposite in nature to all of them. Can you think of a word to describe the Devil that is the opposite of each of the underlined words? 

Ephesians 6:14-18

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

As you learned last week, the first part of the armour is the girdle or belt of truth. Truth is solid rock, a firm foundation to build your life on. If you build your life on worldly philosophy, pension plans, insurance, share markets, people, that is sand. Those things aren’t solid rock to build your life on, that is the Truth. 

« On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand »

If a Roman soldier did not put on his girdle first, his clothing would flap around and hinder his movement. Imagine trying to put on other parts of the armour without having done that first. Trying to put your shoes on while your tunic gets in the way. Trying to put your girdle on while holding your shield.

The world says that is your truth, I’ve got mine. Jesus says « I am the Truth ».  We have to make a choice on Jesus whether what he said is true or not. We need the truth to make right decisions. Sincerity, honesty, frankness, integrity, having a clear conscience, these are part of the girdle of truth. Letting our yes be yes and our no be no. Not spouting meaningless words but words that we’ve thought about, that we are committed to. Saying « I’ll pray for you » is just a cliché if we don’t do it,  don’t expend any effort to help. This is a hard thing to do especially because the more reliable we are, the more people will come to us.

We need to be honest with ourselves and others about what we can do. People can see through us. If we don’t practice what we preach, the truth is not in us and people will find it hard to believe anything else we tell them.

The second part of the armour is vitally important also. The breastplate of righteousness protects the most vital organ in our body, our heart. What we have in our hearts ultimately determines the direction of our lives.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

We have to guard our affections and boy we have a job to do there because as the Bible says;

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

You can’t trust your own heart. So many people are fooled into sin by what they feel in their hearts.

Without the Word of God to hold us accountable, we are Lion’s dinner. How many lives have been ruined by sexual immorality? In these days of social media, Tinder and goodness knows what else is on the internet, it is a huge matter for the heart. We must make a sober assessment of our own character and guard our affections with the Breastplate of Righteousness. Anyone can fall in matters of the heart.

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Note that it’s not a righteousness that comes from the law but from faith in and love for Christ.

If we try to fight the Christian life by being good, we’re going to be easy targets for the Devil because he will always find ways to condemn us in the law when we fail. Then we will become discouraged, because Satan hit us in our core, in our heart. Instead we look to Jesus who is the breastplate as he is the only righteous one. Satan cannot get at us then.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

All of our sin was placed on Jesus at the Cross but not only that, in exchange we receive the righteousness of Christ.

We are going to fail if we keep looking at the law because every day, in so many ways, we break the law, sometimes we know it, sometimes in ignorance we don’t even realise. But if we can only grab hold of the truth that we have been given the righteousness of Christ, we will stand when Satan accuses us. 

This protection only comes from faith and love as Paul said. Faith is essential for our protection. Christ died for you and for me and has given us his righteousness, that is a liberating truth.

Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Song of Songs 8:6

Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame.

Yes and I think you can say love is stronger than death. Death and Hades will be thrown into the Lake of Fire but there are 3 things that remain;

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Luke 9 v 18-36 and Spiritual Warfare 101 Introduction

You know there comes a moment in the night, which happens quickly, when the sun begins to rise and the darkness starts to retreat, that nature joins in and the birds begin to sing and the flowers begin to open and the fresh perfume of the morning fills the air that you can see the world outside again and you know with excitement that a new day has arrived. The light keeps getting brighter and we go into the day refreshed and ready for work.

We have reached that type of moment in the Gospel of Luke. Up until Chapter 9, it has been Jesus who is doing all the ministry of preaching the Good News of the arrival of the Kingdom of God and proving it by healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out demons. Suddenly in Chapter 9 a new dawn arrives and Jesus sends his disciples to work.

As a young person starting out, that first  day at work is one of learning the ropes and at the end of the day you are pretty tired having not worked an 8 hour day before. Even though they had success on their first Mission, when the disciples arrived back it was easy for them to let Jesus do the work again and sit back and watch as he did the ministry. But at the end of the that day, he told them to feed the crowd and maybe for the first time they realised their responsibilities in the Kingdom of God.

In order to do the work in the Kingdom of God, you need to know that you have the backing of Heaven. You need to know who Jesus is and the authority delegated to you and then you need confidence to step out in that authority.

 Luke 9:18-20

And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Peter had been given the spiritual eyes to see Jesus for who he is before anyone else. You have to know Jesus is the Christ of God when you go out in His Name. 

You’ve also got to know of the challenges you will face, this work does not succeed without opposition and suffering and that will continue until Jesus comes again.

 Luke 9:21-27

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

It was around this time that many disciples turned back. In the Gospel of John, John specifically says that was because they found his teaching on him being the Bread of Life offensive (John 6:66). However when you put the Gospels alongside each other in the same timeframes you can see other events going on that led to the many disciples turning back because the Mission was not going to turn out as they had been expecting. Many followers were seeking a political leader who would overthrow Roman rule and provide material benefits (like the free bread from the miraculous feeding), not a spiritual Savior demanding self-denial and sacrificial commitment.

We need to persevere through difficult times with Jesus. When that day arrives and we see Jesus come on the clouds in his glory, we do not want to be ashamed because we couldn’t face the pain and do the work.  In order to endure, we need a vision of hope for without a vision, the people perish.

Luke 9:28-33

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 

What a surreal moment that was to have the curtain pulled back and get a glimpse of Heaven.

But the 3 disciples were half asleep having just woken up from heavy sleep. 

When you first wake up you stagger around not really knowing what’s going on. How true that must have been when Peter woke up and saw Jesus transfigured in his glory talking to Moses and Elijah. He must have thought he was still dreaming and just blurts out some nonsense about making 3 tents. I think we’ve all done something like that when we’re half asleep and someone has to bring us out of dreamworld and into reality. 

Luke 9:34-36

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

When a new day dawns, we need to hear the voice of God to bring us clarity for the day. We need to at the beginning of the new day to listen to Jesus before we listen to anyone else.

I hope you remember that before you come to Church and listen to me on Sunday mornings !

Now the second part of today’s message is on spiritual warfare which will be a sub-series for the next few weeks.

Last week we read how the disciples were sent out with nothing but the clothes on their backs to preach the Good News of the Kingdom, heal the sick and cast out demons. Like me, you might feel a bit inadequate in these areas but the Lord has all the resources we need. In our day, more than ever, we need to learn more about spiritual warfare.

For a long time in our generation, the Church lived comfortably in New Zealand. Life continued peacefully and we didn’t have much to contend with as Christians other than to witness to the people around us. The Church had no competition with other religions like Hindu and Muslim. Most of our witnessing was based on winning rational debate with people of no religion on the authenticity of Jesus, evolution, atheism, morality and so on and of being of good character to shine a light and draw people to Christ. Most people we met were living steady lives with similar daily problems to us and encounters with disturbed people seemed rare. Compare that to today. People are living in isolation through broken families, in distress brought on by the media and social media, job losses, explosion of debt, the cost of living, drugs and pornography are mainstream. We have a mental health crisis in New Zealand like never before.

When we think of the doors to the demons that we talked about in the last couple of weeks, looking down the list, would you agree there is more of all of those things in New Zealand today than there was when you were growing up? The Devil is having a field day and is it any wonder when people don’t believe he exists and do the things that open the door to him. The nation has not heeded the warning.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

It is to be expected that as the end of the age draws near that we will see an increase in the intensity of this spiritual conflict. More than ever before in history, I believe all Christians need to learn how to combat the enemy. 

In bygone years, we had a few specialised ministers like Bill Subritzky who took care of spiritual warfare, but encounters  with the demonic were few and far between for most of us unless we went to a Bill Subritzky service.

I mentioned last week how the Wesley Methodist Church played Onward Christian Soldiers at the ANZAC parade. It was quite funny considering the audience but most of us underestimate the scale of the war we are in which is not limited to a single campaign like Gallipoli or a Global war like World War I, but is in fact Universal.

Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The picture of Satan’s Kingdom is of one that is highly organised and structured. With different rulers and sub-rulers responsible for different areas of their territory.

Paul shows that Satan’s Kingdom  extends to places in the heavenlies, into countries and regions (principalities) and governments (rulers, powers and authorities) and without doubt even into organisations.

This statement Paul makes about spiritual wickedness being in the heavenlies is surprising since doesn’t it say in Revelation and in Isaiah 14 that the Devil has been cast down to the Earth?

Revelation 12:10-12

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Derek Prince explained this by saying that this passage refers to the future and possibly our very near future, during the last 3.5 or 7 years of the age depending on your eschatology since what it really shows is that the Accuser of the Brethren, that is the Devil, is still able to accuse the brethren day and night in the presence of the Lord, that is in the heavens, but he will be cast down and literally all Hell will break loose on Earth.

How is it possible that the Devil is in the heavens? Derek Prince explains this by saying that there are different heavens, pieced together by the following scriptures.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Heavens is plural therefore there is more than one heaven.

Job 1:6-7

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

In Job’s time, Satan had access to God and was able to move between Heaven and Earth and was able to come into the Lord’s presence, possibly unrecognised by the other angels because he is able to transform himself into an angel of light. 

Solomon said at the dedication of the temple

2 Chronicles 2:6

But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

This also indicates more than one heaven and even a highest heaven which can also be heard in

Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Paul also spoke of a 3rd heaven.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

So there are at least three heavens, and Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God in the highest heaven.

Ephesians 4:10

He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

The word all can only be used if there are at least 3. If it was one it would be singular not plural. If it was 2 it would be “both”. But “all” indicates at least 3.

Derek Prince concluded that

• The first heaven is the sun, moon and stars that we see.

• The third heaven is God’s dwelling place

• The second heaven is the heavenly place where Satan dwells. 

We know from our earlier study from the letters to the churches that Satan had his throne at Pergamos. The overall picture is that Satan can still move between the earth and heaven during this age.

Derek Prince summised that this would explain why sometimes we have difficulty in our prayers getting through from Earth to God in Heaven because Satan has blocked the way at the 2nd heaven. Daniel gives an intriguing peak into the spiritual warfare that goes on in the unseen realm and shows that our prayers are powerful in defeating the enemy.

Daniel 10:12-13

Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

This is why we need to have the armour of God because he is the only one who has defeated Satan and help us to do so in our daily living.

1. The conflict involves all Christian’s not just a few leaders 

2. The conflict is ongoing (even though Satan was defeated at the Cross)

3. When you drive out demons, Jesus said it was a sign that the Kingdom of God has come

Luke 11:14-20

And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Driving out demons established the Kingdom of God. It is impossible to live with your feet in both Kingdoms since the two are in complete contradiction to each other. So the Devil must be driven out of areas he controls. When a person or a group of people get saved, the Kingdom of God takes over and the Darkness is driven out.

Colossians 1:13-14

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

We are not to fear our enemy. The Cross is the most powerful weapon against Satan. He is reminded that he has been defeated once and for all, he cannot be restored back to his previous place at the throne of God.

Colossians 2:13-15

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Satan’s total defeat at the Cross and through the Resurrection is final and one day he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire once and for all.

In summary, we need to understand our enemy and our position in this universal war. We need to prepare ourselves as individuals and as a Church to be equipped for the fight even more so in the time we are living in. We will dig deeper into Ephesians 6 and the armour of God in the upcoming weeks. 

Please pray for us as a Church to be strong and ready for battle so that little old Papatoetoe will be established in the Kingdom of God in New Zealand.