It’s Not A Flesh and Blood Battle
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Satan is not alone. He has team. There is a structure
Location: In Heaven & heavenly places (Job 1 & 2, Eph 6:12), in the air (Eph 2:2), prowling around the earth around us (1 Peter 5:8) going into unbelievers (Matt 8:16) and some are in hell, chained in gloomy pits of darkness, for the last day of judgement. (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6)
These evil spirits are our enemies. We will refer to them as demons & evil spirits.
They want to kill you and have you commit suicide.
How do you open the door?
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 NLT
10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
Shows, Videos, Movies, Books, Music, Alcohol, Drugs, Pornography
1 Timothy 4:1 NLT
Warnings against False Teachers
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.
There are two groups of people from God’s perspective:
Unbelievers: They can be demon possessed.
Believers: They cannot be demon possessed because the Holy Spirit is inside them.
The answer to the problem of demon oppression or possession is always the Gospel.
Believers are in a war with battles every day.
How do demons wrestle with believers? (a.k.a. Christians, children of God)
They feed us lies.
James 3:15 NLT
15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.
What are the lies that demons & evil spirits feed us? The one liners?
Application:
1. Pray & Meditate on God’s Word. (Study, memorize to fight)
2. Look for where you are opening the door to teachings that come from demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)
3. Look for the lies, the one liners that the demons are throwing at you and hit them with God’s truth.
Sermon Based Questions
- What was encouraging, difficult, or confusing about the talk on Sunday?
- What stood out to you from the description of evil spirits & demons?
- What are some of the lies of the enemy that stood out to you? What lies have you personally believed in your lifetime?
- What do you think is the key to fighting well against the enemy?
- What was the biggest take away from this talk?