The Actual Fight You’re In
Spiritual Warfare
September 29, 2024
The Christian life is a battleground, not a playground.
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. —Ephesians 6:10-13
You are not expected to be strong, you are expected to draw strength from Jesus.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. —Ephesians 6:11
What are the devil’s schemes?
scheme = methodeias = crafty and deceptive methods
1.) SATAN IS A LIAR
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. —John 8:44
2.)SATAN’S GOAL IS TO DESTROY YOU
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. —John 10:10
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. —1 Peter 5:8
Satan is a Disarmed & Defeated Enemy.
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. —Colossians 2:15
8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. —1 John 3:8
Temptation & Accusation
The devil does not make a good person bad, he makes a flawed person worse.
How Satan Tempts us
- Shows you the bait and hides the hook
- Convinces you sin is a virtue
- Over-stressing the mercy of God
- Bitterness over suffering
- Highlights the success of lost people
- Asks you to compare one part of your life to another
How Satan Accusses Us
- Keeps us looking at our sin instead of our Savior
- Tells us our troubles are punishment
- Wants us to think our inner struggles prove we aren’t Christians
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.
34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans 8:31-39