Riches: Battle Ready?
Sufficiency of Christ: Book of Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 34:44
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Know your enemy!
Know your enemy!
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Playground or battleground? According to the scripture we face spiritual battles in this world, so this world is a battleground, a spiritual battle ground. This morning we are looking knowing our enemy, our enemies abilities and the enemies demise!
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In heavenly armor we will enter the land. You know the song, but it hold so true, and so needed. This world is a battlefield not a playground. We may face some physical battles in the name of Jesus, but there are many spiritual battles we will face that want to wage war against us as Christians.
Author, Sun Tzu in his book Art of War says:
“If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Our enemy is stronger than we are (outside of the Lord).
My we come to realize the battles we face in this world are, against this world, the flesh and the devil.
The world (Eph2:1-3; 1Jn2:15-17)
The flesh (Rom8:6-8)
The devil (Rev12:7-11)
May we remember who we were, where we lived and what we did previously.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
We were dead, walking in the ways of this world
Ways that were by nature opposed to God making us children of wrath
The world - those things that are around us that are contrary to God, that are opposed to God. John gives a stern warning in his epistle.
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
The flesh: the old nature, that is who we were before Christ, but not who we are today, for the one who does the will of God lives forever. We have a new way, a new mindset
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Battle ready Christians need to be reminded
Christ overcame the world (Jn16:33; Gal6:14)
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Christ overcame the world (Jn16:33; Gal6:14)
Christ has victory over the flesh (Rom6:1-6; Gal2:20)
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Christ overcame the world (Jn16:33; Gal6:14)
Christ has victory over the flesh (Rom6:1-6; Gal2:20)
Christ defeated Satan (Eph1:19-23; Col2:13-15)
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
The battle we fight today is not for victory it is from victory. Paul is reminding the Ephesians to walk in victory, and to beware of the enemy, the adversaries still out there and to be sure you have your issued battle gear on!
This morning we are looking at the battle ready Christian, the one who knows their enemy and knows themselves. As Sun Tzu says “if you know your enemy and yourself you need not fear the result.”
God tells us much about our enemy so we should never be caught off guard. You have enlisted in the Lord’s Army (though I wish it were Marine Corp) and you have been given a manual, so let’s see today what the manual has to say about our enemy. For this is not basic training, this is advanced infantry training now.
I. Knowing your enemy
I. Knowing your enemy
The enemy can be shown, described, identified in the scripture. The enemy has help too, we will look briefly at his help too. Knowing where our enemy battles is important to be a battle ready Christian.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
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Our enemy and his names in scripture:
Accuser, Devil, Satan (Rev12:7-11)
Serpent, dragon (Gen3:1; Rev12:7-11); Tempter (Mt4:3)
Father of lies (Jn8:44); like a lion (1Pt5:8)
Disguised like angel of light (2Cor11:13-15)
And he is the god of this age (2Cor4:4)
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Our enemy and his names in scripture:
Accuser, Devil, Satan (Rev12:7-11)
7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Our enemy and his names in scripture:
Accuser, Devil, Satan (Rev12:7-11)
Serpent, dragon (Gen3:1; Rev12:7-11); Tempter (Mt4:3)
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Our enemy and his names in scripture:
Accuser, Devil, Satan (Rev12:7-11)
Serpent, dragon (Gen3:1; Rev12:7-11); Tempter (Mt4:3)
Father of lies (Jn8:44); like a lion (1Pt5:8)
44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Our enemy and his names in scripture:
Accuser, Devil, Satan (Rev12:7-11)
Serpent, dragon (Gen3:1; Rev12:7-11); Tempter (Mt4:3)
Father of lies (Jn8:44); like a lion (1Pt5:8)
Disguised like angel of light (2Cor11:13-15)
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
So we have Satan, the deceiver, the devil, father of lies, also known as Lucifer according to Isa14:12-15. He is a created being, so there is limited knowledge and activity. He is unlike God and cannot be everywhere. So he needs help to wage war against the righteous ones. Here are a few of his helpers according to the scripture.
Satan’s named helpers (Eph6:12)
Rulers, powers
World forces of darkness
Spiritual forces of wickedness
If you are wondering how many helpers, John tells us
4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
Daniel says there are forces, evil angels who wage war in the spiritual for control with God’s angels, (Dan10:13-20) in short the passage speaks that Gabriel was delayed in coming to Daniel for 21 days because he had to wrestle with the prince of Persia (spirit of darkness).
There is a spiritual battle going on in the heavenlies and since we are a part of the body, we are seated in the heavenlies according to Eph1:3 and Eph2:6.
It is our battle too, and we need to walk in the victory in which Christ gave us when He defeated Satan.
May we remember who are enemy is, what names he and his minions go by and where are battlefield really is. His helpers are not weak, hence why Paul tells us we need the power of God to withstand our enemy (Eph6:10-12)
I.The Enemies Abilities
I.The Enemies Abilities
We should not underestimate the power of the devil and his minions. We are not spectators in this spiritual battle, we are participants, so it is best to know the enemies abilities.
A reminder of the passage
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
If our enemy was not strong, Paul would not tell us to be strong (Eph6:10)
Not by our power, not by our might, but by the strength and power of God’s might.
We need the power of God to withstand the enemy (Eph1:19)
Christians are called to be soldiers not gladiators
Soldiers fight in a unit, come together in unity, where gladiators fight alone. We are called to be in unity as the church (see Eph4)
Don’t underestimate the power of the devil
He is not compared to a lion or a dragon for no reason or just for name sake.
In book of Job it displays the power in body, home, wealth and friends.
Jesus tells us that the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy (Jn10:10)
Our enemy is wise, he is deceitful, he is a liar, he is cunning, we cannot afford to be ignorant of his devices to deceive. (Eph4:14; 2Cor11:14)
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
He even masquerades as an angle of light
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Don’t be deceived and blinded from the light of the Word, the Light of Truth.
In (Eph6:12) Paul says we do not wrestle, that means this battle is up close, it is person, it is hand to hand, or handled on your knees.
We are not spectators, we are participants, Satan was to use our external enemy (the world) and our eternal enemy (our own flesh and fleshly desires) to defeat us. His weapons are strong and should not be taken lightly. The battle ready Christian is fully equipped to face the battle.
II. The Enemies Demise
II. The Enemies Demise
As Christians who are strong in the Lord and the power of His might, we are ready, but we cannot get soft. The battle is not about who we are now, not what about we are doing now, it is more, it is about eternity.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
When we think about victory in the Bible, there is a great example in Joshua. He needed God’s Word to encourage and remind Him. If you want to take this a little deeper, read Joshua chapter 1 on your own. When you look at it you can see the enemies demise.
Enemies demise; Victory already done (Jos1:3, 6, 7, 9 and 18)
3 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
They were already given the land, it was theirs, they just had to go and receive it. they had to be strong and courageous and walking by faith in taking possession of the land.
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
Joshua was told what to do to have success. We too when we are told and do what the Lord commands we too have success and can walk in the victory Christ gave us.
Walking in victory is knowing God is with you.
9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua believed it, others believed it and confirmed it
18 “Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”
The enemies demise is knowing where our victory is found, in God (Eph6:11)
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Not our armor, Gods!
Could you image the soldiers on D-day showing up in their comfy jammies to talk to the enemy and not fight the enemy with the battle gear they were provided? It is a time for action!
God gives us the battle gear, He fully equips us, but we have to believe in the gear, trust the gear and put the gear on!
The enemies demise is when we know whose battle gear we have and put it on! (Eph6:11; Php4:13; Eph4:24)
The battle gear, the armor we need is God’s and He gives it to us, for it is by His power and the power of His might and His armor we can face our enemy and know we can do all things.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
In basic training you learn about the tools available. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, now in advanced training it is time to put on the gear, gear we now know how to use. It may including remembering to put it o
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
We do all this, under God’s power and might so that we may stand! Stand being empowered!
Empowered: strong in God’s grace (2Tim2:1)
Ready to suffer as a good soldier (2TIm2:3)
Able to fight the good fight (1Tim6:12)
Our enemy wants to control us; but God wants us to take captive our enemy (2Cor10:3-5)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
May we be ready to oppose the schemes of he enemy (Isa32:6-7)
Know who your enemy is
KNow where the battle is being waged
Know the results of the battle, we already have victory in Christ Jesus.
No longer in basic training in the Lord’s army, you are in advanced training!
(lead to intro) are you in Lord’s army (Invitation slide) continue in your advanced training (invitation slide 2) song (exit slide)