10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Eph 6:10-18
How we do spiritual war in the word, it all comes to: stand in the Lord, Rely in His power.
Roman soldiers was the strongest at that time that's why Paul uses this analogy.
Knowing the Truth
Exercising faith
Practicing righteousness
Spiritual warfare is:
- to believe in Jesus Christ - so not only for "advance Christians". When you believe in Jesus Christ you will be always facing spiritual warfare,
- to lead a life that pleases God - every time you engaged to pleases God, you are facing a spiritual warfare.
The Bible says we [every Christians!] have three enemies hindering us in our pursuit of God's purpose in our lives:
- the WORLD
- the FLESH
- the DEVIL
The Devil
two extreme :
everything is because of demon and,
doesn't belief in demonic
Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. 1 Peter 5:8Satan
Devil : standard, flaws, accuser - is a created being, he is not the opposite of God, not as equal as God
And other names describe his character :
murderer,
tempter,
father of lies,
thief.
There is one devil, but many demons
Mark 5:6-10
6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”
9 Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” 10 Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.
Fact #1 : Jesus has complete authority over Satan and demons
Luke 10:17-20
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Fact # 2: Being saved and belonging to Jesus is more important than having any authority in your life. First focus is, your relationship with God.
Eph 1:21-22
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
Matt 28:18 “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Devil exist, yes. Must stand firm against them. Don't go out looking for them. Jesus has the authority not us. The important thing is living pleasing Him.
James 4:7-8
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
submit : to get into proper rank [military term]
By saying YES to the Lord, and doing the thing He told us to do, you will make the devil flee from you.
The World
Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. James 4:4 [NLT]
We love sinners but we don't love sin!
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 1 John 2 : 15-16
These are the areas that will most likely be tempted in
- Lust of flesh - craving for physical pleasure, flavour, sensuously, pornography
- Lust of eyes - never satisfied for everything, "it got to be yours".
You can posses something, but don't let it possessed you. - Pride of life - egoism, egotism.
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Rom 12:2 [NLT]
changing mind set : understands God's purpose in your life.
The Flesh
17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. Galatians 5:17
We don't want to submit to Jesus, because we don't want to follow HIM, do things He told us to do. We are at risk when we lose our "hold on" to God.
Victor Hugo : "Ninety Three"
11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11
As Christians : lead by Spirit OR lead by own desire - which do you want to chose?
12 Do not let sin control the way you live;a]"> do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Romans 6:12-14
Every time you are tempted, you have a choice. Outcome determine you are living under which master.
1. Pride - having an inflated attitude of yourself. Cutting others down. Trying to impress others.
Don't be selfish, don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Phil 2:3
6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” James 4:6
2. Greed /CovetousnessI will not compare myself to others, I take my eyes off other people's possessions, positions, spiritual gifts, marriages, children or ministries, and I fix my eyes on Jesus.
God is in control so I will be content and thankful with what He gives me.
1 Tim 6:6-8 6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
3. Lust [sexual temptation]
There is no future in this. It will damage our relationship with God and could destroy relationships with our spouse / children, as well as damage reputation and discredit ourselves as testimony for Christ.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Rom 6:12-14
4. Anger
20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:20
5. Worry /Anxious thoughts
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Phil 4:6-8
6. Seeking Revenge
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Romans 12 : 17-19
7. Fear
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Tim 1:7
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
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