17.01.10 - Spiritual Warfare - Why Do We Face Battles?

Paul Loveday

Introduction
Recently I made my way through a daily readings book that was titled, ‘I wish I’d known’. It was a collection of helpful tips the writer had picked up on his journey of faith over the past 35 years.

Today and next week I will pass on something like that. There will be just two very much linked topics – about spiritual warfare.

This morning I will give some practical teaching about warfare, and next week a pastoral approach about the effects of being in battle – from being ready or not.

Somewhere in this you will hear my heart’s cry – the agony of facing battles, both mine and that of others, but mainly mine!

When I was a boy I used to really enjoy reading war comics. Then as TV became more available to me I liked watching war movies.

But as the years have rolled by I have lost interest in war stories. I think I’ve become more of a pacifist - but not so as to look disdainfully upon those who have fought in world wars. I have come too close to the effects of war, upon families affected by it, by having lived in a nation which suffers terrorism, and virtually surrounded by nations that are deeply engaged in war. In my role as a minister I’ve also had to sit with families that have lived with the effects of war-scarred returning soldiers. War is serious stuff, and I believe should be avoided if at all possible.

But battles in the Christian life are less avoidable – in fact are not avoidable at all. Do we prepare one another adequately for these? Probably not. Why is that?

Spiritual warfare is a hot topic for some Christians and in some churches.

This morning we shall look at this unavoidable part of the Christian life.

There are some lessons to be learnt. Here are some things I’ve come to understand.

1. Why has a Christian been called into spiritual warfare?
• To carry on the ministry of Jesus

Isaiah 61:1 – 4 (Stated by Jesus in synagogue at Nazareth – Luke 4:18 – 19, 21)
“The Spirit of the of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…”

John 14:12 – 14
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (do greater number of works – more disciples, time not confined to just three and a half years)

1 John 3:8b
"The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (context – those who are caught in the power of sin are children of the devil)

Hebrews 9:14
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (acts that lead to death – dead works)

- For bringing healing / restoration – right relationship, to serve God.
- Bear witness to Christ – bring others to Jesus Christ for their healing too, to be in right relationship God and set free.

• For individual refining
1 Peter 1:6 – 7
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Romans 5:3 – 4
“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Jas 1:2 – 4 suffering produces endurance. James says to let endurance have the full effect that we become mature and complete – lacking in nothing.

• To glorify Jesus (To honour Jesus)
John 16:14 (Jesus speaking about the work of the H.S.)
“He (Holy Spirit) will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making known to you.”

John 14:13
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

• Spiritual warfare is not an option
Joshua 24:15 – 16
“But if serving the Lord seems desirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!”

James 4:7
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We can choose to let Satan have his way, or we can learn to resist, fight and be victorious through Jesus Christ.

“Hurt people hurt people, but healed people heal people.”

2. Where does spiritual warfare take place?
Let’s read some verses from the Old Testament book Joshua.

This is a story about a man called Achan.

Achan was a man who found himself neglecting to pay heed to a battle that we will each face. Where was his battle? Was it really against the inhabitants of Jericho. In the natural it appeared that way. But let’s look at what took place, where he was defeated, and then of course the effect that it had on not just him but also the people of God.

Give the context here – crossed the Jordan River, now going to possess the land God had promised, Jericho the first city to defeat, specific instructions.

Joshua 6:15-19
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury."…

24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

Joshua 7
Achan's Sin
1 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel….

(God then led Joshua through a process to identify Achan as the offender.)

Joshua 7:19-21
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

20 Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

This teaching material will cover many of the areas where Achan should have really been fighting his battle.

Ephesians 2:1 – 3
“You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of the flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath.”

God in His Word speaks of three areas where we as Christians fight our spiritual battles.

• The flesh
The flesh is the sinful nature humankind inherited through the Fall (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12 – 19)
o There is conflict between the flesh and the Spirit (Romans 7:23; Galatians 5:17). “…but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
o Commission of sins of the flesh gives access to Satan (Ephesians 4:22)
o How to overcome the flesh
       Acknowledging our fleshly sin (Own the sin, deal with it)
       Reckoning we are dead to sin through Christ and crucifying the misdeeds of the body (Romans 6:11; 8:13) (Resist the impulses – seek God’s help)
       Setting our minds on the things that the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:24 – 25) (Replace the wrong unhelpful thought with things you know reflect God’s character, His ways)

• The World
1 John 2:15
“Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world you do not love the Father”

o The devil is the ruler of this world (1 John 5:19). “We know that we belong to God even though the whole world is under the rule of the Evil one.”
o The world tempts us to
       Gain its treasures, seek its approval (Luke 9:23 – 25)
       Be ashamed of Jesus (Luke 9:26; 2 Timothy 1:8)
       Reject God’s truth (1 Corinthians 1:18 – 21)
       Conform to its standards (Romans 12:2; John 15:18 – 19; John 17:6, 9, 14 – 16). Also, 2 Timothy 4:10. “…for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” Greed, which is idolatry, replaces God with…

o The world is overcome by
       Our faith (1 John 5:4). “Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
       Our union with Christ (1 John 5:5; 1 John 4:4; John 16:33) (Seeking God, His will & doing it)
       Our understanding the Word of God (Romans 12:2)

John the Apostle uses the word ‘world’ in the sense of that which is in rebellion to God.

• Satan and demons
Daniel 10 is an OT account of one of God’s people in prayer who brought about a spiritual battle in heavenly realm. Daniel had spent three weeks fasting and praying. (Angel reached him with God’s reply, spoke of a battle he had been in, prayer heard, but reply delayed because of the battle). (Ephesians talks of heavenly places where spiritual battles take place. God’s people are seated there now with Christ in His heavenly power – Eph. 1:20; 2:6). It is also in this realm that we wage our non-physical warfare (Eph. 6:12)

o Satan is a fallen angel (Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12 – 17; Ezekiel 38:13 – 19)
o Satan appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14 – 15)
o Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10b)
o Be alert (1 Peter 5:8 – 9)

The story of Achan highlights that there are two levels of activity taking place. The historical, and the spiritual. There was spiritual reality for Achan, but there are some principles God would have us pick up too.

The picture of new life in Jesus Christ, as one of His followers. Baptism and then living in possession of all we have in Christ – our destiny.

Next week I will continue with some practical examples as to when a Christian can expect battles to take place, and what the effects can be when we are not ready for these battles.