Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 2

                                                         Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 2

Subject – Understanding the Weapons at Our Disposal

By Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV)
¹⁰  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹²  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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.

--Let me say from the beginning of this message that there will be many who hate this message and many who will appreciate it…it all depends on how you fight spiritual warfare.

--There are many who, instead of magnifying the victorious work of Jesus over the powers of Satan and darkness, choose to add to the redemptive work of the cross of Jesus.

--In reality, all they are doing is changing one form of bondage for another but the second bondage is more dangerous because it is cloaked in a guise of being spiritual.

1. We do walk in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 10:2-5 (NKJV)
²  But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
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 carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
⁵  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

--Paul is saying, Hey guys, I am flesh, I am human, and I have no other choice but to live and operate in this fleshly tent God has given me. I eat, sleep, think, walk, and operate in this flesh in this earthly realm.

--He was saying that we are bound to these earthly bodies until the rapture of the church or until we pass from this life into the glorious next life.

--This should give all of some consolation…Paul said, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh…He was aware of the weakness and futility of his own natural man.

2. We do not war according to the flesh.

--Paul wanted us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we do not war according to the flesh…according to his carnal natural body.

Rick Renner: The word “war” is taken from the word strateomenos, and it refers to the militant attitude of a trained soldier. It was particularly used to denote the committed attitude of a heavily dressed, trained to kill Roman soldier. 

--Roman soldiers, were no doubt, the finest military machines of their day and among the most skilled soldiers in the history of the world. They were trained to kill. 

--It was well known that these Roman soldiers had such a taste for blood that they requested being put on the frontline of a battle. That wanted to be able to strike first. Navy seals of that day.

--So what would Paul be saying to us about spiritual warfare…We do not war according to the flesh:

A. His attitude was that of a Roman soldier and that he was determined to win the victory.

B. He had no fear of being placed on the frontlines of the battle and going wherever God sent him.

2 Corinthians 10:15-16 (NLT)
¹⁵  Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended.
¹⁶  Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory.

--Paul was willing to go to places like Ephesus and Corinth where there was much sensuality and demonic activity. Paul was a frontline soldier of Jesus Christ. 

C. As a soldier of Jesus he knew he could not war according to his own flesh.

--Please keep in mind that Paul was very educated and impressive naturally speaking. Yet, he knew that all of his worldly qualifications would gain him nothing in spiritual warfare.

Philippians 3:4-6 (NKJV)
⁴  though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
⁵  circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
⁶  concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

--He was the man but he said this fight…this fight with principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places cannot be fought with just education and experience…somethings cannot be reasoned away.

--Let me say here…this is not an invitation to be uneducated and to not learn from experience.

--Paul did not depend on his education to do spiritual warfare but his education submitted to the will of God made him more effective in his ministry (debating in cities of pagan gods), just my opinion.

--The point here is this…our flesh regardless of how impressive it is, is no match for a spiritual enemy.

3. We must fight this fight with spiritual weapons.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (NKJV)
⁴  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
⁵  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
⁶  and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

--As we do this series we need to pay attention especially to these three words in this verse…weapons, warfare, and carnal. Let’s look at weapons first.

--Paul lets us know from the beginning that we have powerful weapons at our disposal but they are spiritual weapons. These weapons are offensive and defensive. Eph. 6 the armor of God.

--We are dressed to kill with the full armor of God and that is wonderful but we must be willing to pray in the Spirit until we get a divine strategy on how to fight spiritual warfare.

Rick Renner: This, in fact, is the primary reason most believers don’t experience victory in their personal lives. It isn’t that they lack the proper weaponry, God has already given them what they need! However, they don’t have a strategy that tells them how to attack. Hence, their weapons are of no avail.

--In order to receive a divine strategy, you must be willing to hear from the Spirit of God. This means you will have to spend time in praying in the Spirit, reading the Word, and seeking wisdom from God.

--Think about this verse again from the perspective of spiritual warfare…think about the weapons and the warfare we are in and how God helps us.

Romans 8:26-28 (NLT)
²⁶  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
²⁷  And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
²⁸  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

--Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…we are weak from the attacks of the enemy. We don’t know how to pray against this spiritual warfare…Holy Spirit prays for us according to the will of God…God works it out.

--When I read this verse about our standing with God my mind raced back to Eph. 6 where it says :When you have done all to stand, stand therefore…This standing is a military term…keeping standing and keep fighting.

--As they stand there in right standing with God, praying in the Spirit, God will surely defeat this enemy. Again think of these verses in light of spiritual warfare:

Romans 8:31-35 (NLT)
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? 

--We know God is for us in a spiritual battle, He will give us everything we need, He will take care of the accuser of the brethren, there is no condemnation, and He will not allow the enemy to separate us from God.

Romans 8:37-39 (NLT)
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.