SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
BREAD
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. 14 Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take
the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians
6:10-18 (NIV)
18 Timothy, my
son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about
you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience.
Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1
Timothy 1:18-19 (NIV)
11 But you, man
of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good
confession in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the sight of God, who
gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before
Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without
spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 6:11-14
(NIV)
6 For I am already
being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.
7 I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
3 For though
we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they
have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2
Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
3 Endure
hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in
civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete,
he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the
rules. 6 The hardworking farmer
should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the
Lord will give you insight into all this.
2 Timothy 2:3-7 (NIV)
3 I came to
you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and
persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's
wisdom, but on God's power. 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (NIV)
38 For I am convinced
that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor
the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans
8:38-39 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Why was Job born? He was born for the same
reason Adam was created. He was born for the same reason the earth was created.
He was born, in part, for the same reason Christ was born and suffered and was crucified.
We all exist to glorify God. On the Day of Judgement, when the mangled, burned,
corrupted, and crucified limbs of God’s faithful are resurrected and made new,
and when voices that died crying in pain are restored singing in praise, even
Satan himself will bow in submission to the Lord who deserves all praise. This life is no simple matter of little lives
living private dramas. We are, since Eden’s loss, united in celestial warfare
with eternal consequences. We were born to stand; we are armed to fight. The good news is just that, through faith in
Christ, we were born to win.” Frances Poston Bennett
“Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it
is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this
truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the
church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not
surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom
to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given prayer as a
wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need
as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the
significance of frontline forces and gives God
the glory of a limitless Provider. The
one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us
with endless grace for every need.”
John Piper
“Christianity is a
warfare, and Christians are spiritual soldiers.” Robert Southwell
“Almighty God,
give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the
armor of light.” Book
of Common Prayer
“Lord,
make us mindful of the Glory that is ours in Christ Jesus. Let us savor our relationship
with You and let us use every opportunity to tell the wonderful news – the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to those around us - and as we have the ability, to send and
carry that news to all parts of the world.
And Father, save, protect, keep and provide for our families. Protect us
from the warfare waged against us by evil men and by Satan and his armies.
Deepen our faith. Let us look to You and receive strength and power; let us
stand firm. Let us cherish the times
that we can spend together and let us think of and pray for one another when we
are apart. Let us love one another deeply. May the Love of Christ overflow from
our hearts. May people who are around us and see us know that we are Christians
by our love. May our countenance, our faces display Christian Love.” Roger
Killian
“Restraining
prayer, we cease to fight; Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright; And Satan
trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees.” William Cowper
“What
giants are you facing? The giant of peer
pressure? Of different ideologies and
philosophies fighting for control of your life?
What about giants like social injustice, moral deterioration or
crime? Or maybe the giant of fear,
joblessness, broken relationships or family conflict? Young David faced a giant named Goliath, a
member of the Philistine nation – a bitter enemy of God’s people. Goliath was more than nine feet tall and
clothed with heavy armor. His spear was
about the size of a tree trunk. Goliath
was one of the largest men in recorded history.
He defied the army of Israel, challenging them to send a man against
him. David volunteered. Goliath had David out-armed and out
–experienced. Goliath was a great
warrior; David was not. His only weapon
was a slingshot – and a deep dependence on God.
And God gave him victory.” Billy
Graham
“Acknowledge
your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.” Robert
J. Morgan
“The
great tyrant has not forgotten you, and he designs your capture and
re-enslavement.” Charles Spurgeon
HEART
SAVOR
- Believers are in a spiritual battle, yet we fight FROM victory not for it. “It is finished” were our King’s last words. We go forth in His power, to accomplish His purposes, all for His glory. Our role is to don the full armor of God and stand.
- Satan fights dirty and the battle rages, but our Lord is stronger still. We must be prepared as the Scriptures states “when” the day of evil comes not “if”.
- Prayer is essential in spiritual warfare.
