I AM VICTORIOUS

EPHESIANS 6:10-2410 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.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2412 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.

EPHESIANS 6:10-24

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,

EPHESIANS 6:10-2415 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.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2418 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 Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

EPHESIANS 6:10-24

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2422 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

We need to know that it’s not just us and God. There’s a third variable that we absolutely have to factor into everything, and that’s Satan and demons.

We don’t think that Satan is real; we don’t think that demons are real. And so we tend to, every time we are shot, question or blame God, while Satan laughs and runs away.

And to treat a person as you would a piece of property or livestock, a possession, is to disrespect the image and likeness of God that they bear.

The world is not the way it should be. Not everything that happens is God’s will. There is also God’s enemy. And it’s so important that it’s the final word in the book of Ephesians.

The book does talk about your salvation.

It does talk about your friendships.

It does talk about your work life.

It does talk about your children.

But if you overlook, if you neglect, the existence and the war from Satan and demons, it will infect, affect, destroy everything God is trying to do in your life, in our church.

ROMANS 10:17

17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

It’s very clear. There’s the church, there is God, and then there is a war against God and His people that is waged by Satan and demons.

This is a word to the whole church—not just individuals in the church but the whole church, laboring, warring, working together. This is a word for us. It’s a word for you, but it’s word for you as part of us.

Jesus loves us; Satan hates us. Jesus has plans for us; Satan has plans to oppose us.

Jesus, in every way, will bless us; but Satan will, in every way, seek to undermine that blessing. It’s a war!

EPHESIANS 6:1212 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.

Do you know you have an enemy?

Do you know you’re not loved by everyone and everything?

Do you know you’re hated, despised, and opposed?

Do you know that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood”—

Our war is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

People are not our enemy; Satan and demons are our enemy.

The Bible speaks of non-Christians as captives. What happens in a war is an overtaking army then enslaves and takes captives the citizens who are conquered. That’s called earth.

The world has been conquered by Satan and demons. We’ve been taken captives in the war.So, our war is not against the captives; our war is against their captors, Satan and demons.

The people would be spiritually, in every way, set free to become the children of God. This is why Jesus says very early in His earthly ministry that He has come to set captives free.

So, our war is not against the non-Christians. Our war is not against those who would disagree with biblical faith. Our war is against Satan and demons who have taken people captive to do his will.

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We need to know our enemy.The first thing in any fight is, who are we fighting?

Any of you ever been in a fight?

Satan was created by God. So, he’s not God; he’s not equal to God. You need to know this. He doesn’t share all of God’s attributes. God can be everywhere; Satan can’t. God knows everything; Satan doesn’t.

God reads your mind and thoughts; Satan can’t. He’s created; he’s also fallen. He’s rebelled against God. He’s turned his back on God. He’s declared war on God.

He’s also very powerful as a spirit being, akin to an angel who has turned to the dark side. He’s very powerful.

He’s also been observing human history for thousands of years, so he understands how to read people.

He can’t read your mind, but he can read your life and your body language. And we’re not all dealing with Satan because he is limited, but he has demons at his disposal.

These are fallen angels, rebellious angels, who joined him in his war against God.

They are real, and they are really at work in the world. Satan’s motivation is ultimately pride.

Satan is the most proud being in the history of creation. Meanwhile, God is utterly humble. We see this in the Lord Jesus.

Satan has done such a good job in our day that self-esteem is not a vice; it’s a virtue. Independence is not a vice; it’s a virtue.

KNOW YOUR KING

Who do you fight for? If you don’t know whom you fight for, you’re probably not going to fight well.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2410 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Who’s the Lord? Our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s his fight. This is his church,

The spiritual battle — it’s His war. It’s not yours; it’s not mine. We’re not the King; it’s not our Kingdom.

We’re the servants; we’re the soldiers, we labor for a Great, Glorious, and Good King.

You can’t motivate yourself for a lifetime of war. There’s no shortcut to a lifetime of war. You’re going to need strength that is beyond you, strength that is apart from you.

KNOW YOUR WEAPONS

EPHESIANS 6:13

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.

The Weapons of War

BELT OF TRUTH

JOHN 8:44

44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

BREASTPLATE OF

RIGHTEOUSNESS

BOOTS OF THE GOSPEL

SHIELD OF FAITH

HELMET OF SALVATION

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

THE WORD OF GOD

PRAYING IN SPIRIT

PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT

One of the most important things in the battle is communication.

You need to talk to headquarters; you need to listen to

headquarters. We call that prayer.

Imagine an army going to war without a communication plan.

Imagine soldiers just being deployed in an enemy territory with no

communication plan. Prayer is our communication plan. It’s how we

talk to God; it’s how God talks to us. It’s how we tell Him what’s

going on, though He already knows, and it is the way that He gives

directives to us.

PERSEVERANCE

PRAYING FOR PEACE AND

GRACE