Spiritual warfare study (part 1) :Ephesians 6: 10-18

(this message forms part of a new series on spiritual warfare)

You see my friend, I was taught a long time ago that our life on Earth is a war.

Whether you want it or not, once you become a born again Christian, you are automatically entering a war against the forces of darkness.

It is better that someone tells you this truth, so that you do not frail in your faith once challenges arise in your life, regardless of the level of your relationship with God. Jesus was only a newborn when the king Herod tried to kill Him (ref. Matthew 2:1-18). If Jesus was already attacked when He was only a Baby, that also means that challenges from the enemy and life are not an excluded option from your existence.

The war is so serious that even Paul admonishes us to wear the armor of God in Ephesians 6 :10-18 where he wrote:

'Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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.'

Whether you like it or not, once you become a born again Christian, you are in a war against the spiritual dark forces.

Let us be honest for a moment: 'there are many life hardships that are imposed on us by ourselves. For example, if an employee fails to wake up on time and arrives late at work because he/she likes to binge on tv programs late at night, then it would be his/her fault that he/she gets fired for repetitive late comings. There are many misfortunes that are caused by ourselves and which can be solved with common sense.


However, there are certain things that are caused by the devil....I know that many of you are complaining while enduring hardship caused by the enemy. But I want you to know the following:

* You are in a war. You have to accept it. I say this because many often complain to God as to whether they deserve their hardships or not. You don't need to be doing something bad to get attacks from the enemy. The enemy will attack you whenever his opportune time will come.

* Because you are in a war, you have to fight. The fight is not an option. Those who refuse to fight and those who decide to side with the devil (in the hope of a peace agreement) will definitely regret it. There is no reward at losing a fight against the devil. This is why you have to fight and resist.

* The devil does not need a reason to hate you. he just hates you (period).Stop asking him (the devil): 'Why are you attacking me? What have I done to you?'
You are wasting precious time by asking those questions. Instead of wasting your time asking those questions, you should fight, you should invite others to join your fight, you should close and reenforce the doors the enemy uses to enter your life.

Let us have a read of some key passage of Ephesians 6:10-18:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power ( verse 10): ' you see my friend, our war is not a war that can be fought through our natural instincts or flesh. This is why Paul wrote that we should be strong in the Lord and His Mighty Power. The Bible never said that we should be strong in earthly knowledge when spiritual warfare comes. I am not dismissing the usefulness of human science and knowledge in solving certain problems. But human science and knowledge cannot compete in the spiritual warfare realm. This is why , as a good example,there are certain afflictions that can only be tackled through spiritual weapons. Those spiritual afflictions will not be solved with psychiatry, psychology or prescription drugs.
This explains, for example, why certain psychological diseases cannot be cured. Those diseases cannot be cured because they are caused by demons who have possessed the human minds. As a good exercice, I invite you to go on YouTube and check some of the videos of people who have been incarcerated in asylums...some of them are incarcerated because of an explained brain disease, but others are clearly demon possessed...and if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will discern the people who are demon possessed.
You can only solve a spiritual affliction by first remaining strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Many Christians are suffering because they seek solutions to spiritual problems in natural knowledge.

Put on the full armor of God (verse 11a): ' there is a big difference between fighting while putting the armor on and 'fighting without the armor'. The armor of God does not get worn on us automatically as we become saved. If it was worn automatically, then why did Paul wrote: 'put on the full armor?'

You see my friend, many Christians are caught in the cross fire (and some even die before their time), because they don't wear the armor. You will be better positioned to withstand and endure the arrows and bullets of the devil when you wear the armor of God. But if you decide NOT to put on the armor, then you will bleed (even to death) when the enemy attacks and in some cases, the enemy might recruit you to work for him.

The armor of God is not coming on you automatically. You must put on the armor.

In the next message, I will discuss the strength of the Christian and the army of God.

(Please stay tuned on the next part of this message as we engage in studying Ephesians 6: 10-18)

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