Battlegrounds and Playgrounds

Text: Eph. 6:10-13

Introduction:
  1. Know our Power Source
    1. "Be strong"
      1. Comes from endunamousqe
      2. Have dynamite power
      3. God is not in the business of making weaklings.
        1. We are weak in our flesh and our own strength
        2. "Without me ye can do nothing"
        3. "With God all things are possible."
    2. "in the Lord."
      1. It is not how much strength, but the source of our strength (Phil. 4:13)
      2. God is the source. Prayer, obedience and the Word are the transmission lines
      3. John 15: We must abide in Christ if we are to produce spiritual fruit
  2. Know your Equipment
    1. Illus. To be an effective carpenter, computer programmer, etc. you must know your equipment
    2. "Put on…"
      1. Suggests putting it on and keeping it on
        1. We are not in a part-time battle
        2. No army fights part of the time.
        3. Removing the armor can be spiritually fatal
        4. Constant battle
      2. Examples
        1. Put on the new man
        2. Put on and take off
    3. "Whole armor"
      1. Gk. word panoplian from which we get "panoply."
      2. We are susceptible is any part is missing
        1. Illus. The Hobbit the dragon was invincible except for a missing piece of armored scale on his underbelly.
        2. Illus. Achilles had one vulnerable spot, his heel
    4. "That ye may be able to stand"
      1. Suggests that if you don’t put on the armor, you won’t be able to stand. You can’t do it in your own strength
      2. ‘isthmi = when used in a military context refers to holding a critical position
        1. Stand true to the fundamentals
        2. Stand true to godly living
      3. Need men and women who will take a stand rather than a back seat; have courage, rather than cowardice; live by principle, rather than feeling.
  3. Know our Enemy
    1. Satan
      1. The enemy has many different names.
        1. Devil means "accuser," because he accuses God’s people day and night before the throne of God (Rev. 12:7-11).
        2. Satan means "adversary," because he is the enemy of God.
        3. called the tempter (Matt. 4:3),
        4. murderer
        5. liar (John 8:44)
        6. "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4)
      2. The enemy’s comparisons
        1. compared to a lion (1 Peter 5:8),
        2. compared to a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9),
        3. compared to an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15)
    2. His tactics
      1. "wiles" = meqodia from which we get methods
        1. Means literally "schemes"
          1. Illus. Wyle E. Coyote
          2. He doesn’t play fair
        2. He has a plan (method)
          1. Infiltrates the ranks with false teachers
          2. Leavens the lump with immorality (1 Co. 5)
          3. Attacks from without and within
      2. Deception
        1. Angel of light
        2. Deceived Eve with half-truths
      3. His History
        1. Anointed Cherub who fell
        2. Archangel in charge of one-third of the angelic host
        3. Pride was His downfall
        4. Been God’s adversary since
        5. His ultimate destination is the lake of fire
      4. Power of Satan
        1. It is limited. He is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent like God
        2. He is more powerful, cunning, knowledgeable than we are
        3. He is well organized as is evident from v. 12
        4. He knows our weaknesses
    3. Satan’s army (principalities, powers, etc.)
      1. Description of the organized levels of the forces of evil and the demonic power of the "heavenlies."
        1. Satan is organized like an army for battle
        2. We must be organized
          1. Disorganization does not win in the world or in the spiritual realm
          2. God is a God of order
      2. Defeating demons
        1. No magic formula
          1. Hollywood’s exorcisms (The Exorcist) are unbiblical
          2. Some think that by saying the name "Jesus" or by mentioning "the blood of Jesus" that you can defeat Satan.
            1. "in Jesus" describes not a verbal formula, but a mode of living
            2. "in the blood" we defeat the power of sin in our lives and the penalty of sin
        2. Resistance is the key to defeating Satan (James 4:7)
        3. Thoughts on Demon "Possession"
          1. It cannot happen to Christians
          2. Most of popular beliefs are misconceptions
  4. Know the Battlefield
    1. "Not against flesh and blood."
      1. In the original it is "blood and flesh"
      2. Not a natural, physical battle
        1. Why natural abilities are insufficient
        2. Why we shouldn’t be fighting people
        3. Why we should be praying more, promoting less
    2. "we wrestle"
      1. hand to hand combat
      2. individual war as well as a corporate battle
    3. "in high places"
      1. same phrase as "in the heavenlies"
      2. our blessings are in the spiritual realm, but so is the battle
      3. Satan fights us here in order to ground us and prevent us from soaring into the heavenlies where our blessing are