Last week we talked about the work of demons in this world. How they have influenced music, movies, some home decor and even the church. Well, it seems I hit a nerve because the enemy went on the attack last Sunday evening. Here is what happened. Sunday morning, we discovered our restrooms were not working because of the construction next door, so we cancelled the Sunday evening service. I decided to be at the church in case anyone didn’t get the word and showed up. I didn’t want anyone to wonder why no one was there. There were some who hadn’t heard that service was cancelled so they came and I talked to them for a couple minutes. I waited till about 5:20PM. But then, just before I left, there was one more person who arrived. This one was different. This one was upset, so I thought I needed to talk with them. But quickly it became clear they were not here for help, but to get me to agree with them in their problem. And what was their problem...fear. They were convinced that everyone they saw was out to get them. They even saw someone outside in the parking lot and was convinced they were only in the parking lot because they were following them. This was clearly not true, because I knew the person in the parking lot. When I refused to join this person in their fearful delusions, they turned on me. They got very angry and started yelling about how I would answer to God for not believing them. Then they accused me of being a fraud and the reason FUEL has not grown. They had now discovered the truth and I was the problem. I listened as long as I could before I rebuked them in the name of Jesus and told them they had to leave.
Now, I’ll be honest with you. This 45 minute encounter left me a little rattled. Did this person know anything about our growth? No. Where did they get such an idea? I began asking myself: Am I a fraud? Am I the reason we are not bigger? The lie had started doing its work. It was trying to find a permanent place to live in my mind. I had never dealt with the enemy in such a face to face confrontation before. And at first I didn’t recognize it was the work of the enemy. I just thought this person came in because they needed help seeing the truth in order to stop living in fear. But I soon realized that their goal was not to stop living in fear, but to have me join them in that fear. When I refused, the enemy revealed himself and began this attack. The enemy knew just where to hit me. He hit me with a lie about our growth and who I am. Now what did God say just a couple weeks ago? He said to get ourselves ready because this little boat would not hold all the fish He was about to bring. So what did the enemy do. He brought someone to say the exact opposite, to get me to doubt what God said. When it was over, I called Neal and told him what had happened. He said: “When attacks come, that’s how you know you’re in the game.” If you had any doubt, let me confirm for you this morning...we are in the game...and the enemy does not like us exposing his plans. Let me say this while I’m here. You need people in your life that you can call when you’re under attack. That is why it is so important for you to stay connected to your church family. You cannot live this christian life alone. If you allow offense or pride to separate you from your brother and sisters, you have positioned yourself perfectly for an attack of the enemy. He wants you isolated and alone, so he’s the only one talking to you.
OK, so on Monday after all that happened, I was praying about the message for today. I asked God if I was supposed to continue with the direction we were going, or if I needed to lighten up the topic. I felt very clearly, that this is not the time to change directions. We are going to put our foot on the gas and continue to expose satan. Today we will be talking it to the next level and teaching about how to defend against and defeat an attack of the enemy. Step one is to Recognize The Attack - look for the signs that the enemy is at work. Even if he come to you as a friend, or someone looking for help. He will speak contrary to what God has said. Just look at what happened to Jesus. Matthew 16:21-23 “21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Peter was saying that God didn’t want Jesus to suffer and die, but was that true? No, that is exactly what God wanted. It was His plan. Peter allowed his human thoughts of this world to override his spiritual thoughts about what God wanted. Is your mind on the things of God or the things of this world? Are you only following Jesus as long as it makes sense to you according to the world’s wisdom? Do you reject God’s will if it’s contrary to yours? If so, you’ve aligned yourself with satan, not God.
Let’s back up and look for a minute at how this exchange began. Matthew 16:13-18 “13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” If Peter truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, would he have rebuked Him? Peter had not fully believed yet, but he would soon realize just how much he didn’t trust that Jesus was the Messiah. Very soon he will deny three times that he even know Jesus. His actions spoke much louder than his words. What do your actions say about what you believe? People may have the best intentions when they tell you what they think, but if they are just using worldly human wisdom, then they are allowing themselves to be use by the enemy and you need to recognize it. If they are rationalizing why God would not want you to give that money, because you might need it for yourself later. You have to recognize that is the enemy using fear of the future to keep you from doing what God said to do today. And that is to trust Him as your supply, not your bank account. So again, step one is to recognize that you are under an attack of the enemy. If you do not acknowledge the attack, you will not be able to protect yourself from it. That brings us to step two.
Step two is that you must protect yourself. And you do that by using the shield of faith. Our faith in Jesus protects us from an attack. Ephesians 6:16 “16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” When Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he would have been familiar with the shield of the roman army. It was called a scutum (scootum) and it is different than most of the images that come to mind when we think about a small round roman shield. This shield was large. About 2.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet tall. It was very effective against arrows that were shot at the Romans from an opposing army. But it’s greatest benefit wasn’t just for the soldier holding it. It was for advancing the Roman army. Here’s how they were used. The Roman army would close ranks and overlap the shields on the front lines and over head. This provided protection from the archers on a city wall as the Romans moved forward to capture that city. The shield was not only for the protection of the single soldier holding it, but for the protection of those around him also. This worked as long as the soldier had the courage to stand fast while being shot at, and not break ranks with his fellow soldiers. Do you see the symbolism that Paul is using? We must hold our faith not only for ourselves but also for our fellow brothers and sisters in the battle with us. Your shield of faith is not as effective against an onslaught of arrows if you are alone. We have to work together to move forward.
Remember, we talked about how we are saved by God’s gracious gift...through faith. Our salvation faith is not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of those around us also. We join our faith together in this fight...to protect our family. That’s the other lesson of the Roman shield. It’s the lesson of its effectiveness as the Romans moved forward to take a city. The assumption is that the Roman army was going to keep moving forward toward the city gates. And what did Jesus say about the enemies gates? We just read it a few minutes ago in Matthew 16. Matthew 16:18 “18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The gates of hell and the fiery arrows that are shot at us from behind them will not prevent us from taking territory from the enemy. Our faith must be put to use in order to take the fight to the enemy. Again, step two is that you must protect yourself and your fellow soldiers with the shield of faith...and keep moving forward. Step three is that you strike back. Once you are in close contact with the enemy, you have to strike with your sword. Ephesians 6:17 “17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” Speak The Word - use the correct verse...in the correct context, that contains the truth according to God. Jesus is our example once again.
Matthew 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” The word of God is our offensive weapon. It is the only one we have been given. It is a spiritual weapon, not an earthly one. Because we do not fight against flesh and blood. Our fight is in the unseen realm. Do you know enough about what the Word says, so that when you are under attack you can strike back? Do you know how to find the verses to meditate on, that will counter the lies of the enemy? If not, this is why you live defeated. As we talked about last Sunday, if we are allowing the enemy access into our minds through his influence in the world, we have already done his work for him. We have begun to agree with his agenda. And slowly, we find ourselves wrestling with thoughts
that do not honor God. There was no opportunity to use our shield or sword to defend or strike back...because we didn’t even know we were under an attack. Are you committed to learning how to use the sword that God has given you? Or do you just let it gather dust and rust because you don’t need a weapon...since all you needed was a golden ticket? Could it be that you allow the enemy much more space in your mind than you allow God to take over? Is your mind surrendered to Christ? Is He the Lord of your thought life? Again step three is that you strike back using the Word of God. If you don’t know what the Word says, you can’t use it to strike. Step four is to celebrate the victory. We praise from a position of victory. We’ve already won because God has given us the victory. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Can you celebrate victory even in the middle of the battle? Do you recognize that you’ve already won, because of what Jesus has done? He defeated the the enemy for you, so you can be thankful and celebrate that victory even while you are under attack. Praising during an attack means you recognize that the enemy has already been defeated. Here’s one of my favorite passages. It’s in 2 Chronicles 20. It’s the story of Israel going to battle against three kingdoms who had come to attack them. When they marched out to face the enemy, the king put the praisers up front. Not the archers, not the swordsmen...the praisers. He took the fight to another level. He changed the battlefield location. He made it a spiritual battle.
2 Chronicles 20:21-23 “21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. As soon as the Israelites started praising God, He confused the enemy and they began killing each other. Your praise confuses the enemy. Let’s recap how to defend the enemy’s attack. Here are the steps to follow. Step one: Recognize the attack. You must be looking for the signs that the enemy is at work against you. Step two: You must protect yourself and your fellow soldiers with the shield of faith. It allows you to keep moving forward to take territory for the kingdom. Step three: You strike back using the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Meditate on and quote the correct verses in the correct context to strike back at the enemy. Step four: Celebrate the victory that Jesus has won. Even while under attack, we can praise God for the victory because the war is over. The enemy is defeated.
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