When you became a Christ follower you entered into a spiritual battle. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that we are engaged in a fight and that we must be aware that Satan is aiming to take Christians down.
In the first week of the sermon series “Fight Club,” Pastor Troy said we must be ready and willing to put on the armor of God and engage in the fight. Here are some key points from Troy’s message on Sunday, June 24:
*We need a healthy respect for evil, and for the enemy (Satan) who is going to attack. Satan set his legions against you the moment you became a Christ follower.
*Ephesians 6: 10-20 tells us we need to be strong in the Lord as we engage in a spiritual battle. We can’t do it on our own strength or act like we're in charge. God is in charge and he is the one who gives us the power to stand against the devil’s schemes. Paul instructs us to take a stand, not based on our own knowledge or religious rituals, but based on God’s power.
*We are not battling against our government or society or against other people. It’s against Satan and the spiritual forces of evil. Satan at one time was one of the most beautiful angels but he longed to acquire God’s power and was cast out of heaven. Ever since, he has worked to take others down with him, including Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
*God didn’t leave us alone in this battle. By the power of the Holy Spirit we have been given spiritual armor.
*Jesus already has defeated the evil one by his death and resurrection. The cross is a symbol of God’s victory over Satan. The victory is won but hasn’t been claimed yet. There will be a parade when Jesus returns to earth, as he promised. In the meantime, Satan is trying to take as many people down with him as possible. That is why we must be willing to engage in spiritual warfare against him.
*One of the best weapons Satan uses is minimizing his existence. Satan actually wants us to believe he doesn’t exist. That way we will be oblivious to the spiritual battle going on around us.
*To take us down Satan will lie (John 8:44), tempt (1 John 3) and deceive (Titus 3:3). We need to know scripture in order to identify Satan’s lies. We need to be aware that Satan will put things in front of us to lure us away from the Father, and sometimes he does it in subtle ways.
*Satan will try to gain a foothold in our lives in order to take our eyes off the Father. Some techniques he will use to make us stumble: independence, pride, idleness, hate, no truth.
*Beware of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2: 9-11) because he will try to outwit us. He will attempt to trick us (2 Corinthians 11: 14-15). Like terrorism, we sometimes won’t see Satan’s presence until it happens.
*Troy introduced the concept of self-scouting, which is a practice many NFL teams employ. It’s one thing to scout your opponent, but it’s another when you scout yourself and determine how an enemy would successfully attack you. It makes us aware of our weak spots in the battle against Satan.
*We must take seriously the evil one’s presence. Although battling Satan can sound ominous, we must remember that in Christ we have hope (John 16:33).
