The War Is Real

In Ephesians 6, follow with me as I read verses 10-12. Paul says, “Fiinally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

A.W. Tozer made this statement, “The Christian life is not a playground, it is a battle ground.” Do you know it’s not long after you become a Christian that you become aware of the fact that you’re in a war. I grew up in Sunday school, so I’ll never forget learning as a little boy, ‘I’m In The Lord’s Army.” Remember that song, “I’m in the Lord’s Army?” It's kind of a crazy song for little kids to learn, but it’s true. When you become a believer, you’re drafted into a war that prior to that really didn’t exist because you were living in the kingdom of darkness. You were a child of the devil; and now that you’ve become a child of God, the devil becomes your enemy. He was your master; now he is your enemy. So, you realize that we’re in a war. I want you to notice it in verse 12. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” it’s not a physical war, it’s a spiritual war, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The Christian has three basic enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is the evil world system of which satan is controlling—the evil world system apart from God. John defines it in his first epistle as, “…the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” He said these are “…not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” The second enemy we have is the flesh. We talked about that Sunday morning in our study of Colossians. The flesh doesn’t mean your physical body, (I believe the body is neutral) but the flesh is a reference to your sinful, fallen Adamic nature. It’s called the Adamic nature because we actually inherit it from Adam the first. We’re born with a sinful nature, and we have to struggle against that sinful nature—the flesh. Then we have the devil. The devil uses the world and our flesh to rob and pull us away from God onto his path.

We have three enemies—the world, the flesh, the devil. The word “devil” means slanderer. He's also known as satan, and we’ll look at his names in just a moment. The word “satan” means adversary. I want to set the context for this section of Ephesians on spiritual warfare. The book of Ephesians, like so many of Paul’s epistles, are divided into two sections. The first deals with doctrine; the second deals with duty—the first with principles, and the second with practice. It has six chapters. Chapters 1-3 are doctrinal, and chapters 4-6 are practical. We actually have the wealth of the believer in chapters 1-3, the walk of the believer in chapters 4-6:9, and then beginning in Ephesians 6:10-20 you might say we have a third category—the warfare. Some have divided the book of Ephesians into the wealth, the walk, and the warfare.

You say, “Well, John, why do you go back over the whole epistle to kind of set the context of this study on spiritual warfare?” I believe the devil wants to keep you ignorant of your wealth—your position in Christ—and he wants to keep you impotent in your walk—your practice in Christ. So, satan actually comes into the picture because he wants to rob us of our wealth—the knowledge of what Christ has given to us—and he wants to keep us ineffective in our walk. Go back with me to Ephesians 4:1 for just a second where Paul says, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy,” there it is, “of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” He goes on to speak about how we’re to walk in humility, holiness, and now he’s talking about walking in victory. The worthy walk is a walk that is brought up to my position in Christ. In chapters 1-3 is who I am in Christ, the riches I have in Christ, and I’m blessed with all the blessings of the Spirit in heavenly places.

In chapters 4-6 is how I live in Christ. We find that satan wants to rob us of our wealth and keep us inept in our walk with the Lord. You know, also in Ephesians 5:21-33 (we looked at this last Wednesday night), satan wants to attack the home. He gave instructions for the husband and for the wife. In chapter 6, he gave instructions for the children and for the parents. In the context, I believe, it’s so clear that satan wants not only to rob us of our wealth and keep us from walking in the Lord; he also wants to attack our home, our marriage, and our children.

If we are going to be appropriating our wealth and practicing our walk then we will come under the attack of the devil, so Paul tells us three things (if you’re taking notes you'll want to write them down) that we need to be able to stand (a reoccurring theme in this passage) against satan. First of all, we need to know the enemy. Secondly, we need to put on the armor. Thirdly, we need to stand in His strength. We’re going to look at each one of those tonight, but I’ll let you know before I start that I’m going to spend about 90 percent of the evening on the first point. Tonight we just know the enemy—we’re introduced to who it is that we’re fighting against. First, know your enemy. Note the importance of knowing your enemy. It’s so important in battle to know who you're fighting. If you don’t know who the enemy is, you don't know how to contend with or stand against him.

Before I go into the enemy, I want to first of all warn you about two extremes. The first extreme is to deny that satan exists altogether and say, “I don’t believe there is a devil,” and totally disregard any concept of a personal devil or as Christians that we war against him or we're in a spiritual battle. That would be a very foolish thing. The other extreme is to say that there is a devil behind everything—everything is the devil. I’ve heard of the devil…the demon of donut and the demon of nicotine, the demon of lust, the demon of greed, and we have a demon for everything. It’s kind of like “demon, demon, who’s got the demon” thing. Everybody is worried about demons, and I think that is an unhealthy obsession. Even preaching about the devil can be dangerous. Someone came up to me on Sunday, “Are you going to preach about the devil? You’re crazy! You’re asking to get in trouble there.” Well, it’s in the Bible, and we need to deal with it. We don’t want to be overly focusing on satan and his power, but we do want to know who he is, what his tactics are, and how he will attack and come against us.

I want to go back to his name. Notice it’s mentioned there in Ephesians 6 (turn back with me if you haven’t). His name is mentioned in verse 11, “the devil.” The word "devil" means slanderer. It gives an indication of what he does. He slanders us before the throne of God. He is also known as satan which means adversary. This obviously describes the fact that he’s our enemy—he opposes God and God’s people. Another name (the list could go on for quite some time) is that of Lucifer. Actually the name “Lucifer” is a pretty good name, but you don’t want to name your little kid Lucifer. It’s not a good idea. The word “Lucifer” means son of the morning and is taken from Isaiah 14. The Bible clearly teaches that there is a personal devil or satan or Lucifer (as I said, there are many different names for him). He is called the prince and the power of the air. He is called the spirit that works in the children of disobedience. There are a lot of metaphors, images, or pictures depicting the devil. By the way, there are about seven Old Testament books that mention the devil and just about all the New Testament writers do mention satan—the gospels and the epistles all mention the personal devil.

Let me give you some facts about the devil’s personality. He possesses intellect (2 Corinthians 11:3), he has emotions (Revelation 12:17), he has a will (2 Timothy 2:27); and personal pronouns are used of him all throughout the Bible, the book of Job, and Matthew 4. It’s interesting that Jesus Himself believed in a personal devil, encountered a personal devil, and actually addressed and talked to a personal devil.

What about his origin and his character? Where did the devil come from? Well, he was created as an angel. In Ezekiel 28:13-14 it says, “…in the day that thou wast created…thou art the anointed cherub that covereth.” Now, a lot could be said about this, but it’s important to understand satan is a creature. That means he is finite. He is not eternal. He is not equal with God. He is a creation of God. He was created originally as an angel. He is a finite creature. He is a spirit being. In verse 12, our war is “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” How did this angel become the devil? Well, it’s known as the fall of satan or better I would call it the push of satan. He didn’t just fall, he was actually pushed out of heaven. He was “full of wisdom,” it says, “and perfect in beauty,” and sin was found in him as well (Ezekiel 28).

The origin of sin is the heart of the devil. This Lucifer, this son of the morning, this beautiful angel that God created sometime in eternity past prior to Genesis 1, was filled with pride. Isaiah 14 has what we would call the five “I will’s” of satan. “I will ascend unto heaven,” he said. "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mount of the congregation. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, and I will be like the Most High.” Because of that, God actually kicked him out of heaven and satan fell. When satan fell from heaven he took other angels with him (Revelation 12:4). That is the origin of what we know today as demons. There is only one satan or devil, and he was an angel who fell. When he fell, other angels rebelled with him. There is what we call the angelic rebellion, and they became what we know as demons. One-third of the angels fell, so they are outnumbered two to one. How many angels are there? We don't know. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of angels. How many demons are there? We don’t know. There are more good angels than bad angels—praise God for that! Amen? So, they became demons—satan’s armies.

I want you to notice in the passage of Ephesians 6 some facts about the devil as far as his character is involved. First of all, we understand that he is a very powerful being. Notice (verse 12) the reference to “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against,” here’s the word, “powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Satan is pictured in the Bible as a lion. Now, I can imagine when the early Christians were being thrown to lions, what a horrible experience that would be.

We’re hearing a lot today about sharks, you know. We have this shark epidemic in California right now (which hasn’t kept me from surfing. Anyway, the Lord knows all about that) but everybody is worried about getting eaten by a shark. I’ve been surfing for over 45 years and I’ve never seen a shark in the ocean when I’m surfing. I wouldn’t want to be eaten by one—that’s for sure! I’ve been a little more careful and more cautions of late, but can you imagine being thrown to a lion? Being torn apart by a lion? That imagery as Peter talks about satan as a roaring lion and goes about seeking whom he may devour indicates he is very powerful.

Satan is also likened unto a dragon, which speaks of the fact that he’s very ferocious. In John 10:10 Jesus said, he “cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” We see the work of satan in a life in the demoniac of Gadara. The man was naked. He was cutting himself. He was in chains living in a cave. No one could control him. He was demon-possessed. He had a Legion of demons in this man. Satan is very powerful, but I want you to note—because he is a creature, because he was created—he is not co-equal with God. He is not omnipotent. He is not all-powerful. God is all-powerful, and only God is all-powerful. We don’t need to tremble, fear, or worry about the power of the enemy because God is greater. Amen? The Bible says, “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You don’t need to worry about satan’s power. Satan can only do what God permits him to do. God is in control.

Now, I realize that can create a lot of confusion for some people and we wonder, “Why does God allow satan to do this or that,” or “Why does God allow satan to deceive people?” or “…to cause such havoc?” I don’t understand all of God’s ways, but I know that God sits on the throne and rules from the heavens. God can even cause satan to be His instrument and use him for His glory, and in the end that’s what’s going to happen—God will be vindicated. God has a purpose. God has a plan.

Secondly, satan is not omnipresent. Only God is everywhere present at once. That means if satan is in Las Vegas tonight or San Francisco, then he’s not in Menifee. He does have a lot of little helpers, though—he’s got demons. You know, it’s interesting, there are only actually recorded in the Bible (it doesn’t mean that’s the only people) six people who were tempted directly by the devil. I hear people say, “Oh, Pastor Miller, pray for me. The devil just came to my house last night,” or “The devil followed me to work,” or “The devil is in my car,” or “The devil’s heckling me.” Most likely, it’s a demon not the devil—he’s got bigger fish to fry. It’s interesting that the six mentioned in the Bible that did encounter satan directly were Eve (you can learn a lot about satan’s temptation by reading Genesis 3), and the second was Job. He had an encounter with the devil. Jesus Christ Himself was tempted by the devil, and Judas Iscariot—satan filled his heart. The apostle Peter had some interesting episodes with the devil. Jesus said, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you like wheat: But I have prayed for thee.” There was Ananias, who actually was filled with the devil and encountered satan. Satan is not everywhere present at once. He can only be in one place at one time. He’s not all-powerful. He’s not everywhere present.

Thirdly, satan is not omniscient—that means the devil doesn’t know everything. He’s smart. He’s been around a long time, but he doesn’t know everything. There’s a lot of stuff that he doesn’t know and understand. Only God is omniscient and knows everything. We don’t underestimate satan’s power, even Michael the Archangel said to the devil, “The Lord rebuke thee.” He kept the Lord between him and the devil, and I think it’s wise for us to do the same.

Not only is satan powerful but notice (verse 12) he is also wicked. Paul mentions, “…spiritual wickedness in high places,” so we have an enemy that is powerful; we have an enemy that is wicked. He is called the evil one. Demons are called unclean spirits. Now, God alone is perfectly holy. Satan is absolutely unholy and wants to lead you and me into a life of sin. Thirdly, (write this down) he is crafty (verse 11). This is the important point to note—he is crafty. Notice in verse 11, Paul mentions, “…the wiles of the devil.” The word “wiles” means craft, schemes, or that he is cunning. I like the idea of schemes, strategies, or devices. Satan actually has planned out schemes and devices by which he attacks God’s people. In the Bible he is called the serpent, so he comes with subtlety. In 2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul says, “Lest satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” It would be so tragic for us as believers to be ignorant of the existence of a personal devil—the power and wickedness of the devil, the schemes, and devices that satan would bring against us. We should not be ignorant of satan’s devices.

Listen very carefully. I want to share when satan often attacks. Write these down. He often attacks us when we become new believers. When you first accept Christ, you’re a baby Christian, it’s not long after you become a believer that satan attacks you. He’s trying to rob away what God has done. I believe that once you become a Christian, satan knows that you now belong to God—he has no authority over you—but he’s going to try to do everything he can to nullify your effectiveness, to rob you of your peace, to rob you of your joy, to rob you of your ability to lead others to Christ and to serve the Lord, to understand God and to rest in His Word, and to be effective in your Christian life. He wants to put you out-of-commission so to speak, so he attacks new believers. We need to pray for young believers and baby Christians—that they get strong in the Word and strong in the Lord.

Secondly, he comes when we are suffering and afflicted. You know that many times God will allow trials in our lives, suffering, affliction, and hardships. I believe that satan knows that he can capitalize on those opportunities. What happens is that at a trial, satan will turn to a temptation. God tries us to bring out our worth or our value, to cause us to grow; but satan tries to come in and turns the trial into a temptation. It’s a solicitation to evil. Maybe God has allowed you to be out of work right now, and the devil comes along and says, “If there was really a God, if you really were a Christian, you wouldn’t have lost your job.” Maybe you’re struggling in your marriage a little bit right now and satan comes and says, “You know, if you were really spiritual you wouldn’t be having these problems.” Maybe you’re sick, maybe you’ve been diagnosed with some incurable disease. Satan is going to come along and whisper in your ear, “God doesn’t love you,” and “God doesn’t care about you,” and “If there really was a God then why would He allow you to get sick,” or “Why would He allow this person that you love to die in this horrible accident,” or “Why would God allow this or that?” He uses our suffering and our affliction to attack us.

Job is a classic example. God allowed Job to suffer. It was actually satan who brought the suffering upon him, but then he brings along his little helpers in the form of Job’s wife and friends, so-called. His wife said, “Why don't you just curse God and die?” “Thank you, sweetheart! I needed that encouragement.” His friends came along and said, “There must be sin in your life. Come on, Job, confess. What did you do wrong? God wouldn’t have let this happen to you if you hadn’t done something wrong.” Satan will use our suffering and affliction. That’s one of his wiles or crafty schemes, his cunning devices.

Thirdly, I would also say that when you serve God and experience success in serving God, you’re being used of God, guess what will happen to you? Satan will attack you. You’re not going to get a standing ovation in hell when you say, “I’m going to teach Sunday school,” or “I’m going to become a missionary,” or “I’m going to go to Bible college,” or “I’m going to witness,” or “I’m going to share the gospel,” or “I’m going to tell this person about Jesus.” Satan is going to do all he can to oppose, come against, and attack you. You say, “Well, I’m just not going to serve God then.” That would be a foolish thing to say. I believe that God will strengthen and help us in His service; but when you’re serving God, expect that one of his tactics is to keep you from serving the Lord.

Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to Jesus’ question, “Whom do men say that I am,” said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus actually said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Peter thought, “Wow! I am so awesome!” He just thought he was just amazing! “Did I say that? That was awesome!” Then Jesus went on to talk about His cross and how He was going to be crucified. Peter said, “Watch. I’m on a roll so here I go for my second chance.” He said to Jesus, “Be it far from thee, Lord.” You’re not going to die. You’re not going to be crucified, and Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, satan…for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Peter thought, “Oh, wow! Struck out there!” The minute you step out and are used of God, you can bet the danger is that you become overconfident and satan will attack you. One of the greatest challenges of serving the Lord and being used by God is staying humble and dependent and relying upon God not allowing that to puff your head up to thinking that you’re something special and with pride get put on a shelf where satan wants you.

When you’re idle, that’s another time that satan attacks you—one of satan’s crafty wiles or schemes. You’ve heard the phrase: Idleness is satan’s workshop. How about David when his men went to battle (you know the story), when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. All of his men were out fighting the battle, and what was David doing? David was strolling upon the housetop. He saw Bathsheba, lusted after her, committed adultery, then murder, and lied to cover his sin. Idleness is the devil’s workshop.

Fifthly, one of satan’s tactics is to isolate you from fellowship with other Christians. He wants to get you alone, to isolate, attack, and keep you from other believers who can encourage, pray for, challenge you in your walk with the Lord, and keep you accountable.

Satan not only knows when to attack us with his schemes and his devices but also knows how to attack us. What are some of satan’s strategies? Now, again, we’re going to bring out more of this as we go through each one of the pieces of the armor (one piece a week). This list could be quite lengthy, but let me mention some of the ways that satan also attacks. First, he attacks the Word of God and people by telling them they can’t believe, trust in, or rely upon the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. In Genesis 3, we have the first reference to satan speaking in the Bible. The first words recorded in the Bible that come out of the mouth of the devil are what? He’s talking to Eve and said, “Did God really say that?” The first thing he said was, “Did God really say that?” He attacked the Word of God. He questioned God’s Word. I believe that one of the greatest battles that we have waging against the enemy is over the Bible—its inspiration, its inerrancy, its infallibility, its sufficiency, its clarity. You need to be committed to God’s Word, have a high view of scripture, know that the Bible is the Word of God, why you believe it’s the Word of God, and take a stand on that because satan is going to attack you in the area of relying upon and believing in God’s Word. He’ll want you to believe that it’s not reliable, trustworthy, or truly the Word of God. It’s one of his number one attacks and assaults.

Another one—there is no God. He likes people to believe that there is no God. Thirdly, there is no devil (he does not exist). One of satan’s great lies (he is the father of liars) is that he does not exist. He gets people to believe there is no such thing as a real devil or a personal devil. It’s just kind of a concept that people have that’s not real. Fourthly, he wants people to believe there is no hell. God will not judge sin. There is no penalty or payment for sin. There is no hell. Fifthly, false religion is one of satan’s greatest schemes and tactics. This is one of the hardest things to get people to believe and understand—all the false religious systems of the world (or actually behind them) is satan. He invents these false religious systems to fool and deceive people and pull them off the path. He might teach that all paths lead to God. He teaches people that you can be good and go to heaven. He teaches people that Jesus isn’t really God, Jesus didn’t really die on the cross for our sins, Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, and salvation isn’t by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. All of the religious systems and religions of the world have demonic forces and satan behind them to deceive people and lead them from God.

Sixthly, I would say satan uses the world and the flesh. The devil uses the world, the evil world system—the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, the pride of life—the same thing he used with Eve in the Garden of Eden he still uses today very effectively. Seventhly, he tempts Christians to be afraid, to not trust God, to not believe His promises. Satan will attack believers. He comes with subtlety. He brings doubts and fears. This is why Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7 that we should be, “Casting all your care upon him,” that is God, “for he careth for you.” Then he goes right into verse 8 saying, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Then he says in verse 9, “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren.” Satan comes with subtlety. He doesn’t come openly, and he comes with craft and guile. I believe it’s important to understand his many, many tactics. The more we know God’s Word, the more we are able to detect his error and his falseness. Cast your cares upon and trust in Him. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Let me just throw something else out, and perhaps we will get into it more as we go through the series. It is completely unbiblical and unscriptural to believe and to teach that a Christian, a born-again child of God, can be demon possessed. This is one of the hot-button topics in the church today which ought not to be. It never seems to really completely go away, but we’re always looking for quick fixes for the flesh. You know, it’s interesting too, by the way, there is no demon mentioned in the Bible of being the demon of lust. There is no demon in the Bible mentioned as being the demon of greed. There is no demon of anger. Do you know that you can do those things without demons? Flip Wilson used to say, “The devil made me do it,” but you don't need the devil to make me do it—you can do it fine without the devil! “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.”

Let me just make a couple of statements. Nowhere in the Bible do you ever see a Christian demon-possessed or some like to use the term “demonized.” They like to change the terminology to soften it a little bit. There is no way that a child of God can have a demon inhabiting them. There is no teaching on it in the Scriptures. There is nothing in the Bible that would indicate or teach that a Christian can have a demon—quite the opposite! “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You are complete in Christ. He is the head of all principality and powers. We want so easy to just say, “Well, I just need to get this demon of hatred or demon of anger or demon of lust or demon of covetousness—just cast it out of me and then I’ll be free!” We don’t want to crucify the flesh and walk in the Spirit. If we walk in the Spirit, we’ll not fulfill the lust thereof. We don't want to deal with that. We want to blame it on the devil, so I don’t believe that it is scriptural or biblical to teach the concept that a Christian can be demonized, demon-possessed, or have a demon. Nowhere is that taught and there is no example of that in the Bible.

The first thing we need to do is know our enemy—he is powerful, he is crafty, and he is wicked. The second thing I want to point out tonight is we must put on the armor that God has provided. I don’t really need to say much about this because this is what we’re going to be looking at the next six weeks—each one of these pieces of armor that we wear. I want you to notice in verse 11 Paul says that we are to, “Put on the whole armour of God.” You can't pick and choose certain pieces or aspects. You put on the whole armor of God or as we say the whole panoplia of the armor of God. “Put on the whole armour of God,” why? “…that ye may be able to stand against the wiles,” the tactics, the strategies, “of the devil.” Notice verse 13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore,” and he goes on to name the armor (verse 14), “…having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

We are to take the whole armor of God, so know the enemy and rely upon the equipment that God has provided. First, there is the belt of truth. We are to be living God’s truth. We are to be truthing it in every aspect of our life—not practicing any hypocrisy or duplicity. Secondly, we put on the breastplate of righteousness. We have that imputed righteousness that comes to us by faith in Christ and that practical righteousness we live out. Then we put on the shoes or the “sandals” of the gospel of peace. We become His messengers. We take the good news that God wants to have peace with sinners. Then in verse 16, the shield of faith. The just shall live by faith. These are the areas that satan will attack us on—our integrity or truth, our righteousness. He’ll seek to rob us of our peace and keep us from preaching the gospel. He doesn’t want us to trust in God or live by faith.

Then there is the helmet of salvation (verse 17). He wants to rob you of your assurance—that you are truly saved. A Christian that knows they are saved can live the Christian life. In verse 17, “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” It’s so very, very important, and we’ll spend a week on that. Then, I believe, that we should add (verse 18) all prayer. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” I believe that each one of these aspects of the armor we put on by faith and prayer. So, how do we put on this armor? By prayer. If I’m going to stand against the wiles of satan I must first bow before God and rely upon His weaponry—His armor that He has provided for me. We want to take the whole armor of God.

Thirdly, I want you to notice (verse 10), we need to stand in the strength of the Lord. We need to stand in His strength or rely upon His power. “Finally, my brethren,” or for the rest, my brethren, “be strong,” where? “in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” This is so very important. You need to realize satan is stronger than you are, and he can destroy you. You don’t have—in your own resources, in your own strength, in your own ability—the ability to stand against the devil. Remember when Peter said, "Lord, though everyone forsakes You, I will not forsake You?” I’ve seen Christians that do that. “Man, I’m not going to fall this time. I’m gonna be strong. I’m gonna really just walk close to the Lord.” When I hear people say that I just want to cover my eyes and say, “I don’t want to watch.” The Bible says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” You might be here tonight listening to this teaching, to this point and say, “You know, I don’t really need this stuff. Man, I deal with the devil. I can handle the devil. I’m not afraid of the devil.” That’s fine, but you don’t want to be self-confident. Even Michael the great Archangel said, “The Lord rebuke thee.”

I hear people binding and loosing satan, and commanding the devil and talking to the devil. He’s just laughing. You have no power or authority over the devil apart from Jesus Christ. If you’re going to stand against the wiles of the devil, you’re going to have to stand in reliance upon God. Your strength is going to have to be in the Lord. You’re going to have to bow before the battle. You’re going to have to get on your knees and fight the enemy—relying upon not only armor that He provides (this is our part, to put on the armor) and God’s part to strengthen and help us to stand in strength. We can’t face the enemy in our own strength. Jesus said in John 15, “…for without me ye can do nothing." Did you notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Without Me you can’t do much?” He didn’t say, “Without Me you can’t do a whole lot.” He said, “Without Me you can’t do anything.” Let him who stands take heed lest he fall. Peter thought he could take care of satan, and he fell. He got self-confident and fell.

David went out to fight Goliath. I love the story of David and Goliath. He’s fighting this huge giant, and Saul looked at David and thought, “No, David, you need some armor,” so he tried to provide David with his armor and it didn’t fit. David hadn’t really tested it, and David couldn't really wear it. It wasn’t David, and David had all this armor on and said, “No, no. I can’t do this. I’m just going to trust God.” He took off Saul’s armor and took up his sling and grabbed five stones. He went out to face the giant and told the giant, “You come to me with the sword and with a spear, and I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,” Jehovah Sabaoth—the Lord of all the armies of heaven. What an awesome thought! When we realize that God goes with us, God protects and surrounds us with His angels, we need to rely upon His power. How do we rely upon God’s power? Verse 18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto.” You put the armor on through prayer, and you rely upon God’s power and strength through prayer.

Remember too that we’re fighting not for victory but from victory. Amen? In Colossians Paul said, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Do you know that when Jesus died on the cross He divested satan of his power and then rose again victoriously from the grave? And, we died with Christ. We were buried with Christ, and we rose again with Christ. His victory is our victory, and we need to stand in that victory. We need to stand in His strength. Stand in His victory, stand in His strength, and stand in the power of the Lord. You cannot fight satan in your own power with your own strength. You need to, through prayer, take on the whole armor of God. Then, when the devil comes to attack you, you need to get on your knees and call on the name of the Lord. The Bible says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” God wants to protect and shield you from the attacks of satan, but you need to rely upon His strength. You need to rely upon His power. Amen?