Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

His Extensive Power | Series: Terrorist Alert! | 11-08-09

His Extensive Power
Series: Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy
Ephesians 6:10-18

 I. There is a supernatural struggle between Christians and the powers of darkness.

II. There is a spiritual protection when Christians wear their spiritual armor.

    A. The belt of truth.
    B. The breastplate of righteousness.
    C. Feet fitted with the Gospel of peace.
    D. The shield of faith.
    E. The helmet of salvation.
    F. The sword of the spirit.

Full Text 

Trick or Treat time is over.  All those cute ghosts and goblins and witches and devils have grabbed the candy and run.  Halloween is all in fun for most of us.  The world of the occult is all make-believe.

But there are those that take the worship of Satan very seriously.  Human sacrifice, crime, drugs, and illicit sex are very real things going on in America today as people worship the Prince of Darkness.  In 1966 the Church of Satan became an official entity in the United States.  Yes, the worship of Satan does exist.  Yes, things like the sacrifice of human babies does occur.  And yes, Satan is a real being.

We are in a series called Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy.  Satan is the ultimate terrorist.  The Bible clearly teaches that he IS at the heart of all this trouble and pain and injustice AND that he has extensive power.  But today we'll discover a passage that shows Christians how we can stop him with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Last week we focused more on not over-estimating Satan's powers.  He is not God's evil twin.  God is all powerful.  Satan is not.  Satan has to get God's permission before working on God's people.

But we do not want to under-estimate Satan's power either.  Last week we saw how he uses nature, people, and personal suffering to distract us and turn us from God.  As an example of how Satan uses his own, Thursday, Army Major Hasan killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood.

And you don't have to be one of Satan's people to be used of Satan.  Just because you are a Christian does not mean Satan will leave you alone.  The Devil is always at your side.

Dwight Moody, a well known preacher in the 1900's said, "When I was converted, I made this mistake: I thought the battle was already mine, the crown already in my grasp. I thought the old things had passed away, that all things had become new, and that my old corrupt nature was gone. But I found out, after serving Christ for a few months, that conversion was only like enlisting in the army--that there was a battle at hand."

That leads us to the first truth that I want you to remember.
I. There is a supernatural struggle between
Christians and the powers of darkness.

Each day a cosmic battle is playing out between the forces of good and evil.  We're going to walk our way through a passage of Scripture.

Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-12.  "10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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."

A lot of people believe that Satan is merely a mythical character conjured up  to complete the package as the enemy of God.  They think that there is evil out there, but they don't buy in to the person of Satan even though the Bible clearly states that he exists.  The skeptic explains away Satan in the same way one might explain away Santa Claus or the tooth fairy.

There was a 3rd grade boy who had been misbehaving in Sunday school class.  His teacher grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him and sternly said, "Young man, I think the devil's got a hold of you!"  The frightened boy looked up and said, "So do I!!"

Frighteningly, the Devil has a hold of each of us in different ways and to different degrees…and he is not just a figment of our imagination.  The Bible teaches that Satan was an angel in heaven who rebelled against God.  There was a great battle and he was cast out of Heaven.  That's why he is called a fallen angel.  Satan is a literal, supernatural being.

The Bible says in I Peter 5:8, "…Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

He's been roaming this earth since the Garden of Eden.  He enticed Eve into eating forbidden fruit, incited David to take a mistress, plagued Job with suffering, tempted Jesus in the wilderness, tormented Paul with a thorn in his flesh, entered Judas' heart.  If you could ask any of those people they would tell you that Satan is alive and that he has extensive power and he intends to destroy us.

But you don't need to journey back to people in Biblical times to know that Satan is alive and well.  You can ask any serious Christian.  We know the Devil is real because this past week we can think of times when we've done business with Satan and the rulers and authorities of this world.

He tried to distract me from this sermon and the last 2 weeks, it seems every time I've tried to have serious prayer, a distraction appeared.  Maybe he tried to get you to do something you knew was wrong.  Maybe he whispered in your ear to say something that would hurt someone else.  Maybe he distracted you and you just didn't do what you should have done.

Every day we make many choices.  At the moment they may not seem earth-shattering.  But each and every choice can have life-changing results, if not eternal consequences.  How would King David's life and legacy have read had he made the right decision when from his palace he saw Bathsheba bathing?  How would Joseph be remembered if he had he failed the purity test when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him?  Each day you are faced with decisions as you fill out your expense report, or move the mouse on your home computer, or when you cross paths with that person who is hard to get along with.  How will you be remembered?

Paul even alluded to the extensive power of Satan when his devilish plot delayed Paul from making a visit to the Christians in Thessalonica.

I Thessalonians 2:17-18.  "17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18For we wanted to come to you-certainly I, Paul, did, again and again-but Satan stopped us."

Satan, a real being with the power to do it, delayed Paul's coming to Thessalonica!

Never forget that no matter how terrible or horrible your family might be, no matter how mean and stupid your boss is, no  matter how hard to get along with your neighbor is, they don't hold a candle to the prince of darkness.  No wonder Satan is called the accuser, the adversary, the enemy, the prince of darkness, the father of all lies, the one who has come to steal, kill, and destroy.  Don't underestimate his power!  There IS a supernatural struggle between Christians and the powers of darkness but let's spend the rest of our time looking at this reality.

II. There is a spiritual protection
when Christians wear their spiritual armor.

In order for us to be able to make the right decisions in life and defeat Satan, we will need to put on some spiritual armor.  Paul begins in verse 13 of our text by saying "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."

Paul takes a familiar sight of his day, a Roman soldier in his armor, and uses it as an illustration of the Christian soldier.  Maybe he did it because it would be easy to remember.  Maybe it was because he was a prisoner in Rome for preaching about Jesus.

Now, the Romans had a different approach to certain criminals.  Why should the Roman people through their taxes, pay for a law breaker to have food, clothes, and shelter?  The prisoner would wear a long thin chain that would be attached to a Roman soldier.  The prisoner had to work and earn enough money to pay for the expenses of his incarceration.  He had to pay for his own way and for the soldier.

Paul was looking at a Roman soldier all day every day.  He was chained to one.  He uses what he sees to help us understand spiritual truths. 

Remember, Satan is a terrorist.  He strikes unexpectedly.  When we least expect it, when we relax, when we take off our spiritual armor, he will be there.  He will show up at the movie theatre when you're deciding what to see.  The devil will show up at the Thanksgiving family reunion making fun of the fact that you pause to pray before the meal.   Satan and his servants visit churches to try to sow dissension among members.  Satan has extensive powers to lure us into his traps.  It is important that we wear our spiritual armor, even when we do not expect his attacks.

So, let's see the spiritual armor Paul says we need to wear.  Ephesians 6:14-17.  "14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  These are 6 pieces that every Roman soldier had.

The first one he mentions is
A. The belt of truth.

Remember how last week we saw that Satan begins with some truth.  Then, when he has us agreeing with him, he throws in a lie.  We are so used to agreeing with him, it is hard not to go on agreeing, even though it is a lie.  The result is we are tempted to put on a belt of compromise or the belt of moral relativism.

You see, Satan doesn't have to get you to believe a great big lie.  All he has to do is get you to believe that little lie and in time he will have you.  He knows the spiritual regression that can take place.  If he can get you to think that there is no such thing as absolute truth then you can flounder in the sea of relativity.  Remember, Satan is called the father of lies. 

So, we need to seek spiritual truth and hold to it.  But we also need to live out spiritual truth.  Ephesians 4:25 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."

When we wear the belt of truth, not only do we believe the truth of the Bible, we also speak the truth.  When we speak the truth we separate ourselves from Satan and will not be mistaken for one of his.

Next, Paul says to put on
B. The breastplate of righteousness.

Satan tempted Eve by telling her that if she followed his lead instead of God's she would become just like God.  She could put herself on the throne of her life.  Satan still uses the same line today because it still works so well.  When will we ever learn?

When we put ourselves on the throne we can put on our own righteousness.  We can justify and rationalize whatever we want to do.  When we trust in our own righteousness, we are still with our sins.

When we put on the breastplate of righteousness we put on Christ Jesus' righteousness.  We put on His perfection not our own feeble attempts.

Isaiah 64:6 says "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;  we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Compared to our righteous and holy God, even the good things we do are like filthy rags.  There is no way we can ever measure up to the high standards of God.  Heaven demands perfection, something we can only dream about.  Our only hope is to accept and clothe ourselves with the righteousness of Christ.  He really was and is perfect.

If we are going to do battle with the forces of darkness we don't want to do it with our righteousness.  We need the righteousness of Jesus.  That is our only hope.

Galatians 3:26-27 says, "26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
Talk about the Ultimate Armor!!!  To get to you Satan has to go through Christ.  As long as you have Him for your protection Satan doesn't have a chance.  But you have to keep your armor on.

Satan tempts us to wear our own righteousness, because then he can get to us.  So don't do it.  If you do your heart will be an open target.  Rely on Jesus' breastplate of righteousness.

Paul also tells us to have our
C. Feet fitted with the Gospel of peace.

When a soldier goes into battle they had better have good shoes so they will have firm, sure footing. 

During the Revolutionary war many soldiers only got one pair of shoes a year.  With all the marching they would quickly wear them out.  So many of the men would go barefoot until time for a battle or the snow would fall.

In a battle, you need boots that will give you a good grip.  I was surprised to find this picture of the Roman soldier's shoes.  Did you notice the soles?  These were the original spikes!  The text said the spikes were for good grip, so the soldier didn't slide.  But I wouldn't want him to step on my open-toed sandal or kick me in the shin with those!

One of the keys to the military successes of both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar was keeping good shoes on their soldiers.

Notice the way the NIV translates Ephesians 6:15, "And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

This verse was way too long to put it all in the point, but the word, "readiness" means you are prepared.  Satan is a terrorist who strikes unexpectedly.  The Gospel of peace can prepare us for those strikes. 

When the Christian speaks of peace, it is primarily between us and God.  When we committed that first sin we became God's enemy.  We joined Satan's forces.  But by the grace of the Gospel we change sides.  We become one of Christ's soldiers.  We are at peace with God.

But after making peace with God, the Gospel helps us make peace with other people.  The fruit the Spirit produces in us, listed in Galatians 5:20, helps us get along with each other.

A couple of chapters before our text, Ephesians 4: 3, Paul writes, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

So be at peace with your fellow soldiers and remember-they are not the enemy.  We are in the same army!

Next Paul tells us to take up
D. The shield of faith.

Let's look back at our text, Ephesians 6:16.  "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

When the enemy was shooting arrows to soften them up, the Roman soldiers would protect themselves by this formation.  It would take a lucky shot to get through the shields.  Faith is the Christian's shield, protecting us from the arrows of doubt Satan shoots at us.

One of the things that has come out of our small group discussions in the "Fearless" series has been the importance of faith.  Over and over we have seen faith either eliminating or at least lessening fear.

Satan likes to cast doubt.  He asked Eve, "Did God really say...?"  We all go through periods of doubt.  If we are not careful, doubt can pull us away from God's truth.  It is important that we continually focus on the historical, geographic, and prophetic accuracy of the Bible.  Review the changed lives.  God is and His promises are certain.

I am convinced that it takes more faith to be an atheist than to be a Christian who believes the Bible.  Jonathan Edwards, a preacher in the 1800's said, "God wants to reach the heart, but he never bypasses the mind on the way to the heart."

The Lord says in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is a matter of the mind.  Sometimes we cannot understand what God is doing or why He is doing it.  But unbelief is a matter of the will.  People refuse to believe God's Words and obey what He tells us to do.

In a nutshell, the stronger our faith, the less likely it will be that Satan will be able to lead us astray.  Faith is our shield.

Then Paul tells us to put on
E. The helmet of salvation.

That is so obvious, but we still need to be reminded.  Satan wants to destroy you.  The devil wants you to spend eternity with him in the torments of Hell.  But God wants to save us from Satan and the horrors of Hell.  So God sent Jesus to die for us and rescue us from all that.

But Satan still likes to operate in the realm of doubt and get Christians to question their salvation.  He wants us to think we have to be good enough so he can point out our short-comings and create doubt.

But none of us is worthy.  That's why Jesus came.  Let I John 5:11-13 sink in.  "11…God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."  Have faith in the promise of God.

After listing all this armor to defend us, Paul gives us only one offensive weapon.  Ephesians 6:17 says, ""Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

F. The sword of the Spirit.
In the old vampire movies people would meet a vampire and show the vampire a cross so he would run away.  I'm sorry, but showing Satan a symbol or mumbling a magic formula will not ward him off.

We defeat him the same way Jesus did -- quoting Scripture.  This is why our small groups are so important.  They help you to be able to fight Satan in your life.  The Word of God is a powerful weapon against Satan, but it becomes even more powerful with prayer.

Look at Verse 18.  "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 saints."

Prayer is the force behind the armor.  Someone said, "Prayer is not part of the battle, it is the battle."  Prayer helps us keep our armor on.  Prayer taps into God's awesome power.

Remember, Satan has extensive power, but God has infinitely more power.

John writes in I John 4:4, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

That's why we can be the aggressors in this war.  In Matthew 16 Jesus told His disciples that the gates of Hades, the dwelling place of the dead, Satan's realm, cannot stand before the Church.  We are the ones attacking Satan's kingdom.  We are the aggressors.  We are more powerful.  Put on the full armor of Christ and defeat Satan in your life and in others.

Satan may have extensive powers, but we are promised the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  You see, it is only through the power of Christ that we gain the victory.  Will Satan win some battles in our lives?  Yes, he will.  But Jesus wins the war.

A passage we already read today, Galatians 3:26-27 says, "26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

Do you need to clothe yourself with Christ this morning so you can put on the full armor of God?  Verse 26 says you need faith in Christ.  But this is an active faith that demands a response.  The response is baptism where your old person is sin is buried with Christ and you rise out of the water to live a new life.

If you are ready to do that this morning or if you already have and would like to place your membership with our loving congregation, then come forward as we stand and sing.

Based on an 11/20/2005 Dave Stone of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky sermon