Spiritual Warfare

Scripture Text

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Intro: Every day we wake up, we will be fighting spiritual battles all day long. The battleground is our mind. Selfish, evil, sinful ideas are not of God. God is not evil, selfish, or sinful; therefore, such evil thoughts and reasoning's are often injected into the mind of men by fleshly spiritual forces that stand opposed to God.

I. Spiritual warfare is not fought with fleshly or worldly weapons. 2 Corinthians 10:3 (NKJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. Paul says in this verse that although we believers "walk in the flesh"; that is, we live in a body just like all other people. But we do not war in the flesh. We do not fight the struggles of life using only our own strength. Why? Because we know that there is spiritual warfare going on for the minds and lives of people. We Believers know that the evil forces of the spiritual world lie behind sin and evil, disorder and devastation, corruption and deterioration· *death and hell. Believers know that we cannot "war after the flesh"; that no man nor any combination of men can conquer the spiritual forces that fight and eat away at man until they destroy him. No matter how strong, educated, or scientific man may become, he cannot deliver himself from the spiritual forces that cause evil, sin and death. There is no worldly weapon that can defeat evil spiritual forces.

II. The believer's weapons against evil forces are spiritual and mighty. 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. God's word says our bodies are the temple of the Lord, the place where His Spirit dwells. We know that there is nothing in this world that can conquer the spiritual forces that lie behind the evil and death of this world. Therefore, we fight the spiritual battles of this life with spiritual weapons, weapons that are of God and are made mighty and powerful by God. We believers use spiritual weapons to "pull down strongholds." The evils of this world that are deeply entrenched and fortified in the minds and hearts of men. These strongholds are clearly seen in the daily newscasts and behavior of people day by day. Evil, sin, destruction and death can never be permanently overcome by carnal or worldly weapons. Only the spiritual weapons of God can permanently conquer evil. God has given us the weapons of prayer, His word, and His Spirit!

3. The method of conquering the forces of evil. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

a. The believer casts down imaginations: thoughts and imaginations that are uncontrolled, wild, evil, lustful, immoral, unjust, wrong, untrue, devilish, and set against God and His word. Through prayer, God's word, and the power of the Spirit the believer wars, fights, and struggles to "cast down" evil imaginations. He fights to bring down his imaginations,those mental images and thoughts that fights against the knowledge of God.

b.  The believer casts down "every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God": false ideas about God, false doctrine and teaching, false reasoning's; human pride and arrogance, sensuality, self-sufficiency and self-righteousness that set themselves up against God.

c.  The believer seeks to captivate every thought to the obedience of Christ. A phenomenal statement—every thought controlled and subjected to Christ! This is the spiritual objective of the true Christian believer. God created man for fellowship and communion with Him, therefore, the believer wars—struggles and fights—to captivate every thought and focus it upon God and His righteousness. He seeks to walk in an unbroken fellowship and communion with God. How is the control of every thought possible? Through the power of the Holy Spirit of God “we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service.” [Romans 12:1] Our bodies are all we have to offer—we live in our bodies. The body is the home of our emotions, our mind, thoughts, desires, and plans. The body represents the total person; it is the instrument by which all our service is given to God. In order to live for God, we must give him all that we are, represented by our body. If our body is at God’s disposal, he will have our free time, our pleasures, and all our behavior. Since the battleground is the mind and it is, we have to renew our minds with the word of God. We filter what comes through our minds by the word of God. If it doesn't fit God's word, we reject it. To be able to use God's word as a filter for your thoughts, you must know what His word says. The most important weapon against wrong thoughts is the knowledge of God's word. We hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against God.

Conclusion: Begin to filter your thoughts and make sure the devil has not got a stronghold in your life. It is important what you think! You are what you think. The bible says as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7

Invitation: Are you completely sure that Heaven will be your home when you die. Does the Holy Spirit confirm with your spirit that you belong to Christ? If not, now is the time to make sure. Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you! Follow Him in believer's baptism.