The Battle for God’s Glory And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come

The Battle for God’s Glory

Spiritual Warfare

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:14 (NIV)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:14 (NIV)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Revelation 7:9-10 (NASB)

“[Satan] is adamantly opposed to the gospel being proclaimed to the nations and is an adversary to God’s Kingdom being extended”

(Rankin 56)

• Totalitarian Governments

• Church’s priorities distracted

• Unreached people group understanding

• Cultural & Religious deceptions

• In Relation to unbelievers

How Satan is working in the world to oppose the spread of God’s Kingdom?

•He blinds the minds of unbelievers (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). •He snatches away the Word of God (see Matthew 13:19).

• “We must realize we have an adversary that is actively taking away the truth we are sharing and distorting the thinking and understanding of those to whom we witness.” (Rankin 39).

•He sets traps for the unwary so that they oppose the Lord’s servants (see 2 Timothy 2:24-26).•He masquerades as an angel of light (see 2 Corinthians 11:13-14) to deceive men and women.

In relation to unbelievers






• In Relation to believers


• Satan spoke and tempted Christ. We may not see him standing next to us, but like Christ, Job, Peter and many others, he tempts us. He whispers in our ears…

• Unforgiveness

• Anger

• Doubt

• Pride

• Hinders our work

• Unholy living

• Materialism

• Illness

• Creates dissension, destroys unity.

• Flesh = backwards minus the “h” spells “s.e.l.f”

• Fear

• Discouragement

• Adversity

In relation to believers






• In Relation to believers

• On all levels, Satan is working to steal God’s glory


“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Isaiah 14:12-14

“The real battle is opposition to God. He is jealous of God’s power and glory.” He coveted God’s glory and chose to rebel against His authority.”

(Rankin 31)

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

(The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis)

Our Eyes on Christ!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

Our Eyes on Christ!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the Light of His Glory and grace.

Words & Music: Hel en H. Lem mel, 1922

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

• Victory in the spiritual battle belongs to the Lord - so our greatest weapons at all times are our spiritual weapons - the Word of God and prayer - we especially need to learn how to become men and women of prayer.

• We do not believe that victory comes through slick formulas or the latest theory of demonology.

• We do not believe that victory only comes to specially gifted people, although some may be more involved than others, and more effective in direct spiritual warfare encounters than others.

• We do not believe that victory always comes with some spectacular confrontation or power encounter.

• Again we say, victory belongs to the Lord, and He brings the victory to bear in a host of ways.

Our victory is in Christ! (disclosure)

• Western Worldview – the physical and spiritual are separate, a dichotomy.

• Eastern Worldview (Jewish) – The physical and spiritual are one

The Physical and the Spiritual

“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

Romans 8:19-21


Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB)


For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)


“I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the Church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, that being; the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his fiery darts.”

(Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)


Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Alert & Prepared

Position in the Heavenly Realms (1-3)

• 1:3 – Blessed in Christ in the HR (chosen to be holy, predestined to be adopted as sons, redeemed and forgiven, grace lavished on us, revealed mystery to us, chosen to hope in Him for His glory, sealed by the HS as a guarantee of our inheritance.)

• 1:20 – Power in Christ, raised from the dead, seated at the right hand in the HR, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.

• 2:6 – We are raise up with Christ and sealed in Him in the HR in order to show His incomparable grace and kindness.

• 3:10 – Together, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to rulers and authorities in the HR.

Ephesians

How we should live (4-6)

• 4:1, 4:17, 5:2, 5:8, 5:15 – Therefore WALK in a manner worthy. We must intentionally commit to walk in faith and obedience, living transformed lives.

Warfare (6:10ff)

• Satan’s task is to raise doubt to our blessings in Christ (1:3), to nullify the power and position of Christ (1:20), to deny our position and destiny with Christ (2:6), and to destroy the unity and testimony of the church (3:10).

• BUT – all of the truths (1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10) are eternally ours in Christ. STAND FIRM IN THEM! (6:13-19)!

Ephesians

• The belt of truth (v.14) – Quenches all the lies of Satan, the great accuser. “You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32)

• The breastplate of righteousness (v.14) – It’s not our righteousness but His. He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21)

• Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (v.15) – The power of God’s Spirit compels us to be witnesses proclaiming the gospel even to the ends of the earth. The good news is that man can have peace with God.

(Rankin 259-262)

Ephesians – The Armor is Christ!

• The shield of faith (v.16) – We have the shield of faith when we put on God. He’s the One who gives faith, His faith, to quench Satan’s darts.

• The helmet of salvation (v.17) – He is our security. In Him and His salvation, Satan cannot create doubts and speculations in our minds that discount the truth of God’s word and threaten the security of our Salvation.

• The sword of the Spirit (v.17) – God is feeding our mind with His Word when we are in Him. He leads us to proclaim His promises, following the example of Jesus in appropriately using and claiming the truth of God’s Word rather than Satan’s twisted distortions that would confuse and defeat us.

(Rankin 259-262)


• A strong and multi-faceted prayer life (v.18) – Prayer is communion and fellowship with God. This may be more important than all the elements of the armor collectively (Phil 4:6-7). The key to maintaining an awareness of His presence is prayer.

• The forgotten part – We fight as part of a community…Unity in Christ – As an extension of prayer for each other and taking the context of Ephesians it is clear that the battle is not to be waged alone, but rather together. Just like victory came when Moses arms were held high by Aaron & Hur (Exodus 17), so must we stand together.


Stand!

In the day of battle, Roman soldiers were to stand their ground, not retreat. As long as they stood together on a flat, open field and did not break ranks, their legions were considered virtually invincible.

(The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament.)

Stand…together

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,…

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)

Stand…firm in faith & obedience

“There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch and every split second are claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”

(C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters)

Stand…at all times

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

Stand…when adversity comes

“God does not bring on suffering or adversity, but He allows it as an opportunity to be glorified in our life.”

(Rankin 214)

Stand…when you suffer

“…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

(Hebrews 12:2-3)

Stand!

• Feeding on God’s Word

• Praying at all times

• Praising the Lord in all things

• Denying the flesh in fasting

• Community life & accountability

• Observing a Sabbath

How to StandPractical Disciplines in Claiming the victory

“[My captors] didn’t know me. Nobody [on the outside] knew where I was. I meant nothing to [my captors]. My life was worthless. I realized that they wouldn’t think twice about getting rid of me, and no one would know. You can imagine how desperate I was to get away. And all I could think of was God saying, ‘Andy, this is how desperate you should be to know me’.”

A Missionary reflects on his captivity

“The Key to victory in spiritual warfare is for God to be the desire of our heart and to know God in all His fullness.”

(Rankin 272)

Documents

The Battle for God’s Glory And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come