SPIRITUAL WARFARE: THE FIGHT

Sermon Notes, January 13, 2013

Pastor Jan Sinozich

 

Pastor Jan started a new sermon series on Spiritual Warfare, based on 2 Corinthians 10:1-8.  Part 1 defines “The Fight,” and its scripture is 2 Corinthians 10:1-3.  Evil is in the world.  The attacks on 9-11 that created chaos and suffering are one face of evil.  We can see evil all around us, with drug pushers, gangs, and pornography.  But evil doesn’t only show up in visible ways.  Sometimes it is hidden away inside our own ranks.  Our private lives are sometimes inconsistent with what we profess on Sunday morning.  All of this, public and private, is the face of evil, and is the battleground of spiritual warfare.

In verses 1-3, Paul is defending his ministry.  He wants to be sure the entire church hears his defense, not because they were all involved in the criticism, but because they soon could be. He understands that even the church can be a battleground.  The church operates in enemy territory, “the world,” meaning the flesh: inherited selfishness, the sinful nature we are all born with.  This world is not simply neutral towards God; it is hostile, as scripture bears out.  Apart from Christ, people are not able to submit to God or His law.  We are to live in the world, not run away from it.  Paul says, “We live in the flesh, in the world of normal society, but we do not fight on those terms.  We are not carrying on a worldly war.” 

We don’t just live in enemy territory, but we fight against a defeated enemy who continues to wage a campaign of insurgency.  The insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan try to create disillusionment and disunity among Coalition Forces.  These are the same tactics that our enemy, Satan, uses against God’s people today.

If an enemy can create an atmosphere of disillusionment, confusion and fear, if he can convince his foe that they are losing the fight, that they shouldn’t even be here, he has done more harm than he could with guns and tanks.  Fear accompanies lies.  Satan is powerful, but he has already been defeated.  He is fighting a last ditch insurgency.  God is sovereign.  He allows Satan a measure of activity on earth, but he is not in charge and cannot defeat God’s people or God’s purposes.  James 4 tells us “Submit yourselves to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  Jesus has won the victory.  We have nothing to be disillusioned about.

The other thing the insurgents try to do is create disunity.  It is Satan’s primary tactic.  If we don’t trust each other and if we don’t trust those in authority, the ensuing confusion makes it impossible to wage war against our real enemy.  When we believe in who and what we’re fighting for, we know the danger and that we need each other to be victorious, we are unified.

There are several practical applications for us in this spiritual battle.  First, we are living in the world by God’s design.  Second, we should do everything in our power to insure the success of the mission. Third, we should realize that we are living for something larger than ourselves and our own self-interest.  Jesus invites us to an adventure.  Let’s live that adventure faithfully, and let’s live it together.