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This past week on the podcast we talked about spiritual warfare. This may be a very new topic of conversation for many Christians. Unfortunately, I do not believe the church has done a very good job on educating believers how real spiritual warfare is in our lives and how to fight the good fight we are called to. Our goal for this podcast was exactly that, to educate and instruct believers on how to be the most prepared warriors in God’s army for the kingdom. So, let’s get into the thick of it…

First of all, yes, spiritual warfare is a real thing. It might be a little different then how you are picturing it though. God’s word talks about being aware and ready to combat the schemes of the evil one at all times. The Bible gives us clear instructions on the ways the satan wants to attack us and how we counter.

Let us soak in some passages on spiritual warfare to better understand what we should do.

“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

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

What we know from these scriptures:

· This battle is not against fleshly things, but against the spiritual powers

· Only the armor given to us from God can withstand the schemes of the devil

· We must win the war in our mind first

· The evil one does not want us to succeed, he wants us to be ill-prepared

In the podcast episode we were joined by our good friend Josh. Josh was a missionary in Zambia, Africa for over 4 years. He worked to preach the good news in the same country that me and many of our friends have visited to share Christ and him crucified. Josh shared how in Zambia this spiritual battle is much more blatant than in places like America. When we go to Zambia and travel very far into the villages to preach Jesus, we know we are walking into places that openly practice witchcraft. We know we are bringing the light of Christ into a dark place who does not want Jesus to succeed. So, when we see the schemes of the evil one in front of our eyes as we cast out demons and preach to witchdoctors, we know this war is real and happening all around us.

So why don’t we see things like this in America? Does that mean the devil is not at work around us in our lives? Of course not! This is what the satan wants us to believe, that there is no battle being waged. The enemy wants the church and its believers to be lukewarm and oblivious to the schemes of darkness.

So where is the war then?

Even though we may not encounter witchdoctors every day like we do when in Zambia, the enemy and his demons are at work in our world every day; looking to bring more lost people far from Christ.

Here’s a couple examples of places spiritual warfare can very well be happening in our culture…

· Alcohol and drug addiction

· Physical and sexual abuse

· The love of money and pride

· Politics and disunity

· The censoring of God’s people

· Porn addiction

· Music, movies, and social media

· And anything else the enemy can use to distract us from our purpose

My friends the truth is the enemy is working to destroy everything that has to do with Christ and his children. Sometimes the easiest way he can destroy our lives is to distract us from doing what God wants from us. Sometimes there does not need to be witchdoctors or big scary demons to get us off track. Sometimes all the enemy uses to derail us is to tell us lies.

My friends the battle is all around us all of the time. Its time to stop being naïve and foolish in our faiths. It is time to put on the armor of God and go to war with the enemy with the word of God as our weapon. What did Jesus do when he was tempted by the devil? He held to God’s word and used it to defeat the temptations of the evil one (Matthew 4).

Remember my brothers and sisters, the devil is a liar and a loser. Our King has won the victory and we get our strength from him. We do not fear the devil we merely acknowledge his schemes so we can better fight the good fight.

ACTION STEPS:

· Memorize God’s word and pray for his strength in times of temptation

· Realize where the enemy most often distracts you from your purpose

· Begin to win the war in your mind and encourage those around you to see the battle being waged

As always, from all of us at AskUsWhy we pray you continue to learn and grow in the faith. We want to be a resource for all believers to be equipped in any stage of life, and to be able to bring the kingdom of God wherever they go.

Peace and blessings!

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