How about now? Can you hear me now? Alright. What was I saying? It doesn't matter. Let's close in prayer. No, just kidding.
No, the Christian life is a life that, you know, is one that you have to fight for.
That if you don't endeavor to put on the armor of God and stand against the devil, that you're going to fall prey to his wiles, as it says here.
You have to fight for your Christian life. Obviously, that's a play on the phrase of fight for your life. Sometimes you have to just fight for your life.
You know, we living in the day and age that we live in, that's not really something the vast majority of people are ever going to have to experience.
Having to have to go through a literal fight for their physical life. But the reality is, spiritually, that we do have to fight for our Christian life.
That there are Christians today that are losing that battle, that are falling prey to the devil, that are falling prey and becoming victims of the wiles of the devil.
As it says there in verse 10, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to do what?
Stand against the wiles of the devil there. And the wiles just mean, you know, the devious or strategies and the manipulating or persuading that the devil implements in order to persuade us to do what he wants.
It's basically his trickery. That's the wiles of the devil. And maybe a way to help us better understand the use of that term is think about Wile E. Coyote from Looney Tunes.
I'm kind of dating myself here, but there's probably a few of you that are familiar with that character. You know, he's always trying to catch the roadrunner. How is he doing it?
He's not hoping that the roadrunner slips up. He's not hoping that he just somehow, you know, just stumbles upon him. No, he's conniving, right? He's manipulating.
He's painting the big fake, you know, tunnel and he's trying to drop anvils and he's painting red X's and planting TNT and doing all these things.
He's Wile E. Coyote, right? He has wiles. He has cunning stratagems. He has, you know, ways to persuade to try to get the roadrunner where he wants to get him.
Now I understand that's kind of a carnal explanation, but that's how the devil operates today. The devil spiritually is a wile adversary. The wiles of the devil are a very real thing.
And the Bible warns about this. And I think today, unfortunately too often, there's so many Christians anymore that seem to forget about the fact that we have an adversary in the devil.
Who is working. Who is working behind the scenes. Who is trying to manipulate situations. Who is trying to catch us off guard.
And that's why Paul is so adamant here about putting on the whole armor of God and he actually takes the time to go through these things and name them.
The specific pieces of that armor. Let's look at it quickly. It says in verse 12,
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. You know, the fight that we fight is not the fight in this world.
Jesus said, if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.
The kingdom that we're fighting for is a spiritual, unseen kingdom. A kingdom that is yet to come.
We're not fighting against flesh and blood. We're not here to try and promote, you know, taking over some country by any means whatsoever.
You know, we're not going to raise some militia. We're not trying to take, even politically.
I'm not a big proponent of, you know, what's known as Christian nationalism and these things.
You know, getting involved in politics. You know, that's the world. Let them have those things.
You know, our battle is not against flesh and blood. It's not the things of this earth.
It's against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Now, I don't know about you, that's a very intimidating foe. That's a very powerful adversary when he's talking about the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places.
That's who we're fighting against. We're not fighting against the flesh and blood of this earth.
We're not fighting against some standing army of some nation. We're not fighting against some man.
We're fighting actually a much more dangerous enemy, a much more powerful enemy in Satan, in the devil and his wiles.
We're fighting against spiritual wickedness in high places. We're fighting against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
And I think so often Christians today, they just kind of don't take that very seriously. They don't really let that sink in like it should.
That doesn't have the impact that it ought to in their lives.
Paul is saying, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the armor of God. Why? Because you have to fight for your Christian life.
Because there is an adversary who is wily, who is cunning, who is crafty, who is going to try and trip you up and stop you.
He's going to plant the TNT. He's going to try to drop the anvil. He's going to paint the X and wait for you to step on it.
Spiritually speaking. And he says, take unto you the whole armor of God, verse 13, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
This is how we take it to the enemy. This is how we go on the offense against the devil.
We ourselves are saved. We have the breastplate of righteousness upon us. We have believed in our heart the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we have called upon the name of the Lord. We are saved. We have that piece of the armor. Then we don the gospel of peace.
We put on the preparation of the gospel of peace. That's what our feet are shod with. And that's what we take to the devil.
The Christian life is an offensive life. Obviously there's always defense too, but we take it to the devil when we go out and preach the gospel.
We're going into his territory in order to fight. And the devil is not an adversary that takes things lying down.
He's not one that's just going to roll over and let us just have our way with him. He's going to resist us.
And who is he more likely to resist? The people that are actually trying to go into his kingdom and take captive his people and free them with the gospel?
Or is he going to resist the people that are doing that? Or is he going to resist people that really aren't doing much for God?
You know, if you're going to be part of a church, if you're going to be putting on the gospel of peace, if you're going to don this armor and take it to the devil
and actually wrestle against the principalities of this world and against the darkness of this world and the rulers in high places in this world, spiritually speaking,
you better expect some resistance. It's going to happen. We're not ignorant of his devices. The devil is real.
Sometimes I wonder if some Christians have forgotten that part of the Bible. That Satan is a very real adversary and he sets his sights on those that would oppose him and go against him.
And he says in verse 16, above all, taking the shield of faith. What do you need a shield for? Because there's going to be things coming back your way, right?
Wherewith you shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. You know, he's going to shoot his shot too. He's going to draw back his bow and launch one at you.
He's going to set his sights on us if we're doing our part. If we're donning this armor, if we're, you know, putting the gospel of peace upon our feet and going as we ought to into the whole world and preaching the gospel of every creature,
you better believe, you better expect that the devil is going to fight back. And it's going to be very subtle, right? He's the most subtle creature when he was as the serpent.
The most subtle creature of all the beasts of the field. He's not always just in our face about things. He works, he manipulates, he has time, and most of all, he understands human nature better than we do.
He's seen me and you come and people like us for thousands of years. He's been around for a very long time and he knows how to work against soul winning churches.
He knows how to work against men of God. He knows how to work against the individual, the Christian, the soul winner. He knows how to tempt, how to try, and often how to win.
There will be some fiery darts that are shot back our way. And I'm just saying tonight, you need to fight for your Christian life. You want to not be a makeshift shipwreck of your faith?
If you don't want to fall prey to the wiles of the devil, you have to fight. You have to put on the armor. You have to be willing to take a stand and do all to stand in the evil day.
He said take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. That's how we fight back.
Go to Ephesians chapter number 5, Ephesians chapter number 5.
And obviously there is the spiritual attack, but often the way that manifests is through men. The devil uses people. They are the ones that actually carry out his will, often.
It says there in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 3,
But fornication, all cleanness, or covetous, let it not once be named among you, as become a saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving thanks.
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous, nor man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words.
I mean that's just a phrase that Paul brings up all the time. Let no man deceive you, Colossians chapter 2 verse 18. Let no man beguile you of your word. Don't let no man trick you.
If you would go to 1 Timothy chapter number 1, 1 Timothy chapter number 1.
The devil's going to use people. He's going to put the Judas in the church. He's going to work on the hearts of people that attend a church.
He's going to work on the hearts of individuals and begin to manipulate them and to seduce them so that they can be his pawns, essentially.
And he could twist them and use them to his end.
And you would think it would just be so obvious, it would just be so apparent, but the fact is that the devil is very subtle.
And again, I'm not one, you know me, I don't attribute everything that happens to the devil.
I don't think there's a devil hiding behind every bush, but I'm also not ignorant of the fact that there is a devil.
And I am not ignorant of his devices. Men, spiritual influences, philosophies, and even just the culture in general.
There's so many ways the devil attacks, it's like he doesn't even have to, it just perpetuates itself. He just kind of gets the thing going and just lets it run on its own.
He gets enough corrupt people producing enough corrupt media and corrupting enough minds.
He gets enough institutions out there that are promoting ungodly and wicked agendas.
He gets enough people out there that are trying to tear down the word of God.
He can just kind of set these systems in motion and just step back and carry on about his business.
We're not ignorant of his devices, but sometimes I wonder if some Christians are.
When they see a man of God come into attack, do they even consider the fact that it could be the wiles of the devil?
Does it even cross their mind?
So of course the devil is going to attack a church. The devil is going to attack men of God.
But the devil is also going to attack you. It's going to attack you.
If you're sitting here tonight and you have any desire to do the work of God in your life, the devil is going to come after you. It's a fact.
That's why Paul so often likens the Christian life, I believe, unto a fight, unto a warfare, unto a competition.
That's why he so often likens us unto soldiers. It's several places throughout the scripture.
Look at 1 Timothy 1, verse 18.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.
Of course, Paul here is talking to his protege, Timothy, who is going to be a preacher, a pastor.
And he's saying, as a pastor, as a man of God, you have to do what? War a good warfare.
That you're actually putting yourself on the front lines when you serve God.
When you sign up to serve God, you're signing up for a fight. You have to fight for your Christian life.
There's that old song that I heard years ago, it's a battlefield brother, not a recreation room.
That's one of the lines.
You know, I've thought about that lyric many times throughout my Christian life.
And sometimes I think that's what some Christians think the Christian life is. It's a Sunday picnic.
It's just a free-for-all, it's just a place to go have fun.
Look, it's all those things, it's great, I'm not against the Sunday picnic, I'm not against the chili cook-off, but spiritually, that's not what the Christian life is.
It's not a cakewalk, it's a battlefield, it's a fight, it's a ring that you get in to do battle, basically.
I mean, why else is Paul using this kind of language?
Why is he saying, put on the whole armor of God? Why is he telling Timothy, war good warfare?
Why is he telling Timothy to, as he says in chapter 6 verse 12 of 1 Timothy, fight the good fight of faith?
Well, faith isn't a fight, Paul. That's wrong. The fight that he's calling us to is a fight of faith.
He's saying we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. We fight the good fight of faith, and it's just that. It's a fight.
And you stick around long enough, you serve God long enough, you're going to go through some battles.
You're going to stand alongside people that are fighting battles. You're going to stand alongside those that are on the front lines.
And that's not the time to turn tail and duck and run when there's a fight going on.
You know, when these fights come around, you know, you find out who's got it and who don't.
You find out, you know, who's got some grit in their craw and who doesn't.
You find out, maybe, the people that are more likely to fall prey to the wiles of the devil and those who are maybe a little bit more discerning.
You can actually see what's going on.
Fight the good fight of faith. Fight for your Christian life. Don't let the devil take these things away from you.
Lay hold unto eternal life for until they are also called and has professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Look, go to 2 Corinthians chapter number 10. Look, I have a very simple message tonight. It's not going to take long.
You need to fight for your Christian life. You need to fight for your Christian life.
If you want to do something for God, it's going to be a battle. It's going to be a fight.
And I just want to encourage God's people to continue to fight. That's what we're here to do.
We're on the offense. You've got to fight for these things. You've got to pray. You've got to read. You've got to memorize. You've got to win souls. You've got to go to church. You've got to raise your family. It's a fight.
The devil wants to take all that away from you. You're red hot for serving God. He wants to cool you off, take you out of the fight, take you down a notch.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter number 10, look at verse 3, for we walk, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. There it is again.
We do not fight against flesh and blood. We do not war after the flesh. Did he say we do not war, period? No, he said we do not war after the flesh, meaning we war a spiritual war.
We fight a spiritual battle. That is the Christian life. You must fight for it.
For the weapons of our warfare, verse 4, are not carnal, but mighty through God, the pulling down of strongholds.
The devil doesn't like the Bible being preached, folks. The Bible doesn't like the gospel going out all across the globe.
The devil doesn't like a church sending out soul winners by the thousands, by the hundreds, and reaching thousands of souls all across the country, all across this world even.
He doesn't like it when churches have so much influence that people are being saved by the thousands.
He'll fight back. Why wouldn't he? When we're trying to take what's his, when we're trying to take it to him and pull them out of the fire, when we're trying to take back those that have been held captive by him, why wouldn't we expect resistance?
He's saying we war, but just not after the flesh, and our weapons are mighty through God.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. That's the power of the gospel.
To take somebody who's going straight to hell and send them on the path to heaven, to make them a child of God. There is no more powerful weapon in all the world than the gospel.
What other thing is there in this world that can make such a powerful transformation in an individual? There isn't, there's nothing. Nothing even comes close.
How could it when someone's literally being born again by the spirit into the kingdom of God? That's, it's, it's, you know, it's hard to even describe sometimes or understand or comprehend, but the Bible says that's what's taking place.
When we go out there and preach the gospel to the lost, we pull them out of the fire. We take them back who have been held captive by him.
That's a powerful war that we wage through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We go out and we preach against false doctrine.
We go out into these places where the devil has a foothold and we start to bring people back and start to shed the glorious light of the gospel unto those people.
Don't be so ignorant to think that the devil isn't going to fight against that. And the devil, again, it's the wiles of the devil.
And I try to emphasize that in the beginning because how does he fight back? He doesn't fight back in just a furious rage. That happens at the end when he's cast out of, out of heaven.
And he's in a great, he is very wroth because he knows he has a short time. He, he's got lots of time to work right now, folks.
He plots, he plans for years, decades. He works behind the scenes. He slowly influences. He brings people around and then he springs his trap.
He's a very patient and cunning hunter, the devil. A very powerful adversary. That's why we have to stand with, with God, the whole armor of God.
That's why we have to use the weapons of our warfare that God has given us. Because they're mighty through God.
Look at verse 5, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.
All these imaginations, all these things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, all these vain, foolish things that the devil thinks are going to work for him.
All these imaginations, these things that he's exalting against the knowledge of God. We bring those down through God.
Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And having a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Go to Philippians chapter number 3. All I'm trying to tell you tonight is you've got to fight for your Christian life.
When you got saved, the Lord slapped a helmet on your head whether you like it or not. You got conscripted in God's army.
Some people never get out of the barracks. Some people, the first time a shot is fired back their way, they head for the hills.
But there's some people that do all and with all stand in the evil day. They continue to fight. They lead the charge. They're on the front line.
And look, we can't all be the general. We can't all be on the front line. But we can by all means stand behind those that are.
And not be ignorant of the devil's devices. The Christian life is a fight. It's a fight. You have to fight and fight and fight all the way to the end.
Look what Paul said in Philippians chapter number 3. Look at verse 13.
Brethren, I count on myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark.
That idea of pressing toward it, that means he's encountering resistance. The resistance of the flesh. The resistance of the world. The resistance of the devil.
The desire to quit. To give in. When the battle gets hot. When things get hard. To just throw in the towel and say no more. You have to press against that if you're going to make it to that mark.
You have to press toward it. You have to be facing forward. You have to be moving in the right direction.
For the prize of the high calling of God and Christ Jesus. It's worth it.
You know sometimes you wonder why some people keep on fighting. You wonder how do they do it? Why keep fighting? Why won't you stop? You've already done enough.
Because they know it's worth it. Well what do you mean it's worth it? What's in it for us to keep on fighting? I'll tell you what's in it for you.
The prize of the high calling of God and Christ Jesus. A robe and a crown. Those words, well done, thou good and faithful servant, are worth it all.
Every tear. Every disappointment. Every knife in the back. Every battle. Every fight. It's worth it all the way to the end.
You've got to keep fighting. But you know what? Some people are never going to make it that far. They're going to fall short. They're going to stop fighting. Why?
Because well one, they're just ignorant of the fact. They just are so naive that they don't even think that there is a fight.
Oh yeah, I believe in the devil, but surely he's not going to come against me. After all, who am I? Who are any of us?
It's not us, it's who we represent. It's what we're doing for the cause of Christ. Because the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
Don't be ignorant of his devices. Don't be ignorant of the fact that you have to fight for your Christian life.
Go to 2 Timothy chapter number 2. 2 Timothy chapter number 2. I'll just read 1 Peter 5. I quote it so often. We read it so often.
Be sober. Be vigilant. Why? Because your adversary. You get in this fight, you start preaching the gospel, you start attending a church like this, you have an adversary.
And he's real. And he's going to work. He's as real as you and me, folks. I was just, I think it was just today, somewhere I was looking at a picture of the Earth.
I think it was on my screensaver, my desktop. You know, you lock the computer out and sometimes you get an image of Earth from space.
And I remember just pausing and thinking, I wonder where the devil is on this map right now. He's somewhere. He's not just some ethereal spirit that's just kind of, you know, some intangible force.
He's a person. He's real. He has a name. Lucifer. Satan. That old serpent, the devil, exists. He's somewhere right now. Think about that.
He's somewhere right now, thinking, listening, perhaps talking, conniving, conspiring, working, fighting, battling, right now.
Making plans, scheming. Right now, the devil's working. And he has all his minions. All those little devils that are with him, taking orders. It's all going on right now.
Look, somewhere, someone's worshipping him. Literally worshipping him. You know, the Bible says we shouldn't even speak of those things which are done to them as secret.
That doesn't mean that they don't exist. They're there. The dark arts, the occult, it's all real. It's out there.
You say, where is he? Well, the Bible says he's a liar, so he's probably in Washington. Because that's where we know all liars go.
You know that city that has its landmarks laid out like a pentagram? You just got to go on Google Maps and look at it. I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
It's, you know, just a wild-eye conspiracy theory. Whether he's there or Istanbul or anywhere else, he's somewhere, right now, working.
Be sober, be vigilant. Why? Because your adversary is real. And he fights.
And he's as a roaring lion. I know I said it, and I'll say it again. I've heard people say, oh, he's a roaring lion, but he doesn't have any teeth. Wrong.
He's got big, long fangs and claws, and he will tear and shred people and churches to pieces if you let him.
And if you don't think he's real, you're his next victim. If you don't think he's going to fight you, you're next.
He walked about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I love that the Bible likens him unto a lion.
You know, I've never been that close to a lion. I've been as close as I ever care to be in a zoo, right? I was visiting the zoo, just to be clear.
I was not an inhabitant there. I was not a spectacle. But imagine if a lion walked in right now.
Just all of a sudden, the door opens, and just this giant man-eating carnivore with fangs and claws just hopped up on you.
I mean, we're not going to go try and pet the kitty. There's going to be some shots fired, right?
But there's going to be some of us. Some of us that are just going to scream like a girl and run for the other room.
That's how you'd react. That's silly and it's preposterous. That's far-fetched. That'll never happen.
But you know what's real? That the devil is walking about as a roaring lion. That's real. That's not make-believe. That's not far-fetched.
That's a reality. That Satan walks about seeking whom he may devour.
Really, the deck's stacked against the Christian folks, without God that is, without the weapons of our warfare, without the sword of the Spirit,
without the helmet of salvation, without the breastplate of righteousness, we're helpless without the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
We're vulnerable. Not only do we have the devil to contend with, we have the world, which isn't exactly the friend of the Christian.
And then you have your flesh. The world, the flesh, and the devil. That satanic trinity that is going to work against you every moment you're on that battlefield.
It's real. You've got to fight for your Christian life. You've got to fight for it. You've got to want it.
Be sober, be vigilant, whom resist in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren and I and the world.
Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.
Thou therefore endure hardness. The Christian life can be hard.
Look, I understand that when we walk in the Spirit, we have the love, the joy, the peace, the longsuffering, the gentleness, the good, the faith, meekness, temperance.
We have the fruits of the Spirit, and our path is illuminated before us, but that path is going to take us through some battles.
The hardness there that he has to endure is as he says there, as a good soldier.
What is it that a soldier has to endure? A fight, a warfare, a battle.
We have to endure battles, folks. We can't fall out every time the battle gets hot.
In situations like the ones that's been taking place over the last several weeks, you know what, it really sifts some people out, doesn't it?
Unfortunately, people get sifted out. They swallow the lies, they listen to the slander, they get swallowed up themselves.
They believe the lies and they fall for the trap that the devil has been setting.
It's been a long time coming.
And some people, you know, maybe they don't even believe all that stuff. Maybe they understand, yeah, I see it for what it is, I just don't want to deal with it.
I just don't want to put up with it.
I just don't want to have to endure the hardness of being associated with certain people who are having certain accusations levied against them.
I don't believe them, but I just don't want anything to do with it. I don't want any shots coming my way.
Look, there's always people like this, you know, and I'm not mad at them, I'm not against them.
I just don't want it to be anybody here when the devil comes knocking here.
When the devil starts taking it to our church.
When the devil comes after your pastor.
When the devil comes after his family.
When the devil comes after some of you.
That's not, I don't want anyone else to just, well, I'm just going to bow out gracefully, you know, I'm with you from afar.
I'll cheer you on from the side. No, I need you right there alongside me.
We need people to hold it together and maintain the front and not break rank.
Well, that sounds hard. Yeah, endure it!
As a soldier, that's what you've been called to.
You've been called to a warfare. You have to fight for your Christian life.
Because it's a fight, it's a war.
Verse 4, No man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Look, just because you're a soldier doesn't mean you're a good one. Right?
You've got to endure the hardness. You can't get entangled with these other things.
You have to have your mind on the battle. You have to pay attention to the battle plan.
You have to fight the fight if you want to please him who hath chosen you to be a soldier.
And let me tell you who's chosen you to be a soldier tonight. It's God.
It's the Lord.
You're in His army.
And you have to make sure that you're fighting the fight the way you're supposed to and not falling out if you want to please Him.
You know, a lot of people, when the battle gets hard, they go, what do they call it? AWOL?
Absent without leave.
There's no discharge from this war, folks.
It's not 20 years and then a pension all the way to heaven.
It's fight every step of the way, all the way there.
Look, sometimes the battle's going to be easy and sometimes it's not.
Sometimes the devil's going to be roaring like a lion and sometimes he's just going to be off in the distance plotting his next move.
But when it counts, you have to be there.
When the fight is on, that's the time to stand and fight back and not give in.
And you know what, maybe sometimes all we're going to do is just hold ground.
Just hold ground.
You know what, the reality is, unfortunately, we'll always take casualties.
There will always be those that fall out.
There will always be those they didn't even get shot at.
Just the prospect of something coming their way is enough to frighten them and send them running.
That's just a fact. That's just how it works.
But those people who don't endure hardness and don't fight like they should, you know what, they're not a soldier that pleases them, who has called them to be a soldier.
There's no spiritual metal that's ever going to be pinned to their chest.
There's going to be a lot of spiritual purple hearts handed out in heaven.
It's true.
Wounded in the line of battle.
Wounded in the call of duty.
You know, don't you want one?
It's worth it.
Look, I know it's not, obviously I don't mean literally.
But it's going to be those words, well done, that's enough.
Not everybody hears that.
Not everyone's going to be called a good soldier.
There's going to be some people that get to heaven and the Lord's just going to look at them and say, you failed.
When it counted, you failed.
You missed out, you missed out, you didn't do the mission, not accomplished.
Move along.
And there's going to be other people that are going to be able to walk right up and say, put it right here.
Put it right on this heart, that beat for you every day on earth.
Put it right here.
You've got to fight, folks.
You're going to be in a church like this.
You're going to preach the gospel the way we've been doing it.
You're going to take it to the devil.
You're a fool to think he's not going to fight back.
Let's go ahead and close the Word of Prayer.