Weapons & Strategies of Warfare - The Unseen

City Church Tulsa

THE UNSEEN Weapons & Strategies of Warfare 9.15.24 We cannot passively resist the Enemy and expect to walk in freedom and victory. Ephesians 2:1-7 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. The world is an organized system that is opposed to God 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. How do we fight the world: · We immerse ourselves in Scripture, the story of God, and the life of Christ · We use discernment that comes through Spirit of God and trusted voices of the church The flesh is an internal struggle waging war within us and against us Galatians 5:16-24 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. How do we fight the flesh: · We learn to run. We are disciplined in our mind and body. · We renew our minds. We implement rhythms and practices where we say “yes” to the Spirit. The Devil is an adversary or enemy who is intent on destroying us 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. · Morally, Satan desires to make sin look normal or even the way to true life · Theologically, Satan desires to pervert and distort what is true and life-giving · Socially, Satan desires to provoke hatred, chaos, and division · Politically, Satan desires to turn our allegiances to political systems and lead us to misplace our hope · Economically, Satan desires to produce injustice and oppression against the poor, weak, and marginalized · Spiritually, he wants to blind the hearts and minds of unbelievers so they do not believe and the hearts and minds of believers to they do not walk in victory How do we fight the Devil: · We are aware of him and actively resist him · We battle and are transformed in prayer · We give ourselves to one another 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Weapons of Warfare: · Worship · Fasting · The armor of God · The name of Jesus · The power of the Holy Spirit · The church/biblical community · The gifts of the Spirit · Personal prayer language