“Again, Spiritual Warfare”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Genesis 3:1‐19
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
And to the man he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Scripture tells us that we are in the middle of a war, but not one that is really obvious. ~D. Moore
Theme this week: Paul alerts us to the precautions that we need to be aware when we are in the midst of a spiritual war.
New Testament reading: Ephesians 6:10‐13
Finally, be strong in the Lord in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
“I’ve got peace like a river,” that means the war with God is over. We (I) have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as our own, and because of that, we are at peace with God. ~D. Moore
Philippians 4:7: The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.
Since we follow Christ, there will naturally be conflict, a new fight that did not exist before. We need to put on our armor for our daily battle. ~D. Moore
Christians understand that as humans we are a body and a soul. Water, chemicals, and minerals are important, but the soul will live on after your death. ~D. Moore
C. S. Lewis pointed out that the desire to live forever is only in heaven. The question now becomes, what state will your soul be in in eternity. ~D. Moore
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. ~C. S. Lewis
This is what we believe that the things we choose in this life mark our lives now, and they will continue to mark our souls into eternity. ~D. Moore
Paul says our daily battle is a battle for who we become. ~D. Moore
Life is a fight with power, principalities, the devil, flesh and blood and other people, material and immaterial. ~D. Moore
Ephesians 6:12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Bible isn’t so simple. We do not wrestle only with flesh and blood. Discernment is needed, we can use the brains God gave us. But if we think it is only that we wrestle with flesh and blood, that is going to be an issue because we aren’t taking into account some of the forces arrayed against us. ~D. Moore
There are only two Kingdoms. One headed by the devil and the other headed by Jesus. Everyone is in one group or the other. All other differences between people – race, gender, economics, status – are of no importance. ~D. Moore
Acts 2:42‐47 kingdom of Darkness
Acts 26:17‐18 kingdom of Light
When we really lose our lives, we find our lives. That is the Christian task – to give ourselves all that we are to God. It is surrender, submission that leads to ourselves. ~D. Moore
The devil is powerful and subtle, but he is vulnerable. Our defense against him is to put on the full armor of God. With it on we can stand, and we will be triumphant. ~D. Moore
I believe we are not supposed to be afraid of anything in the world because God is with us. We should be afraid of our own sin, bad attitude, unforgiveness, haughty mindset, cheating others, etcetera. ~D. Moore
This week: read Ephesians 6 again each day. Put on the armor of God daily and trust God will deliver you. Have a good week!