Scripture:
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Observation:
I know I have missed a day or two of writing. It’s honestly not because I have wanted to. The truth is I have been and still am in the middle of a spiritual war. It’s by the grace of GOD that I am writing as of right now. One thing I want to do, though, is thank the LORD for the past several years of bible study. Because it has allowed me to see things for what they are and know the right weapons to use. As I was starting to put this SOAP together. I looked at several different scriptures that I wanted to use, including but not limited to 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3 through 5. Which, again, identifies that the war we fight is not against what we see, saying, “for though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. For our weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in GOD for pulling down strongholds, casting down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” I tried to grab both scriptures and put them in this one SOAP. But I’m honestly just not that technically advanced. So I had to type the second one out, which ate into my time to explain what’s going on here, but we are not going to allow that to stop us. You see, Paul was given a spiritual revelation. That day on the road to Damascus GOD not only grabbed hold of his life but showed him things through the Holy Spirit that he knew had to be passed on to us, and he did a marvelous job in doing so. He knew that we were in a war, and he did his absolute best to equip us for that battle. But before we can be equipped, we must first know what we are fighting. The passage in Ephesians chapter 6 helps us to identify what’s really going on and what we are up against. Telling us that we need to be strong. But not in a strength that comes from us. The strength we need comes from a source that is beyond us. “Be strong in the LORD and in the power of HIS might.” What Paul is saying is that our strength will not win this war. It can not be done by us. As he continues to help equip us, he tells us that earthly armor will do no good. We must be protected by spiritual armor. Armor, that is not of this world. It’s armor that only a relationship with GOD can provide. It’s armor that suits the war we are in. A war that is not against flesh and blood. What Paul is telling us is that you can’t fight a spiritual battle with earthly weapons. You have to rely on the spiritual side of things. Paul is saying, “Do you see the person with whom you seem to be at odds?” That’s not who you’re fighting with. The battle you are in comes from spiritual influence that you can’t see, but it uses the things you can see. The devil is who you are fighting. He is just influencing the person that you can see standing in front of you. There is honestly so much scripture that supports this narrative that it would take more time than we have to go over just half of what the bible teaches us about this one topic. We need to identify through this scripture in Ephesians that we are in a spiritual war, as we move to the next portion of scripture that the LORD brought to my heart this morning which is 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3 through 5. What we see is that Paul tells us what the war is and gives us the spiritual equipment to fight it in the letter to the church in Ephesus, but he also tells the church in Corinth about the same war, and does his best to make sure they know that the person with whom you seem to be at odds with is not the one you in are a battle against. It’s not a physical war, and earthly weapons will do nothing. I know I have said this more than once in this SOAP already, but you can’t fight a spiritual war with physical weapons. It’s made clear here. Paul says that, “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in GOD for pulling down strongholds, and casting down all arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” When something is said once in the bible, we probably need to make sure we remember it. But when it is confirmed several times, we have to be totally aware of it at all times. Paul’s understanding of what is going on in the world comes from a supernatural encounter with the one who created him. GOD allowed him to see things so that he could make us ready to set aside what we see and prepare for the unseen fight. As he continues to teach us in the letter to the Ephesians. He gives us a whole list of armor that includes a very specific piece to hold it together. The belt of truth. I didn’t go into that because, honestly, this morning, I just wanted to remind myself and those who will take the time to read this that we can’t physically see the real battle and we can’t fight a battle we can’t see with weapons that we can.
Application:
I know the battle is real, and it’s easy to want to react out of your flesh. But that won’t help matters at all. Honestly, that’s what the enemy wants. He wants you to get all in your emotions and make a bunch of decisions that will bring everything that the LORD has done crashing down around you. I know this because for the last several weeks, I have been under a very heavy attack. It’s one that makes me want to stay in bed and let it all fall apart, or through my hands up and say forget it. Closing the doors on what the LORD has built over the past few years. It’s been an attack that has tried to affect every area of my life. From my physical health to my financial stability all the way to my emotional well-being, and I have really said very little about it because I know what’s happening. The enemy is just not happy. You see, GOD has placed a calling on every person who is reading this right now. The thing is, the enemy knows it, and whether or not you understand that the calling places a big target on your back or not doesn’t change the fact that it does. It just brings up the question, “How are you going to fight?” If you are not under attack right now. It means one of two things the enemy doesn’t see you as a threat because he has you lulled to sleep or he is allowing you to be built up so that when he does attack you don’t see it coming. The bible is very clear. We are in a war, and our adversary prowls around like a lion waiting to catch you slipping. Looking for the weak spot in your armor. Testing here every area of your armor and if he finds one little spot, one little area where he thinks he can get you. He will pounce. The fact that this is a real war is not changed by our ability to see it or not. But this war can not be fought with our flesh. Knowing what GOD’S word says and standing on that is our only defense. It’s the sword that will win whatever battle we are facing. It’s the only offensive weapon we have. Are you prepared to fight? Do you know the battle we are in? If so, please lock shields with me and fight. Because I feel like I’m alone in this. But I know I’m not. I know what GOD’S word tells me, and I am standing on it. Now you’re either going to fight on my side or get slain by the one who fights for me.
Prayer:
Father, you see all, and you know right where we are. All I can ask is that you fight this battle right now. Because it’s not something that I can do. The war is so much at times, and my strength is not enough. Show us the victory father as we get up and prepare for the battle by applying the spiritual armor that you provide through prayer. All we can say is that we feel physically defeated, and all we have to stand on is your word. So we stand here knowing that the battle we face is not with flesh and blood. It’s a battle that doesn’t even belong to us. It’s your battle, and we are suited in your armor and show us the victory that you told us we have. You said it, we believe it, and that settles it. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, amen.