An introduction to Spiritual Warfare.
This sermon was delivered in St Oswald Church in Maybole, Scotland on the 24th August 2009.
Prayer: Father, you speak in the bible of the spiritual realm; a realm that we can neither see, hear, feel, touch or taste; but it is the realm where you live, along with the other dark forces. Father I thank you that Jesus conquered this realm, and that you want us to follow in his footsteps, footsteps that show us the way to victory. Amen.
We heard the words in Joshua this morning asking the people of whom they want to serve, God or Idols?
The answer to me is obvious, God of course; but most people today worship idols although they may say they do not. I will give you an example; how many times have you thought that if you only had this one idol, then you would be happy. This idol could be new furniture, a new car, a new house, a new job even; but they are all idols in their own right. Now think, when you get that idol you desperately desire, you are thrilled, even ecstatic, and I am sure you deserved it. But ask yourself this question, how long does this contentment or excitement last? One thing for sure, it has a finite length of time, and it is not too long before you weary of this idol and seek another.
This continual seeking of idols seam to suit most people; and they certainly give us that impression, but I do not think they do. When people are left on their own, especially in times of trouble, do they honestly think there idols will carry them through these times of difficulty? We will never know for sure because these people tend not to speak of such intimate matters; in fact I am sure they would deny them strongly if you confronted them.
What I am getting at here is that there is a point within everyone’s lives where they are in touch with things spiritually. I personally have no doubt that all adults within this world have tasted at some point, spiritual things, things which are not of this world; and they are reluctant to speak of.
We will leave that for the time being and move on. We read Paul in Ephesians this morning say “for we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies – the evil rulers of the unseen world …”
This verse go on, but the point I want to make here is that Paul is stating there is a spiritual world out there; a world that we cannot see, but very much exists; and Paul goes on later in the passage to let us know how to fight and win this spiritual battle. So how can you win a battle, if you do not recognize the fact there is God; there is a battle; there is an enemy out there; after you; which you cannot see; with weapons you cannot feel?
But there is a battle; there is an enemy; it is after you; and we cannot see it; let alone using weapons we cannot feel. In fact it gets more complecated, God tells you how to win this battle; a battle he has already won, and he tells you to do like-wise; using HIS weapons, and HIS tactics. This whole area is known as Spiritual Warfare. Spiritual Warfare, I am sure some of you may have heard, but I am also sure this maybe new to others.
How can I prove this spiritual world exists? I can’t, any more than I can prove that this Church is full of waves. It is full radio waves, television waves, x-rays waves, infra red and ultra violet ray waves, it even has radiation waves, in this church this morning. They are all present. You cannot see, feel, hear, touch or taste these waves, but they are here. The only way I could prove they exist, is to put a receiver of such waves and transmit there calling to a sense that we can understand. A Transistor Radio for example will pick up radio waves and transfer these waves into music for example. A television will pick up television signals and broadcast a program to you. Similarly there are devices to detect and transmit all the other types of waves I mentioned. So because you cannot see, hear, feel, touch or taste these waves, do they exist? Well obviously yes.
Likewise in the spiritual world, because we cannot see, hear, feel, touch or taste the spiritual realm, how can we say it does not exist? Jesus believed it, and Paul wrote about it, and that will do me. If you find this difficult, please accept this for the time being, and hopefully it will all make sense.
Let me this morning introduce some of the aspects of Spiritual Warfare. What kind of receivers do we need to detect the spiritual realm? Well the spiritual realm is detected by man, by us, (by woman). In fact time permitting I can only start off today by describing the basic make up of man and how he relates to God and this spiritual realm.
What exactly is man made off, that is, from a spiritual viewpoint? And I will promise to keep this simple.
The Body.
Man or woman has a body; as you know fine. We all have different bodies, even identical twins have different bodies. Our bodies are what we get about in, our bodies make us mobile. Our bodies have nothing to do with class, creed, wealth or intelligence.
The Soul.
Man also has a soul, and although different people describe this differently, I believe this is the best description.
Our soul is made up from our mind, will and our emotions.
Our mind is made up from our education, our family and our location. Our mind, with our memory, is the computing power within our body and it is located in our brain.
Our will is the part of us that wants action, or non action. It is the part of us that wants to do something, normally after some deliberation or thought process.
Our emotions on the other hand are that part of us that feel, and we tend to feel two main things; we feel pain or pleasure, or some degree within. We have no other feelings. Pain or pleasure.
You might be thinking, but sometimes I can sense things around me, how does that fit into the soul? Well it does not fit into our soul, it fits into our spirit, our human spirit.
You must have heard this term which is often used to describe great feats of achievement, such as, “what a wonderful achievement it is for the human spirit to land a man on the moon”. Is not the human spirit wonderful, to allow a man to walk to the North Pole alone. You may also have heard the similar expression, spirit of man, the human spirit.
I better qualify this.
The body and soul are well understood, but the human spirit is much more complex. You maybe confused at this stage as the bible speaks of the soul in different terms; for example the word “heart” is used interchangeably with the word “soul”; and the word soul for some people include the human spirit. It is confusing at first as these words are found interchangeably in the modern translations of the bible; but it is different in the original Ancient Greek version; as Ancient Greek is much simpler and more logical in its details; and in the original version it is clear that the spirit and the soul are separate: and the heart is the soul, and not the organ used to pump blood. For now, please accept the fact that man has his own, independent spirit, his human spirit. One thing you will notice in the modern English bibles is that the word spirit either starts with the capital letter “S” for the Holy Spirit or a lower case letter “s” to denote any other spirit.
Enough of man for the time being, what of God?
Well it says in Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let (him) have dominion over the fish of the sea, etc etc …….”
I am doing this backward, but I am doing it for a reason.
God said, Let us make man in our image. Jesus is our heaven body. He is the body of the Godhead. The body of Jesus was broken on this earth, but he was given a new, heavenly body after his resurrection.
God the Father, is the soul of the Godhead; nobody has seen the father except the son. God the father is the intelligent part of the Godhead with feelings and a will.
And the Spirit of the Godhead is, well the Holy Spirit; by far the most complex part of the Godhead and I hope to speak of Him at another time.
So we now know what is meant by the words in Genesis 1 that, man is made in Gods image. God is three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Soul, Body and Spirit. Likewise, man is made up of body, soul and spirit.
This morning we have only briefly touched on the introduction. The very basic make up of man and God, but I will finish now with their relationship, and how they communicate or interact.
A man will make a decision in his mind to pray emotionally, from his body to God. The will, mind, emotions and body do not come into contact with God. The only part of man that interacts with God is the human spirit.
John 4:24 says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Small “s” in spirit. They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
What is the truth?
I like John 14:6, “Jesus saith … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The only part of the Godhead that interacts with man is the Holy Spirit.
So why would God the Father want to communicate with us?
Because God is love, and we are his children. God sent Jesus to die on the cross to save us. He let his own son die for us on a painful shameful cross. Why then would God not want to communicate with us? We can communicate with God because Jesus died for our sins, and God does not see us as filthy human beings full of sin, but he sees that part of us made righteous by Christ Jesus, within us, within our human spirit. That part of Jesus that lives in our human spirit.
I am finishing now by quoting 1John 4:15 which says whosoever, are we part of whosoever, yes: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. God dwells in our human spirit.
The true worshippers, will worship the Father, in spirit, (small “s”) and in truth.
The answer to me is obvious, God of course; but most people today worship idols although they may say they do not. I will give you an example; how many times have you thought that if you only had this one idol, then you would be happy. This idol could be new furniture, a new car, a new house, a new job even; but they are all idols in their own right. Now think, when you get that idol you desperately desire, you are thrilled, even ecstatic, and I am sure you deserved it. But ask yourself this question, how long does this contentment or excitement last? One thing for sure, it has a finite length of time, and it is not too long before you weary of this idol and seek another.
This continual seeking of idols seam to suit most people; and they certainly give us that impression, but I do not think they do. When people are left on their own, especially in times of trouble, do they honestly think there idols will carry them through these times of difficulty? We will never know for sure because these people tend not to speak of such intimate matters; in fact I am sure they would deny them strongly if you confronted them.
What I am getting at here is that there is a point within everyone’s lives where they are in touch with things spiritually. I personally have no doubt that all adults within this world have tasted at some point, spiritual things, things which are not of this world; and they are reluctant to speak of.
We will leave that for the time being and move on. We read Paul in Ephesians this morning say “for we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies – the evil rulers of the unseen world …”
This verse go on, but the point I want to make here is that Paul is stating there is a spiritual world out there; a world that we cannot see, but very much exists; and Paul goes on later in the passage to let us know how to fight and win this spiritual battle. So how can you win a battle, if you do not recognize the fact there is God; there is a battle; there is an enemy out there; after you; which you cannot see; with weapons you cannot feel?
But there is a battle; there is an enemy; it is after you; and we cannot see it; let alone using weapons we cannot feel. In fact it gets more complecated, God tells you how to win this battle; a battle he has already won, and he tells you to do like-wise; using HIS weapons, and HIS tactics. This whole area is known as Spiritual Warfare. Spiritual Warfare, I am sure some of you may have heard, but I am also sure this maybe new to others.
How can I prove this spiritual world exists? I can’t, any more than I can prove that this Church is full of waves. It is full radio waves, television waves, x-rays waves, infra red and ultra violet ray waves, it even has radiation waves, in this church this morning. They are all present. You cannot see, feel, hear, touch or taste these waves, but they are here. The only way I could prove they exist, is to put a receiver of such waves and transmit there calling to a sense that we can understand. A Transistor Radio for example will pick up radio waves and transfer these waves into music for example. A television will pick up television signals and broadcast a program to you. Similarly there are devices to detect and transmit all the other types of waves I mentioned. So because you cannot see, hear, feel, touch or taste these waves, do they exist? Well obviously yes.
Likewise in the spiritual world, because we cannot see, hear, feel, touch or taste the spiritual realm, how can we say it does not exist? Jesus believed it, and Paul wrote about it, and that will do me. If you find this difficult, please accept this for the time being, and hopefully it will all make sense.
Let me this morning introduce some of the aspects of Spiritual Warfare. What kind of receivers do we need to detect the spiritual realm? Well the spiritual realm is detected by man, by us, (by woman). In fact time permitting I can only start off today by describing the basic make up of man and how he relates to God and this spiritual realm.
What exactly is man made off, that is, from a spiritual viewpoint? And I will promise to keep this simple.
The Body.
Man or woman has a body; as you know fine. We all have different bodies, even identical twins have different bodies. Our bodies are what we get about in, our bodies make us mobile. Our bodies have nothing to do with class, creed, wealth or intelligence.
The Soul.
Man also has a soul, and although different people describe this differently, I believe this is the best description.
Our soul is made up from our mind, will and our emotions.
Our mind is made up from our education, our family and our location. Our mind, with our memory, is the computing power within our body and it is located in our brain.
Our will is the part of us that wants action, or non action. It is the part of us that wants to do something, normally after some deliberation or thought process.
Our emotions on the other hand are that part of us that feel, and we tend to feel two main things; we feel pain or pleasure, or some degree within. We have no other feelings. Pain or pleasure.
You might be thinking, but sometimes I can sense things around me, how does that fit into the soul? Well it does not fit into our soul, it fits into our spirit, our human spirit.
You must have heard this term which is often used to describe great feats of achievement, such as, “what a wonderful achievement it is for the human spirit to land a man on the moon”. Is not the human spirit wonderful, to allow a man to walk to the North Pole alone. You may also have heard the similar expression, spirit of man, the human spirit.
I better qualify this.
The body and soul are well understood, but the human spirit is much more complex. You maybe confused at this stage as the bible speaks of the soul in different terms; for example the word “heart” is used interchangeably with the word “soul”; and the word soul for some people include the human spirit. It is confusing at first as these words are found interchangeably in the modern translations of the bible; but it is different in the original Ancient Greek version; as Ancient Greek is much simpler and more logical in its details; and in the original version it is clear that the spirit and the soul are separate: and the heart is the soul, and not the organ used to pump blood. For now, please accept the fact that man has his own, independent spirit, his human spirit. One thing you will notice in the modern English bibles is that the word spirit either starts with the capital letter “S” for the Holy Spirit or a lower case letter “s” to denote any other spirit.
Enough of man for the time being, what of God?
Well it says in Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let (him) have dominion over the fish of the sea, etc etc …….”
I am doing this backward, but I am doing it for a reason.
God said, Let us make man in our image. Jesus is our heaven body. He is the body of the Godhead. The body of Jesus was broken on this earth, but he was given a new, heavenly body after his resurrection.
God the Father, is the soul of the Godhead; nobody has seen the father except the son. God the father is the intelligent part of the Godhead with feelings and a will.
And the Spirit of the Godhead is, well the Holy Spirit; by far the most complex part of the Godhead and I hope to speak of Him at another time.
So we now know what is meant by the words in Genesis 1 that, man is made in Gods image. God is three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Soul, Body and Spirit. Likewise, man is made up of body, soul and spirit.
This morning we have only briefly touched on the introduction. The very basic make up of man and God, but I will finish now with their relationship, and how they communicate or interact.
A man will make a decision in his mind to pray emotionally, from his body to God. The will, mind, emotions and body do not come into contact with God. The only part of man that interacts with God is the human spirit.
John 4:24 says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Small “s” in spirit. They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
What is the truth?
I like John 14:6, “Jesus saith … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The only part of the Godhead that interacts with man is the Holy Spirit.
So why would God the Father want to communicate with us?
Because God is love, and we are his children. God sent Jesus to die on the cross to save us. He let his own son die for us on a painful shameful cross. Why then would God not want to communicate with us? We can communicate with God because Jesus died for our sins, and God does not see us as filthy human beings full of sin, but he sees that part of us made righteous by Christ Jesus, within us, within our human spirit. That part of Jesus that lives in our human spirit.
I am finishing now by quoting 1John 4:15 which says whosoever, are we part of whosoever, yes: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. God dwells in our human spirit.
The true worshippers, will worship the Father, in spirit, (small “s”) and in truth.
Amen. let us pray
Thank you Father for this wonderful gift of communication you have given us through prayer into the spiritual realm. Although we do not see, hear, feel, touch or taste this realm, we take comfort from the fact that you want the best for us, to justify the painful death of Jesus on the cross. We know that you love us very much Father and that you want to answer our prayers which are asked in the name of Jesus.
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thank you Father for this wonderful gift of communication you have given us through prayer into the spiritual realm. Although we do not see, hear, feel, touch or taste this realm, we take comfort from the fact that you want the best for us, to justify the painful death of Jesus on the cross. We know that you love us very much Father and that you want to answer our prayers which are asked in the name of Jesus.
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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