We are at War

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We are at War!
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A Question
At the outset of World War II, when did the war
with Japan actually begin?
With the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941
(Thats what people usually think.)
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A Question
When did did the war with al-Qaeda actually begin?
With the attack on the World Trade Center
September 11, 2001
(Thats what people usually think, too.)
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But is that when these wars actually started?
Didnt Japan plan their attack months, even years
in advance?
And didnt al-Qaeda do the same thing? Werent
their attacks something they had planned for
years?
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Werent we at war with Japan long before December
7th and werent we at war with al-Qaeda long
before September 11th?
But we just didnt realize it?
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When thought of in these terms, doesnt it seem
rather odd - even frightening - to realize
That we could be at war and not even know it!?
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But thats precisely what IS happening for so
many of us - right now!
We ARE at war!
And a lot of us havent noticed!
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This weekend we begin a new Sermon series.
The Armor of God
(Ephesians 610-18)
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Ephesians 610-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and 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.
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Ephesians 610-18
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted
with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
peace. In addition to all this, take up the
shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit
on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests. With this in mind, be alert and always
keep on praying for all the saints.
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Ephesians 610-18
Notice how Paul uses combat terminology and the
imagery of warfare. He uses words like struggle
and armor. He is trying to make his point very
clear.
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We are at war
It is a war that is spiritual
It is a war that is against Satan and all that is
evil
It is a war that is fought on many different
fronts
And it is a war that we must constantly be
engaged in
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
Notice how very real and very present this war is
Paul puts it 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.
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
Paul uses the present tense when he describes
this struggle.
He wants to make sure that we know that it IS
happening right now!
He wants us to know that it IS happening all
around us!
And he wants us to know that it IS happening to
us!
It IS OUR struggle!
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And since it IS OUR struggle, that means that WE
have to FIGHT!
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
Notice who our enemy is (and who our enemy isnt)
As Paul puts it 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.
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
We usually think of war this way
As a clash between people of opposing sides
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
We think in terms of enemies and opponents
And all of them are people
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
As we fight for such things as the sanctity of
marriage and the rights of the unborn or against
such things as pornography and drug abuse
We often think of the enemy as being human.
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
We identify the enemy as the liberal left, the
radical right, Hollywood, the press corps,
politicians, federal court judges, etc.
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
We do this in the Church and in this congregation
We get into a disagreement about finances
Things get hot and heavy at a Voters meeting
Boards clash against boards people clash against
people and pretty soon we treat each other
as though theyre the enemy!
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
Why we can even do this in all of our human
relationships
At work with our co-workers and bosses
At home with our spouses, children and parents
At school with teachers and with students
In all human relations, when things get bad, we
can mistake each other for the enemy
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But were not the enemy Satan is!
Satan who tempts us to sin and disobey God
Satan who seeks to snare people away from God
Satan who entices entire nations away from what
God commands
Satan who would like nothing better than to
divide Christians, thus making us ineffective for
the work God has called us to do
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We are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan
and his evil
Look at it this way
Failing to recognize Satan as our ultimate enemy
is like the United States fighting a war without
really knowing who its real enemy is.
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Can you imagine?
That when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the
United States thought their only opponents were
the pilots who actually dropped the bombs - and
not the Japanese themselves?
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Can you imagine?
That after September 11th, we thought that our
only enemy was Osama bin Laden and not the rest
of the terrorist network?
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Thats ridiculous, right?
But we do the very same thing. For example, when
we take a stand concerning same-sex marriage
instead of dealing with the deeper issues and
seeing that it is Satan who is promoting this
lie, we make gay people the enemy.
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Thats ridiculous, right?
When some hot-button issue explodes within the
congregation, we get mad at each other and we
point fingers instead of actually recognizing how
Satan is using people on both sides of the issue
(ourselves included) to damage relationships
among fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!
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Thats ridiculous, right?
And when theres tension at home, disobedience of
children, fighting between spouses - the constant
temptation that we give into (sometimes
consciously and sometimes subconsciously) is to
view each other as the enemy.
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But we are not the enemy. They are not the
enemy.
Satan is!
Satan is the enemy who is using whatever the
situation is at hand to wreak havoc in our lives
and draw us away from God!
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Your enemy is Satan
He IS doing everything he can to take us away
from God.
He IS doing everything he can to continue the
moral downward spiral of our nation.
He IS doing everything he can to divide
Christians Christian congregations.
He IS the one attacking us!
And, by the way,we are the ones attacking him!
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The apostle Peter put it this way
Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent the
devil is prowling around like a roaring lion,
looking for someone to devour. Resist him and be
firm in the faith (1 Peter 58-9)
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is
poised to pounce, and would like nothing better
than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up
(The Message version)
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Satan wont catch us napping
As we continue to realize that we are at war with
him
As we continue to realize that, though it might
appear otherwise, our enemy is NOT each other or
other human beings
As we take seriously the need to put on the full
armor of God
As we remember one other thing
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Satan has already been defeated!
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Paul puts it this way
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under
your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. (Romans 1620)
Before you know it the God of peace will come
down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into
the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus! (The Message
version)
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The ultimate defeat of Satan is assured!
His defeat is a done deal because Jesus died on
the cross to remove Satans number one weapon
sin!
His defeat is a done deal because Jesus rose from
the dead, thus taking away the ultimate desire
Satan has for all eternal death
And the defeat of Satan is something we share in
through faith in Christ!
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The apostle John puts it this way
Because Gods word remains in you you have
overcome the evil one. (1 John 214)
Or, as James puts it
Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the
devil, and he will run away from you. (James
47)
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud
NO to the Devil and watch him scamper. (The
Message version)
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Or as Martin Luther wrote
Though devils all the world should fill, All
eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no
ill, They shall not overpowr us. This worlds
prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can
harm us none, Hes judged the deed is done One
little word can fell him.
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So we ARE at War!
A spiritual war against Satan
A war thats already WON
But a war in which the fighting will continue
until Jesus comes again
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We have armor to put on for this war
Armor and weaponry that we will talk about over
the next few weeks
But for now, let us be perfectly clear on this
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We ARE at war!
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