Spiritual Battles — 2 Kings 6

0:00 So before I start I've got a question. Alright. I've got a question and you know what honestly I don't want us... I don't want to see you answer. You don't need to do that yet.

0:10 Go ahead. Perfect. Alright. I I don't want you to answer out loud. Right?

0:18 So when I ask this question, I want you to take a look inside. That's a beautiful picture, isn't it? That has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm speaking on, just so you know. But here... Here's a question I have.

0:36 Do you believe that we are in a battle? Do you believe that we are at war? Do you believe that this world is full of demons that would rather... Would do nothing more than rather have us turn our face away from God. The question is, do you believe that?

1:03 I don't want you to answer out loud because this is some of the research that I've come up with. You, we've all heard of George Barna, right? The Barna Institute. This was April 2009, so it's a little bit dated. But it's the best date that I could find.

1:25 26% of Christians believe that Satan is real. 26% of Christians believe that Satan is real. What's your definition of Christian? Don't really know, but only 26% of those people that say that they are Christians actually believe that Satan is real. We're gonna talk a little bit about schemes of the devil, but what is a better scheme than trying to convince people that he is not real?

2:10 Satan is real. Satan is real. And I am convinced that most Christians do not understand spiritual warfare. So we're gonna talk a little bit about that today. Okay.

2:37 So let's take a look at some scripture, first of all, that talks about the realities. Well, before I do that, let me ask you. Other than this one, since it'll be cheating if you give this answer. What verses are you aware of that talk about spiritual warfare? Who wants to offer one or two up?

3:00 You can't use this one though. Go ahead, Devin. Okay. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a warring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.

3:51 Good. Who else? Okay. Who else? Okay.

4:16 It's it's it's along the same theme. Right? Any other ones? Anybody got one at the top of your tongue that you want to say? Let's take a look at this one.

4:28 Ephesians six twelve. Right? So Ephesians six. Right? Full armor of God.

4:33 We're familiar with that. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil spiritual forces in heaven. So when I... The... When I read that, you know, I I think of I think of JR Tolkien and I think of Lord of the Rings.

5:32 Right? We we don't see that. Right? Because because we only we only see in three dimensions. We don't see in four, five, six, seven, or eight dimensions.

5:41 We only see in three dimensions. So these things are going on around us. We don't we don't see them. First Timothy six twelve. Fight the good fight for the faith.

5:54 Keep holding on to the eternal life to which you were called and about which you have a good testimony in front of many witnesses. Right? So we are called to fight the fight. Right? We we know we know that the battle is occurring.

6:12 We know that we're in the middle of a battle or we should know. Apparently, only 26% of Christians know that they're in a battle, And we need to be prepared to fight that battle. Because if we're not prepared to fight that battle, we'll lose. Right? I was never in the military.

6:37 Although everybody asks me if I was. I think I carried myself like I could have been the military. Never, what's that? Drill sergeant. Yeah, a drill sergeant.

6:47 Ask my kids, right. But you... Just just think about it. It makes so much sense. If you are engaged in a battle and you're not prepared, you're not going to win the battle.

7:01 You're gonna lose the battle. Right? Death, destruction, all of this stuff is gonna happen. So we need to fight the good fight for faith. Keep holding onto the eternal life to which you were called and about which you have a good testimony in front Keep of many witnesses.

7:20 And then this one right here, first Peter one seven. So that proven character of your faith, more valuable than gold, which though perishable is refined by fire may result in praise, glory, and honor to the revelation of Jesus Christ. So these battles these battles refine us. We're supposed to be engaged in these battles. We are engaged in these battles.

7:55 And these battles are there to make us stronger. These battles are there. These battles are there are to to give praise, glory, and honor to the revelation of Jesus Christ. So with these with these few verses, I've come up with this thought, this battle knows no boundaries. This battle knows no boundaries.

8:21 However, maybe I should have put this battle knows no known boundaries, But that would have been too much up there because we know that the boundaries that the lord Jesus Christ that god put on the battle exist. There are boundaries that exist. But we see no known boundaries. A battle of the cosmic universe. The cosmic universe.

9:07 Well, he's got a different bible doesn't he? Speaking of the schemes of the wily one, two Kings. There we go. Second Kings. That's the fastest message ever given.

9:30 Chapter six verse... Chapter six verses fifteen and seventeen. 15 through 17. So so look at this, right? Again, I talked about we only see in three dimensions.

9:43 So I I believe this is an example of another dimension. The dimension that a dimension that we don't see, but a dimension that was through the power of God given to Elisha and to the servant. When the servant of man, the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding him. So so there... This group was coming after Elisha surrounding the city.

10:14 So he asked Elisha, Oh my master, what are we to do? Elisha said, do not be afraid for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them. So imagine, right, you see the city, the city is surrounded, you're you're... It's an army that's coming to attack and some crazy guy goes, oh, don't worry about it. We have more.

10:39 Right? He's looking around. We don't have more? That's a huge force. They're surrounding the city.

10:46 How in the world are we gonna take on this battle? We don't have as many to go up against this? But then, what what happens? Then a la... Then Elisha prayed, right, prayed.

11:00 Lord, please open his eyes and let him see. So the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This is the unseen. This is a different dimension. But this is going on every day in our lives.

11:25 Every day in this country. All right. You know, we get up in the morning, we take a shower, maybe have a cup of coffee, maybe get in the car, drive to McDonald's, order a sausage egg McMuffin with cheese, Go to work. Take the elevator up to work. Sit down in front of a desk.

11:45 Work all day. Leave. Go home. Stop at McDonald's. Get a get a you know the biggest pop that we can get along with our McDonald's sandwich.

11:56 Go home, sit in front of the TV, end of day one. Right? Maybe maybe as believers our day's a little bit different. We get up in the morning, as we're running to make the coffee, we say, Lord help me today. Run out the door.

12:10 That's the extent of our prayer. That's the extent of us understanding that we have a battle out there. Right? Hill Street Blues. Hill Street Blues.

12:21 Most of guys are too young to watch that. But in Hill Street Blues, the the sergeant that gave the overview of the day said, be careful out there. You know what? I'm warning you. Be careful out there.

12:35 Because the battle's going on. The battle's raging. Either you're gonna be ready or you're not. And we all know what happens when we're not. Right?

12:49 So if you want Bob Markovich's insight, when he's not, he comes home from a long hard day's work. And who's the first one that gets my wrath? God. Yeah. Good answer.

13:21 So what I've done is I've taken and I funneled it down. I funneled it down because this thing is huge, but we're involved in this huge battle on a daily basis. Do you believe that there's a spiritual battle going on in the church? Do you believe that there's a spiritual battle going on in the local body? Do you believe that there's a spiritual battle going on in the lives of the people in local body?

13:50 Do you believe that there's a spiritual battle going on in every individual inside of the local body? Do you believe that? Do you believe that? I pray that you do because if you don't, you're not prepared. So when I say you, in our lives, in our lives there's...

14:13 That battle goes on. So so Denzel prayed with me this morning before I got up and he... His prayer... Part of his prayer was, give Bob the courage. And I was so appreciative of that.

14:29 Because the battle that goes on inside of me and inside of my life, who am I? Who am I who have failed miserably in so many battles with demonic beings, how do I have the courage to come up here and talk about it? Right? And it's the wily one. Satan, the devil, the great deceiver that says, oh, Bob, you shouldn't be up there.

15:03 Look at your life. Look what you've done. Look at your past. What makes you think that anybody would want to listen to you? What makes you think that what you have to say is important?

15:17 Right? That battle goes on all the time in our life, in our relationships. Right? We're told that Satan is the prince of this world. This is the way that John eight four defines the character of Satan.

15:40 Satan. He was a murderer from the beginning. That means he still is. Right? He was a murderer from the beginning.

15:50 So in the beginning he was a murderer. He still is a murderer. And does not stand in the truth. Does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.

16:15 This is the character of Satan. This is the character of the devil, Beelzebub, whatever you wanna call him. This is the character of that being. A person that has a character like that wants nothing more than each one of us to go to our death without understanding what salvation is. And if we're...

16:40 If if by the grace of God we understand what salvation is, not tell others what salvation is, not live a life that we should be living based on the salvation that was given us. It's a battle. It's a battle. Should not be taken lightly. The word Satan means adversary.

17:29 Pitchfork. Thank you. But don't you think that that is what Satan would like us to picture him as? Right? Grew up watching cartoons as well.

17:49 Right? How many cartoons... The devil on one side, the angel on the other side. Right? The devil was just a cute, lovable character.

17:58 He's not. He's a murderer. He's a liar. He doesn't stand for the truth. He doesn't know the truth, and he's our adversary.

18:10 Devil means deceiver, slanderer, accuser. I don't know about you, but there are times in my life where I make a choice not to sit down and have a discussion with somebody because I think... I think there's nothing that I'm gonna be able to do for that person. Because the accuser has has convinced me already that I can't do anything. You're right.

18:53 I can't. But who can? The Lord Jesus Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit. See a couple more verses.

19:06 What the Bible... What the word of god says about the prince of this world. John twelve thirty one. Now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out. So Satan, the devil, is the ruler of this world.

19:28 I will not talk with you much longer because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. The ruler of the world, but He has no power over Jesus, right? So, the battle knows no known boundaries. The Lord knows the boundaries.

19:47 I don't think we're privy to those boundaries in in most situations. John sixteen eleven, and about judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged. So the ruler of this world has been judged, will be judged, but we still listen. He's also called the tempter in first Thessalonians three:five. The devil, first Timothy three:six through seven.

20:14 The accuser of the brethren, Revelation twelve ten. How about this one? Jesus in the desert. Let's let's read that. Luke four five through seven.

20:26 Luke four five through seven. I I kinda... I laugh at this. Right? So I I I was raised I was raised in a family that had some faith.

20:42 Right? I was... I I went to a... I went to school that faith was... Maybe maybe it's better said, religion was brought into the curriculum.

20:50 And I read this, and I remember I remember back. I I don't even know three... Third, fourth grade. Why? And I'm thinking, first of all, who does he think he is?

21:00 Right? Who does he think he is? Number one, going to Jesus. Number two, offering him these things. But that's the boldness of Satan.

21:13 So he goes, the devil... So he took him up, right? So the the devil took him up, took Jesus up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, I will give you their splendor and all this authority because it has been given over to me and I can give it to anyone I want. If you then will worship me, all will be yours.

21:45 So the courage, the boldness, and the strategy that Satan has is absolutely unbelievable. He went to the creator of the world, who spoke the world into existence, and said, I'm gonna offer this to you. Right? Where does he get that thought? Where does where does Satan get that thought?

22:14 Satan knows. I mean, Satan knows that Jesus created it. He spoke it into existence, but he's gonna say this, because he's a deceiver. He's the accuser. And the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.

22:43 Okay? And I think this exemplifies... It's it's the reality. It's... Putting into words what I can't do.

22:51 Right? R A Tory. That the prince of the power of the air, right? We've identified that Satan is the prince of the power of the air, has power when granted, when granted, right? There are some boundaries, when granted to wield the forces of the air.

23:12 We see in the history of Job, for at his bidding, at Satan's bidding, lightning fell from heaven to consume the flocks of the faithful servants of God and cause wind to blow Job's house down and kill his children. This is a battle. This is a battle. We we need to understand that. This isn't a fairy tale.

23:44 This isn't some TV show, although it would make great theater, but it's real. And this is what we're battling all the time. Yet we get up in the morning, we take a shower, we get a cup of coffee, Lord, give me a safe... Give me traveling mercies today. Right?

24:01 We're out. We're out the door. Have you prepared yourself for battle? That's a question. I don't know, maybe you are.

24:15 So, while I was going, while while I was working on this message, my wife has been telling me for decades now, oh, you need to read screw tape letters. I can honestly say that I put that... I picked that book up a dozen times, started reading it, and put that book down. And I'm like, alright. So this guy, C.

24:46 S. Lewis, he's a pretty smart guy. I can't read this. I don't understand it. This was written in I think '19...

24:54 Well, know the 1940s. It's old English. Whatever excuse I could. Then, we were traveling somewhere and Nancy goes, hey look I got these CDs, the screw tape letters. Put it in, uh-uh.

25:08 Couldn't do it. I buckled down this week, book on tape, on my phone, and listen to the screw tape letters. And I am so thankful that I did. And I would recommend anybody here, C. S.

25:26 Lewis, screw tape letters. It will change the way you look at your life. It'll change the way you look at the battle that we're engaged in every day. It's gonna change everything about you. Right?

25:41 And let me tell you that it's probably best to have some time, read a chapter, or part of a chapter, or part of a part of a chapter, and just contemplate it and think about it. Because there is so much in there that you're not going to be able to get it all in one sitting. Let me read something. So this is in the screw tape letters. And this I felt this was important.

26:11 C. S. Lewis is a heck of a lot smarter than I am. But he wrote this. So this is in the beginning of the book.

27:07 So it... You know, a lot of people here are familiar with screw tape letters. Right? But if you're not... So so CS Lewis in the in the forties decided that he was going to write a letter.

27:18 And the letter was gonna be from a experienced devil named Screwtape to his nephew named Wormwood. So my dear Wormwood, right? And he published them or he didn't. But the newspaper, I think I've got the name of the paper here. So this was July 1940 published as letters in the Guardian, which weekly from 05/02/1941 to November 28.

27:53 So every day a new letter was published, every day. Every week a new letter was published, right? Now it's collected and it's a book. And what it did is it talked about the Wiley schemes of the devil and how Wormwood's patient as C. S.

28:11 Lewis called him, how Wormwood was supposed to affect or effect the patient in order to take away from the strength of the patient or the faith of the patient or the belief of the patient. So as I'm reading it, I'm thinking, has anybody come up with a modern day screw tape letters? I don't know if they have, but I started listing items, ideas, thoughts that I see today because my eyes are opened up a little bit, the schemes of the devil. And I came up, I I I wrote, was writing so fast, I came up with 10, I can't even read my handwriting, I was writing so fast. Alright.

28:59 So so let me ask you, before I get into a a couple of my list, what do you see happening today that you would attribute to being a scheme of the devil? Abortion. Scheme of the devil. I like the word desensitizing. That's...

29:31 There is no absolute truth. Zach? Money. Money. What else?

30:09 Yeah. Pardon me? Global warming. Let me give you a couple that I came up with and you guys are hitting on similar ones that I did. First of all, there is no truth.

30:21 There is no truth. Do what you want to do, there is no truth. Right? There's no truth. And sometimes we get involved in that conversation.

30:36 Well yeah, there is truth. Right? And try, we try to expose to other people what the truth is. But a lot of times, maybe or maybe not, we're not doing it in the right way. Right?

30:50 We're not attacking it in the right way. But what it's doing is it's taking... And that's what with all of these, those that you mentioned with all of these, it's taking our focus off of what we were created to do. It's taken our focus off the great commission. Alright.

31:21 How many battles do we fight on social media? I... For the most part, I'm not on social media. But I hear a lot about it and people talk about it. And I hear about these battles.

31:38 So here is the one that I'm most familiar with recently. So we've got Vice President Pence is supposed to speak at the graduation of a Christian University and the students of the Christian University, by the way Pence claims to be a born again Christian, I believe that he is, a born again Christian. Yet the students at this Christian university don't want Pence to come to the Christian university. Right? Well, first of all, it's taking us off our game, but the battle that I'm being told that is fought on Facebook about this doesn't need to be on Facebook.

32:20 It doesn't need to be on Facebook. What did what did Jesus do when he was challenged to confront the woman at the well. Did he do it on Facebook? Did he do it in front of his disciples? No.

32:46 Exactly. It was a private conversation. A private conversation. But the... But Satan would like us to engage in those confrontations on Facebook.

33:05 Here's one for you. This is gonna make a few of your necks hurt. And I'm gonna parenthesize this up front in part. I'm gonna mention something in part. By the way, social media in part as well because I think there's some good things with social media.

33:22 I know that there's good things with social media. Fox News. Alright. Fox News would like nothing more than to say that, you know, talk about the Easter Sunday massacre in Sri Lanka. Alright.

33:42 Here we go. The Christians are being murdered. All right. And then you have the counterpart to Fox News, CNN. Who knows if they even mentioned it?

33:59 But it was twenty four hour wall to wall coverage when the Muslims were murdered in New Zealand. Right? Taking our focus off. I mean, I I don't watch... I don't watch Fox News because...

34:17 I don't watch any news because I get upset. I get uptight. I get angry. Let me see if there's any other ones that I should pick out here cause we're just about out of time. Self control?

34:38 Self control is I'm I'm not blessed with that yet. My wife prays every day for the... For for that, anointing. Alright. The the last one I'll last one I'll mention is, whatever takes our focus off of our, I call them life accounts, off of what we're here to do is a scheme of the devil.

35:11 And then we can go back to the ones, the old ones, right? Fear, pride, power, lust, worry. There's a lot of them there. Right? There's a lot of them there.

35:32 I'm going to go here. So this is, this is a picture of my journal. And I'm talking, I wanna talk about specifically this, which is highlighted. It's a picture of a well. Not a very good picture of the well.

35:49 Lydia was given the... I don't know where she got her art skills from. It certainly wasn't from me. Was it from you? It was from Karen.

35:56 Karen, you're credited with Lindy's art skills. You have helped raise them. So I've got... You guys know Annie Hilton's a good friend of mine and Nancy and I are engaged in watching the Andy Griffith Show right now. And if anybody would say this, it would either be Annie Griffin or Andy Hilton.

36:19 Right? Whatever is in the well comes up in the bucket. Whatever is in the well comes up in the bucket. Alright, what I mean by that is, what is here? What are your values?

36:33 Do you believe that there's truth? Do you know that Satan is real? Whatever is in the well comes up in the bucket. Right? And it's scriptural.

36:50 James chapter three. James chapter three. So listen to this. Alright. Remember this is all based on being caught up in the schemes of the devil, Not focused on what we're here to do.

37:20 I'm gonna start with verse nine. With the tongue, we bless our Lord and Father. And with it, we curse people who are made in God's likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

37:43 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters? Or grapevine produce figs? Neither can salt water spring yield... Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

38:05 So it's what's in here that comes out when we get into a conversation with somebody on the outside, somebody on the inside, somebody in the church, somebody in the family, when we react in a way that is unhealthy. Because Satan would like no much... Would like nothing more than to do that. So let me let me finish with this. Ephesians six.

38:37 Right? So we're we're talk... We're... We we talk about the full armor of God. Notice notice that the full armor of God protects, with one exception, protects the front of your body.

38:48 The exception is the helmet because the helmet does go around the back. But we are told to stand firm. Stand firm. That means don't back up, that means don't run away. Attacking head on by standing firm with the full armor of God.

39:10 What is the first piece that is mentioned in Ephesians six? What is the first piece of armor? The belt of truth. Right? I like I like King James on this one.

39:28 Gird your loins with truth. Make truth a part of your life. Let's talk about that. I asked Nancy to give me a robe, I wanna show everybody what it means to gird your loins. And then I tried it, I'm like nobody wants to see that.

39:48 So... But but picture but but picture if you will, right, in the in the in the... In that time, they they wore robes, flowing robes. And how much can you move with a flowing robe? It's get caught in your legs, it's gonna twist, it's gonna fall down, you're gonna hurt yourself, you're not gonna be able to stand firm.

40:09 So what they did with the robe is they brought it up and they tucked it into a belt or they tied it in a knot around their waist. And it's the truth. It's the truth. So what is the truth? Jesus said, I am the way, the truth.

40:31 Jesus is the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. No one comes to the father except through me. So the word of God is truth. Jesus is truth.

40:47 We fight the battle against the enemy, Satan, with truth. The truth becomes part of us. The truth becomes part of us because it's what's in the well comes up in the bucket. You don't have the truth, you're going to be going to a gunfight with a knife, a penknife that's dull. But through Christ, we can win the battle.

41:34 Lord, but we know that we have the truth and we know that you have you and we know that we have the power of the Holy Spirit. So we claim that power of the Holy Spirit Lord. Help us, help us to fight that daily battle. Help us to prepare to fight that daily battle. Give us give us the wisdom that we need to be prepared on a daily basis to put on the full armor of God in order to fight Satan, in order for you to be glorified, in order for us to be purified by that fire.

42:04 We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.