Sermon Tone Analysis

We Are At War!

Ephesians

What is Spiritual Warfare?

The struggle against the forces of evil, which is a constant feature of the life of faith.

Scripture locates the origins of spiritual warfare in the rebellion of Satan and his angels against God and affirms the hope of God’s final victory over such forces through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

In the movie Jurassic Park, Dr. Allen Grant and his team are digging for dinosaurs in the Badlands, near Snakewater, Montana.

They set off a seismic charge, and the image of an ancient skeleton appears on the video screen.

It’s a velociraptor—one of the most cunning and deadly predators ever to walk the earth.

But a young boy visiting the site isn’t impressed.

He says, “That doesn’t look very scary—more like a six-foot turkey.”

Dr. Grant responds by describing how a velociraptor goes about an attack: “You stare at him, and he just stares right back.

And that’s when the attack comes—not from the front but from the side, from the other two raptors you didn’t even know were there.”

In spiritual warfare the most dangerous attacks come unexpectedly.

Christians often focus their attention on spiritual enemies that are obvious and plainly visible.

While our attention is focused on these obvious forms of evil, suddenly the most lethal attacks come from the sides, from satanic influences we didn’t even know were there.

In other words, the greatest threats to our faith, our families and our church do not come from the demonic influences we can see but from those that we cannot see—the ones that are so cunning that they are virtually invisible.

Spiritual Warfare Is

So Who Is This Fight Against?

Names of Satan

In the movie Jurassic Park, Dr. Allen Grant and his team are digging for dinosaurs in the Badlands, near Snakewater, Montana.

They set off a seismic charge, and the image of an ancient skeleton appears on the video screen.

It’s a velociraptor—one of the most cunning and deadly predators ever to walk the earth.

But a young boy visiting the site isn’t impressed.

He says, “That doesn’t look very scary—more like a six-foot turkey.”

Dr. Grant responds by describing how a velociraptor goes about an attack: “You stare at him, and he just stares right back.

And that’s when the attack comes—not from the front but from the side, from the other two raptors you didn’t even know were there.”

In spiritual warfare the most dangerous attacks come unexpectedly.

Christians often focus their attention on spiritual enemies that are obvious and plainly visible.

While our attention is focused on these obvious forms of evil, suddenly the most lethal attacks come from the sides, from satanic influences we didn’t even know were there.

In other words, the greatest threats to our faith, our families and our church do not come from the demonic influences we can see but from those that we cannot see—the ones that are so cunning that they are virtually invisible.

GROUP DISCUSSION.

What are some examples of the plainly visible evil we tend to focus on?

Why do we focus on these things?

PERSONAL REFLECTION.

What invisible enemies have you struggled with in the past?

We cannot fight an enemy we cannot see.

So in this passage we will look at some of the disguises Satan wears, so that we can see behind his masks.

We will look at some of the deceitful practices he uses, so that we won’t be fooled.

Read 2 Corinthians 11:1–15.

1.

In this passage how does Paul compare himself to and contrast himself with the “false apostles” in Corinth (vv.

1–15)?

2. How are the dangers the Corinthians faced similar to those Eve faced when she first met the serpent (vv.

1–3)?

3. Why is it more effective for deceivers to distort the gospel than to deny it altogether, or to preach a different Jesus rather than no Jesus at all (v.

4)?

4. Evidently, false apostles had infiltrated the Corinthian church.

In what ways did these “super-apostles” seem far superior to Paul (vv. 5–12; see also 10:1, 10)?