The Real Struggle
Engaging the Battle • Sermon • Submitted
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The Unseen Enemy
The 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin towers and the Pentagon.
feels particularly poignant considering the recent events in Afghanistan, the takeover by the Taliban, likelihood of resurgence of terrorist organizations
What a huge shock the attack on 9/11 was
Like I’m sure most of you, I remember that day well, listening to radio as I made my way to a TVMA meeting
Watched the events unfold on TV at the Broadmore Senior Home, watched towers crumble, horrible sight that was
What made it especially shocking - most of us didn’t realize we were in a war - why is this happening, why are they attacking us??
In hindsight, there were signs - previous bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 (parking garage below), in 1998, simultaneous truck bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and finally, in 2000, the bombing of one of our naval vessels, the U.S.S. Cole
I think most of us saw those as isolated incidents. Certainly no real danger here.
Of course, after the 9/11 attacks, the entire nation was vigilant against another possible attack, security shot up all over place
security guards at natural gas facilities, huge concrete blockades put in front of federal buildings, air travel security especially was tightened up (removing shoes, belts, no more than 3 ounces worth of liquids, etc.)
We were doing whatever we thought was needed to protect ourselves, to be ready for battle
Because we discovered the hard way that we were in a battle, that there were enemies seeking to do us real harm
Which brings us to what I want to talk about this morning, as we begin our new sermon series, Engaging the Battle.
Everything I want to talk about over the next seven weeks is predicated on this one fundamental reality…that we are in a battle.
I’m not trying to be overly dramatic, but I want to lay out as honestly as I can what Scripture makes quite clear…that there is a great ongoing battle between good and evil, between light and dark, between God and Satan.
And like the tragic events of 9/11, the one thing we don’t want to do is to be caught unaware. To be living our lives as if there is no such fight happening, as if there is no real and present danger.
Battle I’m referring to is not a physical war, but a spiritual war. It is battle for our souls. And this is our main point this morning - real struggle we contend with on a day to day basis is, in the final tally, a spiritual battle. And we’re called not just simply to be aware that there’s a real war happening - but we need to engage that battle.
The Real Struggle - Ephesians 6:10-20 - lays this out clearly.
If you stop and think about it, there are signs to this great battle, this spiritual war, all around us. And we have a sense of this.
Think about all ways we use fighting language - it comes out in all sorts of ways.
We talk about battling addiction…or depression. These oppressive powers that grab a hold of us and we fight to be free of them (or we don’t fight, give up the battle).
People fight for a cause, or to right a wrong. Or you fight for someone, advocating for them.
We use battle language in illnesses - something as common as a cold (I’m fighting a cold), and things as dire as cancer.
Hear a lot of language right now about cultural wars that are happening. Political fights and divisions. People bear the very real wounds from these things. Friendships and relationships have been broken over political differences.
I’m very aware of the battles inside of me - the right I want to do, the kind of person I want to be…and yet how often I fall short of that. I lose the fight. I give in to impatience and living by my whims or my fears rather than living out courageously and boldly and lovingly.
Consider the stories we tell - always involve a battle of some sort, a conflict that revolves around central theme of good versus evil - and we tell these stories (or read or watch them) because of our hope that the good will win. That all will be as it should be - because we think there is “should be”.
Recently I’ve watched a couple of the old classic Westerns (we’re talking black and white here). Watched High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly and then The Man Shot Liberty Valance with Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne (well, pilgrim).
High Noon - bad guy has gotten out of prison and he’s coming back to town to get revenge on the Marshall. His gang is waiting for him to come in on the train that arrives at...High Noon. The story is not only a fight between bad guys and good guys, but the film shows internal conflicts among all the townspeople that the Marshall is trying to deputize in order to help him fight the bad guys.
Will they show courage and do the right thing? Will he skip town and abandon his duty, as he’s being encouraged to do? Those are the real battles going on in the movie. What kind of people will these characters prove to be? Will the good win out? (spoiler alert - it does and it doesn’t).
I point all of this out because I think these are all indicators that we are in a great struggle. And it’s far more than just a struggle to survive. There is a great cosmic struggle between good and evil. God and Satan. We’re caught up in it. This is what Paul is warning us about here so that we will be prepared to engage the battle.
We need to be prepared because the enemy we’re fighting is worst kind of enemy.
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, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The Rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil - these are our real enemies. This is who our struggle is against.
For some of us, this may be a harder idea to get our heads around - or to take seriously that this is true. It may simply be that we don’t know what to do with this.
But think about it this way…God is a spiritual being. He is not physical (until Jesus was born, took on human flesh). Angels are purely spiritual beings.
But like humans, angels were created by God with free will. Individual sovereignty. This is an incredible gift from God. It is God’s desire that we freely love him in return. Which is very nature of love - it must be freely given and freely received.
But it also means that you can choose not to love. You and I can reject God. Which we all have - that’s definition of sin. And if it’s true for us, why wouldn’t that be true for angelic beings as well? Some of them, too, have rejected God.
So our enemies are spiritual beings who have rejected the good of God, his everlasting light - and instead have embraced the darkness, turning to evil.
John Milton’s classic line from Paradise Lost: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice. To reign is worth ambition though in hell; better to reign in hell then serve in heaven.
John Stott points out that they are worst kind of enemy - Powerful, Wicked and Cunning (which is why we must be aware of the enemy!).
I can think of no better example of how the enemy might work than C.S. Lewis’ classic, The Screwtape Letters. It is a work of fiction, a series of letters from a higher level demon, Screwtape, writing to a demon under his supervision, Wormwood, advising him on how to best keep his subject (a young British man) away from the enemy, God. Captures beautifully the schemes of the devil:
You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
Powerful, wicked, cunning - that’s who our enemy is. And he is working against us.
Satan’s whole desire is to keep you from God, from enjoying the joy and the light and life of God himself. Misery does indeed love company. Which is why our best strategy is to be aware of our enemy - and not just to be aware, but to engage the battle.
Gear up - Put on Armor (engage the battle)
John Eldridge tells the story in his book, Wild at Heart: During World War II, on the night before the Allies hit the beaches at Normandy, the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dropped in behind enemy lines to cut off Hitler’s reinforcements. They had to move through dead of night alone or in small groups across a country they’d never been to in order to fight an enemy they couldn’t see or predict. Among the many men who fought bravely, there were some who did not. They hid. One group in particular:
(Here he’s quoting from D-Day): Too many had hunkered down in hedgerows to await the dawn; a few had even gone to sleep. Pvt. Francis Palys of the 506th saw what was perhaps the worst dereliction of duty. He had gathered a squad near Vierville. Hearing, “all kinds of noise and singing from a distance,” he and his men sneaked up on a farmhouse. In it was a mixed group from both American divisions. The paratroopers had found liquor in the cellar…and they were drunker than a bunch of hillbillies on a Saturday night wingding. Unbelievable.
There was a battle going on right around them. But they decided not to engage it.
Call here is to gear up, put on the armor, we’re in a battle. Recognize that there is a very real enemy that is working actively against you - he’s real, powerful, cunning and evil.
But we do not come into this battle empty handed. The invitation is to arm ourselves in the power of God - his truth, his righteousness, his Gospel, faith in him, his salvation, his Spirit.
Just last night - I was walking inside the house from our back yard. I’d been outside painting, listening to the Longhorn game, which was not going well, at all. As I come in, our dog, Baga, is trying to burst outside. I know what’s going to happen - she’ll burst outside, hoping I’ll throw the ball to her. But if I shut the door on her, she’ll stand out there and bark.
I was not in the mood. As soon as she bursts outside, Baga, get in here. The irritation and impatience in my voice were evident.
At that moment, I had a quick flashback - of a moment years ago, as a kid, my younger brother and I were watching another Longhorn game that was not going well. And he decided it would be fun to cheer for the other team. I took that as a taunt, so in my anger, I punched him. Because that’s what you do to younger brothers to try to teach them a lesson
It was a humbling moment, here I was, years later…you’ve sure matured a lot, haven’t you, Rob? It felt defeating.
But then I remembered things have changed. I have changed. I have armor now. Those things will not define me. So I took a few moments to confess my irritation and anger, to repent. And I’m thinking about how supporting my football team has become too much of “cards” for me, has it become too much of an idol for me, a good thing become a negative?
This is why it’s so important that we put on the armor of God - and put on all of it - that’s explicitly the language here, it’s not just put on the armor of God, it’s the full armor of God. Don’t leave anything out - you need it all!
Don’t try to fight this fight on your own, and don’t enter in unprepared. What’s the old saying - you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. This is a serious struggle we’re facing - because this is a serious enemy we’re facing.
Disciplines - Ways to put this into practice
First, make a commitment to engage in spiritual disciplines.
Came across this quote on discipline: Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.
Necessity of discipline - consider the military, why discipline is so necessary (making your bed, appearance of your uniform, readiness to follow orders). Otherwise, when the battle comes, you won’t be ready.
My hope is that what you want most is to love Christ above everything else - what disciplines will help train you to become type of person who has put Jesus Christ at the center of their lives?
Make the commitment to join our Spiritual Formation Group - The Good and Beautiful Community
Second, Prayer exercise: Putting on the Armor of God
God’s power & might, our responsibility (be strong in the Lord, his mighty power…put on)
I put on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, the helmet of salvation. I take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit.
Let me finish with this. Inspiration
A friend of mine from seminary, Thomas - his wife, Beth, is from Wales. One time, years ago, Thomas was visiting there, just getting to know her family. Beth’s dad was watching a rugby match.
It was a David and Goliath competition, Wales versus England’s team. At a critical juncture in the game, when Wales needed to score in order to win the game, one of the Welsh players has the ball and he’s running for the goal line. Tension is high. Beth’s dad is yelling at the TV set, cheering the player on, trying to will him toward the goal line. He drops down to the floor, on his hands and knees, screaming at the top of his voice, face beet red, “Run, boy, run!”
He does it! The Welsh player scores. Wales wins the game. Utter excitement in the stadium and in the household.
Here’s the funny part of this story. The match Beth’s dad was watching was actually a replay. The game had already been played and he already knew the outcome of the game. He knew Wales had won the game.
We, too, already know the outcome of our war. God wins. Colossians 2:13-15 -
He (God) forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
When God forgave us, he canceled our debt, he took away everything we were condemned with.
By doing so, he disarmed the powers and authorities - Satan (the accuser) has no grounding to accuse us. Nothing to shame us with. He’s shooting blanks.
Jesus, through the cross, through his death and resurrection, has already won the war. He has already triumphed over the power and authorities.
Which is why throughout this Ephesians passage, as it describes the battle, it never calls us to fight in order to win. We are to put on the full armor of God in order to take our stand. To stand our ground. To not give up the victory that’s already ours.
When we engage this battle, we don’t have to do so with fears or concerns about whether or not we can actually win. Whether or not we have strength and will to fight. It’s not dependent upon us.
Be strong in the Lord and in his might power. We’re trusting in God’s strength, his might, his glorious power. Which has already won the war. We can know we’re going to make it to the goal line.
Our role is to suit up. To put on all armor God has for us so we can do exactly that, stand firm in our faith and love of Jesus. So we will not be caught unaware, as if there were no such fight happening. So we can engage the battle.