How to Fight the Spiritual Battle | The Battle Around Us

We're glad you're joining us for A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast supported by Harvest Partners. Get more encouraging audio content when you subscribe to Pastor Greg's Daily Devos.

Learn more and sign up at harvest.org. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Again you hear when the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when life begins. The old evangelist Billy Sunday said temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole.

Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in. How many of us have our fingerprints on the doorknob and wonder why we fell to the devil's lures? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us good insight on the spiritual environment we're living in. It's a look at the spiritual battle being waged all around us, whether we realize it or not, and how we're all combatants in the fight.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Have you ever just been walking with the Lord, doing all the things you think a Christian ought to do, when all of a sudden you're just barraged with spiritual attack? You're getting hit with doubts. You're getting hit with temptations.

You're getting hit with all kinds of other problems. And you're wondering what horrible sin have I committed to bring this upon myself, right? What have I done to deserve such a fate? What's wrong here?

Why is God letting this happen to me? How many of you have ever had that happen? Raise your hand. Right.

Pretty much everybody. Here's something to consider. It may not be happening because you're doing something wrong.

It may be happening because you're doing something right. And you are a threat to the devil. So this is something we need to be aware of.

Listen. Like it or not, the moment you became a Christian you entered into a spiritual conflict. The devil effectively declared war on you. It's been said conversion has made our hearts a battlefield. Anyone who chooses to follow Jesus Christ will face severe opposition from the enemy. And you have a choice in this spiritual battle. You can win or you can lose.

You can gain ground or you can lose ground. But you can't just say, look dude I'm like a spiritual pacifist. Ok. Oh you're going to go down buddy.

You're going down. So you have to learn how to fight. And you have to learn how to use the weaponry that God has given to you. By the way the Bible frequently uses the images of war and conflict to depict the Christian life. Paul exhorted Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. He also wrote, I fought the good fight.

The Christian life is not a playground. It's a battleground. But here's the good news. We can win in this war. And here's some more good news.

We are going to win in the end. So if you feel like you are being a little overwhelmed right now just understand that God is with you. And He has told you how to win in this spiritual battle. You know Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the church. Ever heard that statement before? Now what does that mean?

We say it all the time. You know the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. What do you think that means?

I have no idea but I like the way it sounds. Right? What does it mean when it says the gates of hell will not prevail against the church? We have to go back to ancient times and the way they conducted warfare. And we know that a common military tactic used by armies in that day was to break down the gate of the enemy's fortress with a battering ram.

Right? You have seen it in a lot of movies. So the battering ram sometimes it's on fire. It hits the wooden gate and the gate catches on fire and the soldiers rush in and defeat the occupants of the fortress. So the idea is the gates will not prevail against the battering ram. So the idea here is as we are moving forward as Christians. As we are gaining ground not just holding ground and hopefully not losing ground. As we are advancing into enemy territory if you will with the message of the gospel we are going to ultimately win the battle. The gates of hell will not prevail against us or be able to stop us. So here we are now looking at what this battle is going to look like for us. It is important we understand it because to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Let me say that again. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. So let's find out about this while we are in. Let's all look at Ephesians 6 verse 10. Finally my brothers. I am reading from the New King James Version. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles.

That is an old timey word that means strategies and deceits. Stand against the strategies and deceits or wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.

Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places or just the supernatural world. This is talking about the rankings of demon powers that are out there. Just like in the military we have rankings. We have generals and corporals and lieutenants and sergeants and buck privates and all that.

Well in the supernatural world there are rankings of fallen angels as well as rankings of holy angels. Anyway. So we are fighting against these hosts in the supernatural realm. Therefore. Remember whenever you see the word therefore find out what it is there for. So in light of this or therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day having done all to stand.

So if you are taking notes here is point number one. Recognize this is a spiritual battle and it must be fought with spiritual weapons. Let me say that again. Recognize this is a spiritual battle and it must be fought with spiritual weapons. You fight fire with fire.

And there are some key ways to overcome the devil and his demons because God has not left us in the dark here. And he tells us, verse 11, put on the full armor of God. And that phrase put on carries the idea of once and for all. Do it once and for all. Or do it permanently. The full armor of God is not to be put on and taken off. You need to keep it on. Because we are going to be in the battle until the final day. The spiritual battle ends when we get to heaven.

Not before. So we keep the armor of God on. And why?

Number two. Because Satan is a super being and he is more than I can ever handle. Satan is a super being. He is a powerful fallen angel.

I am no match for him nor are you. Verse 11. That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. See my objective is to stay as far away from the devil as I possibly can.

Not to skate as close to what he is offering as I possibly can. The Bible tells a story in the book of Acts about some guys called the sons of Sceva. Who are identified as exorcists. And they were trying to cast a demon out. By the way the Bible never validates exorcists.

It validates casting demons out at people. But there is no real biblical office of being an exorcist. And so if someone says I am an exorcist my gift is casting demons out.

Sorry I don't find that in the Bible. I do find demons being cast out but not a person with a specific gifting of exorcists. These guys were called an exorcists or exorcists rather. And so they tried to cast a demon out. And they said to this demon possessed guy, Come out of this person in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.

Because they had seen Paul do it so they thought they could do it like it is some magic formula. And the demon in the guy says, Listen. I know Jesus and I know Paul but I don't know you. And then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence they fled from the house naked and battered. That is what happens when you try to take the devil on in your own strength.

So don't go there. Why come to you in the name of Jesus whom Paul know you better just stand in the Lord only and not go where you shouldn't be. And this is a picture of us trying to overcome Satan in our own strength. You know when there is a situation and an officer is called. An officer arrives a call for backup. Call for backup. And we need to do the same. When we are in spiritual battle we need to call for backup.

And that backup is the Lord himself. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love hearing from our listeners.

Whether it is a short word or they take some time to tell us what is going on with them. Pastor Greg, we moved from Montana to Florida about six months ago to help my elderly sister. Although I am also older with some health problems I am anxious to be involved in ministry.

After we moved it was hard to find a good church. Your teachings and ministry have helped me. In fact I read your book Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. And I was so surprised how many of my friends were interested in the singing artist you mentioned in the book.

Especially the Beatles. One friend asked if she could borrow the book for her nephew who loves all those singers. And I gave it freely. Thank you for all you do at Harvest Ministries. If you appreciate the way the Lord is using Harvest Ministries to reach unexpected people in unexpected places with an unexpected message. Would you let Pastor Greg know? Just drop him an email. Greg at Harvest.org.

Again that is Greg at Harvest.org. Well we are just getting started in our series of most requested messages of the year. And today Pastor Greg is giving us some powerful principles for spiritual battle.

Let's continue. Number three, to win in the spiritual battle I must stand in God's strength not my own. To win in the spiritual battle I must stand in God's strength not my own. Verse 10, finally my brothers be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Or literally strengthen yourself in the Lord.

See what the devil wants to do is get you as far from God as he possibly can. Sort of like our phones. You know they keep coming out with new versions of every phone out there. Every new iPhone. Every new Android phone.

And they have all these features they add. All I really want is a phone that has enough battery life to get me through the day. Really that is what I want. How about you? I don't care about all this other stuff.

I don't care what color it is. And I don't care about these extra features. Just get me through the day because you watch that battery drain and get lower and lower. So you are constantly plugging in. Recharging. Plugging in. Recharging.

Ok. The idea is you want to stay permanently plugged in to Christ. And the devil doesn't want you to be plugged into Christ.

He wants you disconnected. So here is what you need to do. Start the day with the Lord. When you get up in the morning don't start the day with social media. Don't start the day checking your emails. Start the day with the Word of God and with prayer. And that will equip you to deal with all that stuff that is going to come your way in your emails.

And in your texts and from other places. So you need to get your day started in the right way. The devil doesn't want you to do that. He wants you to do anything but that.

But that is where we need to start. Stand in the Lord and in the power of His might. Again I want to keep as much distance between the devil and myself as possible.

It comes down to this. Flee temptation. And don't leave a forwarding address. Run from it. And some of you are thinking well this kind of sounds scary Greg. You are kind of scaring me tonight.

I don't want to hear this. Don't you have a message about puppies and flowers? No that is coming later.

I will get to that. No I really don't. I know it is scary but let's just remember one simple statement. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. God is more powerful than the devil and all the demons. So that is why I stand in the Lord and in the power of His might. And I don't stand in Greg in the power of my might.

Because I can collapse quickly just like you. Now Paul breaks down the various pieces of armor. Look at verse 14. Stand therefore. Ah there is therefore again.

So in light of this. Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. So six pieces of armor are mentioned. Six pieces.

The first three. The belt. The breastplate. And the shoes were attached to the body.

Never to be removed. The second three. The shield.

The helmet. And the sword were for specific purposes and methods of attack. So it starts by saying gird your waist with truth.

Let me just use a more modern translation. Put on the utility belt of truth. You know how Batman has his utility belt right? All the cool little things. The little bat thing he throws at people. That's how they know it's Batman right? That little thing he throws.

But think about a police officer. They put on that belt on the outside of their uniform. They call it a Sam Brown. And on the Sam Brown they have a holster for their gun. A place for their cuffs. A place for an asp possibly which is a little baton thing they pull out and use. They might have other little items. They have a little thing to hold a donut. They have.

No they don't. So they have the utility belt. They put it on. And all their stuff.

Their flashlight. All the things they carry is on that belt. So we put on the utility belt of truth. The Roman soldier had a belt. And on his belt he had a sheath which was for the sword obviously. And also the breastplate was attached to the belt. And the belt also pulled his. Well it pulled his little skirt up.

Ok. Because he. We wore a toga. A toga is basically just like a skirt. And so it would be down over his knees. So when he is going into battle he pulls it up above his knees. And he cinches in the belt so it stays above the knees giving him freedom of movement. Now he pulls his sword out.

You have got to have the belt on because if someone pulls your belt off. Off comes your breastplate. There goes your sword.

And your dress just fell to the ground. You are looking stupid right. So what does this even mean. Put on the belt of truth. Basically it is just saying.

Bottom line. If you are not walking truthfully before God none of the rest of this really matters. You know if you are living a hypocritical life.

If you are saying one thing and doing another then this is not going to work for you. So you start with a truthful right relationship with God. Then you have the breastplate of righteousness.

What does that mean. The breastplate of righteousness. Well it is certainly not the breastplate of self-righteousness.

Because that won't do anything for you. It is the breastplate of God's righteousness. It is not even the breastplate of your personal righteous living. What it is is a representation of your stand before God.

We talked about how we are justified. Which means when you become a Christian God forgives you of all of your sin. And then He puts the righteousness of Christ into your spiritual bank account so to speak. And you stand positionally right before God. I am a righteous man.

You might say, well Greg I saw you drive in here. I don't know about that. I didn't say I always do righteous things. But positionally before God I am a righteous man. You are a righteous man.

You are a righteous woman. So I stand in this special relationship with the Lord. And I bring this up because one of the devil's primary tactics is accusation. You know he comes up to you. He tempts you to think an impure thought.

And then you sort of take it for a test drive and he attacks you. What a hypocrite you are. You are not even a Christian. You don't believe in Jesus. Boom.

You know blows against the breastplate. But this is righteousness where I am not standing in my good works. Or what I have done for God. I am standing in what God has done for me. Very important.

Number three. We are to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This is the footwear of the soldier. It gave him firm-footedness and mobility on the field of battle. If a Roman soldier wanted to be effective in battle he had to take care of his feet. One of the common tactics of the enemy of that day would be to take sticks that were sharpened and embed them in the soil. So as the Roman soldiers are advancing into battle they step on one of those sharpened sticks that goes to their foot. They are out of commission.

They are not going to march one step further. So you want shoes that support you properly. I was having some sort of a thing where my shins were kind of aching. And I had these Nike Airs and I kept thinking that was a solution.

So I went to some store that sells athletic shoes and they got me in a treadmill. And they said, you know we know what your problem is. You're pronating. That offended me. I slapped the guy. Then he explained what it meant and I apologized quickly.

No I didn't slap him. But pronating which basically means that my foot sort of rolls. And so he said, you need more support. You don't need Airs like Nike Airs. You need a firmer sole. So I got shoes with firmer soles for when I run. Which is never. But still.

I have them now. So what does it mean to have your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace? It speaks of standing firm and gaining ground. So when the enemy attacks I don't back down or just hold my ground. I try to advance.

So let's put it all together. The belt of truth speaks of purity. The breastplate of righteousness speaks of integrity. Putting on your gospel shoes or having your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace speaks of mobility. And how do I gain ground?

Very simple answer. By proclaiming the gospel. That is how we advance in the spiritual battle. Romans 10 14 says, how can they call on Him? Unless they believe in Him. How can they believe in Him unless they have heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?

And how will anyone go and tell them unless they are sent? And that is why the scripture said how beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news. So look at your feet for a moment. Look at them. Those feet can be beautiful feet.

Right? If you let those feet carry you forward with the message of the gospel. Pastor Greg Laurie, with important insight today on spiritual warfare, explaining that God hasn't left us unequipped and unprepared for that battle.

And there's more to come here on A New Beginning. But if we were to take a step back, maybe the question for you is what have you done with the gospel? Have you responded to the Lord's invitation to come to Him for forgiveness of sins? It's easy to do. Pastor Greg, someone can do that right now, can't they?

That's right. The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So think of it this way. Maybe you're out in a riptide in the ocean and you can't get your footing and you're in trouble. And you see a lifeguard call out for help. And the lifeguard will rescue you.

The same is true spiritually. You're drowning in your sin. You need help. Jesus will save you. He will rescue you. But you must call out to Him.

And you know how you do that? You do it in prayer. So let me just lead you in a simple prayer. And you can pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like. And this is where you are calling out to Jesus to save you.

Just pray this. Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. And I know You are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Now, Lord, I turn from my sin and I put my faith in You. Be my Savior, my Lord. Be my God and my friend. I choose to follow You from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. Hey, if you just prayed that prayer, I want you to know that Christ Himself has come to live inside of you. And I have a resource I want to send you. It's called the New Believer's Bible. So the New Believer's Bible is the New Testament in the New Living Translation with hundreds of notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you are making to follow Christ. There's some other materials included as well in what we call the New Believer's Growth Pack. But let me get this New Believer's Bible into your hands as quickly as possible.

Here's Dave to tell you more. Yeah, we'll be glad to send it all your way free of any charge if you prayed along with Pastor Greg today. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. You can reach us anytime 24-7 at 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.

Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. Well, Pastor Greg, we're so pleased to mention your new book on the afterlife called As It Is in Heaven. Now, you've mentioned before that your ministry focus and intensity changed in the year 2008.

What happened to bring about that change? Well, what happened was my oldest son Christopher died in an automobile accident and he went to be with the Lord. It was the worst moment of my life, for sure. It's something I haven't completely recovered from, to be honest with you. And anyone who's lost a child knows what I'm talking about. And honestly, if God had not come through for me, I would have given up preaching altogether.

But I have to say God did come through for me and He comes through for me. Because here's the thing that I had to deal with. It's so shocking to lose someone so suddenly. I never got to say goodbye.

We didn't have a final conversation. And to have all contacts suddenly cut off, it's devastating. But I would reassure myself with what the Bible says. And the Bible tells us that we will see our loved ones again. In fact, in 1 Thessalonians 4, when Paul is addressing the topic of the rapture of the church, he says that dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord. With them.

With who? With our loved ones that are in heaven now. So if you have someone that has died and gone to heaven, you will see them again.

They're not just a part of your past, they're also a part of your future. Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And then he says this, and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. The Christian never dies.

Now you might say, Greg, you're delusional, of course they die. I understand, yes, there'll be that moment where we breathe our last breath and we are laid in a grave. But that's our body, our soul lives on. And one day God will resurrect our bodies as well. So for me, though that was the worst day of my life, my hope is that I'll see my son Christopher again.

And I'm really looking forward to that day. So I've written about this in this book called As It Is in Heaven. I think one of the most important things you can learn to do is to be heavenly minded. Oh, I know, I've heard the expression, they're so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good.

Give me a break. The fact is, people who are really heavenly minded do the most earthly good. But I think there are people who are so earthly minded, they're no heavenly good. And by that I mean they never think of the afterlife. And I think as we think deeply about the next life, it will impact us in this life, in the decisions we make, in the things that we do, in the way that we live, in the way we invest our finances and what we do with our time and what our priorities are. And the Bible actually tells us in Colossians 3 to set our mind on things above. You could translate it this way, think about heaven. It's a good thing to think deeply about heaven. But you might say, well, how can I think about a place I've ever been to?

Well, you need to know more about it. If I'm gonna take a trip, I do a little research. Oh, what's the best hotel to stay in? Where's the best place to eat? What are some fun things to do? Where can I get some great coffee?

I always like to find the good coffee place. And you know, we're all going to heaven as Christians. Should we not know more about our future heavenly destination?

The answer is yes. So I've written this new book because it is in heaven to tell you what the Bible says about heaven. And to remind you of this simple fact, it's better than anything you've ever experienced on earth.

Take the best experience you've ever had on planet earth. Maybe it was that special moment with a loved one watching the sunset. Maybe it was watching your baby take their first steps.

Maybe it was some other thing you can think of. Amplify that a thousand times and you get a glimpse of heaven. You see, heaven is the real thing. Earth is sort of like a pale imitation. You know, earth is sort of like the moon to heaven's sun. It reflects it and it gives us a glimpse of it because there are beautiful things you can see on earth. Beautiful places you can visit. Great experiences you can have.

But they're glimpses of something greater that is yet to come. And that's in the afterlife in heaven. So I'll send you this book, As It Is in Heaven, for your gift of any size as you invest in our ministry and lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. If you want to know more about heaven and you want to know how to be more heavenly minded, order your copy right now of this book that I've written called, As It Is in Heaven. Yeah, that's such great encouragement. Don't you want to know more about heaven?

It really belongs in everyone's library. And we'll send it to you to thank you for your partnership in helping us bring the gospel each day here on A New Beginning. So get in touch with your support and be sure to ask for, As It Is in Heaven. You can call us anytime night or day at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write, A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.

Or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time, Pastor Greg offers more insight on the spiritual warfare we face and the equipment God has provided to help us fight victoriously. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. A New Beginning is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. If this show has impacted your life, share your story, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, and help others find hope.