Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the 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. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Spiritual warfare is real, and the devil doesn’t play fair in his dealings with us. Therefore, we need to know how to stand against the wiles of the evil one. There are two types of spiritual warfare: temptations and the fiery darts of the evil one.
Temptations will always be thrown at us to lure us back into our old selves or ‘old men’ and discourage us from living out the newness of life in Christ. The second type is fiery darts that are shot at us by the devil. Can you remember what it was like when you went through a state of distress, tribulation, or trial in your life? Typically, one would have all kinds of thoughts, doubts, frustrations, anguish, and go through emotional roller coasters. We would also ask questions like, “What have I done to deserve this?”, or “Is it a discipline of God?” In addition, there might be opinions, suggestions, and deductions from different people. While some might be helpful, others are stoking the fire. Therefore, the solution is to listen to one voice amid the chaos and frustrations, instead of allowing our thoughts to run wild with all kinds of questions. The key is to get into the Word and enforce the victory.
The Apostle Paul has revealed to us that the devil and his cohorts are real, and it is futile to use natural weapons against them. The problem is because we seldom talk about the enemies in church, some Christians are ignorant about them and unable to discern. As such, some will think that everything they experience in life is from God, and when something bad happens, they will blame God for it out of their misunderstanding that the origin of their evil encounter is God. At times, they may even develop a theology about suffering out of it!
The days are evil and there are fiery darts fired at us by the devil. We must not be ignorant but should be well taught on the subject. Thereafter, we should not be passive towards the disturbance of the devil but put on the full armour of God so that we can handle it well and stand strong in the midst.
Sermon Series: Believers’ Authority
争战是真实的
以弗所书 6:10-13 最后，我的弟兄们，你们要靠着主，靠着他的大能大力，作刚强的人。穿上神所赐的全副军装，这样你就能抵挡魔鬼的诡计。因为我们并不是与属血气的争战，而是与那些执政的、掌权的、管辖这幽暗世界的、以及天上属灵的恶魔争战。所以，要拿起神所赐的全副军装，好在磨难的日子抵挡仇敌，并且成就了一切，还能站立得住。
属灵争战是真实存在的，魔鬼不会公平地对待我们。因此，我们要懂得如何抵挡恶者的诡计。属灵的争战有两种：一是试探，二是恶者的火箭。
试探总是会落在我们身上，引诱我们回到老我或“旧人”中，并阻止我们活出在基督里的新生命。第二种是魔鬼向我们射出的火箭。你还记得当你在生活中经历痛苦、磨难或试炼时的感觉吗？通常，一个人会有各种各样的想法、怀疑、沮丧、痛苦，并经历情绪上的波动。我们也会问这样的问题：“我做了什么要受到这样的惩罚？”或者“这是神的管教吗？”此外，可能还有不同人的意见、建议和推论。虽然有些可能会有所帮助，但另一些则只会火上浇油。因此，解决办法就是在混乱和挫折中倾听一个声音，而不是让我们的思想因各种问题而失控。关键是要进入神的话语并取得胜利。
使徒保罗告诉我们，魔鬼和牠的同伙是真实存在的，使用天然武器来抵挡牠们是徒劳的。问题是因为我们很少在教会里谈论仇敌，有些基督徒对仇敌一无所知，无法辨别。因此，有些人会认为他们生命中所经历的一切都是从神来的，当有不好的事情发生时，他们就会责怪神，因为他们误以为自己遭遇的不幸都是神造成的。有时，他们甚至可能从中发展出一种关于苦难的神学！
日子是愁苦的，并有魔鬼向我们发射火箭。我们不能无知，而是应该在这个问题上很好的被教导。此后，我们不应该对魔鬼的扰乱处于被动，而是要穿上神所赐的全副军装，这样才能应付自如，在其中站立的住。
讲章系列：信徒的权柄
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