The apostle Paul explained to his churches that spiritual warfare is the primary struggle the church is involved in. Here is a sermon that connects the truth of spiritual warfare with the everyday lives of believers in the 21st century. I. Introduction1. The last section of Ephesians is about the believer's warfare. It is a welcome to spiritual warfare. 2. If you are a child of God, Satan is after you. If you are walking after Christ, you can be sure that Satan is after you. On the other hand, if you are not facing conflict from the enemy, then you are living a life of immorality or laziness. He is not seeking to devour you because he already has you. 3. Spiritual warfare is not an option in the Christian life. If you are a believer, you are involved in the struggle. No one else can fight the battle for you. There are no elite Christians who specialize in rebuking the devil. II. Our Struggle Is Real, Personal, and Supernatural1. Our struggle is real. All of us are corporately involved in this great war between God and the enemy. This war is not imaginary. 2. Many people believe the devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. Some people do not believe in the supernatural. They are purely materialistic and cannot envision any life beyond the physical plane. They see Satan as a symbol of evil, not the embodiment of evil. 3. Other people blame the devil for everything. These folks see a demon behind every bush and around every corner. They routinely cast demonic hordes out of crashed computers and faulty traffic lights. 4. The biblical reality is that Satan and his demonic legions are alive and well on planet Earth. Somewhere in the middle is the biblical reality. Satan is the enemy of God. Because he cannot do anything to God, he chooses to attack what is precious to God … us. 5. Our struggle is personal; we wrestle in a fight to the death. The word "wrestle," or struggle means hand-to-hand combat to the death. Whether you realize it or not, every day you are locked in a personal battle with the forces of darkness. Every day the enemy tries to get a new hold on you or attack some weak area. 6. Our struggle is supernatural, and cannot be won on our own strength or with earthly tactics. Our struggle is not against "flesh and blood," but against even more powerful enemies. We not only fight against Satan, but against his legions of "principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age" and the "spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." III. Our Struggle Is Against Powerful Enemies and Has Serious Implications1. Lucifer's forces want to hurt, destroy, and ruin our lives. They want to hurt us, destroy us, and kill us if possible. If they can't do that, they will settle for ruining our lives with broken homes, addictions, bitterness, despair, depression, violence, and so on. 2. Our struggle has serious implications because Satan is powerful. Unlike God, he can only be in one place at a time. However, his immense order of demons, or fallen angels, do his bidding around the world. 3. Satan is terribly evil. No one has to teach us to sin. Every part of our nature is tainted by sin. Yet no one has fallen to Satan's level. He is utterly evil. He has no conscience, no compassion, and no remorse. He feeds on pain and suffering. He delights in anguish and filth. 4. Satan is terribly cunning. Satan has been honing his methods for millennia. His schemes include: A. Diversion. The devil is a master at hiding behind the scenes. We blame others or circumstance, and don't always think that it could be Satan doing battle with us. B. Division. Satan's motto is "Divide and Conquer." We need each other to defeat him. C. Deception. Satan doesn't so much attack our weaknesses as our strengths. He gets us to rely on our own talents or giftedness instead of the God who gave them to us.IV. Our Power in Spiritual Warfare Is God's Power 1. The enemy defeats us when we rely on our own power. If you are trusting in your own power and strength, you are issuing the devil an invitation to beat you up. If you are thinking, I can handle it on my own, you are beaten and you don't even know it. 2. We defeat the enemy when we rely on God's power. Paul says, "Be strong in the Lord." Why? Because God is greater than Satan! Satan is powerful, but he is not even in the same class as God. 3. Jesus ultimately defeated Satan at the cross. Colossians 2:14–15 speaks of how Jesus took our guilt of sin and "nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." 4. In Christ, we have ultimate victory, but we do have to fight the battle. Paul says that we are to "put on the full armor of God," a metaphor of the components of the spirit-filled life. V. Our Protection in Spiritual Warfare Is the Armor of God1. We defeat the hordes of hell by being filled with the Spirit and living in holiness. Remember we can't just send demons away. Saying "in Jesus' name" won't necessarily make everything easier. We defeat the hordes of hell by being filled with the Spirit and living in holiness and peace. 2. When we rest in the Lord, we are the most secure. God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." VI. Conclusion1. Wars are fought and won in small skirmishes. Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed by the titanic clash between righteousness and evil that we forget our personal battlefield. Wars are fought and won in small skirmishes. Are you holding your ground? Are you making your stand? Coy Wylie is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. 
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