I added a short clip from my boss and Senior Pastor Ron Auch from one of his sermons a couple weeks ago that I thought addressed an important aspect of spiritual warfare.
“I’m going to deal with the issue of Spiritual Warfare today. In light of the day we live in I thought it would be appropriate to address this issue. There seems to be so much spiritual activity going on in our world. Some have recently predicted when the rapture was going to take place. The weather patterns have been crazy lately, and there are wars and rumors of wars. And along with all of this unrest the issue of Satan attacking the saints always comes up.
Ephesians 6:10 is one of my favorite verses. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians chapter 6 is one of the best known portions of scripture on the subject.
This verse introduces a section of verses that deal with spiritual conflict. But this verse also says it all. Be Strong in the Lord. That is the key to spiritual success. It doesn’t say, be strong in your knowledge of the enemy but rather – be strong in God
I have maintained for a long time that the church in general has a view of this subject that is a bit off-center, at least from my perspective. I believe its off-center in that it tends to make Satan the object or the focus of attention rather than Jesus. Though Satan is the instigator of spiritual conflict, understanding him is definitely not the answer in how to be strong in the Lord. You will never grow in Jesus and become strong in Him through a study of the enemy nor through understanding his tactics. Even if a person knows all that there is to know about Satan (which by the way, is impossible), how does that help them increase their knowledge of the Lord?
Jesus doesn’t even tell us to learn about the enemy. Instead he tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can take a stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:11: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
It tells us to put on the armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes. It does not suggest that we first learn of the devil’s schemes and then put the armor on to protect us, but rather that through clothing ourselves with the full armor of God we become more spiritually alert us to the devil’s schemes.”
Rev. Ron Auch, Prayer House Assembly of God, Kenosha, WI
