Part 2 - Fighting the Good Fight

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses."
- 1 Timothy 6:12



"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the Devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."

- 1 Peter 5:8



"The Thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I come that they might have life, and have it to the full."

- John 10:10



"Fight the good fight". A "roaring lion", "devour". "steal, kill, and destroy". How have we missed all this?




You may have noticed the new background. I've changed it in accordance with the theme of today's post - namely, fighting the Devil. Our picture of "fighting the Devil" nowadays has been reduced to fighting off the temptation to sin, which is just a PART of Satan's schemes. He plays on our sinful flesh, tempts us, trying to get us to do things we shouldn't. However, this isn't all he does. You have to remember, Satan is very, very clever, and quite powerful. God gives us the power to fight him, through the Holy Spirit, but what do we do? We don't even see him.

"Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."

- Ephesians 6:11-18 (NLT Bible)

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." I think Paul's trying to tell us something here. If only we would stop and listen. Notice that he doesn't say "resisting", but rather "fighting", as in, battling. The "armor of God" analogy only solidifies this. Armor implies that we will be attacked. Not just tempted, attacked. And a sword? That implies that we're supposed to fight back. Not something you hear from most pulpits these days.

To put this in another light, I'd like to quote from 'The Message':

"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

- Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Message Bible)

See what I'm getting at? God wants us strong. Why, if all we do is come into a building on Sunday mornings, sing a few songs, listen to a guy speak for an hour or so, say our farewells, and go about our week; if this is it, why do we need to be strong? Strong of voice? No, there's a lot more to the Christian life than we know. We're in a war. A war. "Well-made weapons of the best materials". As in, to fight with. This is a "life-or-death fight to the death against the Devil and all his angels". "You're up against far more than you can handle on your own." Don't go alone. But there's a slight problem. Satan's got us pinned down already, every last one of us. Time to dust off that armor, sharpen that sword, and start fighting. Fight for your heart.

What's our sword? Well, for one thing, the Word of God. We all know this. It's kryptonite for the demons. However, this isn't the only weapon we have. Prayer is an essential. We cannot go without it. Why does it work against the demons? The Holy Spirit endwells us, and our appeals go directly to the spiritual realm. And it's not just about asking God to send the demons away. We have to command them ourselves, in God's name. For even though we cannot stand for ourselves at this time, God made us to rule and subdue the Earth, remember? And that also applies to the spiritual realm. We can't survive on our own, but God has given us his power to fight them off.

And boy could we use it right about now.

"In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil." We will be attacked. It's a given. Satan's not gonna sit idly by while the people made in the very image of God take up their birthright and start shining out the glory God has restored to them. He hates God, and he hates anything that bears His glory. So, then, what are these "fiery arrows"? They can be quite varied. Anything from temptation of our sinful flesh, to condemnation through the words of a friend. Now, please note, Satan isn't able to possess Christians. Our true self has been purified, cleansed, made new and perfect. (Our true self and our sinful nature both exist at this moment, by the way.) Satan cannot indwell us. But he can certainly suggest to us. He may not be able to take control of us, but he can certainly put thoughts into our minds (not that this is the only way such thoughts come to us). If that seems weird, yes it is. If it seems impossible, keep in mind this is the second most powerful being in existence. A long way off from God, but still very powerful, and in charge of all the demons.

First off: pray. Pray like crazy. Pray that God will set your heart free, reveal Satan's spiritual strongholds, so that they may be uprooted. Pray that He would open your eyes to see the flaming arrows, and the attacks everyone suffers every day. Start using that Sword of the Spirit. God gave it to you for a reason. It's not a trophy. It's a weapon. Use it. Its full extent: the Word of God, and a direct line to God, giving us the ability to influence the spiritual realm through prayer. It's real, my friends, and cannot be ignored. To do so is a very, very bad idea, and you'll live most of your life in misery, wondering what the heck Jesus meant by a "rich and satisfying life", wondering why God is being so darn quiet. Truth is, he's talking to us, every single day. But our ears have been covered. We've been gagged, blindfolded, and had our ears plugged up. Satan's got us right where he wants us. Are you going to sit around and do nothing about it? I'm sure not.

Fight the good fight, my friends. Pray earnestly, use your armor and your weapons. The battle is still very much underway, and your Captain calls you forward. Will you answer the summons?