Battle Plan of the Righteous

Scripture:
 Ephesians 6:10-20 “10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For 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. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—19and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

I. Our Struggle.
A. Against the wiles of the devil.
The word “wiles” comes from the Greek word methodeia (meth-od-i-ah). To travail over, travesty or trickery, or to lie in wait.
B. Against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world. Spiritual wickedness in high places.
There is an evil power structure.
1. It is able to afflict the righteous.
Job 1:12 “And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
2. Satan claims authority over the world.
Luke 4:6-7 “And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
3. This power structure places sinners under Satan’s dominion.
Acts 26:17-18 “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
4. Satan’s power blinds the minds of unbelievers.
II Corinthians 4:3-4 “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
C. Against the evil day.
II Timothy 3:1-7 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”
• These are the things we must contend with in order to be God’s emissaries on the earth.
1. Selfishness
2. Covetousness
3. Pride
4. Blasphemy
5. Rebelliousness
6. Ungrateful
7. False Reports
8. Treachery
9. Entertainment Madness
10. Powerless Religion

II. Our Defense
A. We are strong in the Lord.
1. His power gives us courage to rebuke sin.
Micah 3:8 “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.”
2. His power is mightier than physical forces.
Zechariah 4:6 “So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”
3. His power is promised to those who turn to Him.
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
B. God has given us His might.
• God uses weakness to destroy strength.
I Corinthians 1:26-29 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
1. A jaw bone against an army.
Judges 15:15-16 “He (Samson) found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. 16Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!”
2. Five smooth stones against a giant.
I Samuel 17:40 “Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.”
3. A handful of meal and a little oil against a famine.
I Kings 17:12 “So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
4. A cloud the size of a man’s hand against drought.
I Kings 18:44 “Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
5. Five barley loaves against hunger.
John 6:8-11 “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.”
C. We have the armor of God.
1. Loins girded with truth
2. Breastplate of righteousness
3. Shoes of the gospel of peace
4. Shield of faith
5. Helmet of salvation covers our minds
6. Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God

III. Our offense is the Word of God.
A. The Word is a flame of fire.
Jeremiah 5:14 “Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.”
B. His Word is like a hammer.
Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
C. His Word gives life.
Ezekiel 37:7-10 “7So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” 10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
D. His Word has power to save.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel £of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
E. His Word keeps us balanced and aware of truth and deception.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
F. Christ used the Word to defeat the enemy.