What Are God’s Secret Weapons Against Our Real Enemies
Daniel 10:2-13,19
RealAudio
MP3
DATE: 8 Jan, 2005 PM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (2 Cor 10:4,5)
A. The weapons of our warfare are NOT physical – List some physical weapons: Fists, Yelling, Tears, Fingernails, Silence, Poison, And that is just over-the-counter stuff!
B. A Christian’s weapons are ONLY spiritual – just as real, but not made out of hands, metal, stone, wood, explosives, etc. But rather, spiritual in construction
C. If you feel naked, and worthless in the battle’s you face as a Christian, it may be only because you do not know just how powerful the spiritual weapons that God has given you really are!!!
II. Review – Discerning Spiritual Attacks – Last week we learned:
A. Spiritual attacks affects our Attitude toward God - Our Heart!
1. Brings on Depression
2. Gets us to think about Quitting
3. Brings up Anger and Bitterness about people and the past
4. Makes us numb to the voice of the Holy Spirit
B. Spiritual Attacks affect our Ability to Live (Job 3:20-22; 1Kg 19:1-4; Jonah 4:1-3, 8) – Our Resolve
C. Spiritual Attacks affect your ability to Think (1Cor 14:33; 2Cor 10:4,5) – Our Mind - clouds your minds.
D. Spiritual attacks affects others (Josh 7:20-26; Heb 12:14,15) – Our World
E. Christians don’t HAVE to let this happen (Romans 6:14; 5:20; 2Cor 12:9)! We need to amass some stronger weapons against this attacks – props/walls that can hold us and our families up against this barrages. Talk about that more next week
III. Basic Outline of Our Weaponry
A. Righteousness – Spiritual Breastplate (Dan 10:11; Eph 6:14)
B. Prayer – Spiritual Reinforcements (Dan 10:12; Cf Ps 66:18,19)
C. Fasting – Spiritual Activation (Dan 10:3)
D. Chastening – Spiritual Cleansing (Dan 10:12; 1Cor 11:30-32)
E. Humbleness – Spiritual Openness (Dan 10:15-19; 1Pet 5:5)
F. Kindness – Spiritual Attack (Rom 12:21, 17-20)
G. Commitment – Patience – Faith – Spiritual Signal to God (2Tim 2:3,4)
H. The Word of God - Spiritual Sword (Eph 6:17; Mt 4:4)
I. The People of God – Spiritual Army
IV. Message – Spiritual Weaponry
A. Righteousness – Spiritual Breastplate (Dan 10:11; Eph 6:14)
1. There are two kinds of righteousness:
a. Imputed Righteousness – Salvation – Christ’s righteousness – saves me from the eternal punishment of my sin
b. Personal Righteousness – Sanctification – my own righteousness, own goodness – saves me from the present cost of my sin
2. A Spiritual Breastplate is strengthened as we obey the Lord, and do right
3. It is weakened when we disobey and turn away from God’s commands
4. This is an area we MUST take seriously – a Christian’s personal righteousness is always under attack
a. It is like a shield that can withstand darts
b. But, if Satan can punch holes in our shield, or actually take away our shield, or get us to give away our purity, He can march right over us!
c. YOU WOULDN’T ALLOW THAT IN A PHYSICAL BATTLE
d. Don’t do it with secret sins then, and disobedience, and losing temper
5. Daniel’s personal righteousness helped defeat the Prince of Persia here in chapter 10, and it helped defeat some lions previously (Dan 6:22)
6. Realise that you are given righteousness through forgiveness – use it to defeat the wickedness of our enemies (like an antibiotic kills germs)
B. Prayer – Spiritual Reinforcements (Dan 10:12; Heb 4:16; Cf Ps 66:18,19)
1. Make much of prayer – the hotline to heaven!
2. Calling into headquarters for spiritual reinforcements
3. God is looking in us for a CONSISTENT personal prayer life
a. Not spotty or haphazard
b. A regular, normal, part of your life that is spiritual
c. You have to MAKE yourself do it – a discipline!
d. God honours a life of walking with Him (Gen 5:22-24; Heb 11:5)
4. There is also the weapon of Public, Group Prayer (Acts 12:5) – never shy away from getting others to pray with you about a need!
C. Fasting – Spiritual Activation (Dan 10:3)
1. Fasting de-activates the flesh, and allows you to activate the spiritual part of you
a. That’s why if you are yielding too easily to sin in your life, then you need to come away from things – Teen Camp, Men’s Retreat
b. Fasting from food – but also, the TV, and from friends
2. Daniel fasted 21 days – he had fasted before as well (Dan 9:3)
3. Jesus fasted 40 days
4. Elijah fasted 40 days
5. Moses fasted 80 days
6. To overcome the demon possessed child in Matthew 17:21, he explained the battle is only won with prayer AND fasting
7. DANGER – the new bibles remove the need for fasting!!!
8. Decide what you can do without of for a while so that you can get the power of God, and the victory over some spiritual enemy in your life
D. Chastening – Spiritual Cleansing (Dan 10:12; 1Cor 11:30-32)
1. Chastening is different than fasting
2. Chastening means Examining yourself – doing a spiritual inventory
a. Am I regularly reading my Bible? Praying? Confessing my sins? Giving out Gospel leaflets and witnessing of God’s saving grace?
b. Or, Am I hiding my sins? Secretly hating someone? Easily upset and oversensitive?
c. It is good to do a check on these things
3. And Chastening means Correcting yourself
a. Confessing your sins and the sins of your generation
b. Forsaking your sins – it costs you!
c. Following the Lord now – making a course correction, back on track
V. Conclusion – There are FIVE more weapons to Learn How to use
A. Humbleness – Spiritual Openness (Dan 10:15-19; 1Pet 5:5)
B. Kindness – Spiritual Attack (Rom 12:21, 17-20)
C. Commitment – Patience – Faith – Spiritual Signal to God (2Tim 2:3,4)
D. The Word of God - Spiritual Sword (Eph 6:17; Mt 4:4)
E. The People of God – Spiritual Army
F. Be back next Sunday evening!
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church
Ireland