Using Our Spiritual Weapons in Battle
Daniel 10:2-13,19
I. Review
A. Discerning Spiritual Attacks
1. How can I tell that I am experiencing a spiritual attack?
2. How can I refrain from using physical efforts and weapons in responding to that attack?
B. Describing Our Spiritual Weapons - What Weapons are at a Christians disposal?
1. Ephesians 6:10-18 is a general collection
2. Full list of weaponry includes:
a. Personal 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 Blood of Jesus Christ - Spiritual Blanket (Heb 9:12-14)
j. The People of God Spiritual Army (Heb 11:24,25)
II. Message Spiritual Weaponry
A. Drawing On Our Spiritual Weapons the How and When to Use Our Weaponry - How Spiritual Battles Are Fought and Won (James 4:7; Daniel 10:2-13,19)
1. By Submitting to God (Dan 1:8; James 4:6-8) HE is Our Victory
a. FIRST OF ALL Submit, lower yourself, humble yourself to God!
b. Began in chapter 1. Daniel purposed to honour and obey God. God honours and defends those who honour and defend Him!
c. This is where we strip ourselves down bare so that we can put on correctly the whole armour of God as listed in Eph 6
d. This is also where we get battle instructions from God through His word - find out sometimes to go forward, sometimes, to wait, sometimes to go around (Moses in wilderness had to go around their enemies, and would later come back and defeat them), etc
2. By Having a Single Focus (Dan 10:2,3). His mind was not scattered and unable to focus on the spiritual battle Daniel was resting in the victory that God seems to be resting in 24/7!!!
a. He focused his heart and mind in prayer - Laser-beam affect, targeting first our power source (Christ), and then directing Gods attention at our need, and asking HIM to deal with it!
b. He focused his body on serving his task, instead of being served! He was serious enough about wrestling that he not only prayed, but fasted (EX of working late, and not even thinking about eating).
c. Stay Focused on:
1) The real enemy demonic force or power
2) The real source of deliverance and victory: mighty name of Jesus
3) The use of particular weapons at particular times
a) Personal Righteousness Use it against new temptations
b) Prayer Use it always; never fight alone! Fight in prayer
c) Fasting When the battle goes on for long, and when the battle is bigger than you are ready for
d) Chastening Right along side with fasting
e) Humbleness When pride is kicking up
f) Kindness When you are in the heat of a battle (1Tim 1:7; 2Kgs 6)
g) Commitment Patience Faith Throughout an entire battle lift high your faith and confidence in the Lord and His power and promises
h) The Word of God Get a Scripture and hold onto it from the start to the finish use that Scripture as a sword agains
i) The People of God Spiritual Army
3. By Being Steadfast (Dan 10:4-12) - consistent
a. Prayed for three weeks without giving up (Luke 18:1). Stay in the battle no matter how long it takes the answer to your prayer WILL come!
b. We approach God and prayer so flippantly (2 Chron 13:18,19).
c. We need to stay faithful to God He surely has earned our commitment (Philp 1:20; 1:29)
d. Strike at your enemy UNTIL he is defeated (2Kgs 13:14-19).
e. Pray until you get your prayer answered (Lk 18)
4. By Struggling, not only Resting (Dan 10:12; 1 Tim 6:12) - Daniel wrestled in prayer to point of exhaustion
a. Sometimes we struggle against our Saviour - as Jacob, and Saul of Tarsus did we dont realise that we are fighting Him who loved us, and when we do, we surrender!
b. Instead we should rest in the Lord, and Struggle against the Devil
1) Struggle against Satan (James 4:7)
2) Struggle against sin itself temptation struggle against what WE want to do so that we are surrendered to what Christ wants
3) Struggling against sorrow by wilfully replacing it with JOY
4) Struggle against bitterness and revenge
c. God calls for us as priests to offer SACRIFICES things that are hard (Heb 13:15,16; Philp 4:6)
1) Of praise
2) Of giving
3) Of forcing ourselves to think right and controlled thoughts
5. By Surviving (Dan 10:18,19) - You Conquer by Faith (Rom 8:37)
a. You win by outlasting your enemies
b. You win by just staying on course and not being diverted
c. You win by living as a winner, even though to everyone else, you look like a loser (Cf Jesus on the cross)!
III. Conclusion
A. Satan and his devils are very powerful
B. The unsaved are completely at his beckon call - like puppets (2Tim 2:24-26)
C. Christians have a measure of protection (Luke 22:31,32)
D. But the Christian has ways to defeat our enemy the devil when he attacks
1. Physical Battles are reflections of Spiritual Battles
2. How Spiritual Battles Affect Us - Spiritual Oppression
a. Spiritual attacks affect everyone - no one is immune to its wake or spillage into the physical world (Matt 16:23; Luke 9:55)
b. Thankfully, no spiritual attack can affect your destiny. NOTHING can change your course - so dont be deceived!
c. Spiritual attacks affects our Attitude toward God - Our Heart!
E. How Spiritual Battles Are Fought and Won (Daniel 10:2-13,19)
1. By Submitting to God (Dan 1:8; James 4:6-8) HE is Our Victory
2. By Having a Single Focus (Dan 10:2,3). His mind was not scattered and unable to focus on the spiritual battle Daniel was resting
3. By Being Steadfast (Dan 10:4-12) - consistent - prayed for three weeks without giving up (Luke 18:1). We approach God and prayer so flippantly (2 Chron 13:18,19). We need to stay faithful to God he surely has earned our commitment (Philp 1:20; 1:29)
4. By Struggling, not only Resting (Dan 10:12; 1 Tim 6:12) - Daniel wrestled in prayer to point of exhaustion We should
a. Struggle against Satan
b. Struggle against sin itself temptation against what WE want to do
c. Struggling against sorrow by wilfully replacing it with JOY. offer SACRIFICES things that are hard (Heb 13:15,16; Philp 4:6)
5. By Surviving (Dan 10:18,19) - You win by outlasting your enemies, by just staying on course and not being diverted, by living as a winner, even though to everyone else, you look like a loser (Cf Jesus on the cross)!
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church