Thousand Oaks Baptist Church
How to Win Heaven’s Battles
(Sunday evening sermon for April 22, 2001)
Introduction:
Most of us like to be on the winning side. We don’t want to be a loser. We don’t even want to be second best. We want to win.
Whether it’s playing basketball, soccer, football, volleyball, or any team sport, we want our team to win. We want to win.
If it’s golf, we want the lowest score. If it’s bowling, we want the highest score. If it’s living life, we want the best life we can live. We want to win.
And in our spiritual warfare, as we wage war every day against the world, the flesh, and the devil, we want to win, too. If you’re a born-again Christian, a Spirit-led child of God, you want to be on the Lord’s side in every issue and every battle. And you want to win the battles.
All of us know all too well what not winning is like. Not winning is called defeat. Defeat is a bitter thing. Defeat is a discouraging thing. Defeat can lead us to despair when victory seems forever elusive.
We like to win. Nothing succeeds like success. Victory gives us joy in our souls. Victory encourages our hearts. Assurance of ultimate victory gives us the will to fight on, even if the odds appear to be stacked high against us.
And in 1 Timothy 6:12, the Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.
You know this already, but let me remind you that, as born-again, blood bought children of God, we’re a heavenly people. We have a heavenly calling. And we’ve been outfitted to fight and to win Heaven’s battles.
Now, down here on earth, we’re just strangers and pilgrims. This world isn’t our final home. And since we’re citizens of Heaven, we’re really just foreigners in a strange land down here below.
But we desire a better country. Someday, we expect to set foot on Heaven’s shore. And our Savior even now stands on that bright shore and beckons to us with loving, open arms. And one of these days, He’ll call us to come home to Heaven, and He’ll reach out those arms of love and welcome us as we cross over to the other side.
Our heavenly home is over yonder. We look for that bright and happy land where God shall wipe away all tears.
We long for the homeland of our souls, where pain and death and heartbreak and sorrow will never come again, and where our souls will never die.
We’re children of Heaven. And as long as we have to stay here in this old world, we’re never really going to feel at home.
How can we possibly feel at home in this world that has rebelled against God? How can we feel at home in the midst of sin and wickedness and blasphemy on every hand?
But in the midst of earth’s trouble and turmoil – like an oasis in the burning sands of the desert – like a cool breeze in the middle of summer’s searing heat – like a cool, sweet glass of water to dry lips and a parched throat – in the midst of earth’s trouble and turmoil is the Spirit-led child of Heaven who has God’s peace in his soul, God’s joy in his heart, and a sweet song of praise to God on his lips!
Why does the Spirit-led child of God have these things? He has them because he is an overcomer in Jesus Christ.
You and I both know that we are already seated in the heavenlies with Christ. We are found in Jesus Christ, as He sits on His Father’s throne in glory. (Ephesians 2:6)
And we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3)
Spiritual, heavenly prosperity and fullness of provision and joy are ours for the taking in Jesus Christ. They belong to us, and we appropriate them by faith.
And God calls us to partake of all of these wonderful privileges in Christ. In fact, Hebrews 3:1 declares that we are partakers of the heavenly calling.
And so, with all of this in mind, turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians 6:11-19.
And I want you to discover something truly exciting with me as you read this message. I want you to discover that God has equipped us to fight and to win Heaven’s battles. And that’s the title of this message: How to Win Heaven’s Battles.
I hope you realize that there’s a world-wide, spiritual war being fought even as you read this message. Look at Ephesians 6:11…
Ephesians 6:11 - Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel…
Folks, this is Heaven’s battle. The battle lines are drawn up in fierce array. We stand against the wiles of none other than that old serpent, the devil himself.
We wrestle daily against demonic personalities and powers who are the instigators and perpetrators of this world’s wild and wicked rebellion against God and His Christ.
And we are battling against an evil trinity of combined forces:
• We battle against this world’s hate against God,
• We battle against the perversity of mankind, directed against God’s
standard of holiness and righteousness.
• And we battle against the spiritual blindness of those who have allowed
their eyes to be blinded, their ears to be stopped, and their hearts hardened
against the only Gospel that can save them.
And yet, against these seemingly indefatigable foes, God has already equipped every one of His blood-bought children with the power to win and the equipment to overcome these demonic world rulers of this world’s spiritual darkness.
And God has called us to do at least four things in this spiritual battle.
1) First, God has called us to open the eyes of those who are spiritually blind, so that they might see the glorious light of the Gospel and be saved.
2) Second, God has called us to unstop the ears of those who are spiritually deaf, so that they might hear and understand and be converted, when the Gospel is preached unto them.
3) Third, God has called us to melt those hard hearts of unbelief by shedding His love abroad through our lives.
4) And fourth, God has called us and equipped us to get out into the field of battle and to fight the good fight of faith.
Don’t let the devil overcome you with the excuse that you don’t have what it takes to serve Jesus!
Don’t believe the devil’s lie that you can’t ever hope to get the victory over your besetting sins, so why even try!
Don’t get hung up on the old, sick excuses that our church is too small and too weak to count for God, that we’re too far off the beaten track, that we’re in the wrong part of town, or that the deacons use the wrong brand of toothpaste.
We’re small because God delights in using small and insignificant and weak things to confound the large and mighty things.
We’re off the beaten track because we’re not running down the broad way that leads to destruction, like everybody else is.
We’re in the right part of town, because this is where people are who need the Gospel.
And I trust that the deacons do use some brand of toothpaste. That does help.
But folks, we still have to preach the Gospel. We still have to preach against sin. We still have to warn the saints about the evils and excesses of the ecumenical and charismatic movements. We still have to be a biblically separated local church, if we’re going to be true to God. We still have to preach and teach the whole council of God.
And since these are the last times, we know that some – even many - will depart from the faith and leave for what they feel will satisfy their ungodly desires.
But beloved, don’t let Satan take the facts and divorce them from the total picture of God’s love and power and providence and provision.
Don’t let Satan twist these things into dark, dismal, discouraging darts of doubt that he can then hurl at us with all his might.
Don’t let Satan succeed at this, because God wants you and me to be overcomers in what we do, as well as in what we are.
Listen. Right now, you may be overcome with evil. The lusts of the flesh and all the rest may have you down on the canvas for what Satan hopes will be the final count.
But God has a plan to make you an overcomer and to give you victory.
The thoughts and intents of your heart may be less than pure just now. But God is waiting right now to make you an overcomer and to give you victory.
What is an overcomer? An overcomer is a winner. An overcomer is a conqueror. An overcomer is someone who even with fear and terror in his heart and soul still goes up to the front lines and stands firm and maybe even gets seriously wounded, but in the end, he wins the battle and he gets the victor’s crown.
And God wants you to be that kind of an overcomer. God calls you to be that kind of an overcomer. God has equipped and prepared you to be that kind of an overcomer. And now God actually wants you to be that kind of an overcomer.
God has called us to be and to do what we are. We are overcomers. Our faith has overcome the world.
1 John 5:4 - For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
We are overcomers in Jesus Christ if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Yes? Then you are an overcomer.
If you have truly received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, then you are truly saved, truly born again, truly a new creation in Christ Jesus. And God calls you an overcomer. Are you going to argue with God?
And now God wants you and me to become overcomers in fact as well as in name. God wants us to overcome Satan. God wants us to overcome the world. And God wants us to overcome evil. These are Heaven’s battles. And in the rest of this message, we’re going to learn how to win Heaven’s battles.
I. Overcome Satan.
First, God wants us to learn how to overcome Satan, the devil.
You can overcome Satan. Satan is the enemy of your soul. But you and I can overcome Satan by three means. And these three means are found in Revelation 12:11…
Revelation 12:11 - And they overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Here are the three things by which we can overcome Satan: First, by the blood of the Lamb. Second, by the word of our testimony. And third, by loving not our lives, even when it means dying.
A. The Blood of the Lamb.
First, we can overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was God’s Lamb of Sacrifice. Christ was slain to bear the sins of the whole world. He bore your sins and mine in His body on the Cross.
And as Christians, we have personally entered into the blessed, cleansing provision of Christ’s precious blood when we trusted Him as our Savior. That precious blood paid the ransom for our souls. That precious blood bought us out of the slave market of sin and death.
And as we count upon the mighty provision made for us in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, then Satan can’t lift an effective finger against us. He can accuse us all he wants to, but all of our sins are under the blood of Jesus Christ, and God has forgiven us so completely that He remembers our sins no more, forever. And so, we can say with the songwriter:
I hear the accuser roar
Of ills that I have done;
I know them well, and many more;
Jehovah findeth none.
My friend, if Satan is hindering and harassing your soul and spirit with his accusations of sins that you have sinned, but sins that you have confessed to God and forsaken, then silence the accusing voice of the devil by pleading the blood of Jesus Christ. Overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb.
B. The Word of Our Testimony.
Second, we can overcome Satan by the word of our testimony.
It’s good to go out into the neighborhoods and to knock on doors and to invite folks to come to church. But as you know, a lot of folks today simply want nothing to do with church, and they’ll make excuses or refuse to come or say they’ll come just to get rid of you.
It’s also good to give people a Gospel tract or a church flier. But they can always refuse to take it. Or, they’ll take it, and once they think you can’t see them, they’ll crumple it up and throw it away, and they never read it.
But if we tell the people we meet how God has saved us, that’s even better. We can tell them that not only has Jesus saved us, but He’s also kept us saved and satisfied our souls. And when we tell them what Christ means to us personally, and then we give them our loving, personal invitation to receive this same wonderful Savior and Lord, then this is the word of our testimony.
This is called witnessing. And once we’ve actually witnessed to a person, they can’t decide not to have listened. They can’t crumple up your testimony and throw it away. They can’t toss it out. They can’t misplace it. No excuse or refusal will ever be able to unsay what you have said to them.
Oh yes, they may reject what you’ve said. They may not believe what you’ve said, but the fact remains that they’ve still heard the word of your testimony.
And then God can use your testimony either to eventually bring that person to Christ, or to testify against them at the Great White Throne Judgment. And either way, the word of our testimony will have eternal results.
And so, no matter what else Satan may attempt to do, he can’t stop words that have already been spoken.
And that’s why Satan tries so hard to keep us from speaking out for Jesus in the first place. A silent witness is a testimony to the devil’s success.
But God wants us to overcome Satan.
Folks, let’s overcome that old serpent by the spoken word of our testimony. Because once we begin to open our mouths for Jesus, nothing but death can stop us. And that takes us right into our next point, because…
C. Loving Not Our Lives, Even When It Means Dying.
…Third, we can overcome Satan by loving not our lives, even when it means dying.
How does this overcome Satan? Think about it. Satan has the power of death. That’s what makes him so scary. Most folks – even Christians – if they’re honest - are afraid of death.
But if somehow we were to be able to take no thought for our physical life as we testify for Christ, then Satan’s threat of physical death would hold no terror for us.
The Bible says that the fear of man brings a snare. When we fear what men might do to us if we witness for Christ and serve God, then Satan has won the battle.
If we’re worried about losing our prestige, our prominence, our position, or our physical lives, then the devil already has us down on the ground with a death grip on our throats.
But if we’ll stop worrying about our prestige, our prominence, our position, and our physical lives, and if we instead allow the Lord to provide us with jobs and money and food and clothing and houses to sustain our lives and families, then Satan has lost his last hope of defeating us.
You see, if Satan can’t discourage us by accusing us of past and present sins or conditions, then that’s one strike against the devil.
And if Satan can’t silence us as we witness for Jesus Christ, then that’s two strikes against the devil.
And if Satan can’t scare us by threatening to take away our jobs, our money, our health, our families, or even our lives, then that's three strikes against the devil in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the game’s over, and Jesus wins!
You see, because Jesus Christ died and rose again, Satan is a defeated foe. And we can claim continual victory by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by loving not our lives, even when it means dying.
II. Overcome the World.
Second, God also wants us to learn how to overcome the world.
Do you remember what 1 John 5:4-5 said?
1 John 5:4 - …this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth…
You see, the Bible says that settled belief in Jesus Christ and in the written Word of God will give us victory over the world.
Settled belief in Jesus Christ and in the Word of God is called the shield of faith in Ephesians 6. And the shield of faith not only quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one, but it also overcomes the world.
Have you truly trusted Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Have you made Him your Lord and Master? Have you counted yourself as Christ’s bond slave? If you have, then He has promised to guide you and to direct you and to provide for what He calls you to do.
For us, then, the answer to every question will be found in the Bible. The guidance for every path will be found in the Bible. Encouragement and strength for every trial will come straight from the Bible.
There is no good reason for the Christian to even bother to investigate what the world has to offer. Why go to the world’s empty and polluted reservoirs of wisdom and knowledge, when all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus Christ?
Our trust in the promises of God in Christ overcomes every attempt of this world’s evil system to draw us away from God.
Our trust in the words of the only Person Who is worthy of trust gives us peace in the midst of this world’s trouble and turmoil.
In John 16:33, Jesus said…
John 16:33 - These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
And so, when we count ourselves as being in Christ, and when we rest in Him and in His Word, then we overcome the world, because He has overcome the world.
God wants us to overcome the world through our faith.
III. Overcome Evil.
Third, God also wants us to learn how to overcome evil.
And we can overcome evil. Romans 12:21 says…
Romans 12:21 - Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
God commands us to overcome evil with good works.
In Ephesians 2:10, God tells us that He has created us in Christ Jesus with the design and construction and purpose of doing good works. In fact, He has also foreordained that we should live in good works.
Every Christian man, every Christian woman, every Christian teenager, every Christian child has been recreated in Jesus Christ to adorn or beautify our faith with good works. And in doing so, we will silence the blasphemous tongues of those who speak evil about our holy Christian faith and our godly Christian practices. Our good works make evil-doers ashamed of their own evil works and words.
The Bible says – and I believe it – that if all of us who are really saved would keep a clean tongue in our heads, and if we would live clean lives that are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, and if we would live loving lives that are complete with deeds and words of Christian love and compassion –if we would just do these things – then evil men would have to go back into their closets to do their dirty deeds, because decent people wouldn’t put up with their filth anymore, once they see the true life of Christ lived out through real Christians.
Overcome evil with good. Be faithful in feeding on the bread of life. Be faithful in loving obedience. Be faithful in compassionate witnessing. Be faithful in overcoming evil in your own life.
Allow the Word of God to cleanse your life, even as the blood of Christ has cleansed your heart.
Pray that you and others might be kept – guarded, restrained – from sin and evil. Positively counteract evil in your own life by obedient righteousness, by holiness, and by purity. Turn many to righteousness by your witnessing and by winning souls to Christ.
Overcome evil with good.
Earnestly labor and pray to restore fallen brethren back to the fellowship of the Lord. Work hard and prayerfully to restore them back to the fellowship of our local church.
Overcome evil with good.
Take your stand against false doctrines and questionable practices. Do this in love and by using the Word of God. Take your stand for the Lord in active, loving service for Jesus Christ in the local church and everywhere you go.
Overcome evil with good.
Allow the Word of God to cut away the fat and filth of your moral life. Allow the sword of the Spirit to expose the real you. Allow the Great Physician to perform radical surgery to remove the cancers of sin and the rottenness of a worldly life or a foul mind. Ask God to take away the power of evil memories. Ask God to saturate your memory with remembrances of good works done for Jesus Christ, of souls won to Jesus, and of satisfying obedience to God and His Word.
Overcome evil with good. Let God make you into a real overcomer. Let God give you Heaven’s victory as you live in this world.
Conclusion:
If you are an obedient, Spirit-filled believer, you are an overcomer. It’s not just a name; it’s reality.
However, if you have some doubts about whether or not you’re an overcomer, then right now is a good time to start being a overcomer, and to put those doubts to rest.
In fact, if you have some doubts about whether or not you’re even a born-again Christian, then right now you need to get that matter settled for all eternity.
Jesus Christ died to take the punishment and guilt of your sins upon Himself. He rose from the grave to give you complete forgiveness and eternal life. And He asks you to turn from your sins and turn to Him to be saved from sin and Hell and to be saved unto Heaven and righteousness. And –the best you know how- if you will right now rest your faith on Jesus Christ, and completely commit the keeping of your soul and spirit to Him, He will save you and forgive you and give you a new home in Heaven and make you into a new creation in Himself and give you a new life to live. Do it now.
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