Frankie Mazzapica - Friends, We're in Spiritual Warfare
The title of the message is «Friends, We Are in Warfare.» Let me say this: the one thing we all have in common is that we’re all believing God for a miracle. There’s nobody in this room and nobody you know who is on smooth ground in every area of their life. If their finances are stable, there’s a relationship that’s unstable. If their relationships are all stable, then something else is unstable; it may be their health, it may be their finances. But all of us are believing God for a miracle in some area of our lives. Everyone is fighting a battle. The enemy is after all of us; he wants to pull us down, distract us, and discourage us, causing us to focus more on our problems and worries than on Him—where we’re fretting more than we’re praying. He wants to discourage us into believing that it doesn’t matter how much we pray; God’s not going to be any more involved than He is today. We begin to underestimate His willingness to get involved in our lives and overestimate how effective we could be if we just focused.
However, if we look over the course of our lives, we can clearly see that when we have tried to do things ourselves, it was futile. We found ourselves running on a treadmill, if you will. But when we look back on the miracles in our lives, the special moments, we know it was always God who put His hand on the situation. Does anyone here believe that? You know that’s true. What the enemy is constantly doing is distracting us, pulling us down, trying to convince us that we cannot be close to the Lord if we do not pray. There’s no relationship that is close, intimate, and trusting without communication. The sharing of your heart is what brings you together.
The enemy wants you to stop worshiping, to not raise your hands in the house of God. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 8, it says when we come into the house of the Lord, we should raise our hands. I remember always being this way: the moment I walk into a sanctuary, the first thing I do is raise my hands. I remember being in high school; I invited my friend, his name was Michael. I’ll never forget that we sat in the center section. I walked in, and he was standing next to me. I went to raise my hands, and all of a sudden, I thought, «I know he’s going to be looking at me.» Nobody likes it when they think someone is looking at them, so I thought, «I’m not going to do it.» I felt this thought, and it was as if the Lord was allowing me to hear the devil’s thought: I didn’t raise my hands because I didn’t want him to see me. I felt like the devil said, «Well, that was easy.» That bothered me.
The Bible says that He has set you up like a light on a hill in a dark world. You’re a light on a hill, meaning, «Hey, everybody, look at him! Hey, everybody, look at her!» You’re in a dark world; I’ve made you into a light on a hill. I want people to be looking at you; I want people to see you. But the enemy comes along, and he pulls you down; he keeps you from praying, he keeps you from worshiping. I want to tell you, I want to emphasize this: these are not your own emotions. The discouragement, the distraction, the weight, the stress—these are not your emotions. You are in the middle of warfare, friends.
You may ask, «How do you know that?» Because we were not designed to fight these battles. When God made Adam and Eve, that was the way He created us to be: where Adam and Eve heard the Lord walking in the garden; they sensed the Lord’s presence long before they saw Him. In your relationship with the Lord, you will think, «The Lord is here; the Lord wants me to pray.» Your thoughts will go in that direction, and then, all of a sudden, you respond to those thoughts and desires. They heard the Lord walking. I want to affirm that’s how we were designed. We weren’t designed to handle this weight; we weren’t designed for it.
How did this ever get into the world? Well, you know the answer: it was because man fell after eating the fruit. Now we fight things for which we were not designed. It’s warfare. Friends, it’s warfare; it is warfare. You are fighting these things because there are demons on the earth that are provoking you, trying to defile you, shooting arrows at you, laying grenades like landmines, waiting for you to wake up so you can go through your day. They send that one person who really irritates you. There’s constantly a plan, constantly a scheme. They’re watching you to find your weak points. The enemy looks and says, «I know where they’re weak; I’m going to attack, attack, attack.»
We’re in the middle of a war, and we don’t get any days off. Don’t you wish that when there’s a war between nations, there’s a huge attack, then a moment where the attack stops and everyone regroups? There are no waves in your life; it’s just constant. The missiles keep coming; the imps, the demons—hear this, hear this—you are constantly warring. But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 11, we should not be unaware of the devil’s schemes. He’s not doing anything new; he’s not attacking you in a new way. The situation may look different, the details may look different, but he’s been attacking you this way since you were a child, since you were a teenager, since you were an adult. It’s the same attacks. The Bible says you shouldn’t be unaware; you ought to see it coming. You ought to be able to say, «Devil, I know this is you.»
I have three major points regarding us being in warfare: the first one is under the umbrella of entertainments, the second one is under the umbrella of unforgiveness, and the third one is to be prepared and alert. Let me jump into entertainments. I have a friend named Matt; he’s a pastor in Birmingham, and he’s been here to preach. He’s phenomenal. A few years ago, he decided he wanted his relationship with the Lord to be at a higher level than it had ever been, so he began to establish appointments with God that he refused to miss. If you set up a lunch appointment tomorrow with someone, you’re sure to be there. If you’re running late, you’re sure to call them and say, «I’m running late.» If you can’t make a noon appointment, you almost try to get there at 12:30 or 1:00. The same is true when you make an appointment with God; you set the appointment the day before, and if something comes up, you treat it the same way you would with any other person.
I wasn’t expecting this moment; I wasn’t expecting this issue. I’m going to pray here instead of there. He continued to pray on and on. One of the ways that he unwound was by sitting down and watching television. There’s no harm in watching television, but he started noticing that maybe there was harm because there were always unexpected things popping up. He could feel the presence of the Lord saying, «I don’t want you to see this,» and he would change the channel. Then something else would come on, and he’d change the channel again. He finally felt the Lord tell him, «You’re watching too much television.»
He thought back to himself—not out loud—"What on television can I watch?» The Lord said back to him, «Not much.» Do you agree with that? Not much. It’s the entertainments where the enemy tries to come through the gates in our lives. The gates are our eye gates, what we see, and our ear gates, what we listen to. We’ve got to be very careful about the music we listen to. The Bible says this in Psalms 34:1: «I will bless the Lord at all times; His praises will always be on my lips.» It’s very hard to bless Him and praise Him when you’re singing songs that are contrary to your relationship with the Lord, contrary to what He loves.
Let me say this: the spirit you entertain the most will be the spirit that influences you the most. Do you agree with that? It’s the entertainments. There are certain friends we have who may be fun to be around because they’re funny or have charisma, but deep down, you know they’re not a good person for you. I’ve learned this about entertainments and friends who entertain us: if the enemy cannot get you to sin, he will get you to be entertained by sin. You may not be doing what you’re watching, but you’re having fun watching it, laughing at it, and being around it. The enemy knows that the more you are around it, the better chance he has of influencing your thoughts and sealing your heart as with a hot iron. I’ll say this: this all has to do with our entertainments. This is always going on. Why is it always happening? Because you are in the middle of warfare; you are always fighting.
Let me move on to my second point regarding unforgiveness. I don’t know that I have ever seen a spirit that is more effective than the spirit of unforgiveness. It’s a funny thing because typically you don’t harbor unforgiveness towards many people; it’s usually just one person—the one person who really grinds your gears, who has hurt you. You trusted them, and they hurt you. I don’t need to give examples; you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Bible tells a story in Matthew 18:34 about a person forgiven by their master, who then refused to forgive someone else. The person who was forgiven didn’t deserve it, but they received forgiveness anyway. Yet when it came to their friend, they felt that friend didn’t deserve forgiveness, so they refused.
Isn’t it fascinating how we come to the Lord and say, «Thank you for being a merciful God, for forgiving me and blessing me even though I don’t deserve it»? We crave unmerited favor for ourselves, but we don’t want it for someone else. Isn’t that interesting? That person seems evil in our eyes, and maybe what they did truly is evil. But this is what the Bible says in Matthew 18:34: Jesus said that the master saw his servant did not forgive and released the tormentors. Imagine someone holding 20 leashes of Doberman Pinschers on one side and 20 pit bulls on the other side. The pit bulls are untrained; they want to attack. The Lord says, «If you refuse to forgive, I’m going to release the tormentors.»
You have not given forgiveness; now the tormentors will torment you until you forgive. Sometimes, we can forgive someone in a moment. Other times, forgiveness is a process, and we aren’t strong enough to just snap our fingers and forgive because the cut is too deep. All of us have been hurt by someone, and if we’re not careful, we can immediately revert back to those emotions. I’ve had them. You’ve probably had them too. We have to say to the Lord, «God, if I’m ever going to forgive, You’re going to have to do a miracle. This is up there with walking on water. I’m going to need some help.»
I’ll tell you this: there is not a restaurant in the world that I could walk into today and see someone who has wronged me and not be able to walk up to them and say hi. That’s a miracle, right? I have a friend who pastors a church in Louisiana. He had a guy come down for prayer for the one-thousandth time, and finally, he said, «I really believe your relationship with God has stalled because you refuse to forgive your wife.» The man said back to the pastor, «If forgiving my wife is necessary to be closer to the Lord, and if unforgiveness will lead me to the pit of hell, then just let it happen because I’m never going to forgive her.» It’s one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard. Someone would say they’d sacrifice being close to the Lord to keep hating that person.
Unforgiveness is interesting because it causes separation in the relationship. Jesus hasn’t gone anywhere; He’s still right next to you, but there’s separation. It’s like sitting across the table from someone you love who is only two feet away, but the relationship feels weird, distant. Something needs to be talked about; something is causing the awkwardness. That’s what happens when you don’t forgive someone. Jesus is there, but He doesn’t feel as close as you wish He would. These are the moments where you have to step back and say, «Lord, I’m going to need Your help again. You have given me grace, strength in so many areas. You’ve done miracles in my life; I’m going to need another one. Why? Because I want to be close to You.» Is anyone here who just wants to be close to the Lord? That’s your number one desire.
Again, we are in warfare, particularly in the areas of entertainment and unforgiveness. My last and third point is to stay aware. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8, «Stay alert, stay aware, for our mighty adversary is prowling around looking for someone to attack.» In Job 1:7, there’s a scene in heaven where the Lord is on the throne, and Satan is in the throne room. Satan cannot do anything on earth without asking the Lord if it’s okay. Some of us may say, «How in the world, Lord, did You let this happen?» I want you to know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
You may say, «I don’t know. Something is happening now; there’s no way it can be good.» I want to say that medicine always has an ingredient inside that, if you only had that ingredient, it could probably kill you. But because it’s mixed with other things, it turns out to make you better. He takes the tough times, the disappointments, the victories, the great times; He mixes it all together, and what do we see around us? We see a warrior who has been on the mountaintop and in the valley. Come on, you’re strong! When you see others struggling, you can say, «I’ve been there! I know what it’s like, and I can tell you, girlfriend, if you can just survive, you’ll look back and say that was the toughest battle I ever faced, but I’m stronger for it!» Come on; can anyone testify to that? You’ve got to be aware; we’ve got to be alert.
And I’ll say this, and it’s very important to this message: when we recognize that maybe we’ve opened a door through entertainments or friendships that entertain us but hurt us, or through issues like unforgiveness—when we know at that moment we have allowed the enemy access to our lives to torment us even more—it’s essential that we do three things: repent, rebuke, and renounce. We say, «Lord, I’m sorry for doing that. Give me the grace to not do it anymore.» Then we rebuke Satan: «Get out of my house! Get away from me! Stop tormenting me! I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.» To renounce is to identify the door he came in on. «I know I did that, but I’m telling you, devil, in the same way you came in, I’m telling you to get out of my life right now.» Does this help anybody?
I’d like for everyone to stand on your feet, please. You know, I like to point out the four segments of a service and their significance. When you worship, it’s quite popular to say, «I live for an audience of one.» When you worship, you’re saying, «I’m here for an audience of one.» These people here—don’t take this personally, I love you all—but you’re not in my head; you’re not in my mind when I walk into this room. When you worship, you give; you are blessing; it’s coming from inside here, out. That’s what’s happening when you worship. But when the word goes out, it’s not something you’re giving; it’s something you’re receiving. It’s the Word that’s living and active. In Hebrews 4:12, it comes into your heart and pierces through all the mess, getting between the soul and the spirit. How powerful is it that the Word can get through to the marrow?
This is what happens when the Word goes out; you’re receiving, and then at the end of the service, the giver and the receiver take a step toward each other. In James 4:8, it says, «Draw close to Me, and I’ll draw close to you.» An illustration would be Christmas morning. You give your present to someone, and they appreciate it and say thank you, then take their present and give it to you. You’re happy, smiling, and then often two people stand up or lean over on the couch and hug each other. You receive and give; then there’s this embrace. This is the part of the service I have no control over. I study all week long; I pray all week long, but this part of the service, my assignment is over, and now it’s up to you to make that embrace.
If you will, this is when you say, «Lord, I’m drawing a line in the sand. Whether I trip or fall, I’m always going to get back up. I’m going to repent, I’m going to rebuke, I’m going to renounce. I’m going to continue to move forward.» Champions know how to get back up and move forward. I was at a high school football game Friday, and one of my son Luke’s friends was playing. He broke free and was wide open; the quarterback threw a perfect pass to him. The crowd went wild; Texas football is crazy, with bright lights and a perfect pass. The kid had his hands out, and the ball went right through them. Thousands of people gasped! My heart broke for him. He walked off, kind of pacing back and forth on the sideline.
Afterwards, they all went to Chili’s, and I asked Luke the next morning, «Hey, how was he? Was he okay?» Luke said something amazing: «Dad, he’s a real athlete. The game is done; it’s over. He’s on to the next one.» Wow, that’s impressive! You see, when you’re pursuing the Lord and mess up, trip, or make a mistake, you just say, «I’m on to the next one.» I’d like for our prayer partners to come down, please. All the prayer partners, just come right down here.
I wish I could tell you how many miracles have happened down here; how many people have been physically healed—it’s in the hundreds, probably thousands, that have been physically healed in the last five years and relationships restored. If you’re in this room and know in your heart that if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, you’re not ready to see Jesus. I want you to come down and take the hand of a prayer partner and tell them, «I need to get my life right with God.» You may say, «I can get my life right with God right here, right now.» I would say back to you a scripture where the Lord says, «If you’re ashamed of Me in front of people, I’ll be ashamed of you in front of the Father.»
Again, an audience of one: May the Lord bless you, may He keep you, may His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted upon you and bring you peace, in Jesus' name. Amen.