Robert Jeffress - Spirit Wars
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. It lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the Twilight Zone. Every Friday night during the early 1960s, I remember watching that program and hearing those words uttered by its creator, Rod Serling, at the beginning of every episode.
The Twilight Zone was an anthology series about the intersection between the visible world and the invisible world experienced by different individuals. Those of us who grew up watching The Twilight Zone will never forget some of those episodes. Remember the one where the airline passenger looked out his window on a stormy night, and to his horror, he saw a demonic creature on the wing disassembling the engine? Or the one in which a customer at a department store realizes that the mannequins she sees are actually human beings? Or the one where the father realizes that his life is nothing more than a motion picture and he is simply an actor reading the lines he has been given?
I believe that beyond the entertainment value of The Twilight Zone, the reason it was so popular is that it struck a familiar chord in all of us—that sense we all have that there has to be something more than what we can see with the naked eye. I mean, how else do you explain the coincidences in your life that can’t be explained by mere chance? Or those intuitive feelings you have that turn out to be correct? Or that sensation you have when you’re alone that you’re really not alone? Rod Serling was right; there is a world beyond comprehension. It is a world as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. No, it’s not The Twilight Zone; it’s the spirit world. It’s the world in which God and Satan, angels and demons reside, and it is a world that, believe it or not, is responsible for most of the struggles you and I face every day.
I know that’s hard to believe. It’s hard to believe in those things that we can’t see with our own eyes. One person imagines a conversation between a set of twins in their mother’s womb the day before they’re born. One of the twins says, «You know, they say there’s a whole world out there—grassy meadows, snowy mountains, splashing streams and waterfalls, horses, dogs, cats, and giraffes. There are skyscrapers and cities and people just like us, but bigger than we are, playing games like football and basketball and volleyball and going to the beach.» The other twin says, «Are you crazy? That’s just wishful thinking. Everybody knows there’s no such thing as life after birth.»
A lot of people use that reasoning today—just because we can’t see it, it must not be real. But think about how foolish that is. People subscribe to naturalism. They think they are being scientific by saying, «We are naturalists; we only believe what can be seen and measured as real.» What about atoms, electricity, and germs? Those have been present since the beginning of time, yet we’ve only seen them recently. Were they not real when we couldn’t see them? Of course not! It’s the same with the spirit world. We can’t see the spirit world with our naked eye, but God has given us an instrument through which we can perceive the reality of the spirit world. That instrument is called the Bible, and through the lens of Scripture, we realize that we are in conflict—a cosmic conflict—between the unseen kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
Today we are beginning a new series on spiritual warfare called The Divine Defense, and our key verse is the one you read just a few moments ago. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6:12. Paul says, «For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.» That word «struggle» in Greek, «pale,» is a word that referred to a wrestling match in Paul’s day. In Paul’s time, wrestling matches were not the fake stuff you see on TV today; they were real. They were a life-and-death battle in which the loser of the match would first have his eyes gouged out and then be executed. Paul said, «You and I are involved in that kind of struggle every day, but it’s not against things we see or people we see. It’s not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.»
You may say, «Well, I believe that, Pastor, but I’ve got more pressing problems: how am I going to pay my mortgage? How am I going to survive the next round of layoffs at work? How am I going to help navigate my teenagers through adolescence? Why should I be concerned about this spiritual war you say is going on?» Because the spiritual war impacts and invades our lives every day, whether we realize it or not. How many of you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Do you remember if you were alive during that time? I remember where I was. I was in Wichita Falls, Texas, having my final cup of coffee, getting ready to go to work. I had the television news on, and I saw the image you did of one of the World Trade Center towers having been struck by an airplane with a gaping hole in it, and the commentators were speculating about the possible causes of that collision.
Some people thought it was pilot error; in fact, then-President Bush said that it was one bad pilot. But then we realized it wasn’t an accident—America was under attack. For the first time in a hundred years, we’d been struck on our own continent by an enemy invader. You know, knowing the source of a problem is key to finding the solution. If, in fact, that attack on the World Trade Center had been an accident—pilot error, navigational error, or an air traffic control problem—then the way to solve that problem in the future would be better-trained pilots, more traffic controllers, and better navigation equipment. But when we discovered we were under attack, that meant a whole different kind of solution was necessary. Every day, your life and my life are bombarded by what seem to be random events, and we respond accordingly. Couples divorce, so we develop marriage enrichment seminars. Drug use among children increases, so we increase drug education for our children. Accidents occur, and we find a solution for them. Pornography rates increase among even Christians at an alarming rate, so we develop accountability groups.
Now, don’t misunderstand; I’m all for marriage enrichment seminars, drug education programs, and accountability groups. But what if the source of these attacks were something more than what we could see? What if it was a spiritual cause? Ephesians 6:12 goes back to that for a moment. It says, «Our struggle is not against flesh and blood; it’s against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.» Ladies and gentlemen, our greatest problem is not what we see; it’s what we don’t see. It’s what we don’t see that can destroy us.
Notice Paul’s use of the personal pronoun: our struggle. We are in the struggle, whether we know it or not. This is not a case of two cosmic forces battling one another, like President Trump and Elon Musk, and we’re just sitting on the sidelines saying, «Boy, this is pretty entertaining; pass the popcorn.» No, we can’t do that. It’s not their struggle; it is our struggle. We are in the crossfire of this cosmic battle. We can’t say, as many of us do in Texas, using that expression, «I don’t have a dog in that fight.» We do have a dog in that fight. We’re the dog, and we suffer the fallout of the spiritual war every day. Let me explain what I mean. First of all, spiritual warfare—the cosmic battle between Satan and God—manifests itself in invasions from without. Many of the external attacks we have come because of spiritual warfare. Whether or not you realize it, you’re living in the crossfire of that cosmic battle.
I love the words of the late expositor Martin Lloyd Jones; it’s my favorite quote about spiritual warfare. He said, «Not to realize that you are in a conflict means one thing only, and it is that you are so hopelessly defeated, so knocked out as it were, that you don’t even know it. You are already completely defeated by the devil. Anyone who is not aware of a fight and a conflict in a spiritual sense is in a drugged and hazardous condition.» Spiritual warfare manifests itself in invasions from without, but it also manifests itself in invasions from within. Every Christian is a walking battlefield where this spiritual war is being played out. One author said it this way: «Deep within the hidden recesses of the human heart, a bloodless battle is being fought—a life-and-death struggle for our soul. This intense spiritual warfare is raging between God and Satan upon the invisible battlefield of our own heart. As long as we are upon this earth, every square inch of space and every split second of time in our lives is an arena of war.»
The Apostle Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 10:4 and 5: «For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.» Now, I have friends, some of them Christian leaders, who hate talking about spiritual warfare. They say, «Robert, it’s so negative to talk about that! We’ve already defeated the enemy! Satan is already a defeated opponent!» Ultimately, that’s true, but immediately, it’s not true. Somebody has said, «Satan is like a junkyard dog on a very long chain.»
Although his power to destroy is considerable, it’s also limited. Luther was right; the devil is God’s devil. Satan is God’s Satan. Everything is under the control of the sovereignty of God. But if you discount the reality of spiritual warfare, you’ve got to rip a lot of pages out of your Bible, because the Bible says that right now, in this world, at this time, you and I are in that death struggle for our very soul. Just consider some of the references to warfare in the Bible. Did you know the very first mention of Jesus Christ in the Bible is in Genesis 3:15? We call it the Protoevangelon—the first mention of the good news—where Jesus is pictured as what? A wounded warrior. He has been wounded on his heel; it’s a temporary wound, but he is temporarily wounded.
The final image of Christ in Revelation 19 is as the conquering warrior who’s coming back to reclaim what has been lost. And in between Genesis 3 and Revelation 19, you find constant references to warfare. For example, look at Ephesians 6:11 and 12. Verse 11 says, «Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.» That word «schemes,» do you know what it means? It means plans—blueprints, if you will. Think about it: Satan has an individualized, personalized blueprint to destroy you—to destroy everything important to you: your faith, your family, your future. He’s got a blueprint, and the Bible says that’s why we need to put on this full armor that we’re going to be talking about over the next few weeks. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the powers, and the world forces of this darkness.
Jot down Philippians 2:25. Paul refers to Epaphroditus as «my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier.» 1 Timothy 1:18: Paul said, «This command I entrust to you, Timothy, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight.» Or 2 Timothy 2:3 and 4: «Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him.» At some point, folks, we’ve got to decide whether or not we believe the Bible, and if we believe the Bible, we believe it’s accurate—then we have to believe we’re in the middle of a war.
And by the way, it’s a war we can’t claim neutrality in. We can’t say, «Well, I’m a lover, not a fighter.» We can’t be conscientious objectors to this war. We can’t sit on the sidelines until the all-clear signal is sounded. Jesus made it clear that we’re in that battle now. He said, «There’s no room for neutrality.» In Luke 11:23, he says, «He who is not with me is against me.» Why do we need to understand this subject—this reality of spiritual warfare? First of all, understanding spiritual warfare is crucial for our faithfulness. It’s crucial for our faithfulness as Christians. I love the way the late Warren Wiersbe put it. He said, «Christian service means invading a battleground, not a playground. You and I are the weapons God uses to attack and defeat his enemy.
When God used Moses' rod, he needed Moses' hand to lift it. When God used David’s sling, he needed David’s hand to swing it. When God builds a ministry, he needs somebody’s surrendered body to get the job done. We’ve been enlisted in this battle to serve and defeat God’s enemy.» You know, you saw our advertisement for Vacation Bible School. We learned a lot of great songs in Vacation Bible School as kids. Remember one of them? «I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery. I may never zoom or the enemy, but I’m in the Lord’s army!» Okay, that’s enough; I’m getting carried away there. You see why I wasn’t called to be a minister of music? But behind that children’s song is a very real truth: whether we realize it or not, we’ve been enlisted to serve.
Paul said in his final words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:7 and 8, «I have fought the good fight; I have kept the faith; I have finished the course. In the future there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord himself will award me on that day, and not to me alone, but to all those who have loved his appearing. I have fought the good fight.» Understanding spiritual warfare is crucial for our faithfulness in the assignment we’ve been given, but it’s secondly crucial for our survival. Our very survival depends on our understanding of spiritual warfare.
Now I have some good news and some bad news for you today. Which do you want to hear first? It doesn’t matter; I’m going to tell you the good news. I was just being polite to give you a choice. Here’s the good news, and I’m serious about this: although you and I were born into this world as slaves to Satan, as indentured servants to the evil one whose plan for us includes our eternal separation from God, even though that’s how we all entered this world, Colossians 1:13 says, «Through Jesus Christ we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and delivered into the domain of God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.»
That is great news! God is going to deliver us; we are going to ultimately win this invisible war. That’s the good news. Here’s the not-so-good news: the moment you became a child of God, you became an enemy of Satan. He put an X on your back, and he is determined to take you out, no matter what it takes. That’s why Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8, «Be of sober spirit; be on the alert! Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.» Again, will you notice the pronoun here: your adversary? He doesn’t say God’s adversary; he doesn’t say Dr. Jeff’s adversary; it is your adversary—the devil. I like the way one writer puts it about the war we’re in. He said, «God now has an enemy, and so do we.»
Man is not born into a sitcom or a soap opera; he’s born into a world at war. This is not home improvement; it’s Saving Private Ryan. I want to tell you how true that is. In my 40-plus years as a pastor, I’ve seen what Satan can do in the life of a Christian who’s not aware of his schemes and not aware of God’s defense against those schemes. I jotted down some of the things I’ve witnessed through the years. I’ve seen that Satan has the capability of disrupting your marriage, of discouraging you from trusting in God’s faithfulness. He’s got a plan for destroying your physical and mental health. He has a plan for deceiving your children into following him instead of God. Pastors and church leaders, he has a plan for dividing your church. He has a plan for damaging your influence in the kingdom of God, and he has a plan to deny you of your eternal rewards in heaven.
That’s why we’re beginning this series today: The Divine Defense, talking about Satan’s war against Christians but God’s provision to defeat the enemy who wants to destroy you. But as we begin this series, let me say one final word. I know you all pretty well; you know me pretty well after 18 years, and I imagine some of you are right now thinking, «Spiritual warfare? Why spend so much time talking about that? I mean, I believe in Satan; I believe demons exist; I believe there’s a spiritual war going on, but what, if anything, can I do about it? I sure don’t want to do anything weird. I mean, I’m not into exercising demons from my friends and family members. I don’t want to carry around a large cross or wear a garlic necklace; I’m not into levitating bodies or spinning heads; I mean, what can I do?»
Let’s acknowledge that there are two extremes in the subject of spiritual warfare. One extreme is to ignore it, and ladies and gentlemen, people who ignore the subject of spiritual warfare become spiritual roadkill. Don’t ignore it. But there’s another extreme, and that is to obsess about it—to become too focused on it. C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, notes that either extreme is fine with Satan. He said, «There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.»
Satan and his demons are equally pleased by both errors. Neil Anderson has written a book called The Bondage Breakers, and he compares the world of Satan and demons to the world of germs. He says, «We know that germs, though invisible, are all around us. They inhabit our food, our water, our air, and other people with whom we come in contact. Some people are absolutely phobic about germs and spend their lives trying to insulate themselves from any contact with them. But the right diet, appropriate rest, exercise, and practicing some simple principles of hygiene will prevent you from most infections. You do not have to obsess about germs to be free from them; yet without awareness of these microbes and the way to protect yourselves from them, you would be more prone to illness and even death.»
As we talk about spiritual warfare, we’re going to be balanced. But ladies and gentlemen, please don’t confuse balance with passivity. This is no time for God’s people to be passive. Whether you believe it or not, you are in the midst of a real war. Everything you hold dear could be lost: your faith, your family, your future. Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. But God has provided us with six strategies—or, as Paul calls them, six weapons—to destroy Satan’s plan to destroy you. In the weeks ahead, we’re going to look at this miraculous divine defense God has provided every believer.
Let’s bow together in a word of prayer. I know many of you listening or here in our worship center during this service are already believers in Christ Jesus, and this will be an equipping series for you. But I realize also that in an audience this large, there are some who have never personally trusted in Christ to be your Savior. You know, the best thing you could do to defeat Satan’s plan to destroy you is to trust in Jesus right now to be your Savior. Receive that free gift of eternal life he offers you today. The moment you do that, you are forgiven; your sins are forgotten forever. You become a child of God, and you have the absolute assurance of being ushered into God’s presence one day in heaven. Today, if you would like to know that your sins have been forgiven, that God is going to welcome you into heaven one day, I want to invite you to pray this prayer in your heart right now as I pray it out loud, knowing that God is listening to you. Would you pray this with me?
Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know I have failed you in so many ways, and I’m truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe what I’ve heard today: that you loved me so much you sent your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for me, to take the punishment from you that I deserve to take. And right now, I’m trusting in what Jesus did for me—not in my good works, but in what Jesus did for me—to save me from my sins. Thank you for forgiving me, and help me to live the rest of my life for you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Now, with every head bowed, every eye closed, nobody looking around, but just would you let me know if you prayed that prayer so I can pray for you by raising your hand? If you prayed that prayer and you meant it, would you raise your hand? Yes, yes, yes, thank you, thank you. Father, thank you for that gift of salvation you gave your Son to provide for us. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.