Me  My Family & Friends  My Job  My church, society, nation, etc.  Example – Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan Nation  My job  My family & friends  Me  Example – World War II Ephesians 6:12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Waste ◦ In war, everything must be mobilized Sacrifice ◦ In war, suffering & hardship are unavoidable Autonomy ◦ In war, autonomous living is the ultimate enemy Individualism ◦ In war, all must come under unified strategy Danger ◦ In war, extreme dangers are faced everyday Rest ◦ In war, extreme exertion is often demanded

Morale – must be motivated to fight! Equipping – must be equipped to fight! ◦ Ephesians 4 ◦ 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 Intelligence ◦ 2 Corinthians 2:11  “We are not ignorant of his (Satan’s) schemes.”

Ezekiel 28:11-19  Model of perfection, full of wisdom, and exquisite in beauty (vs. 12)  Most beautiful of created beings, covered in gems of all colors (vs. 13)  An anointed guardian angel of the highest rank…powerful (vs. 14)  Reason for his fall  “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” (vs. 17)

Revelation 12:3-4,7-9  3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth... 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down- -that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Power – limited powers (Job; 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Jn 4:4) ◦ Ephesians 2:1-2  1 Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. 2 You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air (the commander of the unseen forces of the unseen world). He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. (NLT) Mind control & reading – can’t, but is informed Knowledge – can’t predict future; corrupted wisdom Presence – can’t be in more than one place ◦ Yet has a vast host of workers acting in total obedience!!!

His ultimate objective is destruction (John 10:10) His strategy: ◦ Essentially defensive (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1-2)  Matthew 16:18  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (withstand it)  Gates don’t overcome anything…they are defensive in nature  How has he duped everyone?

Genesis 3:1-5  He said to the woman, " Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? " 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Genesis 3:1-5  He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.“ 2 Corinthians 10:5  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. THE BATTLE IS FOR BELIEF IN WHAT IS TRUE!

Our strategy is essentially OFFENSIVE! Luke 19:10; 1 John 3:8 John 17:15-18  18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 2 Cor. 5:18-20  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

 Embrace the reality of war & its mentality  Get better equipped for battle  Repent in some areas of thought where you have given strategic ground to the enemy  Partner with others to go on the offensive & get out of your protective fortresses  Leave the kingdom of darkness & come into the light (ENTRUST YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST)