LWF: Weapons of Our Warfare - Nehemiah 4:7-13 part 1

Part one of a Bible study adapted from a sermon once preached by Adrian Rogers

 We are in a deadly  war between light and dark, heaven and hell, life and death, between the forces of righteousness and the demons of utter wickedness, and EVERY Christian is called to this battle.

LWF: Weapons of Our Warfare - Nehemiah 4:7-13 part 1

What’s the answer when we surrender to Jesus Christ, begin to obey God and then Satan comes against us?  Well it's the armor of God!

So in this study, let's learn about every piece of the armor we should be wearing--what it is and how to get it!

Sometimes the only reason I can take one more step in hard times is not because I see clearly but because I trust God.

And sometimes the only way to discern between right and wrong is to get into the Bible and saturate yourself with The Truth!

See Nehemiah 4:7-13
7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. 10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. 11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. 12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.
13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

To watch and pray is what Jesus Christ said in the New Testament and here in verse 9 Nehemiah had them pray and watch in the Old Testament...

Nehemiah and his team answered the call from God and said "We will rebuild the wall!". And all sorts of opposition arose, from their enemies and even from within their ranks!

So the key to their success was to watch and pray.

Now if we pray with out watching that's laziness and watching without praying is presumption.

Cromwell once said trust The LORD and keep your powder dry!

So just as Nehemiah and his fellowship faced opposition when they set out to do God's work, so will we! 

It's crucial that we understand three things in the battle we will face when we set out to do God's work.

1) Our Adversary 2) Our Armor and 3) Our Attack

See Ephesians 6:11-19
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,

So if you are living for God I can tell you with certainty that you are also facing battles

Nehemiah isn't the only one with a battle on his hands.  We all ought to have a battle on our hands if we are serving The LORD!  If we don't, then shame on you!  That ought to be telling you something! 

Usually in any war those standing closest to the leader has the most darts flung at them.  Are you being attacked?  If so, now you know why.  If not, you had better wonder why!

Friends we are in a deadly battle. 

A no holds barred war between lightness and darkness, between heaven and hell, between death and life, between the forces of righteousness and the demons of utter wickedness, and EVERY Christian is called to this battle.

So let's learn more about these three things: our adversary, our armor, and our attack.

1) Our Adversary is:

A) SUBTLE

Satan is subtle and we must learn how stand against his wiles... 

Remember in Nehemiah's time his enemies said that they would come subtly, suddenly, and swiftly? 

Now that's the same way the devil and his demons operate.

Our imagination, our ingenuity and our intelligence are no match for our adversary; so we must beware of that!

See Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

And then:

B) Our Adversary is also SPIRITUAL:

Notice in verse 12 we are told we wrestle not against flesh and blood and later in verse 12 we are told we wrestle against spiritual wickedness.

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.

Did you know the devil is spiritual?  Well he is!  And not everything spiritual is good!

See 1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

So the Bible tells us that not all that's spiritual is righteous.

Many spirits have gone out into the world and they are not all godly.  Plus:

C) Our Adversary is also STRONG:

He is strong. "Powers"  in verse 12 means authorities.

Martin Luther alluded to this in his hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". Luther said that the devil's strength is great.

So never forget that! 

Sadly so many today, even those in the church, try to laugh the devil off like some clown in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork or claim that he's merely the product of medieval superstition or that he doesn't even exist and is merely the figment of our imaginations.

Oh no, he's real and he's a formidable foe: powerful and malevolent

He is NOT the character of some comic book.

So our adversary the devil is subtle, he is spiritual, he is strong and:

D) Our Adversary is also SINISTER:

Again see Ephesians 6:12 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.

Spiritual WICKEDNESS means he is SINISTER; so beware, because it's tragic to underestimate him!

Now his real war is not with us but with God.  Wicked persons have always known that if you cannot harm someone directly then harm someone they love and by proxy you have harmed them.

So Satan whose real war is with God attacks us because God has set His love, affection and salvation upon us.

So we studied our enemy and adversary the devil so now let's look at:

2) Our ARMOR:

See Ephesians 6:13-17
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:

Let's look at each piece of our armor:

A) The Belt of Truth:

The warriors of this day wore a leather belt or girdle that went around their waist and held it all together. 

Truth is so very crucial, oh how crucial is The Truth!

Jesus said, John 17:17 Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.

Often what keeps me going isn't how I feel but the truth that I KNOW!

And Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.

So I have said it before and I will say it again, the thing that keeps me going is not how I feel but what I know.

And the devil will attack you with error and the only way we will be able to counter his attacks is to get into The Bible. 

Learn the Bible, know the Bible, saturate your very soul and begin with the Words of The Bible, as you ask the Holy Spirit to interpret it for you. 

Many are set up by the devil and fall to the devil because they do not know TRUTH!!!

This is crucial to understand: we must know truth!  Then there's:

B) The Breastplate of Righteousness

Every soldier was armored with a breastplate,  it deflects spears and arrows from his core.

So what is the breastplate of righteousness? 

Well it's a pure life. 

The devil will attack with error and so we need the belt of truth, but he will also attack with impurity.

Do you know the thing I want to do?  I want to keep my life PURE!

There is no unconfessed and unrepented sin in my life.  Now are you thinking, you bragger, you pious snob?

Well, that’s not bragging, and it’s not snobbery. 

I would be a sheer stupid fool to write these studies everyday, to lead Bible Studies, to do radio messages, to pass out Bibles, and to preach sermons if I had blatant, unrepented, unconfessed sin in my life.

I would be a fool to try to go against the devil with unconfessed sin in my life!!!

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:26-27
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil.

You see if I allow sin in my life, the devil can get in to my life through that crack in the armor and do all sort of nefarious and wicked things through me.

Oh be ye clean that bear the vessels of The LORD! 

How clean we ought to be!  How pure we ought to be! How holy we ought to be, how afraid of sin we ought to be!!!

How righteous we must be!

So I want you to deal ruthlessly with your sin because your sin will deal ruthlessly with you!  

But hold on, there’s a twist here.  You do that by letting go and sitting in the heavelies with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) not by works lest any man should boast!

Then there's:

C) The Boots of Peace:

The devil wants to discourage us, with briars and rocks and pitfalls. 

Now the soldier moves not only on his belly but also on his feet. 

So these boots must keep us leaping and not limping so we can walk through anything. 

Do you have the peace of God?  Well if you do you can walk through anything!

Not your own peace but the peace of God that passeth all understanding!

And we also need,

D) The Shield of Faith.

Friends the devil will not only attack with error where we will need the belt of truth, not only with impurity where we will need the breastplate of righteousness, and not only with discouragement where we will need the boots of peace, but he will also attack with doubts.

He attacks with doubts!

He will hurl them at our hearts and into our minds and they will be such a powerful whirlwind that they will blow out our lamps unless we hold the shield of faith against these fiery darts.

Now we must realize that our of faith is actually His F.A.I.T.H. which is a gift that comes from God. 

So F.A.I.T.H. is the gift of God.  Look to Jesus Christ  the author and finisher of our F.A.I.T.H.!!! 

Now does that sound like something YOU had before you were in Christ?

2Cor5:17 says that ALL things are made new in Christ, that includes our faith, which is actually Christ's F.A.I.T.H. living in us!!!

So don't try to do this with some old self willed carnal faith that you use to trust that the tap water is safe to drink!  That is faith but it is not saving faith that faith leads unto death.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Then there's the:

E) Helmet of Salvation

Now this not only means being delivered from hell, but the constant deliverance that God gives us from the very power of sin and that's our on going process of salvation also known as sanctification.

An enemy will try to crush the skull, but if we are wearing the Helmet of Salvation, the devil will break his arm trying to do that!

Friends do you know that you are saved? 

Justified by the F.A.I.T.H. of Jesus Christ who shed His Blood on The Cross dying for our sins thus freeing us from the penalty of our sins, SANCTIFIED by the daily washing of The Word and ultimately GLORIFIED by the blessed hope, Christ in us the hope of glory!

Are you standing upon that truth?

Do you know that His Word daily continues to wash us, freeing us from the very power of sin through the sanctifying work of His Word?

And do you know that we hold the mystery of the ages, the hope of glory, Christ in us!  And then one day we will actually be freed from the very presence of sin for all of eternity!!!

Do you have this full assurance?  Well I hope so because then finally there's:

F) The Sword of the Spirit

The Bible, the Word of God! Which we use to wage war on the enemy and NOT to thump our brothers and sister in Christ over the head with!

Now let's focus on the heart of this study:

3) Our Attack!

Yes our attack!!!  You see we are not to be on the defensive we are to be on the offensive!  We are not to be overcome with evil but we are to overcome evil with good!!!

Read the last verse in Romans 12!

Ephesians 6:18 shows us how to attack.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:18)

Imagine someone who has all of it on, the full armor, then he says now I am prepared, show me the fight:

Then he is told the fight is praying always!  Now I suppose he wasn't ready to hear that!

So get this and never forget it!!!

Prayer is not getting ready to fight, prayer is the battle!   It's the warfare!

Once we have seen our enemy and donned our armor then and only then are we ready to fight!

The battle is in prayer!  We march on as God's army on our knees!

For example remember when the Israelites were coming out of the land of Egypt into the promised land.

Look at how Moses dealt with a wicked man named Amalek. A wicked king who tried to stop them.

See Exodus 17:8-16
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And The LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: 16 For he said, Because The LORD hath sworn that The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Notice verse 11...

Where was the real war fought on the hill or in the valley?

On the hill!

And look what God said in verse 14: And The LORD said unto Moses, "Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."

This was important to God so it ought to be important to us too!

Notice that Moses's hands, those holy hands, were lifted to God in prayer, and when his hands dropped Amalek prevailed; but when his hands were held high the Israelites prevailed.  

Moses was probably taunted to come down and fight.  I imagine he yelled down, "I am fighting, I am PRAYING!!!"

So don't forget that the real battle is praying, yet the devil wants to keep us from praying.

He's not fighting against the money we collect, the buildings we raise, the number of songs we sing or sermons we preach.

The devil mocks at our schemes, laughs at our toiling but he fears our prayers!

The battle is in prayer.  I am no better than my prayer life, you are no greater than your prayer life, and our church is no better or stronger than our collective prayer life.

A great preacher once said that he could hear the devil saying to his demons:

"Boys keep them from praying for we can beat them every time if they don't pray, but if they pray they will beat us every time!"

The battle is our prayer!  The battle is in prayer!  Oh if only we could understand this one truth!!!

To be continued tomorrow...