It felt strange preaching on Spiritual Warfare in worship yesterday.  I am certain a few folk were uncomfortable with the topic.  Many believers prefer to dwell on the positive attributes of being a Christian and avoid conversations about the devil, Satan, and the dark side of the cosmic battle between good and evil in church, even if they are big fans of Harry Potter, Captain America, Superman and Spiderman.

Why are we more comfortable talking about the schemes of Satan, the powers of darkness, and the cosmic forces of evil in secular literature and movies, than in the church?

When we talk about the devil, evil, satanic powers, and cosmic forces of darkness in literature or movies, the conversation falls into the realm of fantasy.  While we aware of the presence of evil in everyday life and while popular movies and books portray our awareness of the forces of satan and darkness in the real world, it is a fictional portrayal of these realities.

When we talk about the devil, evil, satanic powers, and cosmic forces of darkness in the church, we are talking about reality.

Truth is always more problematic than fantasy. We can escape to or from fantasy.  We have to deal with truth, with reality.

The truth is that everyone is engaged in spiritual warfare.

You are engaged in spiritual warfare when events, individuals, or powers are driving a wedge between you and God by breaking you spiritually; by destroying your faith in Jesus, and; by disrupting your walk with God.

Yesterday’s after-worship conversation revealed that many of our members are aware that they have been engaged in some heavy duty spiritual warfare at some point during their journey of faith.

No one questioned me about the reality of spiritual warfare.

The most pressing question was, “How do I protect myself from spiritual warfare?”  I will address this in my next three sermons.

If you wish to listen to yesterday’s sermon, Spiritual Defense, 1: Reality Check,  click here.

May God’s force be with you,

Rus