The War Inside

WNBS Recap
January 10, 2007
2 Corinthians 10:3-6

"I may never march in the infantry
Ride in the Calvary
Shoot the Artillery
I may never zoom o'er the enemy
But I'm in the Lord's Army! Yes Sir!"

I used to love playing war with my GI Joe's and my little green army men. I would set them up around the fireplace and sit on the other side of the room to pick them off, one by one, with my dart gun. Sometimes my brother and I would go out in the yard, dig trenches, and throw dirt clods at each other. In each of these instances, the enemy was the same (the army men) but my tactics had to change as the battlefield changed.

The world is good at producing a powerful image and message, but just as Paul warned us in 2 Corinthians 10:1-2, we shouldn't listen to a message just becasue it's powerful, or not listen to a message just because it isn't presented in a flashy way. Our focus should be the content of the message, not the method. A flashy method can still carry a completely wrong message! We have to fight against these wrong messages, and stop allowing them to influence our hearts and minds.

This is The War Inside!

So, what are the tactics to fight the enemy, Satan, on this battlefield?

First, we have to Join the Army. What army?

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh" 2 Corinthians 10:3

This passage tells us that all those in the Spirit are in military service to God.

If we are not in a war according to the flesh, then what war are we in? A war according to the spirit!

So, what of this military service?

Our Position
We are spiritually enlisted in the Army of the Holy Spirit. Verse 4 says "The weapons of our military service are not of the flesh."

Our Weapons
So, what are these weapons? According to Ephesians 6:13-18 our offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Verse 4 also tells us that this weapon is "powerful through God" but we have to learn how to wield this weapon...and we can only do that if we study the Word!

Our Purpose
What are we supposed to be using these weapons for? Verse 4 describes the objective of our military service as well: "For the destruction of fortresses".
We can't fight this battle with our dart guns or dirt clods because our enemy is hunkered down in fortresses! We need a stronger weapon, and we have it in the Word of God. That is our secret weapon and it is powerful enough to win the battle.

But, you might want to ask the question, "why"? Why do we want to tear down the fortress or the stronghold? Beacause that is where the enemy is, and with the stronghold gone, the enemy is vulnerable. Then, the next question that comes is, "what are the fortresses?"

The Enemy's Strongholds
Verse 5 tells us of 2 battlefields that we are fighting the enemy on in the War Inside: The battlefield of thoughts and the Battlefield of Pride. When we go into these battlefields, we need to "tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up in opposition to knowing God." We need to take down the battle flags of the enemy and run up the flag of truth to claim more and more ground for the kingdom of God.

Prisoners of War
Just like in every war, in this War Inside we have to take prisoners. What prisoners? Verse 5-6 tell us to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience..." How do we treat these prisoners of war? We make them uncomfortable, disarm them, strip them, search them, interrogate them, find out how they are getting in, and lock them away so that they can't hurt us anymore. Don't make the enemy comfortable! Make the enemy as uncomfortable as possible. How? With the WORD!

But, what happens if we don't take prisoners? James 1:13-15 warns us that sin not checked up leads to defeat.

But, the result of a well fought war on the battlefield of the heart and mind leads to "The completing of your obedience" (v6b). That is the goal. Total Victory!