Spiritual Warfare: Protecting Your Fellowship With God

This is what spiritual warfare looks like for a believer.

His response will leave you speechless. Watch this.

Spiritual warfare for the believer. The enemy's not after money.

He's not after this podcast. He's not after your ministry.

He's not after your blessings. He's not after your marriage.

He's not after your children. Everybody, "Oh, he's after it." No, he's not.

The enemy is after your fellowship with God.

Because if he can get you out of fellowship with God, you'll destroy yourself.

You'll destroy your marriage. You'll destroy your children.

You'll destroy the ministry. You'll destroy your life.

All he has to do is get you out of fellowship.

Let's take the focus off the devil. He lost.

He's already a defeated foe. Victory has already been won.

Put your armor on. To do what? Resist the devil.

Every single piece of this, uh, the armor of God is a defensive piece of armor, except one thing.

It's the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon.

We know the sword is the Word of God. The shield of faith.

Your faith is a defensive measure. Back in the day, the scripture talks about these fiery darts of the enemy.

They didn't have these fancy shields just yet.

Some of their shields were wood, and they would take these arrows, right?

And they would dip their arrows in fire, and they would shoot these fiery darts at the soldiers.

The soldiers would pick their shields up.

That first fiery dart was not sent to kill them.

It was made to put their guard down because the shield would get burned up by the fiery dart, and then that next round of arrows was sent to kill you.

So the soldiers learned that they, they needed to dip their shields in water.

They soaked their shields with water, and we know we are washed by the water of the Word.

So the Word of God is what's going to keep us.

But as they dipped their shields in water and lifted it back up, when they shot the fiery darts, the darts were quenched.

It made them be able to keep their shields up.

We'll resist the enemy. We know fiery darts are the thoughts.

"Don't spend time with God. That's spiritual warfare. You're too busy.

You don't have time to spend time with God.

That's spiritual warfare." He does not want us in fellowship, you see?

So I would tell that person, fight for your fellowship.

The next time the enemy tries to get you to stop spending time with God, remember you're under attack.

God enjoys fellowship. It is our safety. It is our home.

It is our reward. It is His presence. The promised land is His presence.

We're going to be with Him forever. It is the reward.

It's where we find our peace. It's where we find revelation.

It's where we find our advantage. It's where we find our rest.

It's His presence. Fight for your fellowship with God, and you take it, take it as a threat when anything or anyone comes in between your relationship and your fellowship with God.

There's an important truth in this message that we should take seriously.

Our fellowship with God must be protected.

James 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from us.

And Ephesians 6:16 tells us to take up the shield of faith with which we can extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

They can include temptations, accusations, doubts, and thoughts that challenge our trust in God.

We must believe God's Word, obey it. So when distractions, temptations, and the cares of this world begin pulling you away from God, don't take your relationship with Him lightly.

Make time for prayer. Remain in His Word.

Walk in obedience, because our greatest priority isn't simply avoiding the enemy's attacks.

It's remaining faithful to God.