In this sermon, Carlton McLeod discusses the topic of spiritual warfare in the context of Babylon. He highlights the presence of idolatry, sexual immorality, and pressure to conform to the culture as examples of spiritual Babylon. The sermon explores the role of angels and principalities in the kingdoms of men, drawing from the experiences of Daniel and his encounters with Gabriel. McLeod emphasizes the importance of believers being aware of the unseen spiritual battle as they engage in the work of discipling their families and living out their faith. The sermon concludes with practical exhortations to put on the full armor of God, walk in humility, resist evil, and stay connected to the church.

Well, good evening. The 20 minute clock has started. Hallelujah. So glad to be here. If you have your Bibles, just for reference, turn to Daniel chapter nine and also just be mindful of Daniel chapter 10 and in a moment I'll read just a couple of passages from those two sections of scripture.

I've been given the assignment to talk a little bit about spiritual warfare in Babylon. Scott's an interesting fellow. He says go out and be encouraging and then he gives me spiritual warfare. So we'll see how all that shakes out. But as Scott kind of said, I don't think it would be an exegetical stretch to say that we're in somewhat of a spiritual Babylon, a type of spiritual Babylon, not hyperbolic in the least.

As again he mentioned some of these things and I'll just hit them quickly all around us, We find the celebrations of idolatry and pagan worship. There's the gross and perverted sexual immorality in our midst, the worship of death that's so very popular amongst so many, including our political class. There's the institutionalized pressure to bow down and worship the golden image of all kinds in the day in which we live. Indeed, if we listen very carefully, we can hear the cornet and the flute and the harp and the sackbutt and the psaltery and the dulcimer and all kinds of music that blows. We call that cancel culture.

And if you misgender someone these days or Lord forbid you you call a boy a boy you could be in serious trouble you didn't bow down to the cultural to cultural music and one of the reasons why I love the theme of this of this conference is because despite Jeremiah's very difficult call anybody that's read Jeremiah knows that he did not have it easy his call was to quote root out and pull down and destroy and throw down as well as to build and to plant And that might be why this message, although our goal is to encourage you when you're dealing in Jeremiah, you almost can't help but go back and forth a little bit with some of the more difficult issues. But also despite his message of God's judgment in idolatrous and largely unrepentant Judah and also his God's own desire to send his people away captive indeed he did send his people away captive despite the tough message despite you know kind of the tough call also despite their their physical circumstances and even their spiritual reality, God still gave them beautiful things to do and Scott just gave us nine of those just now, building houses and dwelling in them and planting gardens and eating the fruit and taking wives and just being productive in our households and begetting sons and daughters and and not diminishing and increasing those things sound pretty good don't they?

How many of you guys by show of hands want to do some of those things? Amen? Oh five of you? Really? Hello?

You awake? Okay, Carlton's here. Hey, you're up? All right, praise God. All right, but I want you to know that even though God has commanded his people to do these kinds of things, there was more going on in Babylon during this 70-year exile.

And I want to point your attention to Daniel chapter nine. After Judah's captivity in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, other kings followed in the footsteps of Nebuchadnezzar, including a guy named Belshazzar and Darius and Cyrus. And in Daniel nine, under the reign of Darius, Daniel prayed one of the most humble prayers in Scripture and after he did so we can't read all of it but we'll just go to verse 20 with me for a moment. Heaven actually responded So I'm reading Daniel 9 verse 20, and whilst I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yea while I was speaking in prayer even the man Gabriel whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly touched me about the time of the evening offering or the evening oblation and he informed me and talked with me and said oh Daniel I am now come forth to give these skill and understanding at the beginning of my supplications. The commandment came forth and I am come to show the for thou art greatly beloved.

Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision. So hold that in your mind and go with me quickly to Daniel chapter 10, one chapter over verse four. In the next chapter under the reign of Cyrus, we read this, Daniel 10 and four. And in the fourth and 20th day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river which is a Heidekel and I lifted up mine eyes and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with fine gold of ufas his body was like barrel and his face as the appearance of lightning and his eyes as lamps of fire and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision for the men that were with me, saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves.

Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption and I retained no strength yet heard out the voice of his words and when I heard the voice of his words then I was in a deep sleep on my face and my face toward the ground and behold and hand touched me which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands and said unto me, Oh Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then he said unto me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days but lo Michael one of the chief princes came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days, and when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face towards the ground and I became dumb." What do you do with that?

There was more happening in Babylon. There was a series of kings who were, you know, being used by God for his providential purposes. God's people were there and they were told to do these wonderful things, to settle in, but there was more happening in Babylon than the eye could see. In both of these instances in both Daniel chapter 9 and Daniel chapter 10, we are made aware from the biblical text of the activity of angels and principalities in the kingdoms of men. Say that again.

We are made aware of the activity of angels and principalities in the kingdoms of men." Say that again. We are made aware of the activity of angels and principalities in the kingdoms of men. In Daniel 9, the man Gabriel is based on context, the Gabriel who delivered to Mary the good news of her choice as the mother of the Messiah. And to the shepherds, the good news of the Messiah's birth in Luke chapter one. He is said to stand in the presence of God.

His nearness to God is one reason he is considered by many theologians a prince or chief or archangel. Gabriel is also mentioned in Daniel chapter 8. Gabriel apparently was called to fly swiftly to Daniel. His mission was to give Daniel insight and understanding. A man prayed and heaven moved.

In Daniel chapter 10, this certain man in verse 6 is definitely a spiritual being. He resembles Christ by the description in Revelation chapter 1 but is likely an angel since he was able to be withstood and needed help from verse 13. Furthermore, it is unlikely a human prince could have held him up for 21 days. Therefore, the prince of the kingdom of Persia likely means a principality of some sort, some other demonic entity fighting against the angels of God and the plan of God, a fallen angel perhaps with significant influence over a nation. He's literally called by the name of a nation.

Now for those of us in certain camps this all sounds rather fantastic. Well beloved, the Bible in your hands is pretty fantastic. God spoke and the universe leapt into existence. You know, we serve a God who is totally other and beyond, with no beginning and no end, and there's much around us that we can't see. My job today is to help you to remember to understand that as you are doing the good work of taking dominion, discipling your family, as you are trying your best to take wise for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, praying for the peace of the city, discipling your children, doing family worship, all the things that good church and life church, church and family life churches do.

I want you to know that the devil hates that. He hates all of that. He hates every last bit of that. He hates that you're sitting here with your children today and he hates that they are fathers who are standing up all over the country and beloved I'm here to tell you to expect spiritual warfare as you do what God is calling you to do particularly in this this time of spiritual captivity or spiritual Babylon. Again, Michael is said to be one of the chief princes and had to assist the angel in question in battle.

The angels were slugging it out and in some degree having a rough time of it too. Michael is also known to be the prince or angelic protector of Israel since he he's called in here your prince in reference to Daniel. Daniel chapter 12 and verse number 1. This is the same Michael we read about in Revelation chapter 12 verse 7 says and there was war in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels in other words there's a lot going on that we can't see that has gone on depending on your eschatological view or that will happen depending on your eschatological I'm not trying to get in trouble here today. But there's a lot, there's a lot going on, and I wonder sometimes, you know, I don't believe in, in our church, we call it being spooky spiritual.

We're not trying to assign a spiritual motive to everything, but we also don't want to undersell it either and act as if there's there There aren't real devils and real Principalities and and real demons that that want your children that hate the seed of the woman that want to destroy your families. And so in order for us to do what we must do, every once in a while we do need to raise this topic back up and realize again that we must put on the full armor of God that we might be able to stand in the evil day having done all to stand. Okay and so our point here is that from the beginning of recorded history, biblical history, until now the reality of the spiritual war is evident from the temptation of the serpent in the garden called the devil and Satan in revelations 12 9 to the sons of God the benet a Elohim coming unto the daughters of men in Genesis 6 that's a whole barrel of fish hooks there but anyway to the active principalities over the whole regions as we just mentioned in Daniel to the explosion of overt warfare in the Gospels, Jesus encountering many unclean spirits and demons, there is no doubt there is an unseen world and an unseen war in which believers are necessarily involved.

Again Genesis 3, a cosmic holy war was declared, the rebellion of angels in Genesis 6, the consistent presence of the angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, the captain of the hosts of the Lord in Joshua 5, Micahiah's vision of the throne room of the Lord and the activity of angels in 1 Kings 22, the chariots of fire surrounding the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 6, the discussion in heaven between the Lord and Job, by the way was the Lord who said, have you considered my servant Job? Or Zechariah's vision of the angel in Zechariah 1 or our Lord's confrontation with Satan in Luke 4 or the many battles with demons Jesus had throughout the Gospels or Paul casting out a spirit of divination out of the girl in Acts chapter 6 or Paul's warnings to the church that Satan tries to transform himself into an angel of light, 2nd Corinthians 11 and 4, seeks to take advantage of the church, 2nd Corinthians 4, 11, and to beware of devilish snares, 1st Timothy 3. It's really important that as we disciple our families, we have what I call a supernatural worldview. It's really important that we as age appropriately teach our children about these things because they're going to encounter the world and they're certainly going to encounter their own flesh, but they're also going to encounter the devil.

Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10, finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. New Testament, Apostle Paul, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against that word I used earlier, principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in high places. This is real. You know when I first came to what was then NCFIC, you know, 10 plus years ago now, and I was just awestruck and overwhelmed by the number of fathers and the number of, the happy expressions on the face of so many mothers and just the sheer number of children. You know, I have many takeaways from that conference.

One was, you know, we need this in so many other communities. How can I take this back to the people I grew up with? Another one was, man, you guys are modest. This is great. That was pretty cool.

I had never seen so many long skirts in my life. But, you know, it's many years ago now. But then the third, one of my other takeaways was these folks are gonna, they're gonna fight. They're gonna be at war all the time. There is no way that this kind of purity and love for God and this embracing of this disafficiency doctrine to the point where your lives change this much, there's just no way you're gonna have these folks are gonna have it easy.

There's just no way. They're gonna fight tooth and nail and I know some of you probably it feels like that sometimes you're saying all I'm trying to do is raise my family right. What did where did this come from? What did they well there's you know I'm not trying to pin everything on the devil. This isn't Flip Wilson theology.

But I am saying that there are certain things that are going on that you can't see and you need to be, we must be aware of it. Particularly when the things that we're involved in in church and family life are so very precious and so very important. Peter says it this way in first Peter 5 verse 8, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about. True story. Seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith.

Resist who? Resist the devil. Should Christians be resisting the devil? Somebody say yes. Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Praise the Lord, beloved, that the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. At my church that would be a great place for a hallelujah, but it's okay. But he has destroyed the works of the devil, amen, and is destroying. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, my Bible says, triumphing over them in him, Colossians 2.15. But we are yet, as we wait for the full consummation of the kingdom of Christ, we are fighting the God of this world.

The Bible says 2nd Corinthians 4, but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are that are lost in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not. The God of this world terminology I believe used for the devil. Scott, correct me if not, you might recall what our Lord was going through in Luke chapter 11 and he said this, when an unclean spirit is going out of a man what's he talking about? He's talking about a man in dwelt with an unclean spirit. Now we can argue you know canon and acts and is that still but you know acts they were fighting devils too and we're told we're given command to fight against principalities and and powers so I'm glad that the weapons of our warfare they're not carnal but they are indeed mighty through God through the pulling down of strongholds.

We don't fight as the world does and so as we kind of close this up just reminding you to keep your spiritual armor on. You know every once in a while review Ephesians chapter 6. I want to remind you to walk in humility because you can't fight the devil acting the way he acts. I want to remind you to hate and resist all evil. So many references that we could give here, we just don't have the time.

Believe and preach the gospel, don't stop. Practice the spiritual disciplines, continue to pray, continue your family worship times, continue to read and memorize scripture, continue to build a biblical worldview that is whatever is happening in the world, check it with the Word of God and you'll build a biblical worldview. Walk in honesty and integrity, grow in the proper attitude toward sin, that is to hate it with every fiber of your being. Repent and forgive quickly. Speak kind words to one another.

Be fearless in your obedience to the word of God. And then stay connected to the church of Jesus Christ, that thing that he is building, this beautiful entity that he is building, for he in fact is the Lord of the church. And then think biblically in this area of spiritual warfare and when it comes to this topic there are a lot of folks out there to say a lot of kooky things and so you know definitely that's putting it mildly. I don't believe that screaming at demons is normative. Jude tells us in verse 9 that that's probably not a good idea, right?

But the possibility of confronting real devils in real life in some way or another exists. Do not be like the seven sons of Sceva who had no real relationship with Christ but chose to engage a man possessed with an evil spirit. You'll lose that fight. Know the Lord for yourself. Teach your children to know the Lord.

Teach them that God of course is, he rules and he reigns and that these created beings have limited authority, but don't act as if they don't exist. They hate church and family life. They hate what's happening here. Be aware of it. Do we really think our nation and our communities have devolved to the current level of spiritual depravity without the influence from spiritual wickedness?

I don't. The bow's on y'all. Trust in Jesus Christ and engage. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the reading of scripture.

Thank you for these families. We pray, Lord, that you give us a greater vision of who you are and in that process, that you'd show us how to fight the spiritual war. We know you're victor, you're the victorious one. You're King of Kings and Lord of Lords. While we await your coming, show us how to take the fight to the enemy, to advance on the kingdom of darkness, and to do so not for pride, nor for form, nor even for fashion, but for the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

Amen.