(Ep12) Spiritual Defense: Why is it Important

As we move beyond individual readiness, the first key to success against the enemy is a strong defense that can resist attacks.  There are several reasons why our spiritual defense is important, and in this episode, we will look at five main reasons why our collective defense should be a priority for us before diving into the details of execution in later episodes.

Transcript

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Welcome back. Get comfortable, settle in with us as we step into episode 12 of Joining the Fight. A look at why spiritual defense is so important for our success in the battles we face. I'm Kyle Clark from Standing Word Ministries, a Christ-sitter ministry dedicated to equipping us with solid biblical truth and practical training. We create scripture-based resources like our workbook Joining the Fight so we can strengthen discipleship, deepen the biblical understanding for believers everywhere, and help others live with real purpose to stand firm in the truth and carry Christ's message forward. If you want to explore more teachings or grab the workbook, head over to standingword.com. Over the last several episodes, we've been laser focused on preparing the individual believer for the fight. We've strapped on the full armor of God that He gives us. We've learned how to use the tools in our arsenal, such as scripture, fasting, or blessing others. We've trained in the daily actions every soldier must do to participate in the battle, shoot, move, and communicate. And most recently we've put on the uniform that identifies us as a part of God's army. Peace is our pattern, joy as our colors, and love as its labels. Those marks that show that we belong to Christ. The whole section of this journey so far has been all about personal readiness, how we stand, how we live, how we carry ourselves as followers of Jesus in the middle of a real spiritual battle, and that preparation is powerful. But preparation alone isn't enough. A soldier can be trained, equipped, disciplined, and clearly identified as belonging to God's army, but that soldier still needs more protection that is provided by the community of believers they live in. That soldier still needs others to watch their back to participate in the battle right next to them. Because battles are not fought alone. There are times when the fight intensifies, when pressure increases, when our growth needs space, and when the church needs cover. And that's exactly where our strongholds come in, where spiritual defense becomes so important. In military terms, a stronghold isn't a place of retreat or hiding. It's a place of protection, stability, and reinforcement. It preserves what matters most and allows strength to grow even while the battle rages outside the walls. Spiritually God calls us to build strongholds of faith in our lives, our families, and our churches. Not walls of fear, not isolation, but safe, secure places where truth is protected, growth is fostered, and the people of God are strengthened together. Scripture gives us a powerful picture of this when we think of how the Lord is the same for us. Psalms 18 2 says the Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. A fortress is not weakness. It is a position, it is protection, it is a place where preparation helps us to be ready for what comes next. Spiritual defense does so much more than just resist an attack. It creates space for growth. It preserves what God has already built, it strengthens the community and allows us to stand firm when the enemy presses in. Today we're going to look at five clear purposes of spiritual defense. The reason strongholds matter so much in our walk with Christ, they help us gain time, retain territory, support others, distract the enemy, and wear the enemy down. These aren't just military ideas, although they are found in the army's basic handbook about how to execute a proper defense. And there are reality every day as we build strongholds together. First up, the purpose that gives us breathing room to become who God is shaping us to be. When we look at spiritual defense, it helps us gain time, or more importantly, helps us to foster growth and maturity. Sometimes the best defense is the one that simply buys us time, time for roots to grow deep, time for faith to mature, time for the church to grow stronger together. If we look at Paul's own dramatic conversion, in Acts 9, 19 through 31, Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus, and at once he began preaching in the synagogue that Jesus is the Son of God. Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened, living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. It increased in numbers. So when we look at Paul's life, Paul didn't have his conversion on the road to Damascus and immediately then go out and be a missionary. Paul spent a certain amount of time in Damascus growing around other believers, sharing the gospel to them in that small community, and then eventually went on to be a part of the church in Antioch. And it wasn't for a couple of years until he became a missionary and the messenger for Gentiles. And so even in Paul's life, he had time to grow, to mature, to look at the passages of the Old Testament and see them in fresh eyes. Defense in Paul's life created that time for him to grow. Time for Paul to be protected and nurtured instead of thrown straight into the fire. Time for the church to breathe, to grow, and be strengthened. Jesus himself prayed for this very same thing in John 17, 15 through 16. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. He knew we would need covering while we matured. Spiritual defense slows the enemy's advances long enough for our faith to deepen instead of staying shallow, for wisdom to develop instead of reaction and panic, and for character to form instead of staying in our childish ways. Paul later wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, When I was a child, I talked like a child, but when I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. What I would like to highlight about this scripture is that that time period where he went from childhood to manhood, where he went from ignorance to understanding, was a time that he needed to grow and mature. And a stronghold creates that time for this kind of transformation. It's not delay, it's divine timing. Look at the analogy of a young tree being planted. When we plant a tree, we drive stakes into the ground next to it and we tie that tree into those stakes. And we do this because when a storm comes, it's not going to uproot the tree and it's going to give the tree time to grow. But the wooden stakes in the ground don't stop the wind. They don't stop the storm. They just give the tree enough support and enough time for it to grow and not need those stakes anymore. So in this analogy, that's what our spiritual strongholds do for us and for our church family. Although we never stop needing that support, unlike that tree. So let's make this practical for this week. Identify one area of your life where you need time to grow and ask God to help you build a stronghold of protection around it. Or to help you identify that stronghold that's already near you that you can run to and gain support from. Spend 10 extra minutes in the Word or in prayer each day this week, thanking God for the covering that He gives you for the space that you have to mature. And growth and time is important. But what also is important in our defense is keeping the ground we've already taken. Another reason why spiritual defense is so important is that it allows us to stand firm on conquered ground, on ground that we have taken away from the enemy. Fighting our battles isn't only about moving forward. Sometimes it's about refusing to give back what Christ has already won. In 1 Corinthians 15, 58, Paul says this, therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Without defense, progress can be undone. Victories can be reversed, and ground can be lost. But when we stand firm, we keep what God has conquered. Peter tells us, resist him, standing firm in the faith in first Peter 5 9. Defense is sometimes about holding the line. We also protect our unity in this circumstance. Ephesians 4 3 says, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. And God Himself has established us. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. Second Corinthians 1 21 through 24 says this. When we defend what God has already taken, the ground that has already been won in Christ, our faith remains steady instead of wavering. Our unity stays intact instead of fracturing. And our spiritual progress is preserved instead of letting it slip away. Imagine a soldier who has just taken a hill. They don't abandon it the moment an enemy counterattacks. They dig in, they reinforce it, they hold it, they become a thorn in the enemy's side by holding that ground. That's us when we build strongholds to retain the territory Christ has already given. We can see applications of this in so many different ministries around us. We go into an inner city or a place where homelessness abounds, and we create a ministry, and that ministry gains traction, and that ministry begins to save the souls of those people around it. When that takes place, we must realize that part of holding that progress is digging in and reinforcing that stronghold so that ministry does not get snuffed out by the enemy's counterattack. A practical step that we can do to keep our minds focused on this idea. Look at one area of victory in your walk or your family. Maybe a habit was broken, maybe a relationship has been restored, maybe you're in a season of peace. And ask, what's one thing I can do this week to defend, retain, or strengthen that progress that I have made on this ground? Speak first Corinthians 15, 58 over that area out loud every morning and pray about it. And while this is good and retaining territory is important, we also become a place of refuge for others. We also become a place of support and rescue for the strongholds around us. Our third reason why spiritual defense is so important is that when we have a stronghold, we are able to support others within and without. The best strongholds are never solo projects. They become shelters for the whole family of God, and they are strongest when they are part of a network of strongholds. Paul writes in Galatians 6 2, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Strongholds allow us to shield those who are struggling, to come to the aid of those who are under attack. When one of us is under attack, the rest of the body can step in and provide support from within and from our stronghold down the street. The writer of Hebrews urges us, let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, but encouraging one another. Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. Encouragement itself is a powerful form of defense. Isolation weakens us, but community strengthens us. Remember when Paul was in prison? The church was earnestly praying to God for him in Acts 12 5. They stood guard spiritually over him. That's what strongholds do. They let us intercede for leaders. They let us protect families. They let us strengthen the weak. They let us come to the aid of other strongholds around us. Because we were not meant to fight alone ever. Picture it like this a castle under siege doesn't ask the wounded to defend it. The whole garrison assigned to fight rallies to the section of the wall that needs defense. That's how our church builds strongholds together, and that's how we support one another. And when the same castle is under siege, they send a writer out to call for their friends somewhere else to come to their aid and provide them for relief. That is one of the many ways that we provide support to each other. And this week, as we live it out, ask the Lord to show you one person who you feel like is under pressure right now and commit to praying for them daily. Maybe even text them a word or encourage them each day. If you're the one who's weary, reach out to somebody else in your Christian community. Let the body support you because that's how a stronghold works. And as we support one another, sometimes defense does something the enemy never expects. It shifts his attention and absorbs the pressure so others can grow safely. Because one of our other reasons why spiritual defense is so important is that spiritual defense distracts the enemy. Mature, steady strongholds can actually pull the enemy's fire away from the vulnerable. In Acts 16, when Paul confronted spiritual opposition directly, that confrontation absorbed resistance others couldn't face at the time. At times God calls some of us to carry the spiritual pressure so the rest of the body can grow safely. I love Paul in his missionary journeys because when Paul goes to a city, he has opponents that disagree with him, that start riots, that beat him, that have him thrown in jail, and Paul is such a threat that when Paul goes to another city, that opposition leaves the new church that Paul just started and follows Paul to a new city and doesn't realize that they are neglecting a stronghold that is building stronger and stronger behind them. That is this idea of distracting the enemy, that sometimes the strong take on the burdens of the weak, and we distract the enemy by our good works so that those who are struggling have time to grow. God once searched for someone who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land in Ezekiel 22 30. He's still looking for gapstanders. He's still looking for people who will place themselves within a wedge into the fence and take the brunt while others can gain a moment of rest and reset so that they can rejoin the fight. Paul even reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, 3 and 4, join me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers endure hardships for the sake of the mission, for the sake of others. Spiritual defense often means standing strong so someone else doesn't have to face an attack alone. Picture it like this. One section of the castle wall draws the heaviest fire so the rest of the fortress stays secure. That's us when we choose to stand in the gap. And when we put this into practice together, we want you to pray this week for the courage to stand in the gap for one specific person or situation in your church family. When you feel that pressure, remember it might be the very thing protecting someone else right now. We distract the pressure, and when our defense stays steady and consistent, others are able to rejoin the fight right next to us and give us the same rest that we need when our spirits are low, or our spiritual focus has grown weak. And sometimes powerful things begin to happen when we do all this. And that brings us to our final point about why spiritual defense is so important. Sometimes we engage in spiritual defense. We build strongholds in areas we have taken, in areas that are critical to the enemy, simply to wear him down and preserve ourselves until the day of victory. The enemy is persistent. And one key aspect of our defense is that eventually Christ is going to return and victory is going to be declared. We fight from a place of victory, but sometimes our spiritual defense is simply to outlast the enemy because we know that day is coming. James gives us this promise. He says, Submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. He flees from us right now when we stand firm, but one day he is never going to come back because the Lord is going to defeat him permanently. And in James 4 7, it doesn't say he might flee, it says he will flee. Again, we fight from a place of victory, and we must be known for our endurance. Just like Revelation 14 12 says, this calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God. Faithfulness over the long haul weakens the enemy's influence. And Paul seals it with this hope in Romans 16 20. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Victory isn't always one dramatic moment. It often comes through persistent, day after day resistance inside the stronghold, and that stronghold eventually will wear that enemy down, and he will flee. The enemy throws everything he's got at those walls. But when our fortress stands tall, over time he is going to grow weary. He is going to rethink his battle plan. His attacks are going to lose force and he's going to shift focus. But the people inside will grow even stronger. That's our story when we build and hold our strongholds together. And as we put this in practical application this week, choose one area where you've been tempted to quit resisting and commit to one more week of steadfast defense in that area. Celebrate every small victory. Each day you stand firm is a day where you are wearing him down. And as we close, let us pray. Lord, you are our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. Thank you for calling us to build strongholds that honor you, teach us to gain time for growth, to retain the territory you've given us, to support and carry one another, to stand in the gap when needed, and to preserve until the enemy is finally worn down for good. Help us guard what you have built, strengthen the weak, encourage the weary, and remain faithful in the fight. Remind us every single day that the victory already belongs to you. We build these strongholds not in our own strength, but inside yours. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen. Spiritual defense is never fear driven. It is wisdom driven, it is love driven, it is Christ centered. Strongholds give us time to grow, protect what God has built, strengthens others, shields the vulnerable, and wears down the enemy. And at the center of every stronghold is the unchanging truth that the Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. We don't build apart from him. We stand inside him, we build our fortress walls on top of that rock. Let's take a moment to review this and issue a challenge for our spiritual defense this week. Do you need time to grow and mature? Do you need to be strengthened to hold the ground you've already taken? Are you receiving support from the body while you carry a burden? Do you have the courage to stand in the gap for someone else? And are you willing to endure and keep resisting until the enemy flees? Next week we're going to look more at defense and what that means for our specific church family. And remember, we're in this together, friends. Keep building, keep standing, and we'll see you next week on joining the fight. God bless.