Sermon Recap: The Battle Behind the Battle

Becoming a Redemptive Resistance — Week 3

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy thinks her enemy is obvious — a witch who wants her gone. But by the end, she discovers the real power isn’t the witch at all. It’s a man behind a curtain, pulling levers and creating smoke to keep people afraid and divided.

Years later, Wicked reimagined the same world from the “witch’s” perspective — and everything changed. What once looked black and white became shades of gray. Both stories remind us: we’re often wrong about who the real enemy is.

Paul wrote it this way:

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this darkness.”
Ephesians 6:12

That’s the battle behind the battle — not people, but powers.

Life often feels like a battlefield: marriage, parenting, workplaces, politics. And in those battles, we mistake people for the problem. As pastor Jon Tyson puts it,

“If you don’t have a devil in your story, you will demonize people.”

We frame our spouse, coworker, or neighbor as the enemy. But Paul insists — they’re not. If we miss that, we’ll waste our energy fighting the wrong foe while the real one keeps pulling levers behind the curtain.

Jesus and the Battle Behind the Battle

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the “sinners” thought the Pharisees were the problem, and the Pharisees thought the sinners were. But Jesus revealed a deeper reality: both were driven by pride — one through rebellion, the other through self-righteousness. The real battle wasn’t between the two brothers; it was the battle behind the battle.

As French poet Charles Baudelaire said,

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

How Do We Fight the Right Battle?

Paul gives us four ways in Ephesians 6:

1. Look Up — Be Strong in the Lord
True strength isn’t summoned from within but supplied from above. Like a dead car battery, no effort matters until we’re connected to the power source.

2. Suit Up — Put on the Full Armor of God
The armor isn’t a costume; it’s character forged through daily discipleship.

  • Truth — honesty before God and others

  • Righteousness — integrity and justice

  • Peace — a posture of reconciliation

  • Faith — dependence on God

  • Salvation — identity rooted in grace

  • The Word — wisdom from Scripture

3. Stand Up — Resist Evil, Don’t Mirror It
We don’t conquer people; we resist the powers that tempt and divide.

“Spiritual warfare is living in the opposite spirit of the attack.” — Jon Tyson

Jesus embodied this: denying Himself, washing feet, choosing the cross. You don’t overcome darkness by becoming like it — but by living as light.

4. Wise Up — Pray and Perceive the Unseen
Prayer isn’t an add-on; it’s the atmosphere of battle. It tunes our hearts to the unseen reality. Paul, in chains, didn’t ask for freedom — he asked for boldness to speak the Gospel. The battle wasn’t for his release but for his faithfulness.

Practicing Redemptive Resistance

To live as a Redemptive Resistance is to embody another Kingdom — refusing to mirror the hate, fear, or violence of this world.

When you pray for your enemies, you aren’t excusing their wrongs — you’re refusing their rule.
You’re saying, “You don’t get to shape who I become.”
Not with anger, but with intercession.
Not with retaliation, but with redemption.

That’s resistance.
That’s faithfulness.
That’s how we fight the battle behind the battle.

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Sermon Recap: Resisting the Outrage Culture