Armed And Ready? Series

Armed and Ready?

Ephesians 6:10-13

Chenoa Baptist Church

Pastor Jefferson M. Willams

04-06-2024

Stand

When I lived in Mississippi, I volunteered with the youth ministry and one Saturday morning, we took a group to play paintball.

I was told to wear my camo, but when I got on the bus I just had jeans and a sweatshirt on.

One of the students asked me why I didn’t have on camo. I answered that I didn’t own any camo.

When we arrived at the field, several of the students changed into their armor. They looked like this.

And I was in jeans and a sweatshirt.

I’m unsure if you have ever been paintballing but it hurts to be shot. It leaves welts like this.

I shot a lot of students that day but the ones with the armor on just kept coming. At one point, I was hiding behind a car's hood propped up against a tree. They found and even though you are only supposed to get shot once and then you are out, they shot me dozens of times up close and personal. They said it was my fault for not having on my armor.

Unfortunately, a lot of Christians walk around with welts from being hit with grenades by the devil because they are basically in their underwear!

Pastor Watchman Nee writes:

“Every Christian must learn to stand. Each one of us must be prepared for the conflict. We must know how to sit with Christ in the heavenly places and we must know how to walk worthy of Him down here, but we must also know how to stand before the foe.”

We will spend our time today studying the last verses of the book of Ephesians. Please turn to Chapter 6.

Prayer

Ephesus

Paul is writing these words to the church in Ephesus. Although Ephesus wasn’t the capital of Asia Minor it was, by far, the most important city in the region. It was located on the Aegean Sea and its harbor made it a center for exporting. Four great roads came together at Ephesus, making it the most important trade city in that area.

It was a beautiful city. It was a free city, no Roman troops were stationed there.

It was a metropolitan city that sat at the crossroads of culture and diversity. But what Ephesus was most known for was the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was four times bigger than the Parthenon, with huge marble columns, and was the center of religious and business life in Ephesus.

The Temple was an incredibly beautiful place but inside was a chaotic scene. There were temple prostitutes who served as “worship leaders” for the goddess Artemis/Diana. There was also a museum that housed some of the most prized artifacts of the ancient world. There was a market and a bank and the temple became a place for criminals to seek refuge. It was a dark and sinful place.

But something else was happening in Ephesus. It started with Aquilla and Priscilla, who began to share the Gospel with the Ephesian people. They took Apollos under their wing and he began to preach powerfully that Jesus was the Messiah. The Apostle Paul arrived and spent two years in Ephesus teaching in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

He trained missionaries and pastors and built the church into a thriving spiritual community. He left Timothy in charge, and, ultimately, the Apostle John became their pastor.

Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians from prison while he was in Rome.

Ephesians can be divided into two parts - doctrinal (chapters 1-3) and practical (4-6). In the doctrinal section, we learn about our position in Christ (1:1-3:21).

The practical section can be divided into two parts - our life in the world (4:1-6:9) and our attitude to the enemy (6:10-24).

In light of all that God has done for you.

In light of the glorious standing, you have as a child of God.

In light of His great plan of the ages that God has made you part of.

In light of the plan for Christian maturity and growth, He gives to you.

In light of the conduct God calls every believer to live.

In light of the filling of the Spirit and our walk in the Spirit.

In light of all this, there is a battle to fight in the Christian life.

The Christian life is not a playground but a battlefield. We don’t have the option of being conscientious objectors. The choice is to either be armed and ready or unarmed and dead meat.

And those are the verses we turn to now.

Prayer

The Christian and the Adversary

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)