Ephesians 6:10-20
This week there has been much in the news about Britain’s involvement in Iraq, and North Koreas nuclear missile attempts. The “war against terror” looks set to continue for some time to come yet, and as one looks around the world battles, skirmishes and wars continue to rage. And here in the UK we are apparently fortunate as it has been 260 years since a battle has been fought on our land was the Battle of Culloden fought between the supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie and George II.And the defeat of the Scots by the English so accurately so well captured in Braveheart. And yet the passage we are going to look at today is a reminder that 260 years may have passed since the last physical battle on our – but that we are actually in a daily battle whether we know it or not.
Last week we looked at the reality of the kingdom of God – and the good news that the kingdom is a reality, that we have God’s RULE right now, God’s POWER right now, God’s FUTURE here now, ND God’s GOOD NEWS here now. And that is good news and in the book of Ephesians before we reach our passage – Paul has been talking about the importance of unity in the body of Christ that Christ has reconciled us to himself to create one people and that we are now to live as children of light in renewed relationships with each other. But here in this passage there is a storm cloud looming on the horizon – all is not sunshine and long summer days – with lemonade as we laze in our deck chairs. The bad news is that there is a conflict to be involved in, a battle to be fought, a war to be won, and that whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not, whether we feel it or not we are involved in this.
This morning we will be looking at this passage from Ephesians. There are 3 areas that I want us to consider as we go through this passage.
1) The heavenly battle
2) The methods of attack
3) The prayer of the warrior
The heavenly battle
Read vs. 12 Friends it is for good reason that Paul says in v12 that our battle is not against flesh and blood – often we can feel that others are against us, work can be hard, people can be unloving, our boss could be less than desired – the phone company could be a pain in the neck. But Paul is wanting to divert our attention away from what is seen to the unseen that behind all the forces of evil. On one side is you, and on the other side are the devils schemes rulers, authorities, powers and the spiritual forces of evil. That whether you know it or not you are in a battle. If God intends harmony the devil intends discord, if God intends transformation the devil will instill lethargy, If God intends creating a united new society the devil intends to destroy it. But lest we see a devil under every stone – the one caveat I want to say is that the Bible has relatively little to say about the devil and his schemes and the spiritual forces of evil. Scripture seems to merely glance at the subject and then look away, So it is important that we beware having a big devil and a small God. The reality of a dark side is all we need to know.
But as every good strategist knows to win a battle and win a victory you need to study the enemy. CHURCHILL WORLD WAR 2. Play out many strategies on a grand battle board – spies were sent to infiltrate to understand their movements their actions, and codes were cracked so that he could understand their every move. And so today I want us to spend some time understanding the enemy we face
The methods of attack –
Recently watched the Last Samurai with Tom Cruise – and there is a poignant scene where he gets prepared for his final battle – getting dressed in all his armour, and then as he leaves his house one of the other Samurai – pulls on his breastplate to ensure it is on firm enough. And in the someway when we come to this passage in Scripture Paul is wanting to check whether our armour is on firmly. Yet often when we come to this passage we look at what each piece of armour is there to do. But as Paul starts the passage he tells us to put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand. That phrase “the day of evil” is an interesting phrase – it suggests that not all days are the same and that some days may give more opportunities for evil than others. But what matters most is that we are prepared. STORY OF AFFAIR – HITTING A KID, LOSING TEMPER AT A CHURCH MEETING. You see the armour of God is given to defend ourselves against attack – so as we look at the 6 pieces of armour – I want us to consider what they are there to oppose – because as Churchill knew by understanding how we are attacked we are better able to defend ourselves.
LIST ITEMS OF ARMOUR
The belt of truth – What is truth - we can see this as true belief or as truth with others. Clearly this is needed to oppose lies. This can be lies about God – who he is what he does or this can be lies that exist in our own hearts – “Thou shalt not lie”. The fact that now most people make up their own decision about God and who he is and what he is like shows how truth has been discarded. “There is no such thing as absolute truth – I’ll believe what I want – you believe what you want.” Falsehood is one of the methods of attack the devil can use, and that is why we need the belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness – what is righteousness – well whenever Paul uses this phrase – he is normally talking about that great act where Christ united us to himself (Ephesians 4:24) – that when God looks upon us – he no longer sees James Tetley – but the Lord Jesus – and as righteous. Clearly the means of attack can be knock us from this place of safety – “Will God really accept you – look at your life – shout at your wife, angry with the kids – out for yourself – call yourself a Christian”. Despondency / a condemning conscience and doubt about our status in Christ are all means of attack and that is why we need the breastplate of righteousness
Feet fitted with readiness from the gospel of peace – readiness with the gospel – the good news of Jesus – taking it out, sharing it with others – Why do we need this because keeping us quiet is one of the weapons of the heavenly realm – Be British, reserved, can’t talk about death or religion, might offend – heaven forbid, must let people find their own way. Don’t learn how to share the gospel – don’t practice it – it’s not necessary – just get on in your own life – be a good person – show some love to others. Friends if you fail like staying quiet – this can be well be a means of attack and that is why we need feet fitted with readiness to take the good news, the gospel to whoever may need it. And of we look onto v19 & v20 this seems to be Paul’s area of attack – and so he asks read v19.
The shield of faith – What is faith – well the writer in Hebrews tell us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Sure and certain – One of the oldest tricks of the Devil is to cast doubt – go all the way back to Genesis in the garden what does the serpent say to Eve “Did God really say “You must not eat from any tree in the garden” – time and time again that phrase can come back and haunt us “Did God really send Jesus for me “Did Jesus really raise from the dead” “Did Jesus really promise to return and wrap up the whole of history.” “Did God really give you the Holy Spirit.” “Did God really answer your prayer, surely it was your imagination.” Doubt is a means of attack – and that is why we need the shield of faith.
The helmet of salvation – What is salvation – well it is being rescued – being saved – being safe from eternity without God – it is being part of God’s family – it is saying Yes to Jesus. One of the devils most successful tricks is persuading people that he does not exist. Persuading people they don’t need to be saved. God will accept me in the end – I’m alright – not a bad person – never murdered anyone give some money to charity, I look after myself. Anything which supports a view that salvation is unnecessary – is a means of attack from the forces of evil – that is why becoming a Christian can be such a battle – there may be someone here listening today who has not yet accepted Jesus into their life – and said LORD forgive me for my sins, I want you to be my captain, my master and my LORD knowing that I can only do this because of your death. Come and enter my life. The devil doesn’t like this. A means of attack is to put anything in the way of us stopping to know him and that is why we need the helmet of salvation.
Finally the sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God – the Word of God – what a powerful weapon this is. Think about all of God’s promises, all of that history where we can learn from the success and failures of his people, all of his commands to lead us into godliness – yet how much time do we spend in this book. Even as I was preparing this I realized I had forgotten that in picking up and reading the Word of God we enter into a spiritual battle – often when I get up in the morning and go to my office – so many things look more tempting – it just needs tidying up a bit, just need to send that letter, just need to do that bit of work on the computer. Yes – it could be mere distraction but also it says that the Word of God is part of our spiritual armour, and therefore the devil would have us rely and trust in the Word of man, the Word of ourselves, the Words of others, the Words of the TV, the words of the radio, anything but the promises and truths that lie in the Words of God – a means of attack is keeping us away from the promised of God and that is why we need this sword of the Spirit
As you reflect upon those 6 weapons that we have where are you most vulnerable to attack.
So we can be attacked by lies and our own ability to lie – but we have the belt of truth
We can be attacked by despondency and a condemning conscience – but we have a breastplate of righteousness.
We can be attacked by a concern to keep quiet to hold on to the gospel to keep the peace, to feel unprepared rather than to take the gospel of peace out to those who need it
We can be attacked by doubts is it all a lie, is what I believe really true – but we must put on the shield of faith
We might not yet know the Lord Jesus – and the realms of evil will want to persuade us that this Christian business is a waste of time – but if ask the Lord Jesus into our lives we can put on the helmet of salvation
And we can live our lives based on our minds, our wisdom, that of others, the words of men & women and the realms of evil have been successful in their deception or we can devote ourselves to regular reading of the Word using the sword of the Spirit
Read v 11 & v13.
But all of this is useless unless we are willing to engage in hand-to hand combat with the prayer of the warrior.
Recently the General Secretary of the Baptist Union has changed. It used to be David Coffey and is now Jonathan Edwards – I thought it would be good if you listened to an excerpt of what he had to say in an interview about prayer.
There’s one phrase that I want to pick up on “We are as strong as our prayer lives and no stronger.” How true that is – and as I read this passage in Ephesians – there seems to be one weapon which overarches all of the armour. That actually the method of putting on the armour is through prayer – If we are not calling out to God for truth, righteousness, readiness with the gospel, salvation, faith and understanding of His Word then where do we expect to get them from. We will not find these things within ourselves, we can’t get them from others, you definitely can’t get them off ebay. These things come as we pray.
And you may say well I pray on some occasions with some requests with some perseverance for some of the people around me – but look at how Paul puts it pray some occasions – no pray on all occasions. Pray with some requests and prayers – no pray with all requests and prayers, keep on praying for a bit or always keep on praying. Pray for a few people – or pray for all people. As I read this passage I realized that unless I recommitted myself to prayer – how could I expect to see growth and change and maturing in my faith and Christian life.
Do you want to see change in your life, do you want to be victorious in the life of faith – do you want to be someone who is ready to take the good news of Jesus to whoever you may meet, do you want to see doubt vanquished and faith in its place, do you want to rest content in the fact that you are justified and righteous with God, then
CALL TO REPSOND TO GOSPEL
