“Are You Ready to Rumble?”
Ephesians 6:10-24
Turn with me this morning to Ephesians 6, as we finish up our study of the book of Ephesians. I hope that our time going through this book together has been a help to you. Just to review what we have see, Paul is writing to Christians in Turkey, saved out of idol worship, and given a new relationship to God. Jews and these Turkish believers both have become one body, the church, and have been given a special relationship to God. Paul reminds us that as Christians, our lives are to be very different from the unsaved. In chapter 4 we saw we are to think rightly and we will act rightly. We look at things the way God does, and our lives will be different. We saw in chapter 5, that our home relationships, our marriages and our parent/child relationships, are to be different. We get in line the way God has designed the home to function. We saw last week in chapter 6 that our work relationships are to be different. God wants us to be the best workers we can be: not for the money, or the praise of the boss, or the good of the company, but for the glory of God. Our godly work habits are to bring glory to God.
Now, having said all that, when we start putting all this into practice, what’s the first thing that happens? Well, the first thing is that those who know you are surprised at the change they see, but the second thing that happens is something goes wrong to test you, to try your faith, to see if you will really choose to live according to this new lifestyle that God has called us to live.
Mark it down, if you are going to live for God, you can count on some opposition, some criticism, some people you thought were your friends who turn against you. You can count on your car breaking down, your spouse getting angry over the least little thing, your kids being frustrated and feeling like they can’t communicate with you. Have you been there before? Can you relate to this?
The sad thing about all this is that often we run from the opposition. We want peace and harmony, and often we want to keep peace at any costs. But that is never a success. France tried it in World War II and the Nazis took over the country. We have to take a stand. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
The final words of Paul to the church at Ephesus, his last written words to them, called them to take a stand. Let’s listen to those words. Don’t try to follow along in your own bibles this morning, but simply listen as I read the words from a paraphrased edition called “The Message.”
READ TEXT from the Message -- Pray
Paul calls us, having learned all we need to do, to prepare for a battle. The principle we saw over and over again in this book applies once again: Right thinking brings Right Action. What we need to believe is seen in verse 12:
1. We Are in a Battle - we sometimes like to allow ourselves to think that once we choose to follow Christ all of our problems will work themselves out. We’ll spend a couple of hours every day praying and reading the Bible, our neighbors will treat us with kindness and respect and ask us all kinds of questions about the bible, our boss will call us in the office to tell us what a good job we are doing and give us a raise, and Ed McMahon will show up to tell us we’ve won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. That’s the delusion and dream that we sometimes allow ourselves to think will be our lot in life. Let’s come back to reality.
Satan hates God. Satan hates us. Satan is out to destroy us and defeat us because we are choosing to follow God. This is not a nice lover’s spat. This is a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred fight club style of fight where only one person remains standing. That’s why several times in these verses Paul tells us to STAND.
Why do we need to think rightly? Because the world tells us lies. I was talking with Bob Zimmer, our regional superintendent this week, and he said he had visited a Presbyterian church near his house. The pastor was preaching on Ephesians 6 that week. He said, “I really don’t like this part of the Bible, but it’s what is in the liturgy for this week, so I guess we need to talk about it. But nobody really believes this stuff about a real devil anymore.” And he went on to just talk about how we should be kind to one another.
Satan laughs with delight when he can deceive people into denying the existence of the demonic realm. He wants to do one of two things: to make us deny it exists, or to make us cower in fear over the demonic.
We are in a battle, spiritually. And we need to recognize it and prepare for battle. We sang a number of battle songs this morning, and it is quite interesting how many hymns about battle there are. Most of the modern choruses are all about loving God and praising Him. But the hymnwriters of a previous generation knew that we were in a battle, and we need to prepare for some heavy blows. What do we need to know about this battle?
A. Satan is a Schemer - Look in verse 11 - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes - we are told to take armor so we can stand against the “schemes” of the devil. The word here is “methodias” or “methods.” Satan has method to his madness.
I love to play the game Chess. However, I enjoy playing without thinking very hard. I like to quickly look at the board and make my next move. But that’s not the way a ranked player plays the game. They sit and think and think and think. They’re not trying to decide the next move, but they’re thinking about the next 10 to 20 to 30 moves to come. Personally, I don’t like to think that hard when it comes to playing chess.
But Satan does when it comes to planning your defeat! He’s a schemer! He’s got an elaborate plan. He’ll entice you and give you a temptation, then he’ll seek to reel you in once you’ve taken his bait. Just like a fisherman on the bass pro shops circuit. He picks just the right lure, sticks it right out in front of you, and wiggles it around until you take the bait. Then he sets the hook and reels you in. You’re done for.
I was flipping through the channels this week and saw a few minutes of a dateline NBC show where they trap online predators seeking to have sex with young girls. They have the camera crew in the house when the man shows up to meet the young girl. Once they’re in the house, out walks the NBC anchor and asks the man what he was trying to do. And suddenly they come up with all kinds of excuses.
You know what - you never have to think up an excuse for doing what is right. If you never give in to Satan’s temptations, you won’t have to worry about how you’re going to get off the line. Satan is a great schemer, laying out serious battle plans to make you fall.
The second thing we need to know is this:
B. Spiritual Forces Band together to Attack us. Look at verse 12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
So often we downplay the existence and influence of the demonic. Even if we believe in a real devil, Satan, we often think about him having a few demons who he sends around the world. Instead just the opposite is true. He has hordes of demons, and they have a rank and order. Satan has a “method” to his schemes, he has organized the demonic forces under him. Now, I don’t begin to know what each category - ruler, principality, powers - all stands for. But if you look in Daniel 10, you will see that these demons even seem to be organized into regions and territories. And note that these demonic forces all work against us. They all are in battle against us. Did you ever notice that when things go wrong it seems that several things hit us at once.
Satan is like a football coach calling plays. But he’s not just assigning one player to cover you, he’s more like the coach who has his whole line blitz and knock down anybody they can on the way to sack the quarterback.
Because Satan lays out these well-thought out traps for us, and because he has a horde of demons trying to fulfill these traps, we need to look out to see what he is up to. He tempts us with things that appeal to us. It looks good, but it’s really harmful. Maybe he puts an attractive, witty, caring co-worker of the other sex in the office. Watch out, you may end up caring more about seeing him or her than you do about your own spouse. Your son or daughter may do things that are defiant, but be careful Satan doesn’t get the best of you by exploding in anger. Watch out for Satan’s attacks.
Did you ever have a time where you weren’t even sure of what you were angry or upset about? You just were touchy and bothered. Let’s remember, we are in a spiritual battle. Ultimately, all of the marital problems you face, all the problems getting along with parents or children, all the workplace issues you face, -- they’re all really spiritual issues. And the sooner we realize that, the quicker we can face up to the attack and get the victory.
Think about road rage. Where does it come from? Driving down the highway, and the road narrows to one lane. You’ve been waiting in a long line of cars, and right about the time you get to enter the construction area, here comes a car buzzing down the lane that ends, trying to cut in front of you. You want to cut him off. How dare he! You want to push him off the road. Some people have literally shot other people over road rage. Where does it come from? It’s NOT about driving! It’s a spiritual issue. It’s all about selfishness. And the sooner we identify it as a heart issue, the sooner we can model good behavior.
Now I don’t think we sit there and wave everybody in front of us. We’ll sit there all day. But what I’m saying is this. Look for a SPIRITUAL issue at the heart of all the relational and material problems we face. Because our battle is ultimately a spiritual one.
The third thing we need to know:
C. We face a foe greater than ourselves. In verse 11 it tells us to put our armor on, and verse 12 says why we suit up - “for” our battle is a spiritual one. Why do we need all this armor? Because Satan and his demons ARE powerful. When God gave him leave, Satan killed all of Jobs kids, flocks, herds, and servants (click) just like that! Satan is a powerful force, and one we cannot take lightly.
There is so much “sensationalism” by TV evangelists who want to bind Satan and rebuke Satan. And when they pray, they talk to Satan - “Satan, you will do this and this . . .” Let’s never fall into that trap. 2 Peter 2 tells us those who rail against demonic forces are foolish. Jude 9 tells us Michael, one of the highest archangels, didn’t even use his power to lash out against Satan.
We do face a foe greater than ourselves. However,
D. Our God is greater than the foe we face. A friend of mine in Ft. Wayne has a t-shirt with the a wolf waiting along the road - a little sheep is walking beside a big lion, and the sheep says, “I’m with him!” That’s our motto as believers. We DON’T have the power on our own to stand against Satan. But with the power of God at work in us, we have the strength for any battle we may face. Proverbs 28:1 says The righteous are as bold as a lion.
In our God, we have all the power we need. In verse 10, it says we are to “be strong.” This is the word we get “dynamite” from. The picture I see is Sylvester Stallone in one of the Rambo movies. Rambo is going in to face the enemy alone, so he starts loading up weapons. He gets his grenades on his belt, tucks his knife in the back, gets the explosive arrow heads, wraps the ammunition over his shoulder. This is the modern day picture of what Paul tells us here in this chapter, as he goes on to describe a Roman soldier putting all his armor on. But the key is this: We have weapons to fight against our enemy, so we ARE powerful.
Do you know that Satan fears you! You are a mighty warrior! The angel of the lord comes to Gideon hiding out in a winepress, and calls him a mighty warrior. He didn’t look like much of a warrior, but in the power of the Lord he went on to fight a mighty battle. We will never know just how much we can accomplish until we get into the battle!
It says in verse 10 we are to be strong, to be empowered, to get this spiritual dynamite from the Lord and His mighty power. That last phrase literally means, the power of his might, or from his power that has shown itself strong. There is NO question that the power of God has been proven time after time after time.
So, because of what we know, right thinking, how should we act? After all, right thinking brings right action.
I. We are in a battle, so,
II. We need to prepare for battle. When we really believe we face a spiritual battle, then we will prepare.
If you wanted to go to Canada, and I told you you needed a birth certificate or passport to get across the border, I you believed it, you would take one along. You wouldn’t drive a couple of hours just to see if you did need one. And spiritually, if we truly believe we are in a battle, we will prepare. We will put on our armor.
Verse 13 - “therefore” - because we know we are in a spiritual battle, therefore, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
The first thing to preparing for battle is this:
A. Count the cost - In Luke 14:31-33, Jesus gives this lesson: Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
What is it going to cost you to follow Christ? Everything! The battle we are in is one which takes everything we have. Fighting the demonic forces we are up against takes everything we have. It’s sort of like a Rocky movie where at the end of the fight the champ is just as exhausted as the fighter he just knocked out. Ephesians 6:13 says “after you have done everything” - we are called to give our all. And the only way we can make it is to hold nothing back.
If you hold on to a few choice sins, a few areas of your life that you don’t let God control, Satan will defeat you in those areas. If you want to play with pornography, Satan will trap you with an adulterous affair. If you want to hold on to alcohol, Satan will trap you into doing something when you are drunk and out of control that will haunt you the rest of your life. The only way to victory is to hold nothing back from God’s control. Count the cost. Second,
B. Arm yourself for battle. It says we take the “full armor” - the word here is “panoply” which implies taking every weapon one might possible need. When we suit up for battle, we’re ready for anything that Satan can throw against us. But because we believe God to be true when he says we are in a spiritual battle, we are ourselves.
If you saw on the news that Muslim terrorists had invaded the USA, and an armed force of Muslim troops were in Detroit and headed our way killing everyone in sight -- if you really believed it to be true, what would you do? Go on with business as usual? If so, you’re one of the biggest fools I know. If you were smart, you would arm yourself so that if you came across the militant army you could defend yourself and those you love.
And if we truly believe we are in a battle, we will arm ourselves spiritually.
God gives us 6 weapons mentioned here - and many sermons have been preached about these weapons, I will simply mention them today:
•truth - Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist - it is described as a belt that keeps everything together. When you tell the truth, you don’t have to worry whether your story matches up or is consistent. All you have to do is tell the truth. Jesus said in John 8:32 - You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
•righteousness - with the breastplate of righteousness in place - living a godly life. It is your breastplate, it covers your heart. Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. The second weapon to fight against Satan is a godly life, a life completely surrendered to God.
•readiness to share the gospel - and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. One of the greatest weapons in our arsenal of fighting against Satan is sharing the gospel. Satan is powerless to stop control one who hears and responds to the gospel.
•faith - In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. It is through faith that we can repel any of the darts or arrows Satan shoots at us. When we are tempted to believe God has forsaken us, we take the shield of faith and believe that God has said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When we are attacked to believe that the world can offer us pleasures and power, by faith we believe like Moses - He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Faith douses all the attacks of Satan.
•salvation - Take the helmet of salvation - this protects our head. This helps us think rightly. Satan will try to tell us we have no reason being in the battle, we are losers, we are powerless, and we are not even Christians. It is the knowledge of our salvation that keeps us going, knowing that God has something far better in store for us.
•word of God - and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is the weapon the spirit of God uses to attack. The other weapons are defensive ones, but the sword is our weapon of attack. When Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness, 3 times he is given the chance to fulfill a desire of his heart, and three times Jesus attacks back using the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
These are our weapons. We could talk for weeks about each one. But this morning I encourage you to take them up and arm yourself.
What is our battle plan? PRAYER! And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
What are we called to do? Pray - at all times, in every way, for everyone! Keep on praying.
Paul requests prayer for himself especially - not for health or liberty, but for the right words to be given him to share the gospel fearlessly. May our biggest passion be that of Paul, to share the gospel with others. After all, that’s why we’re alive here. Not for ourselves. It’s not about you. We live our lives to worship our God and to introduce others into a personal faith relationship with our God.
This morning, in closing, let me ask, do you really believe you are in a spiritual battle? And if so, what are you doing to get the victory in your life spiritually? Let’s pray.
