September 25, 2005
Morning Worship
Text: Ephesians 6:18-20
Subject: Spiritual Warfare – Part 4 in the Spiritual Warfare Series
Title: Practical Applications of Spiritual Empowerment
I’ve been talking to you for the last three weeks about spiritual warfare. Today we conclude the series. I’ve been trying to get you fired up for a battle. You know where your strength comes from. You know who your enemy is. Last week we talked about your spiritual armor and sword. I think we’re ready to rumble. You know I have to tell you that sometimes I think it takes a good fight to wake us up. I don’t know how you are, but with me (as I shared previously) I don’t care much for it when someone picks on my family, or my friends. That goes for my church family too. I see an enemy who is trying to beat up on our church family through sickness, injury, financial struggles, broken relationships, or spiritual apathy and I, for one, am tired of it. I’m ready for a fight.
Now that I have said that I want to lead you into what Paul says about the fight. 1) it’s a spiritual fight – remember, we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood . 2) it’s a continual fight – the battle rages around us every day 3) it is an active fight – we will not gain ground by sitting back and doing nothing. A fight when one of the participants doesn’t do anything isn’t much of a fight.
Muhammad Ali, perhaps one of the best boxers ever, perfected what he called “rope-a-dope”. He would get against the ropes and cover himself up and let his attacker throw punch after punch that never did anything but were them out. Then He would see his opening and move in for the knockout. The enemy of your soul loves to play rope-a-dope with Christians. That is why it is of the utmost importance that we understand exactly the right technique we should use to confront the enemy.
Since we have already learned about all the armor available to us, let’s see how the battle is won.
I. DEFEATING THE ENEMY WITH PRAYER. (18) “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” “Praying always…” Praying is communication with God. We know that prayer is a dialogue. It was never intended to be a one-sided conversation. God wants to speak too. Praying always means to be ready at any given time to go to prayer. The word translated “always” means “to be wholly devoted to all manner of on every occasion. Supplication is simply a prayer request. Be ready at all time to take your needs to the Lord. Then wait for Him to speak. Next Paul says our prayer and supplication is to be “in the Spirit…” Prayer begins in the natural man but is transferred into the spiritual realm. That is true. But when Paul says we are to pray always and pray in the Spirit what does that tell us? 1 Corinthians 14:2, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God…” verse 14 “for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful…” When you have a specific need you take it to the Lord in your natural tongue. What happens when you are called to pray for all the saints? You don’t know every need. You don’t know how to pray for every one. You don’t know what is happening in their lives. But God does. Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered…” You don’t know what to pray? Pray in the Spirit! You don’t understand how to reach God for your loved ones? Let the Spirit intercede for you! The Lord spoke to me the other day about praying for unspoken requests. We are supposed to agree with one another in prayer but when there is an unspoken request the only way we can agree is to pray in the Spirit and let Him intercede for us. Now Paul says that the church (you and me) has a responsibility. First we are to “be watchful.” This word in the original Greek means to “be sleepless”. In order to win a battle against satan we must be careful never to fall into spiritual slumber. There is a danger of that when it looks as though things are really starting to go the way we think they should in the church. “Oh, Man, we really had a good service last week! The worship was awesome; the preaching was great, the Holy Spirit moved like we haven’t seen before. I think we have arrived…” That’s when the danger of spiritual slumber becomes a reality. Now what we have seen happening in this church is, that because of the wonderful activity of the Holy Spirit through healings, gifts, and manifestations, satan has begun to physically attack good brothers and sisters in Christ. We must be watchful for all those situations and be prepared to pray with perseverance and supplication. Perseverance is sincere persistence. Don’t you remember the woman who went to the judge over and over again till he ruled in her favor? It was because she was persistent. She never gave up till she got what she wanted. If we are watchful and persistent, the enemy can never get a foothold. The one who is interceding and fight for us is too powerful. John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station. Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.
II. DEFEATING THE ENEMY WITH OUR WORDS (19) In keeping with what he has just written about praying for all the saints, Paul specifically asks for prayer for himself. He isn’t a special case. He is one of the saints with a need that he wants prayer for. “that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel…” Paul is being specific in his request. How many of you know that when you prayer a general prayer you will get a general answer. God wants us to be specific in our prayer so when it is answered we know that it is from him. Paul wants God’s words to be given him so that he may speak. The word “utterance” means to be given a topic. Paul not only wants the right words, he wants the right topic in order that doors would be opened to him to share the gospel message. Now he understands that this utterance would be from God, but he doesn’t take his own responsibility lightly. “that I may open my mouth…” I wonder if God ever gets weary of giving the right words at the right time for the right circumstance only to have mouths stay closed. Paul counted on the Holy Spirit to give him the opening but he would speak the words. Remember that at this time Paul was under house arrest in Rome and he knew that he was going to stand before the emperor. He needed to be able to speak boldly. Even though his life may have been on the line he was still willing to be a steward of the gospel. Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given. The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon: "Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest. Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest--upon Whose message thou are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully." He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceeding Sunday--and with considerably more energy. M. Cocoris, Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, Moody, 1984, p. 126.
Boldness to speak is one thing, but the boldness to speak the very words that would cause people to hate you and revile you and utter all kinds of evil against you is another. It doesn’t matter. The mystery of the gospel is the only message that carries that kind of responsibility. If Paul was willing to speak it before the throne of Rome, with his life threatened, what are you willing to do? When we are given the right opportunity, the right words, and the right circumstances, and then we do our part, don’t you know that the enemy cringes? He cannot stand against the gospel of Jesus Christ.
III. DEFEATING THE ENEMY WITH YOUR ACTIONS. (20) “for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” These are the ABC’s of your Christians walk.
A) Ambassador of Jesus Christ. An ambassador for Christ is different than the world’s ambassadors. Normally ambassadors have diplomatic immunity. They can do or say anything they want without fear of repercussions from the host government. Ambassadors for Christ no longer have that luxury. We are in the world, but this is not our home. We represent Jesus. The words we speak we speak in His authority and power.
B) Believe what you say. Paul mentions speaking boldly again. One of the things that make ambassadors good at what they do is their ability to say the right things at the appropriate times. In the world of politics this may involve stretching the truth or avoiding it altogether. They may or may not have great faith in their message, but they do know how to adequately represent their government for its good. However we have a message that no earthly government can offer. Our message of hope is for eternal life. Notice how much easier it becomes to speak a message when you can place total faith in it? Only in believing the word will you be able to speak it boldly.
C) Convinced of your responsibility. The last part of verse 20 tells us that Paul recognized his responsibility on the natural plane. “as I ought to speak…” We can pray all we want for power, divine appointments, boldness, or words, but if we are not willing to do our part when the Lord gives us those things what is the point? This fact holds true in every aspect of our spiritual walk. When you receive something in the Spirit you have to respond in the flesh. When you are baptized in the spirit it is your vocal chords, mouth and tongue that have to speak the utterance given. When you receive a word of knowledge or wisdom or a message in tongues or interpretation or prophecy or discerning of spirits or miracles or healing, you have to step out in the flesh to use those gifts. That is where much misunderstanding comes. People think that if God wants you to do something He will just make it happen. We both know that’s not the way it works. Remember that thing called free will? If you want to pray in the Spirit open your mouth. If you feel compelled to speak a message in tongues, open your mouth. If you have the interpretation, speak up. You get the point? Paul prayed for boldness and he knew that when the time came he would speak in boldness. Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ’71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.
Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
Source Unknown.
As we finish this series on spiritual warfare I want you to be sure to understand what is taking place. There is a spiritual battle that rages, but it is not confined to the spirit realm. As the enemy fights in the spirit it always spills over into the natural. You see the problems we face in the natural are spiritual in nature. Even though sometimes our wounds are self - inflicted, they ultimately begin in the spirit realm.
We know our enemy. We know that we have God’s power in us. He has given spiritual armor for protection and to wage war.
When we pray God acts and we enter into the fight. He will give us words to speak. Now it is up to us to respond in the flesh to the spiritual battle. We must get to the point where we recognize when it is the Spirit of God speaking to us and then respond. That requires a step of faith. Speak out the words that the Lord is placing in your mind and heart. He’s not going to force them out of you. Are you a servant of Christ? Then serve Him. Romans 5:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
Are you ready to win the spiritual battle for the lives of your friends and family? Remember your ABC’s. You’re Christ’s ambassador. Believe what you say. Be convinced of your responsibility.
The battle rages but we have already been guaranteed victory.
