[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"Imitating the Son - Walking Strong, Standing Firm"

Message by Kurt Jones from Ephesians 6:10-13 in the series: Discovering Your Destiny! (The Majesty and Mystery of God's Will)

Glen's email of the week:

Dear soldiers,

I just looked up the word soldier! While there are several definitions this is the one that caught my attention - "An active, loyal and militant follower." Do you qualify? I can almost hear someone say, "How can I know Glen?" I will defer to Paul words in 2 Tim. 2:3, "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." Did you catch the implication? You can't please the One who enlisted you as soldier if you aren't involved in active service. Let me also remind you that there is a big difference between active service and activity. Active service involves extending the kingdom of God by being militant. The Christian call is a call to war. Dr. Stuart Holden declared a great Bible fact when he said, "The gospel contains, not only a promise of bliss, but a proclamation of battle." I read this during my quiet time this morning, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Make no mistake about it friends, entertain no false conceptions brothers and sisters - we are called to a campaign not a holiday. The early Christians who turned the world upside down (really right side up) for Christ refused to be entangled in the affairs of everyday life. There is no such thing as a day off. The enemy of your soul doesn't take a day off and if you do well you will be a victim instead of a victor.

You have probably guessed by now that we will start this Sunday on perhaps the most familiar passage in the Bible that deals with spiritual warfare. Notice the emphasis on spiritual! "For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:12

Did you remember that you were in a battle this morning? Did you put your armor on when you woke up? Did you keep it on all day? Our Commander wants us to do mighty exploits in His name and for His glory. The victory doesn't go to the swift or the strong but to those who put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lust.

Have a triumphant week! Join us this Friday night for a barbecue and game night. You bring food and we will provide drinks!

Because the battle belongs to Lord,
Glen

P.S. It was a joy seeing so many of you Sunday and the baptisms thrilled my heart!

Sermon notes

A unified church, a godly life, a well ordered family characterized by respect and support, work relations with deep integrity and trust... Doesn't get much better than this does it? You think it is going to easy???? No Way!

Dr. Stuart Holden said, "The gospel contains, not only a promise of bliss, but a proclamation of battle." Paul moves away from the "IDEAL" to the REAL!

We say that God has "blessed" us when we have a house and spouse, money in the bank and a car in the garage, our bodies are healthy and our retirement/job secure. When any of these are threatened, we say we are "under attack".

There is a spiritual lethargy due to the popularity of Christianity, especially in the West. We rejoice in "victories" where there are no battles, and in a peace that is merely the absence of conflict. (Repeat)

Better to say that a spiritual "attack" is anything that threatens my relationship with God, my love for the Savior, my effectiveness in serving the Lord, my witness to the lost world... anything that would take away from the building of God's kingdom!!

The reality is that we are involved in a cosmic struggle, a spiritual battle, a warfare for the souls of men and women... good vs. evil, us vs. them, the good guys vs. the bad guys.

In God's strength, we can not only stand against, but have victory in Spiritual Warfare. We must wake up to the reality of the spiritual battle around us and join the fight! This is a call to battle!

(First) Mighty Fortress (Second) Clip from Henry V - Shakespeare "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day"

You ARE able to stand strong! This is a message of hope!

There are some who are being spiritually defeated every day. There are those here today who are tired of the fight... There are those who are clueless to the spiritual struggle around us... unwitting dupes of the enemy who are ineffective Christians at best, tools for satans use at worst...

There are those who MAKE things happen, there are those who WATCH things happen, and there are those who say "What Happened?"

In Spiritual warfare, we must have urgency, sound strategy, awareness of the enemy, and an expectation of victory.

1. We must depend on God for Spiritual Strength.

Verse 10: Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.

Why finally? This is a summary of the entire book. Paul finishing out his great theme of our identity in Christ being lived out in day to day reality.
Be strong - passive form of verb, shows an empowering done TO Christians, not something they do themselves.
"Strength of His might" are the exact same words translated in 1:19
Eph 1:19-20 - "...the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead."
In that death, burial and resurrection the battle was won.
"In the ultimate sense, the churches battles with Satan are already won, In his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus destroyed Satan and his power of sin and death. Rom 5:18-21; 1 Cor 15:56,7; Heb 2:14
The power of God is available to us in our battle against evil
When Satan attacks it is foolish for us to try to take him on alone.
You can TRY to stand on your own... what do you have to trust in?
"...that you may be ABLE..."
Ps 18:1-3 "I love Thee, O LORD ,my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies."
1 John 4:4 "...greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."
This is a call to battle!

Translation: We have God's great power available to us, but what is our part? How do we do it? What is our strategy????

2. We must be prepared for Spiritual Battle

Verse 11 "Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

Most of us are accustomed to the metaphor of armor of God. We understand the idea of soldiers or police with gear to protect them.... What we lack is a sense of the need for protection, which is related to the understanding of spiritual forces.

"Put on" enduo - "Be clothed in..." carries the idea of permanence... once and for all. Not put on and taken off occasionally. Not like a uniform you put on for the game and then remove....
Recall the command of 4:24 - to put on the new self...
The imperatives throughout this section are in the plural. Paul's instructions are for the church collectively to put on the armor of God and stand firm.
"Stand firm" - military sense dad the idea of holding a critical position while under attack.
The "schemes" - methods of the devil
Q: So what are the Devil's schemes? Look at Satan's names to give you an idea of his tactics.
- Satan means "adversary" (1 Peter 5:8)
- He is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10)
- Lucifer means "light bearer" (Is. 42:12)
- He is called the dragon (Rev. 12:7)
- Devil means "slanderer" 1 Peter 5:8
- He is called a murderer and liar (Jn. 8:44)
- He is a deceiver (Rev. 20:10)
- Satan is the prince of this world (Jn 12:31)
- He is the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2)
- He is called destroyer (Rev. 9:11 - Hebrew and greek)
- He is the tempter (Matt. 4:3)
- He is the evil one (Matt. 13:38)
- He is the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4)
Chinese General Sun Tsu in The Art of War said "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away , we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him... If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him . Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."
There are no cease-fires, no truces, no "Time-outs"... it is full on battle, 24/7/365. We need to stand firm.
If you are a Christian you are a target for Satan's attacks!
Deer with target on chest... "Bummer of a birthmark Hal."
2 Cor. 2:11 - regarding forgiveness - "...in order that no advantage taken of us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
C.S. Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters, claims that there are two equal and opposite errors into which we can fall about Satan and demons. "One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them"(p.3)
1 Peter 5:8,9 "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world."
God has freed us from sin, Satan will try to recapture us.
God has made us alive in Christ, Satan will try to snuff out spiritual life.
God has torn down dividing walls of race, culture, economics, gender, Satan will try to build up walls.
God has made us one is Christ, Satan will try to divide and conqueor.
God has given us a new self created in holiness and righteousness, Satan will try to corrupt it in sin and unrighteousness

Translation - But the Devil is not alone in this battle....

3. We are in a struggle against a Spiritual Enemy.

Verse 12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

"Pale" - struggle = hand to hand combat, especially used of wrestling

Our usual enemies - sword and shield, flesh and blood - this is how we usually think of it...

"Flesh and blood" = human beings

Our greatest enemy is not the world we CAN see, but the world we CANNOT see.

2 Cor 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ"

Many of the Ephesians had been involved in the occult, bringing their magic books to be burned when they got saved. (Acts 19:18-20)

Rev. 2:4 - The Ephesian church had burned their books of magic, turning away from evil... but they had lost their first love....

A. Powerful Strata and ranking of evil demons
Each a level of authority or category?

"Ruler" = some higher order of demonic soldier (Col. 2:15 = "authority")
"Powers" = some other rank (1 Peter 3:22)
"World forces..." possibly those demons infiltrating the social, cultural, and political structures of the world
"Spiritual Forces..." perhaps those demons focused on the most perverse and wicked of practices - occult, Satan worship, etc.

NOT explaining the details of the demonic army, but trying to convery the idea or POWER, ORGANIZATION, and SOPHISTICATION. The point is that they are highly organized and structured for warfare! Are WE?

B. Wicked "world forces of this DARKNESS" "spiritual forces of WICKENESS in the heavenly places"

C. Cunning

"Open persecution and open temptations to sin are not Satan's only, or even his most common weapons; he prefers to seduce us into compromise and deceive us into error." Stott p. 265 2 Cor. 11:14 ...Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Intimidation and Insinuation - Bully and Beguiler - Force and Fraud

Paul is not trying to satisfy our curiosity about demons, but to warn us about their hostility and teach us how to overcome! The New Testament focuses on the devil and demons for only two purposes: to say evil and death are defeated, and to warn us not to be beguiled by evil. "Christians often make the error of giving the devil way more than his due. The devil in more interesting to them than God, and gets more attention. This is a twisted kind of idolatry and the very thing evil wants. If you are fascinated by evil, you will be enticed by evil." Snodgrass p. 357

We must be aware of the enemy. Next week we will look at six spiritual resources God has provided for us to ward off the attacks of the evil army.

Translation - Gee, I wasn't worried when I came in today.... Now I am! - It's OK to be worried, but not fearful or anxious!

4. We can trust God for Spiritual Victory!

Verse 13 "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

"Take up" in contrast to "put on" is

"Stand firm" means a long time commitment to what is right. No flash in the pan!

Every day since the Fall of mankind has been evil. (5:16)

James gives the only formula for deliverance from demons or the Devil "Resist the Devil and he will flee." James 4:7

2 Tim. 2:3, "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

Martin Luther at the Deit of Worms, accused of heresy and condemned for declaring that people are saved by faith in Christ alone.

Conclusion 1. There are immaterial realities beyond our natural world, and beyond our senses. 2. The is only one realm of the material and immaterial, in which God and the devil are both present and involved in the lives of people. 3. God is the only real and legitmate Lord, and evil and the demonic are illegitimate usurpers. 4. Evil is a reality, even a threat, but there is no reason for alarm.

If you aren't in the battle then:

You are dead

You are so ineffective you don't deserve any of the enemies attention

You are actually accomplishing the work for the enemy

We must depend on God for Spiritual Strength Urgency for God to come through

We must be prepared for Spiritual Battle Sound strategy? Are your defenses up? Do you know your weak spots? HE does!

We are in a struggle against a Spiritual Enemy. Do you know who your enemy is? He knows you!

We can trust God for Spiritual Victory! Are you walking with God in an expectation of victory?

In Spiritual warfare, we must have urgency, sound strategy, awareness of the enemy, and an expectation of victory.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]