Father, we're so grateful for that truth.
That while our sins may be many,
! Your grace is abundant.
!
For Cliff, for him sharing the word with us this morning,
I pray that you would go before him and bless him,
bless the ministry of the word as he presents it,
and I pray that our hearts would be receptive,
that your Holy Spirit would do its work in us,
and help us not just to be hearers of the word,
but to be doers of the word.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, good morning.
It is great to be with you already.
In Sunday school, it was great to be able to share
a little bit about the ministry that God's called us to in England,
and we do have, let me just mention,
our prayer cards and some stickers on our table
in the back of the foyer there,
if you would like to pick one up.
That would be great.
If I could encourage you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6.
Ephesians chapter 6.
And I don't know if you normally do this or not,
but we're going to read the scripture together.
We're going to stand together.
If there's a Bible in front of you,
and you aren't sure where Ephesians is,
I think it's on page 979 in the Bible.
But if we'll stand together as I read
from Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand firm.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and as shoes for your feet,
having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one,
and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God,
praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance,
making supplication for all the saints,
and also for me,
that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly,
to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
that I may declare it boldly,
as I ought to speak.
Please have a seat.
Well, I probably don't need to remind you of this,
but if you haven't heard,
our country is involved in a war,
a war with Iran.
You probably have seen that on the television,
in the news.
Maybe you've felt that as you went to the gas pump,
although it's starting to come back down again.
Reminders of the fact that there's a war happening.
But if you're honest,
you probably don't think about it that much.
There aren't really that many visual and auditory reminders
I'm imagining here in Columbus.
I know when I talk to my mother-in-law up in Akron,
it's like, you know,
yeah, I see it on the TV,
but that's pretty much about it.
Where we live in the UK, in Swindon,
we live just below a Air Force base,
a U.S. Air Force base called Fairford,
and it's a place where the planes fly in and out of
going to the Middle East to the war.
So we see bombers and things flying over.
There's auditory reminders.
You can hear the planes before you see them.
You look up in the sky,
and they fly right over our house
as they head out and back.
Every single day for the past couple months,
you see the planes,
and you're reminded there's a war happening.
However, it still feels a little bit removed from us.
It's not like being on the ground in Iran.
We have some colleague who work in Kiev in Ukraine,
and they speak about having to hide in the hallways
and things as bombs are going off around them
and buildings are being destroyed.
It'd be a lot different living in the war zone,
wouldn't it?
You'd probably be reminded in a different way
about the war that's happening around you.
And as we think about this reality
of what we read in Ephesians 6,
we're reminded that there is a war that's happening.
It's happening every single day.
It's a war that is happening here in Columbus,
here this morning at Maranatha Baptist Church.
It's a war that maybe we forget about
as we go about our daily life.
Because this war doesn't get the same kind of news coverage
as the war in Iran.
It doesn't get any kind of press coverage.
And we can't see it,
even though we can see some of the effects
of this war around us.
And that's what Paul is reminding the Ephesians
as he closes his letter
that he has written to the church there in Ephesus.
He wants to remind them of this reality of spiritual war
that they are involved in.
Now we're jumping right into the end of Ephesians.
And so I know there's a lot that happens before in Ephesians.
And I'm not going to share everything,
but just a very quick overview
that leads us up to this point.
Because God has this glorious picture
that Paul writes about,
this plan for his people,
the church in his world.
God's plan for God's people in God's world.
In chapter 1 of Ephesians,
we are told that God has this plan
to unite all things together
in heaven and on earth in Christ.
In chapter 2,
we begin to see how that plan is being realized
as people are brought into a relationship with God.
He brings them from spiritual death
to spiritual life.
He makes them alive by grace through faith in Christ.
It's an amazing reality.
And we are made new creations in Christ.
Individually.
But that's not all that chapter 2 says.
It also says that the Jews and the Gentiles
are brought together
into one new body,
one new humanity.
God's creating a new humanity
that we know of as the church.
And if you're here as a believer this morning,
you're a part of that body.
You're a part of that church.
And in chapter 3,
he goes on to tell us
that God has this,
he's displaying his manifold wisdom
to the entire cosmos
in the church.
I wonder if you feel like that this morning
as you sit here.
This is a display of God's manifold wisdom.
Right here.
You look around the church.
Isn't that a wonderful thing?
And then in chapters 4 through 6,
he begins to show us
what that picture looks like
as we live out our lives
as Christians.
Right?
As we walk out our faith.
Right?
As we walk in love.
As we walk in wisdom,
in light,
in unity,
in purity,
in wisdom.
And then as he closes his letter,
he talks about spiritual warfare.
And in one sense,
it might feel like he's kind of
taking a left turn,
but in another sense,
this is so applicable
to what he's been saying
for the whole letter.
Because I don't know about you,
but sometimes it can feel
really difficult in church.
I don't know.
Maybe Maranatha is different.
But sometimes relationships
can be difficult, right?
Sometimes it can be hard
to live out our faith
and we struggle.
Why is it so hard?
Why is it so hard
to live out the picture
that Paul presents here
in the book of Ephesians?
Well, because we're under attack.
There's a battle that's raging.
And we are involved.
We are at war.
An unseen spiritual battle
that's taking place.
And we need to be equipped
for the battle.
So there are three things
that we're going to think about
from Ephesians 6 here.
The first is
that we must prepare
for the spiritual battle.
We must prepare
for the spiritual battle.
We see that in verses 10 through 12.
Well, how is it that we're going
to prepare for the battle?
Well, first,
it requires God's strength.
See that in verse 10.
Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength
of His might.
Do you notice
the strength terms there?
Strong and strength
and might.
Three terms there.
He's building upon.
He's trying to remind them.
Finally,
as we are engaged
in this battle,
the very first thing
we need to understand
is that we need God's strength.
Why does He need
to remind them of that?
Well, because we are often prone
to fight in our own strength,
aren't we?
Why?
I've got this.
I'm okay.
This isn't going
to be a problem.
No, He says,
you are not strong enough
in and of yourself.
But there is a strength
that is available to you
that will make you
strong enough for the battle.
It's the strength
that comes from God.
It's being strong
in the strength
of His might.
It's a passive verb there
when it says be strong.
It could be translated
to be made strong
or to be strengthened.
This is something God does
in and through us
by His Spirit.
You see,
this battle
that we're engaged in,
we're going to see
is supernatural
and so it requires
supernatural strength.
And that's why I think
Paul prays the way he does
in the book of Ephesians.
In chapter 1,
verses 19 and 20,
Paul prays
that they would know
the immeasurable greatness
of His power
towards us who believe.
And then he goes on
to tell us
what that power is like.
What is that power like?
It's the power
that raised Jesus
from the dead.
I mean,
that's some power.
And he says,
that's available to us.
And so he prays
that they would know
that power.
Why?
Because they're going
to be engaged
in this battle
and they need God's strength.
In chapter 3,
again,
when he prays,
he prays that God
would grant them
to be strengthened
with power
through His Spirit
in their inner being.
They're going to need
that strengthening
in order to live out
what he's going to talk about
in chapters 4, 5, and 6.
This is going
to be necessary.
We need Christ's strength
for this battle.
But not only do we need
His strength,
we need His armor.
And that's why he goes on
to say,
put on the whole armor
of God
that you may be able
to stand against
the schemes of the devil.
The whole armor of God.
Whose armor is it?
God's armor.
He provides the armor
to us.
And we are to put on
the whole armor,
not just parts of it.
You know,
this is probably
a familiar passage
to many of you.
You've grown up in church.
You Sunday school.
It's like,
oh yeah,
I know there's
the six pieces of armor,
right?
And you have the helmet
and the sword
and the shield.
And it doesn't do
so much good
just to know about it,
right?
Paul doesn't say,
know about the armor.
He says,
put on the armor,
right?
So it doesn't know good
if it's just kind of
sitting over there
and I know it's there
and it's great.
No, I need to be,
right?
People who go
onto the front line,
they're like,
well, I know I have
some equipment
that's back in the tent,
but I'll just kind of
leave it there.
No, they're going
to put it on.
Why?
So they're prepared
for the battle.
God has given us
this armor
so that we can be
engaged in this battle.
It's a metaphor
that he's using.
Again,
he's not talking about
physically putting on
pieces of armor.
When Josiah was younger,
there was a VBS
of the church
that I grew up in.
They were doing
about spiritual warfare
and we were the missionaries
for the week
and so we had to produce
these videos
and so we dressed him
all up,
you know,
in the little plastic,
you know,
armor that you can get.
That's not what
we're talking about.
It's a metaphor,
right?
Putting on,
and Paul uses
a different metaphor
in Colossians,
does he?
In Colossians 3,
put on the new self,
the new man.
It's synonymous,
right?
That's what he's
talking about here.
Being prepared
for the battle
means we need
his armor.
But we also need
to know our enemy,
don't we?
When you're fighting
in a battle,
you need to know
who the enemy is
and so he wants us
to know who the real
enemy is in the next verse.
For we do not wrestle,
he tells us who the enemy
is not,
we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood.
So the enemy
is not other people.
The enemy
is not other religions.
The enemy
is not other churches.
The enemy
is not people
who don't know Jesus.
No.
The enemy
is not human.
Well,
who is the enemy then?
Well,
the enemy
is the rulers,
authorities,
cosmic powers
over this present
darkness,
the spiritual forces
of evil
that are in
the heavenly places.
This is where
the real battle
is fought.
It's a cosmic reality
of spiritual forces,
the devil
and those who
are aligned with him
who are fighting
against God
and his people,
seeking to disrupt
God's kingdom.
And they're fighting
with all of their strength.
Satan knows
his time is short.
That's what Revelation 12 says.
He knows
his time is short.
And so one of Satan's
strategies in this battle
is to get us
focused on the wrong enemy.
We start fighting
each other
rather than fighting
the real enemy,
Satan,
rather than taking
our stand against him
in the armor of God.
So the battle
is against the devil
and his spiritual forces.
So if we need
to know our enemy,
then it's important
for us to make
sure that we
understand him well.
Right?
You could just imagine
maybe a path
and having ditches
on either side.
Right?
There's a way
in which we should
understand who our enemy is,
but there are some ditches
we could fall into
if we aren't careful.
Two of the ditches
on either side,
we could underestimate
our enemy
or we could
overestimate our enemy.
I don't know
which maybe you might
have more of an issue with.
Different people
will have an issue
with one or the other
typically.
For many people,
they will underestimate
the devil.
If you underestimate
the devil,
you won't worry
about putting on
the armor.
What do you need it for?
He's not that strong.
We don't need to
really worry about him.
Martin Lloyd-Jones,
I think there will be
a quote that comes up,
says,
I am certain that
one of the main causes
of the ill state
of the church today
is the fact that
the devil is being
forgotten.
That was written
over 50 years ago.
That's still true today.
The reality is
that Satan is alive
and active.
He is limited.
Okay?
But we can't
underestimate him.
He is attacking us.
He's like,
we're told in 1 Peter,
or 1 Peter,
that he is like a lion
who is seeking
someone to devour.
Does that sound like
a friendly enemy?
Does that sound like
somebody we don't need
to be worried about?
I mean,
I don't want to be
in a cage with a lion.
I'm going to be
his lunch.
And so we don't want
to underestimate him
on the one hand,
but on the other hand,
we don't want to
overestimate him.
And sometimes people
do that.
Oh, you know,
we need to be afraid of him.
Oh, he's got so much power.
He's so much more powerful
and all of this stuff
that's happening in the world
and, you know,
witchcraft and new age stuff
and, oh, it's,
you know,
and they're afraid.
Well, if we're afraid,
what are we going to do?
We're going to run
the other way,
aren't we?
Is that what Paul says?
He says,
take your stand.
Be strong
in the strength
of his might
and put on the full armor
of God
so he can stand
against the schemes
of the devil.
And listen,
we don't have to be afraid
of our enemy
because he's already defeated.
That's the good news
of the Bible.
Yeah?
The good news of Christianity
is Jesus already defeated
our enemy.
It's already done.
The battle has been won
at the cross
and through his resurrection.
Jesus disarmed,
we're told in Colossians
chapter 2,
verse 15,
he disarmed the rulers
and authorities
and put them to open shame
by triumphing over them
in Jesus.
That's what's happened.
Now,
just because the battle
has been won
doesn't mean that there
still aren't battles
taking place.
It's kind of like
World War II.
Right?
World War II
pretty much was won
on D-Day,
June 6th,
1944.
But the reality is
that the war
didn't stop
on June 5th,
did it?
It continued
for almost a whole
another year
before VE Day,
May of the next year.
And some of the fiercest
fighting was in that
last year.
Some of the worst
casualties happened
in that last year.
It's similar.
The battle's been won,
but there's still
a battle taking place.
The war has been won,
but the battle's
still taking place.
But we should be
encouraged.
Jesus has won.
And if you know Him,
you're on the winning side.
And you have everything
necessary for the battle.
So we need to prepare
for this spiritual battle.
Secondly,
we must stand firm
in God's armor.
So we're to put on
the armor of God
and next He says
that we're to stand firm.
Verse 13,
therefore,
take up the whole armor
of God,
why that you may be
able to withstand
in the evil day
and having done all
to stand firm,
stand therefore.
So He had these
strength terms
in verse 10.
Now He has stand terms,
right?
Take your stand,
stand firm,
stand therefore.
Why?
Well,
because we need to take
our defensive position
against the enemy.
It doesn't say
attack the devil,
does it?
It says take your stand.
It's primarily defensive
and that's why
when we look at
the armor,
it's primarily
defensive as well.
we're to hold
ground that Jesus
has already won.
He won that ground.
We're not to let
the devil take back
any of that ground
or try to.
He can't ultimately
do that
because He's already won.
Jesus has already won.
But He's going to fight
with everything He has
to disrupt
God's work
in this world,
in churches,
in families,
in communities.
When is He supposed to,
or when are we supposed
to take our stand?
It says in the evil day.
Do we live in the evil day?
What do you think?
Yes?
No?
I don't know.
As I look around,
it feels like that's the reality.
We live in the evil day
and we're told
in the evil day
to take our stand.
Not in peacetime.
You don't need to take
your stand in peacetime.
We are at war
and we need to be ready
for taking our stand.
Paul is trying
to emphasize
a sense of urgency here
as he piles up
these standing words.
He wants us
to be ready
with the armor of God.
And then he goes on
to share the pieces
of the armor,
which again,
we're familiar with.
I'm not going to spend
a lot of time
talking about each
of the pieces of armor,
but before we get
to each of the pieces of armor,
some people think,
you know,
Paul,
he talks about being
in chains, right?
An ambassador in chains
at the end of the passage,
right?
In prison,
and maybe he's chained
to a guard
and he's looking at his armor
and that's what,
and that might be the case.
I don't know.
I'm not Paul.
But I also wonder
if he didn't have
the book of Isaiah in mind
because in Isaiah,
there is a picture
of a divine warrior.
It's talking about Jesus,
the Messiah,
who fights in God's armor.
And it uses even similar terms,
breastplate and helmet
and belt.
I wonder if he had that in mind
as he's writing these words
because remember,
it is the armor of God,
God's armor
that's given to us
to fight in this battle.
He's won that battle
and now that armor
is available to us as well
as he fights for
and saves his people
we see in Isaiah
and we're told
to take up that same armor.
So the first piece
is the belt of truth.
The belt of truth.
In each of these pieces,
there's a word associated
with this one is truth.
When we think about truth,
right,
we think of objective truth.
The Bible is God's objective truth.
It's his spoken word to us.
This is true.
We can trust it.
We can stand upon it.
God is faithful to his word.
And that's really important.
In a culture,
I live in a culture
where God's word
is not valued.
It's not seen
as important.
And unfortunately,
sometimes in churches,
that is the case.
No,
we need to make sure
that we stand on the truth.
But not just know the truth.
I mean,
that's important.
We're called to live it out,
right?
So there's a reality
of the objective truth,
but the subjective reality
of living out that truth
as we are truthful,
reliable,
faithful people,
as the truth works its way
in and through
our lives.
Now,
Satan seeks to undermine
God's truth,
doesn't he?
He wants to distort God's word.
He wants us to turn away
from God's word.
In John chapter 8,
verse 44,
it says that this is a description
of Satan.
He was a murderer
from the beginning.
He does not stand
in the truth.
Why?
Because there is no truth
in him.
When he lies,
he speaks out of his own character
for he's a liar
and the father of lies.
So Satan is the father of lies.
He has no truth,
but God is the God of truth.
And Satan tries to fight
against God's truth
with his lies.
He's been doing this
ever since the beginning
of the Bible.
Just read your Bible,
right?
The very beginning,
he lies to Adam and Eve,
doesn't he?
The serpent comes
into the garden of Eden,
and what does he say?
Did God actually say
that you can't eat
of any of the trees
in the garden?
Did he actually say that?
And what did Eve
and Adam do?
They believed the lie.
Now let's not be too hard
on them because
every single person
has believed the lie
as well.
Satan is fighting
against God's truth
with his lies.
We need to have
the belt of truth on.
God's objective word,
Jesus is the truth,
the way,
the truth,
and the life.
We need to have
that belt fastened
around us
so that we can
battle against
the lies of the enemy.
Second piece of armor
is the breastplate
of righteousness.
Again,
when we think
of righteousness,
we might be reminded
of the righteousness
of Jesus,
his perfect
sanctifying,
his perfect
justifying righteousness
that we experience
when we trust in Jesus.
Not only are your sins
forgiven,
and that's a wonderful thing,
when you trust in Jesus,
your slate is wiped clean.
All of your sin
has been dealt with
on the cross.
Is that good news?
Do you know that
that's not the end
of the story though?
It's not like your bank,
you know,
balance goes from
negative to zero.
It goes infinite.
Why?
Because we are credited
with the righteousness
of Jesus.
It's imputed,
given to us.
We stand in
his righteousness.
That's a wonderful truth
so we can put on
the breastplate of righteousness
because we stand
in the righteousness
of Jesus.
And that then leads
to sanctifying righteousness.
So then again,
we are people
who should be
righteous in our character
and our conduct
and the way that we live.
We should be known
as righteous people.
Not perfect people,
but people who are
transformed by God's Spirit.
And that affects
the way we live
and that should be noticed.
We need to put on
that breastplate
of righteousness.
Why?
Well, because Satan
wants to accuse us.
Revelation chapter 12,
verse 10.
Satan is the accuser
of the brothers.
He accuses them
day and night
before God.
Did I say
he's a relentless enemy?
What is he doing?
Accusing us
day and night
before God.
There he is.
You know about that cliff?
I mean,
do you see what he did?
Oh,
do you hear what he said?
Oh,
don't you remember?
And he's there
accusing
us before the Father.
But you know
what the good news is?
Not only is there
an accuser,
the Bible says
there's an advocate.
1 John,
1 John chapter 2,
verse 1.
We have an advocate
with the Father.
Who is the advocate?
So Satan is our adversary,
the one who is attacking us.
Who's our advocate?
It's Jesus Christ.
And do you notice
what it says about him?
He's the righteous.
Jesus is the righteous one.
And we stand
in his righteousness
as we are
in this battle.
We can stand
in the righteousness
of Jesus
because our salvation
is not dependent
on what we have done
but what Jesus has done.
That is foundational
to Christianity.
If we get that wrong,
then we get
Christianity wrong.
It's not about
being a good person.
So many people in England
think that that's
what Christianity
is all about.
Be a good person.
No.
It's about what
Jesus has done
because all of us
are not good people.
All of us are sinners
in need of salvation.
And God in his love
sent his son
who came to this earth
and lived a perfect life.
The only human being
ever to do that.
And he went to the cross
and he paid
the penalty
for our sin.
He was buried
and he rose again
conquering Satan,
conquering death,
conquering sin.
He stands
as our victor,
our savior
and we trust in him
and we stand
in his righteousness.
A third piece
is the shoes
of readiness
from the gospel
of peace.
The gospel
prepares us
for the battle.
It gives us
stability and security.
stability and security
comes from
the truths
of the gospel.
It is the gospel
of peace.
So in Romans 5.1
we're reminded
that we've been
justified by faith
and as a result
of that
we now have
peace
with God
through Jesus.
It's the gospel
good news
that says
we have peace
with God.
Again,
not because of
what we've done
but because of Jesus.
That's a beautiful thing.
That's what he's talking
about in chapter 2
when he says
that people have been
made alive
and they've now
been saved
by grace
through faith
in Jesus.
And one of the results
of that is we have peace.
We are no longer
at war with God.
We were before
but now we aren't.
And he enlists us
to be a part
of his army.
What a joy it is
to serve
King Jesus.
But not only
do we have peace
vertically
we have peace
horizontally.
That's what chapter 2
also tells us.
We've been brought
together
into one new humanity.
We have brothers
and sisters
in Christ.
We're a part
of one family.
God's family
as his children.
And so
there's this reality
of the gospel of peace
but even as we think
about the shoes
of the gospel of peace
I'm reminded
of the reality
of sharing
that good news.
Right?
So not only do we stand
in that good news
and the truths
of the gospel
that we're justified
and we have peace
with God
but we have that message
to share with people.
It's one of the
privileges we have
as Christians.
We get to share
the good news
of Jesus
with people.
It's wonderful.
It's difficult.
Satan fights against us
at every step
as we're seeking
to do that.
He's trying to distort
the truth that we share
and blind people
Paul says
in 2 Corinthians.
But God is stronger
than that.
And so
as I think about the shoes
I'm reminded
of Romans 10 15
where Paul quotes
from Isaiah
chapter 52
verse 7
how beautiful
are the feet
of those
who preach
the good news.
How are people
going to hear?
Well some people
need to be sent
and those sent people
get to preach
the good news
and their feet
are beautiful.
We need to have
those shoes
on our feet
as we take
the good news
of Jesus
to the world.
Satan doesn't want us
to live as God's
reconciled people
and he doesn't
want us to take
the gospel
to those
who are trapped
in darkness
and yet it's part
of the battle
we're engaging.
The fourth
piece of armor
as we continue
to move on
is the shield
of faith.
As we think
of faith
think of trusting God.
I think it's one
of the easiest ways
to describe faith
is trusting in God.
We trust in him.
He is faithful.
We have confidence
about who he is
about what he says.
We have confidence
in the promises
that he has made
in his word.
We can stand firm
in those realities
and as we trust
in God
we're able
to deflect
the attacks
of the enemy.
He seeks
to attack
your faith
if you're a Christian.
I'm sure
if you've walked
with the Lord
for any length
of time
you will know
that there are attacks
that come your way.
There's temptation
to sin.
There's doubt
and guilt
and shame
that he seeks
to remind us of.
We can stand firm
in the reality
of God's truth
as we trust
in his word.
1 Peter 5, 8, and 9
I mentioned this
alluded to it earlier
right?
The devil prowls around
like a roaring lion
seeking someone
to devour.
What are we to do?
Resist him.
How?
Firm
in your faith
with the shield
of faith.
We resist the devil.
We resist his attacks
with the shield
of faith
so that we're prepared
for the battle.
The next piece of armor
is the helmet
of salvation.
This reminds us
of the reality
that we are saved
by God's grace
but there's also
a sense in which
we understand
and know that
deep down
in our souls.
Why?
Because God
by his spirit
says to our spirit
it says in Romans
that we're children
of God.
And so not only
is it just like
oh yeah I know
the Bible says
that when I put
my trust in Jesus.
No, you experience
and feel
the reality
of being saved.
Of being rescued.
Of being brought
into God's family.
The helmet
of salvation.
God wants to
or sorry
Satan wants to attack
our assurance
of salvation.
Constantly.
And this is why
again
understanding the reality
of why
and how we're saved
is so important.
If we begin
to think
that our salvation
is dependent
in us
in any way
this is one
of those places
that Satan
will attack
and he'll get
in.
If we aren't
protected
we can know
that we're saved
if we're trusting
in Jesus
and his work.
The Bible
promises that
and we can
trust God's word.
And lastly
the sword of the spirit
the word of God.
Again I've already
said Satan
wants us
to disbelieve.
He tends us
not to believe
God's word.
So he did it
in the garden
of Eden
and then he
repeated it
didn't he?
In the beginning
of the New Testament
just like he did
at the beginning
of the Old Testament
you have the beginning
of the New Testament
as Jesus comes
on the scene
and the spirit
leads Jesus
out into the wilderness
and what does
Satan do?
He comes
and he tempts him
three times
and Jesus
refutes those
temptations
every single time.
How does he do that?
The word
of God.
Yeah.
Do you know
where he quotes from?
The book
that all of us
would go to
if we're being
tempted.
The book
of Deuteronomy
like you know
it like the back
of your hand.
It's just interesting
isn't it?
All three times
he quotes
from Deuteronomy.
I guess that's
an important book
to know.
And so the reality
is he battles
against Satan
even when Satan
tries to quote
scripture at him
from Psalm 91
he refutes
that he doesn't
take the bait
he stands
firm
in the midst
of those temptations
in a way
that Adam and Eve
haven't
and we haven't
either.
And we can
thank God
for that
and we can
seek to follow
his example.
That's why
knowing scripture
is so important.
I'm so thankful
in the church
that I grew up
in we had Awana
and I memorized
so many verses.
There are still
today verses
that I know
because of
that program.
I'm thankful
for that.
And that helps
me that equips
me for the
battle that
we're engaged
in.
So we need
to stand firm
in God's armor.
I wonder have
you been putting
on the whole
armor of God?
So prepare
for this
spiritual battle.
We must stand
firm in God's
armor.
And lastly
we must pray
and keep alert
verses 18
to 20.
We must pray
and keep
alert.
We need to
keep alert
because the
battle is imminent
and if we
aren't alert
we will miss
the dangers
around us.
We won't
see what's
happening and
we won't be
prepared for
the attacks
of the enemy.
I'm reminded
of Mark 14
verse 38.
Watch and pray
that you may
not enter
into temptation.
The spirit
indeed is
willing but
the flesh
is weak.
I don't know
if you remember
where that was.
Again if you
know the story
of the gospels
well.
This is just
before Jesus
is going to
the cross.
He's going
to be praying
himself in
the garden
of Gethsemane.
And what
does he do?
He tells
his disciples
the three
disciples that
are there
watch and pray
that you might
not fall
into temptation.
There's a
battle raging.
You're not
aware of it.
You need
to be
prepared for
it.
How are
you going
to be
prepared for
it?
Watch and
pray.
The spirit
is willing
but the
flesh is
weak.
Isn't that
what you
see happen?
What do
they do?
They fall
asleep.
They're not
prepared for
the battle.
When Jesus
is arrested
they all
flee.
Peter denies
him three
times.
Yet Peter's
spirit I
think was
willing.
Right?
Because just
before that
Peter says
I will go
to my grave
with you.
I will die
with you.
His spirit
was indeed
willing.
His flesh
was weak.
So when the
battle raged
and the
temptation
came he
denied the
Lord three
times.
We need
to be
ready.
And prayer
is one of
the ways
that we
equip and
prepare
ourselves.
Our lack
of prayer
reveals our
lack of
dependence on
God.
I don't
know about
you but
prayer is
hard.
Okay?
I'm not
standing here
as like
I've got
this all
sorted out.
My prayer
life is
the best
prayer
life.
It's a
struggle.
It's a
battle.
It's hard
because it's
part of
this battle.
Satan
again doesn't
want us
to pray
because he
knows that
we need
God's
strength.
He knows
that we
need God's
armor.
And as
we put on
that armor
as we're
praying and
we're asking
for God's
help in this
battle.
God's
And so
he's trying
to get us
not to
pray.
Don't worry
about that.
I mean
nobody's
going to
know.
Nobody
sees that.
And yet
when I
don't pray
what I'm
saying is
God
actually I
don't
need
you.
I
got
this
sorted.
What
am I
doing?
I'm
standing
in my
own
strength.
What
has he
told us
right at
the
beginning?
Be
strong
in the
strength
of his
mind.
Not
in our
own
strength.
We
need
his
help.
And so
we
need
to
saturate
every
aspect
of this
battle
in
prayer.
And that's
why he
uses the
term
all in
the next
couple
verses.
When should
we pray?
At all
times.
How should
we pray?
With all
prayer and
supplication.
How should
we pray?
With all
perseverance.
Who should
we pray
for?
For all
the saints.
Four times
he uses
the term
all.
That's a
challenge
isn't it?
I mean
when I
think about
my life
I pray
at some
times
with some
prayer and
supplication
some
perseverance
for some
people
and I
imagine
you're
probably
similar.
And that's
okay.
I'm not
here to
beat you
up.
I'm here
to say
this is
so
important.
Let's
be people
who pray.
We are
so grateful
for people
who pray
for us.
Like I'm
telling you
that the
battle that
we are
engaged
in in
the UK
is not
any
different
than the
battle
here.
But we
are so
dependent
on the
prayers
of God's
people
for us.
Our
church is
dependent
on it.
I think
there's a
picture of
our
church
that's
going
to
come
up
next.
Please
be
praying
for
Pathway
Church,
for the
believers
there
who are
engaged
in
this
battle.
Pray
because
Satan
is
not
happy
that
a
church
is
being
established
in
this
community.
That
people
are
being
rescued
from
darkness
and
brought
into
God's
kingdom.
They
are
not
happy
about
that.
And so
he's
fighting.
Please
be praying
!
Please
be praying
for us
as well.
And I
can say
that because
that's
what Paul
goes on
to do.
He says
pray for
me.
What does
he pray
for?
For
clarity
and courage.
That words
may be
given to
him to
proclaim
the mystery
of the
gospel.
And that
he may
open
his mouth
boldly
to declare
it
boldly.
Please
pray that
for us
as we
share the
good news
of Jesus
that we
would be
clear,
that we
would be
bold.
And I
pray that
for you
as well.
That you
will be a
church who
clearly
presents
God's
word and
who
boldly
proclaims
that in
your
community.
It's
great to
see all
the kids
up here
to hear
about the
week of
football
camp,
soccer
camp,
we call
it
football.
The
World
Cup is
great,
you know,
great timing.
And
yeah,
so I
think our
prayer card
picture might
be on there
as well.
Again,
we have
those on
our
table.
Please
pick
those up.
And I
just want
to end
with this.
Your
prayers
matter.
It's
really
important.
I hope
you understand
that.
Please
don't think
prayer is
just an
add-on or
something that
missionaries are
told to
say.
We are
dependent on
your
prayers.
I know
there's
somebody in
the church
here that
regularly
communicates,
lets me know
that they're
praying for
me.
And that's
a real
encouragement
to me,
to get
those emails
each month,
just to
remind me that
there are
people praying
for us as
we're engaged
in this
spiritual
battle.
Satan,
our enemy,
is seeking to
steal,
kill,
and destroy,
to undermine
our Christian
walk in the
witness of the
church.
And so it's
not surprising
that church
planting is
hard,
that missions
is hard,
that church
is hard,
that evangelism
is hard,
because we're
in a spiritual
battle.
But Jesus
has won.
We stand
in his
victory.
And he's
given us
everything to be
effective in
this battle.
let's pray.
Father,
we thank you
for your
goodness to
us.
We thank you
for Jesus.
We thank you
that in your
love you sent
him,
and that he,
as the divine
warrior,
won the battle
for us as he
went to the
cross and
rose from the
dead.
God,
we glory in
him this
morning.
I pray if
there's anybody
here who doesn't
know him yet,
God,
would you
in your
grace and
goodness open
their eyes to
see the
reality of
your love
for them
and what
you have
done so
that they
can have a
relationship
with you.
And for
those who
do know
you,
please help
us to be
prepared for
this battle.
As we stand
in your
strength,
as we put
on your
armor,
please help
us to do
that and
help us to
be people
of prayer.
But ultimately
we know
that we're on
the winning
side.
we glory
in that
reality and
we give
you praise
and honor
this morning.
We pray
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.