WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.279 Spiritual warfare is not something most people talk about, at least people I hang around 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:12.640 with, which may surprise you, given my vocation. 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:17.500 But it's not something that you hear people talk about a whole lot, at least in the D.C. 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:17.920 area. 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:24.160 And honestly, we don't really talk about it that much in our church, though, as I've been 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.120 reflecting, we probably should. 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:29.039 We should probably talk a lot more about it. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:34.560 Because it's something that I think we contend with every single day. 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.859 You know, this is one of those passages where, as I looked at the timing and the lectionary, 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.399 and I realized that this weekend, some of you may not know, there's a big Advent camping 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:46.980 trip that happens this weekend, Labor Day weekend. 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:52.599 And so a good chunk of our church is camping through, many of them through tomorrow. 00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:55.200 And I'm very excited, and I'm hoping they had a wonderful weekend. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:59.200 But this is one of those passages that I wish every single person in our church that we 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:00.620 could all sit down and look at together. 00:01:01.300 --> 00:01:03.640 Because I think it's extremely important. 00:01:04.100 --> 00:01:05.159 All Scripture is important. 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:11.820 But in terms of where we are as a church, I've seen the reality of spiritual warfare over this 00:01:11.820 --> 00:01:12.460 past year. 00:01:12.600 --> 00:01:13.579 I've seen it wreak havoc. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.840 And so this is one of those passages that I wish every single person in our church that 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:22.299 we could all sit down together and study it and ask God what he's trying to tell us through it. 00:01:23.020 --> 00:01:25.880 We're looking at Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 20. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.640 And we're going to see three things about spiritual warfare. 00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:35.060 We're going to see our true enemy, his means of attack, and then how to fight back. 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:38.520 Our true enemy, his means of attack, how to fight back. 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:39.600 Let's pray. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:46.780 Lord, we thank you for your word, and we thank you that it is empowered by your presence and 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:47.459 by your spirit. 00:01:48.179 --> 00:01:53.419 That we're not here to consider human philosophy or wisdom or tactics or strategies. 00:01:54.119 --> 00:02:01.459 We're not here to simply consider the latest approach to self-growth, Lord. 00:02:01.539 --> 00:02:03.519 We're not here even just for a bit of inspiration. 00:02:04.399 --> 00:02:07.959 We are here to hear from the God of the universe. 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:11.900 We are here to be ministered to by the one who made us. 00:02:12.579 --> 00:02:15.719 Lord, and so we come into your presence with humility, with fear and trembling. 00:02:17.079 --> 00:02:20.879 And yet at the same time, in the name of Christ, we boldly ask that you would speak to us. 00:02:21.799 --> 00:02:22.919 Tell us what we need to hear. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:26.639 Give us the power and the grace to respond to your word this morning. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:34.939 Help us to contend with all of the things that stand against you and your kingdom, Lord, 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:36.280 for your glory. 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:38.060 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:38.460 Amen. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:44.580 So let's look at this passage together and see what it has for us this morning. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.099 First of all, we consider who is our true enemy. 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:55.159 In these final verses of his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 10 through 20, 00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:57.659 Paul essentially pulls back the veil. 00:02:58.180 --> 00:03:00.520 And he tells us the true nature of the Christian life. 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:04.939 And he says this, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. 00:03:04.980 --> 00:03:09.820 And what he's really saying there is we wrestle not only against flesh and blood, but against 00:03:09.820 --> 00:03:10.460 the devil. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:17.580 And what he's saying, let's just not be ambiguous about this, that there is a conscious, personal, 00:03:18.260 --> 00:03:24.980 spiritual evil that relentlessly aims to destroy God's people and God's creation. 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:28.299 And we have to fight every single day against that evil. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:29.259 That's what he's saying. 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:34.579 You know, C.S. Lewis in the preface to the Screwtape Letters says, 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.979 there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:41.759 One is to disbelieve in their existence. 00:03:42.579 --> 00:03:47.199 The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:51.339 And the devils are equally pleased by both errors. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:53.979 And I think he's spot on. 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:58.060 You know, there are some people, and maybe we know some people, who tend to over-focus 00:03:58.060 --> 00:03:58.959 on the demonic. 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.799 They see the demons and the demonic everywhere. 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:03.259 You stub your toe, it's Satan. 00:04:03.899 --> 00:04:05.459 You get stuck in traffic, it's Satan. 00:04:05.799 --> 00:04:07.959 Now, sometimes DC traffic does feel satanic. 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.379 And maybe they got a point there. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.079 But I'm assuming that most of us fall into the opposite category, that most of us are the 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:20.400 kind of people who tend to underestimate the influence of the demonic in our lives. 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:26.460 Because many of us are educated DC professionals, and talking about the devil is cringy. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:29.800 It feels so unsophisticated. 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:36.020 I sort of did an inventory of all of sort of my great heroes and pastors, preachers who 00:04:36.020 --> 00:04:42.780 have had an influence over me, and I realized how overly intellectualized the version of Christianity 00:04:42.780 --> 00:04:44.340 is that I've grown up with. 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:46.300 My greatest influences. 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:53.759 When they talk about things like idolatry, there's a tendency to turn what are fundamentally 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.759 spiritual realities into kind of an intellectual thought exercise. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:01.039 As though, if I can just get my thinking right, if I can just realize how important this thing 00:05:01.039 --> 00:05:05.419 has become, and then replace that with the gospel, then I'll be on solid footing. 00:05:05.419 --> 00:05:10.120 We don't often hear people, at least in our circles, at least in some circles, or at least 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:15.860 in my circles, talk about the fact that behind these human creations, which are themselves 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:20.579 empty, there are demonic forces that empower these things. 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:26.759 That we are dealing with spiritual evil that is consciously trying to destroy us. 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:33.379 And I realized how absent that has been in a lot of the influences that have really shaped 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:34.379 me. 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:39.600 Because people in our culture simply don't like to talk about that kind of thing. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.439 We don't like to talk about the word evil. 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:46.019 Because terms like good and evil are just moral judgments. 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:50.659 And so we prefer to talk about what's wrong with the world using psychological or sociological 00:05:50.659 --> 00:05:52.439 or political terminology. 00:05:53.659 --> 00:05:57.060 Now there are things that we can describe that way, don't get me wrong. 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:02.639 But I think there's a comfort in talking about evil in terms that we can understand. 00:06:03.479 --> 00:06:06.319 In talking about evil on terms that we can address. 00:06:07.099 --> 00:06:11.919 It's comforting to think that if we can just get the right therapist, or the right dosage 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:18.520 of medication, or more education, or better social reform, that we actually have control 00:06:18.520 --> 00:06:21.920 and the ability to address all of the evils of the world. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.180 And as C.S. Lewis said, when we make that mistake, it delights the devil. 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:38.560 If we reject the idea that there is a spiritual being who represents the source of evil, what happens 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:39.180 then? 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:46.240 We end up, if we reject spiritual evil as the source of evil, then we end up singling 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.199 out something or someone else in the material world and saying that's the source of evil. 00:06:53.280 --> 00:06:53.500 Right? 00:06:53.560 --> 00:07:00.519 We end up seeing some person, some idea, some group as being the source of evil. 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:03.160 You begin to see the world in terms of good versus evil. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:06.660 You begin to divide people into good people and evil people. 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:14.900 It lays the foundation for us to begin to justify seeing certain groups or ethnicities or nationalities 00:07:14.900 --> 00:07:21.380 or political parties as being inherently evil and others as being inherently good. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.460 And when we start thinking like that, the devil is winning. 00:07:26.580 --> 00:07:30.600 Because instead of fighting him, we start fighting one another. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.260 We start thinking that we are good guys and bad guys. 00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:40.500 I imagine the devil probably loves a good election year in our country for this reason. 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:43.659 So this is the first point and it's extremely important. 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:51.379 While we do contend with human evil, absolutely, psychological, moral, sociological, our true 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:55.339 adversary behind all of that is the devil. 00:07:55.339 --> 00:08:04.419 And if we feel like the concept of the devil is too unsophisticated for people like me, with all of my credentials, 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:09.299 the majority of Christians around the world, including, by the way, 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.799 the majority of our Anglican brothers and sisters in the global south, 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:15.639 simply assume, 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.919 they simply assume the influence of the demonic. 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.080 It's not even a question. 00:08:23.340 --> 00:08:29.800 They think that we are unsophisticated for not recognizing what seems so painfully obvious to them. 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:35.860 And with all due respect, aren't we being a bit arrogant and closed-minded by not taking it seriously the way they do? 00:08:37.180 --> 00:08:38.300 So that's our true enemy. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:39.300 That's the first point. 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:41.039 Now, how does the devil operate? 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:43.899 How does the attack come? 00:08:44.420 --> 00:08:45.539 What's the means of attack? 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:50.860 Most of us have seen enough scary movies that when we think about demonic activity, 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:55.039 we imagine glowing red eyes and people levitating and heads spinning around. 00:08:55.699 --> 00:08:58.839 But that's not typically how the devil operates. 00:08:58.919 --> 00:08:59.899 He's far more subtle. 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:04.719 Paul talks about, he uses this phrase, the schemes of the devil. 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:09.459 See, the word devil means slanderer, deceiver, accuser. 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:12.539 Jesus refers to him as the father of lies. 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:13.139 He's a scam artist. 00:09:14.319 --> 00:09:16.819 So the devil cannot create. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:18.659 The devil's not generative. 00:09:18.779 --> 00:09:20.019 Only God can do that. 00:09:20.699 --> 00:09:22.219 The devil can only scheme. 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:24.679 He's a scam artist. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:26.399 He can only lie. 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:27.179 He can deceive. 00:09:27.459 --> 00:09:28.259 He can confuse. 00:09:28.579 --> 00:09:29.219 He can twist. 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.099 He can pervert. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.799 He can distort what God has made. 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:37.740 So think about the way that the devil attacked Adam and Eve in the garden. 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:43.120 He wasn't some monster out of a horror movie who flaps down on leathery bat wings. 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:49.299 He comes to them as a friend who only has their best interest in mind. 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:53.839 It wasn't a scene out of The Exorcist. 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:55.659 It was a friendly theological discussion. 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:00.379 Hey, did God really say? 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:06.059 He took God's truth and he bent it ever so much. 00:10:06.199 --> 00:10:08.679 Just the slightest twist. 00:10:09.839 --> 00:10:11.099 Almost imperceptible. 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:15.200 And that led to the fall of the entire human race. 00:10:17.040 --> 00:10:30.460 See, even in cases of demonic possession, and some of us have seen that firsthand, that demonic influence probably began a long time ago in that person's life through lies and through deception. 00:10:30.800 --> 00:10:34.159 The devil took greater and greater hold over that person. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:42.439 You know, 1 Peter 5 verse 8 says, your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:50.539 And usually the devil devours people slowly, beginning with little lies that gradually take hold. 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.480 You know, I once heard a pastor put it this way. 00:10:53.819 --> 00:11:00.199 Satan doesn't control us with fang marks on the flesh, but with lies in the heart. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:06.120 He doesn't control us with fang marks on the flesh, but with lies in the heart. 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.580 So let's take some examples into consideration. 00:11:09.780 --> 00:11:15.980 Not an exhaustive list by any stretch, but this gives us an idea of how this actually works. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.240 Three ways we experience spiritual attack. 00:11:20.520 --> 00:11:23.460 Temptation, accusation, inflammation. 00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:25.920 Let's look at this in more detail. 00:11:26.140 --> 00:11:26.660 Temptation. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:30.759 One of the ways that we experience spiritual attack is through temptation. 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:37.399 The temptation to not do something that God has called us to do or to do something that God has forbidden. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:38.759 To disobey God's will. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:42.639 What we need to recognize is at the heart of every temptation you will find lies. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:45.019 You will find distortions of the truth. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.179 So for instance, you'll find a distorted view of God's holiness. 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:55.740 Surely God doesn't care that much about whether or not I do this. 00:11:55.740 --> 00:12:00.259 Surely God has more important things to do than worry about whether or not I do this little thing. 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:01.700 I mean, it's not like I'm hurting anybody. 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.299 Or you'll find a distorted view of God's mercy. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:06.440 You know, God loves me. 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:07.360 God will forgive me. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:08.419 That's his job. 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:09.360 That's what God does. 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:12.740 Or you'll find a distorted view of yourself. 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:15.639 You know, I work so hard. 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:17.200 I do so much for God. 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:19.720 All I want is this one little thing. 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:20.560 God owes me. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:26.299 Satan is continually whispering lies like this into our hearts. 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:27.839 Whose voice do you think that is? 00:12:29.319 --> 00:12:30.799 Or we have accusation. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:34.219 Also driven by lies. 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:36.839 Do you ever lay awake at night? 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:39.719 You wake up in the middle of the night. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:40.399 You can't sleep. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:42.339 And you find yourself just ruminating. 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:47.600 About people or situations, relationships, conflict in your life. 00:12:48.300 --> 00:12:49.360 And you're ruminating. 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:51.120 And you're wondering what they think of you. 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:53.519 You're wondering what God thinks of you. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:55.800 And there's this little voice in your head. 00:12:55.860 --> 00:12:57.240 And you're laying there and you're half awake. 00:12:57.399 --> 00:12:58.460 And you can't sleep. 00:12:58.660 --> 00:13:00.240 And these thoughts are going through your head. 00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:01.740 You don't know what you're doing. 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:04.240 You have no idea what you're doing. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.980 You're letting everyone down. 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:10.180 You're such a disappointment. 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:12.460 You're such a failure in your job. 00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:15.379 You're such a failure as a friend. 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:18.379 You're such a failure as a parent. 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:22.279 You're such a failure as a spouse. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:25.039 Everybody's disappointed in you. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.180 They just don't want to tell you. 00:13:27.060 --> 00:13:29.240 No one could ever love a person like you. 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:31.600 God could never love a person like you. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:36.980 Now, therapists refer to this kind of thing as negative self-talk. 00:13:37.700 --> 00:13:39.659 That's certainly a very good description. 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.540 But Paul says when those things are happening, 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:48.480 when those kinds of thoughts are cycling through our minds and hearts, 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.340 we're not merely wrestling against flesh and blood. 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:55.860 That is the voice of the devil masquerading as your own voice. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:59.700 Speaking to you in a voice that you think is your own. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.360 Then we have inflammation, a third kind of spiritual attack. 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:09.639 You know, it talks about in this passage the flaming darts of the enemy. 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:10.940 What does that actually mean? 00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:16.560 Well, earlier in Ephesians, Paul warns against giving the devil a foothold. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:18.960 And this is also what he's talking about there. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:24.580 So, in this case, the devil enters into a situation where there's the potential for evil, 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:27.180 and he makes things much, much, much worse. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:28.480 Right? 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:32.460 Imagine a little, there's a little fire in one of the rooms of your house, 00:14:32.520 --> 00:14:35.560 and then the devil comes in and pours gasoline on it, 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.280 and it turns a little fire into a house fire. 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.900 That's often, and he can do this with a full range of human emotions. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:48.940 Anger, sadness, envy, frustration, anxiety, desire, pleasure, 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:56.900 the pursuit of happiness, any of these things that make up our lives and our experiences as human beings, 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:02.000 the devil can come in and inflame toward evil ends. 00:15:02.140 --> 00:15:04.440 So, just take, for example, this kind of situation. 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:07.940 Imagine somebody does something to you that hurts your feelings. 00:15:09.260 --> 00:15:12.900 Friend, spouse, co-worker, boss, somebody does something, they say something, 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:14.760 and it really hurts your feelings. 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:16.299 And you get angry. 00:15:17.319 --> 00:15:19.819 And your anger at that point may not necessarily be sinful. 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:22.340 You know, the Bible says you can be angry, just don't sin in your anger. 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:24.240 So, you're angry, and maybe it's legitimate. 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:25.779 Maybe it's kind of a righteous anger. 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:28.379 Now, biblically, what should you do? 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:30.460 Biblically, we should go to that person. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.639 We should have a calm, honest conversation. 00:15:33.819 --> 00:15:36.220 We should share the hurt, the offense. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:42.279 We should be willing to take responsibility for any role we might have been playing in the conflict. 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:47.240 We should be eager to forgive that person because we know that God has forgiven us. 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:53.000 And if and where possible, we should seek to move forward and to reconcile and to rebuild the relationship. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.879 Now, that's what we know we should do. 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:59.839 But let's just say for the sake of argument, instead, you choose to hold on to that anger. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:02.259 Paul says you're giving the devil a foothold. 00:16:02.319 --> 00:16:02.879 What does he mean? 00:16:04.699 --> 00:16:06.899 Well, that voice starts up in your head. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.419 That voice starts talking to you. 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:15.699 And your focus starts to move away from the immediate conflict, the thing that was said last night, 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:19.139 or the thing that that person forgot to do, whatever it was. 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.740 And your focus shifts, and it starts to get bigger and bigger. 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:24.159 And you start to globalize. 00:16:24.319 --> 00:16:26.339 And it's no longer just about this little conflict. 00:16:26.439 --> 00:16:32.079 It starts to be about all of these things, both past that have happened and future that you imagine might happen. 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:35.759 And the voice starts up, and you start saying things like, this is so typical. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:39.360 This is just like the time they did this. 00:16:40.040 --> 00:16:41.759 This is just like the time they did that. 00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:43.060 They're so selfish. 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:45.900 They never care about anyone but themselves. 00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:48.300 In fact, they probably did it to me on purpose. 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:50.000 And the voice starts up. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.600 And the more you ruminate, the angrier you get. 00:16:52.600 --> 00:17:00.360 And then that anger starts to turn to a kind of bitterness, and it's tapping in to all of these other things that you're holding on to. 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:03.320 And then that bitterness starts to turn to resentment. 00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:07.519 And then that voice, it starts to amplify the self-pity. 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:11.960 It starts to convince you how wrongly you've been treated. 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:14.140 How you deserve so much better. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.799 How nobody really understands how hard it is to be you. 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:22.859 How hard it is to be in this relationship with this selfish person. 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:24.700 Nobody appreciates you. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:27.039 And you become more and more self-focused. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:33.700 And the more the devil takes hold, the more you begin to dehumanize that other person, as well as yourself. 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:39.339 You turn that other person into a kind of one-dimensional cardboard cutout of a monster. 00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:46.439 And you reduce yourself into this powerless victim. 00:17:47.179 --> 00:17:52.139 Where you're completely defined by your hurt and completely defined by your pain. 00:17:53.019 --> 00:17:56.559 Your hurt becomes the only unassailable truth. 00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:58.679 It's the only thing that matters. 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:03.759 And God help anyone who questions the legitimacy of your hurt. 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:09.759 In C.S. Lewis' quote about hell, he says this, 00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:11.859 Hell begins with a grumbling mood. 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:13.640 Always complaining. 00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:15.299 Always blaming others. 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:19.740 Now, he could say that about any of the things that the devil might inflame in our lives. 00:18:20.379 --> 00:18:21.660 Hell begins with a grumbling mood. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:23.640 But you're still distinct from it. 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.460 You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.140 But there may come a day when you can no longer. 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:36.080 Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.960 But just the grumble itself. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.020 Going on forever like a machine. 00:18:43.060 --> 00:18:45.020 That's his image of people in hell. 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:47.680 Somebody who complained their whole life. 00:18:47.780 --> 00:18:52.759 And then at some point, all that's left for eternity is this subhuman complaint. 00:18:54.120 --> 00:18:56.300 Just complaining on like a machine. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:57.320 Resenting. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:57.920 Right? 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.779 The resentment. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:00.200 There's nothing left. 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:01.220 And it's just resentment. 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:03.259 And the person that you resented is long gone. 00:19:03.840 --> 00:19:06.880 And there's just the resentment churning on forever like a machine. 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:09.680 He says, it's not a question of God sending us to hell. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:14.640 In each of us, there is something growing which will be hell unless it is nipped in the bud. 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:20.160 This, I would suggest, is how the devil devours us. 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:22.840 By inflaming our grumbling. 00:19:22.840 --> 00:19:24.100 Inflaming our bitterness. 00:19:24.340 --> 00:19:25.440 Inflaming our envy. 00:19:25.820 --> 00:19:27.240 Inflaming our desire. 00:19:27.800 --> 00:19:29.380 Inflaming our pursuit of pleasure. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:35.880 Whatever he can use, wherever there is a foothold, until those things completely define us. 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:37.880 And there's nothing left but those things. 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:46.960 The question we need to be asking is, are those things, are there things growing in our hearts? 00:19:48.300 --> 00:19:52.060 Are there lies that have been deeply embedded in our hearts? 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:58.039 What do the voices say to us in the late watches of the night? 00:19:58.159 --> 00:20:05.119 Are there areas of spiritual inflammation that are growing stronger? 00:20:05.399 --> 00:20:06.599 That are overtaking us? 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:15.099 Our true enemy is the devil. 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:18.000 And he attacks us with lies. 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:19.740 The schemes of the devil. 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:23.960 He twists and distorts the truth about God and about us. 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:25.599 About the people around us. 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:28.819 He confuses. 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.640 So how do we fight back? 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:35.500 Paul's writing from prison. 00:20:36.099 --> 00:20:40.680 And most likely, he's chained to a Roman soldier by the wrist while he writes. 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:47.819 So he's literally probably looking at a Roman soldier as he dictates this letter to the Ephesians. 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:48.579 He's sitting there. 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:49.059 He's chained. 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:50.099 He's dictating the letter. 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:55.700 And he's describing the great privileges and resources that we have because of the gospel. 00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:59.619 And so he starts to use the metaphor of armor and weapons. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:02.379 He's like, well, it's a lot like this guy. 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:09.419 When it comes to Roman armor, not all pieces of armor are equal. 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:14.019 The belt is the core piece of armor. 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:20.320 The belt is a lot bigger and thicker and broader than like the belt I'm wearing. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:25.240 And it's the core piece of armor because it's the thing that holds everything else together. 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:31.159 Every other piece of armor is either hanging off the belt or attached to the belt or supported by the belt. 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:34.540 And the belt was the thing that marked you as a soldier. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:35.560 Right? 00:21:35.620 --> 00:21:37.040 That was the distinguishing feature. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:37.340 Right? 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:40.259 And so the belt was the core, the most important piece of armor. 00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:50.440 So when it comes to our defense against the father of lies, it makes sense that the core of our defense is the truth. 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:54.700 So the apostle Paul refers to the belt of truth. 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.160 And he talks about fastening on the belt of truth. 00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:58.400 It all begins there. 00:21:59.620 --> 00:22:02.279 This means, what does it mean to fasten on the belt of truth? 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:04.299 It means clinging to the truth of the gospel. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:09.019 It means committing ourselves to living out the truth of the gospel. 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:12.840 And it also means committing ourselves to truthfulness. 00:22:14.820 --> 00:22:16.160 There is truth. 00:22:16.860 --> 00:22:20.299 I'm committed to being a person who lives in the light of that truth. 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:23.940 I'm committed to honesty and transparency and walking in the light. 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.620 The devil's power grows. 00:22:28.620 --> 00:22:31.519 The devil's power lies in darkness and in deception. 00:22:32.340 --> 00:22:33.820 Light causes him to flee. 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:36.820 It begins with the truth. 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:46.360 And the other pieces of armor represent the facets of gospel truth that are all attached to the belt. 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:46.840 Right? 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:48.660 Okay, what truth? 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:51.460 What are the truths that we live out? 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:54.740 And then we see these things. 00:22:54.800 --> 00:22:55.880 And we'll talk about them more in a second. 00:22:56.300 --> 00:22:56.700 Righteousness. 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:58.019 The good news of peace. 00:22:58.560 --> 00:22:58.900 Faith. 00:22:59.620 --> 00:22:59.980 Salvation. 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:00.640 Right? 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:01.680 The word of God. 00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:02.460 Prayer. 00:23:02.600 --> 00:23:02.740 Right? 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:04.519 We'll talk about those more in just a second. 00:23:04.580 --> 00:23:06.140 But here's the point of this metaphor. 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:12.020 Paul is saying Christians have all of these resources and privileges at our disposal. 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:15.120 If you're a Christian, these resources are ours. 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:17.620 There's nothing that can take them away from us. 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:22.340 But we have to actually use them. 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:25.799 We have to put them to use. 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:35.639 And so the question he's asking is, do you know how to use the gospel like armor to protect you against the schemes of the devil? 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:36.779 That's the point here. 00:23:36.779 --> 00:23:45.500 When the devil accuses us, do we know how to put on righteousness like a breastplate? 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.180 Do we know how to point to the cross? 00:23:49.299 --> 00:23:52.779 Do we know how to point to the fact that we have been declared righteous? 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:57.879 And there is no longer any condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:03.559 Can we put that on in the moment at 3 a.m. when we most need it? 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:09.599 When the devil brings conflict and division and discord and slander? 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:11.819 Right? 00:24:11.879 --> 00:24:14.720 When other people are saying horrible, untrue things about you. 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:19.399 When people are doing things that hurt each other. 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.900 Do we know how to put on the good news of peace? 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:27.259 Paul spends a lot of time in Ephesians talking about that. 00:24:28.060 --> 00:24:29.220 That God has made peace. 00:24:29.860 --> 00:24:31.920 He's brought down the dividing walls of hostility. 00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:35.540 Between himself and humans and between humans and one another. 00:24:35.800 --> 00:24:39.220 Does that truth give us firm footing like a good pair of boots? 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.480 So that we have this readiness to forgive as soon as there's an opportunity. 00:24:44.300 --> 00:24:48.240 So that we have a readiness to seek reconciliation as soon as there's an opportunity. 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:55.860 When the devil tries to tempt us to inflame our anger or our desire. 00:24:56.860 --> 00:25:00.380 Do we know how to cling to the promises of God in faith? 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:05.040 He's not talking about a little shield like a buckler. 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:08.400 He's talking about a giant like four foot something shield. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:13.140 And the soldiers would all stand shoulder to shoulder with these shields. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:18.300 And as the arrows came raining down they would all raise their shields together as one. 00:25:19.560 --> 00:25:27.100 And these flaming arrows would be snuffed out and shattered on the hard surface of those united shields. 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:29.080 Do you know how to cling to the promises of God? 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.879 Like a shield that makes that temptation.