You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
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We're going to be in Ephesians chapter 6 this morning.
As I mentioned earlier with the kids, we're to the armor of God passage in Ephesians.
It's right at the end of this section of the book where Paul's been doing applied theology,
talking practically, giving instructions to the church.
He's talked about marriage, family relationships, how to engage in the workplace.
And in the midst of all of that, right in the midst of the mundane of life, Paul says there's war.
It's been weighty for me this week, partially because of the subject matter when you talk about spiritual warfare.
Partially because God has been doing a lot of work in me, showing me my sin in new and deep ways as I've wrestled with this.
But I want to tell you how excited I am about this passage this morning.
It is one of the more convicting, at least for me and I think for many of us,
and challenging passages in this letter.
It's also one of the most encouraging and hopeful.
So we need to hear it this morning.
Ephesians 6, beginning at verse 10.
Let's give our attention to God's holy word.
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 that 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.
Pray with me.
Holy Spirit, I'm well aware this morning that Satan does not like the truth about himself,
or the truth about Jesus,
to hit home in our hearts.
To be something that is more than just something we hear,
but is something we embrace,
and something that changes our lives.
Holy Spirit, fight for us this morning.
As we open your word,
would you use it in powerful ways in our hearts and in our lives.
We humbly ask it in the strong name of Jesus.
Amen.
The Queen Mary is a massive ship over three football fields long
that has now been turned into a museum in Long Beach, California.
It was a luxury liner that was built in the early 1930s
to be the absolute best way to get across the Atlantic.
It was traveling in style.
People like Winston Churchill and Bob Hope,
and lots of celebrities.
Clark Gable all traveled on this
because they wanted to be traveling in style
as they crossed the Atlantic.
When World War II began, though, everything changed.
This ship that had been the standard in travel
with extravagant amenities that it was known for
was turned into a troop transport ship.
It used to be you could only put up to 2,000 people on it
because they wanted the space.
They wanted to be able to travel in luxury.
They turned it into a troop transport ship
where up to 16,000 troops were packed in at one time.
Look at some of these pictures.
There's a picture of the ship, beautiful.
Look at how they packed troops onto it.
Packed them in because there was a war going on
and they needed to get across.
There were things that needed to be done.
If you go to the museum that the ship is now,
you can actually go and see the contrast
between the two arrows that the ship served.
You can see right up against each other,
part of it's set up for peacetime
with this beautiful china and more forks around it
than I know what to do with when I sit down at dinner.
Set up for dinner right next to, on the other side,
the mess hall where with your one metal tray,
you're packed in there next to each other.
I love the contrast of this next picture.
Over here, your perfect hotel-like accommodations
with ruffled bed skirts.
That's my favorite part of the picture.
And then all of a sudden the war hits
and bunks packed in up to eight high.
So men just slamming in there up against each other.
The contrast of what it looks like when the war hits.
That's the difference in how you live
during wartime and peacetime, isn't it?
It's not just about soldiers on ships.
Priorities change.
Sacrifices are made.
The realities of war impact everyone, right?
War changes life for all involved.
Talk to someone who lived through World War II
if you didn't.
On the home front, kids who used to be in class
were planting victory gardens
and gathering trash from trash heaps
in order to salvage it for munitions.
Food was rationed to make sure soldiers had enough to eat.
And so when you're in the midst of war,
peacetime lifestyles seem completely inappropriate,
don't they?
You would never ask one of these guys
to put a ruffled bed skirt on his bunk, would you?
It wouldn't make sense for 15,000 plus soldiers
to sit down to every meal with three forks.
It doesn't make sense, does it?
You don't sit around twiddling your thumbs
when lives are at stake.
It wouldn't make sense.
So you read a passage like this one this morning
that asserts quite clearly
that we live in spiritual warfare,
that we are at war.
And I look at my own life
and I wonder if it makes sense.
Am I even consciously aware
of being engaged in war at all?
If so, does the way I'm living
make sense with that?
I've asked myself that a lot this week.
Does the way I live make sense
with the truth I'm told
that I'm constantly engaged
in spiritual warfare?
Does the way I approach
spiritual matters in my life
look like I'm living in wartime
or peacetime?
I pray.
Mostly when I get needy enough
or tired enough.
I see myself excusing sin
in my own heart
and in the way I treat my wife
and my girls
because it's not as bad,
it doesn't look as bad
as somebody else's.
So I mean,
it's just a little sin, right?
It's really no big deal,
just a little sin.
You know, nobody noticed.
I love being comfortable.
Not having cable during football season
feels like a sacrifice to me.
I love being comfortable.
More than that,
I love things being peaceful.
I like for everybody to be happy.
Anybody else like this?
If everybody would just be happy
and not complain,
nobody be upset,
everybody be happy around me,
I'm going to be thrilled.
Even if that means
not addressing things
that need to be addressed.
Even if there's conflict,
maybe,
that shouldn't be ignored.
Just be happy.
Ignore pain
and heartache
and conflict
as long as I can.
Ask yourself that
about your own life
and the life of the church.
Does the way we approach
spiritual matters
look like we're living
in wartime
or peacetime?
We gather for worship
when it's convenient.
You know,
it's just a little
refueling anyway, right?
I mean,
I'm going to be fine.
Take it or leave it.
I'm good either way.
We come to God's Word
when it fits our schedules
or when something
really upsetting happens
and we need it.
We pray,
but we don't plead
very often.
We give generously,
but not sacrificially.
I mean,
we wouldn't want to do
anything unwise
or unreasonable.
We encourage people.
We say nice things
to them about themselves
in order to build them up.
Their self-esteem,
we want them to feel good
and we think they'll like us
if we say nice things,
but we rarely encourage them
about their faith in Christ
and their hope in Him.
We all too easily
cut each other down
as though we're not
dependent upon each other
for protection.
We share the good news
of the Gospel,
don't we?
At least we talk about it.
We'll share the good news
when it's really
a perfect opportunity.
When there's not any risk
of embarrassment
or failure involved.
I mean,
it's not like,
after all,
this is a matter of life
or death or eternity
or anything like that,
right?
Wartime or peacetime?
What do you think?
Take a step back.
Be honest.
Size us up.
How do we approach
our spiritual lives?
What do you see
in our urgency?
In our sacrifice?
In our commitment?
Haven't we become
very comfortable
with the idea
that there might be
an occasional skirmish
here or there
and we'll jump in
when needed?
Something might come up.
Life's not perfect
but pretty much
things are just fine
as they are.
We're pretty comfortable
with that.
And Paul says
it's a dangerous place
to be,
to be living like peacetime
in the midst of warfare
all around you.
He says,
beware.
And this passage says
that's exactly
what we face
every day.
Spiritual warfare.
The kind most Presbyterians
in Huntsville, Alabama
would like to deny
is actually going on.
And God says
don't deny that.
Don't ignore
these words of warning
this morning.
Because we live
in spiritual warfare
we must stand firm
in Christ.
It's absolutely vital
to our spiritual survival
Paul says.
It's absolutely vital
to the eternal survival
of others.
We must awaken church.
Listen,
we've got to wake up
to the reality
of what we face
every moment
of every day.
It's clear
what this passage
tells us to do.
We're told to stand,
aren't we?
Four times
it's in here.
Stand,
stand,
stand.
That's what we're
supposed to do.
Well,
how?
In order to stand
in this battle
first,
we must acknowledge
our real enemy.
look at verse 11.
It says we're
standing there
at the end of verse 11
against the schemes
of the devil.
That's what we're
standing against.
For we do not
wrestle against
flesh and blood,
but against whom?
Who is it that we're
standing against?
Who's the real enemy?
The rulers,
the authorities,
the cosmic powers
over this present darkness,
the spiritual forces
of evil
in the heavenly places.
It's not pretend.
The struggle is
a constant one
because our enemy
is real.
And it's not a circumstance
or a person
in your life
who's the enemy.
The enemy is Satan himself
and the spiritual forces
of evil
that he leads.
He's not just a cartoon
in red pajamas
with a pitchfork.
Satan is fighting
against you
even where
in the heavenly places
where you're seated
with Christ.
He's fighting
against you there,
shooting flaming darts
at you,
verse 16,
prowling around
like a roaring lion
looking for someone
to devour.
Satan and his demons
are not to be
taken lightly.
They're not all powerful,
but they are powerful,
especially in this
present darkness,
this world of sin
and brokenness
where we live
and where they're at work.
The Bible tells us
Satan is a tempter,
that he loves
to lead us into sin.
It says he's the accuser
of the brethren,
that he loves
to create doubt in us
about God
and His love for us.
And the Bible also says
he's the father of lies,
right?
That he loves
to distort God's truth
for his own ends.
One of the great cons
and lies
that Satan
and his cohorts
have perpetrated
on, at the very least,
the church in our day
and in this country,
is that we're at peace.
That there's no battle
going on.
We can just enjoy ourselves,
kick back and relax,
consume some church,
do what we feel like,
live independently
and autonomously,
be okay on our own,
as though we're at peace.
Instead of at war.
And most of us
have bought it,
haven't we?
Most of us in our culture,
and think about your own life,
we've bought that.
We're very comfortable
just living on our own.
And most of us
who do feel like
we're at war
think the enemy
is Republicans
or Democrats.
Think the enemy
is Baptists
or Methodists.
Can you imagine that?
On the same team.
And we've made them
the enemy.
Even sometimes
football games
elicit from us
more urgency
and passion
similar to a war.
We talk of culture wars,
we talk of worship wars,
but very little mention
of spiritual wars,
of all-nighters
battling in prayer
for a brother or sister.
Listen,
our enemy is not
flesh and blood.
your husband,
your boss,
your former best friend,
the person sitting next to you
this morning
with whom you disagree
about something
is not the enemy.
And when we begin
to think that way,
that that's the greatest enemy
we have,
is that flesh and blood,
something or someone
in our lives,
we lose sight
of the real war
we're called to engage in
against Satan
and his cohorts.
And this plays
right into their hands.
Because what's their goal?
What's Satan trying to do?
He wants to disconnect us
from Jesus,
doesn't he?
That's the entire goal.
That's the idea.
That's what he's shooting for.
He's scheming towards that,
in fact.
He's thinking of all
the different ways
he might be able
to disconnect us
from Jesus,
to prevent our active trust
in God,
to offer us fulfillment
elsewhere.
There's life over here
to downplay our need
so that we trust ourselves
instead of God.
And when the enemy
is flesh and blood,
that's exactly what happens.
Because when the enemy
is flesh and blood,
I can pretty much
handle it on my own, right?
We'll just outwork them
or outsmart them
or if it comes to it,
outvote them.
And that's how we'll do it.
We can handle this.
We can do it.
And so we've disconnected.
Practically speaking,
in those moments,
we're disconnecting
from Jesus
because we can handle it.
We're just fine.
And so our enemy has us
right where he wants us,
drifting through life
on our own,
failing to see
the reality of our enemy
and thus failing to prepare
to withstand his assaults.
This sets us up perfectly
because he knows
on our own.
When we get there
and we're relying on ourselves,
he knows our natural weakness.
He does.
If we're going to be able
to stand firm,
we must admit
our own need.
We must know it
even better than Satan does.
We must remember
that on our own,
we're easily deceived,
that our flesh is weak,
right?
This is the repeated
implication of this passage
in several places.
Look at verse 10.
Finally,
be strong
in the Lord
and in the strength
of his might.
It actually means
to be strengthened.
The implication is
you're weak
and you need to receive strength.
Verse 11,
what's the armor of God
for that we may be
able to stand
against the devil
and what he's doing?
Implication on your own
without the armor,
you cannot,
you are not able.
Verse 13,
we're told again,
take up the whole armor
of God
that you may be able
to withstand
in the evil day.
Again,
implication on your own,
you will fall
over and over again
just like we confessed
earlier.
Think of Eve.
Eve walked with God,
right?
She spent time with Him.
She wasn't born
with a sinful nature.
And what happened
when Satan
zeroes in
to tempt her?
She ate.
She fell.
Peter was in
Jesus' small group
for three years,
right?
Jesus was Peter's
small group leader
and Satan says,
you who've been trained
by Jesus,
who've sat at His feet,
I want to sift you
like wheat.
And when He's allowed,
Peter denies three times
even knowing Jesus.
If we're going to stand
firm in Christ,
we have to admit
our own weakness.
That we're not just okay.
And it's vital
because one of the
great promises
of our peacetime lifestyle
is our own self-sufficiency,
isn't it?
That we've pretty much
got it.
Or at least me
and a couple of guys
around me,
we're fine on our own.
We can do this together.
No big deal.
If I'm not actively
at war with someone
who's crafty
and powerful,
I'm not too worried
about handling
whatever life might
throw at me.
And admitting our need
is going to push us
to Jesus
for strength
and help.
And that's really
the point of this
entire passage.
That in order to stand
firm
in Christ
against the devil
and his cohorts,
we must actively
abide in Christ.
Christ.
We won't stand
unless we stand
in Christ.
It's not just knowing
the power of the enemy
and the weakness
we have on our own,
but it's the power
to defeat the enemy
that's essential, right?
Just having some knowledge
about the reality
is not going to be enough.
This passage
is abundantly clear
on one thing.
That power
to defeat the enemy
belongs to God.
To Christ himself.
We see this
through the whole passage
starting in verse 10
where we're told
the strength we need
is in the Lord
and the strength
of his might.
Paul does again
what he did
in chapter 1
if you remember
where he piles up
power words
one after the other.
The strength
and the power
of God's might.
He's saying
that's where the power is.
Jesus is indeed
the one throughout
the New Testament
with the power
to defeat Satan.
We see it
several times,
don't we?
He does it
in his temptation.
He does it
throughout the Gospels
when he casts out demons
and he does it
foremost on the cross
where Colossians 2
tells us what?
He triumphs
over the same
powers and authorities
mentioned in Ephesians.
Jesus triumphs
over them
at the cross.
He publicly
shames them.
Triumphs over them.
Over the same ones
against whom we battle.
Jesus has conquered them.
He has the power
and resources
to defeat the enemy.
Christ is the victor
on the cross
and in the empty tomb
where he defeats
sin and death
where he's exalted.
Ephesians 1.21 says
far above all
rule and authority
and power
and dominion.
He's powerful
above them.
I love the way
the old Puritan prayer
describes Jesus
and his victory.
It's in the valley
of vision.
Read this with me.
Great was the joy
of Israel's sons
when Egypt died
upon the shore.
Far greater joy
when the Redeemer's foe
lay crushed
in the dust.
Jesus strides forth
as the victor,
conqueror of death,
hell,
and all opposing might.
He bursts the bands
of death,
tramples the powers
of darkness down,
and lives forever.
He,
my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment
of my debt,
comes forth from
the prison house
of the grave
free and triumphant
over sin,
Satan,
and death.
Show me herein
the proof
that his vicarious
offering is accepted,
that the claims
of justice
are satisfied,
that the devil's
scepter is shivered,
that his wrongful throne
is leveled.
Amen.
That's good stuff.
I wish I'd written that.
Jesus wins.
The victor
has been crowned.
His triumph is sure.
He reigns in power.
But where does that
leave us?
Here's the point
of what Paul is saying
in our passage
this morning.
He's saying
that the same power
over our enemy
is ours in Christ.
We take up
the armor of God
by being actively
connected to Jesus,
by drawing strength
from him.
It's been a constant
refrain of Ephesians,
right?
Over and over,
in Christ,
in the Lord,
connected to Christ.
It's why we've called
the whole series
Connected in Christ.
There's something
about that
that changes
our identity
and changes
all of our reality.
We have the power
to defeat the enemy
not because we're
so strong,
but because we're
connected to him,
to the one who has
all the power
we just talked about.
That power
from chapter one,
remember that?
The resurrection power
that raised Jesus
from the dead
is not only for Jesus
but toward whom?
Toward all those
who believe.
That power
is for you.
You don't grovel
before your powerful enemy.
You can stand
against him
because greater
is he who is in you
than he that is
in the world.
Amen?
You know Jesus
is stronger than Satan.
You've learned that
since you were a kid.
But did you forget,
Christian,
that you are connected
to him?
That the resurrection
power of Jesus
prevails for you?
Have you forgotten that?
The armor of God,
contrary to much
popular opinion,
is not primarily
about our being strong
and fighting well enough
with our own weapons.
It is rather about
the incredible resources
and weapons
at our disposal
because we're connected
to Christ.
That's why,
by the way,
at the end of it
we're told to be praying
all the time
for all the saints,
even the ones
wearing the armor
because it's about
our dependence on God,
right?
It's His armor,
after all.
The armor of God
we're told to put on
day by day,
to take it up,
to stand firm in it.
The focus of this passage
on the armor of God
is not about the particulars.
It's more telling us
to put on the whole armor of God.
But I'll mention
the particulars briefly
starting at verse 14.
The belt of truth.
Got a beautiful visual
for these.
He was right over here
earlier, okay?
The belt of truth.
God's truth
that directs us
against the lies
of Satan.
The breastplate
of righteousness.
God's holy character
that we've received
from Him
and then been called
in this very letter
to emulate.
The readiness
given by the gospel
of peace.
Having been made
right with God,
we're prepared
to share that good news
with others.
The shield of faith
where we trust
God's promises
in the midst
of the devil's accusations.
The helmet of salvation.
God's amazing power
to rescue
and protect us.
And the sword
of the Spirit,
the passage says,
is God's word
to guide
and direct us.
To fend off
the attacks
of the evil one
as of course
Jesus did
when He was tempted,
right?
When He responds
to Satan,
it is written,
it is written
over and over again
with the word of God.
Do you see how
the armor we have
is indeed God's armor?
That all of it
is His?
And He tells us
to take it up.
To put it on
in order to stand firm.
Now,
what does that look like?
I'll be honest,
to this point,
that sounds pretty hokey.
Like none of us
actually carries around
a foam sword
that says
Sword of the Spirit
on it
and thinks it does
something for us.
What does it mean
for us
to put it on
or take it up?
This is what I mean
by saying
we must
abide actively
in Christ.
Day by day,
in all circumstances,
it says,
we must draw
on the strength
of Christ.
It's not a question
of did we
once upon a time
trust Jesus
so our eternity
is secure,
although that's important.
But do we trust
Jesus right now?
When we take
our Christian life
casually,
when we assume
there's peace
instead of an
ongoing war,
we fail to avail
ourselves of that
connection to Christ
practically
in a particular
situation.
Let me tell you
what I mean.
A couple of examples
of what this warfare
looks like
to help us see
what Paul is calling
us to in abiding
actively in Christ.
Often Satan works
through temptation,
right?
He begins to
tempt us
with questions
about sin.
Is that sin
really dangerous?
Won't it feel
so good?
Is it really
a big deal?
I mean,
isn't it only
a big deal
if you get caught?
Or only if you
don't stop
after a while?
I mean,
you can just
do a little bit
of it.
And we're told
the resources
to resist
the tempter
are in
God's truth.
The belt
of truth
that sin
is really
deadly
to me
and to others.
That my heart
longing after
sinful desires
really is
destructive to me
even if no one
notices.
That Christ
really is more
valuable
than what
sin offers.
Those truths
are there
and it's not
enough just
for the theology
to be true.
We have to
put it on
in this
situation.
Abide
actively
then the
truth has to
matter about
that sin.
But often
we give in.
And when we
give in,
he's there
as the accuser,
isn't he?
He wants to
question us
again.
Satan says,
did God
really say
he loved you
no matter
what?
Could someone
like you
really be
in his family?
Could he
possibly be
okay with that
after what
you've done?
What a failure
of a husband
you are,
hurting the
one person
you promised
to love.
We've all
felt it,
right?
Satan
subtly
trying to
disconnect you
from Jesus
through sin
and now
through accusation.
And this
passage says,
what do we
do?
We respond
by actively
abiding
in Christ,
by taking
up the
promises
of God's
word.
Again,
not merely
theoretically
that God
loves sinners.
I believe
that God
loves sinners.
That's great.
In that
moment,
it's not just
theoretically
do I believe
that and that
nothing can
separate us
from the
love of God
in Christ
Jesus our
Lord.
But this
sinner in
this situation
needs to
believe there
that God
still loves
me,
that he's
not kicking
me out of
his family
for this
sin,
actively,
actually
abiding in
the midst
of those
evil
accusations.
Listen,
when you've
blown it,
and we all
have,
it's hard to
believe that,
isn't it?
Your theology
may not have
changed on the
books.
You didn't
go and decide
to believe
something different,
but sometimes
your theology
doesn't seem
to matter
when you feel
like you've
blown it.
So we have
to recognize
the seriousness
of this battle,
the urgency
of abiding
actively in
Christ,
of drawing
on his
power to
combat the
enemy.
When Satan
tempts me
to despair
and tells me
of the guilt
within,
upward I look
and see
him there
who made
an end
of all
my sin.
I see
him,
the victor,
the one
who has
conquered
sin,
the one
in whom
I'm
righteous,
and I
can stand
against
Satan's
accusations.
One more
example.
We said
Satan's not
only the
tempter
and the
accuser,
but he's
also the
father of
lies,
right?
And so
tragedy hits
in your
life,
and pain
and heartache
and real
hardship and
difficulty that
you didn't see
coming.
And what does
he whisper?
What does
Satan whisper
to you?
Many of you
have heard him
say this to
you recently.
God's not
really good.
He doesn't
really care
for you.
He doesn't
have your
best interest
at heart.
If he was
good, he
could never
have let
this happen
to you
or to
them.
Little
darts,
right?
That slip
in to our
hearts because
our guard
is down.
It's peaceful.
There's nothing
really dangerous
in my life.
I'm coasting
along and
those little
fiery darts
slip in
and in no
time at all
they start a
raging fire
in our hearts.
You've felt
it, haven't
you?
So we're
to do what?
To take
up the
shield of
faith.
Trusting God
and His
promises and
sometimes, let's
be honest, we're
so discouraged
or depressed
that the shield
of faith we're
to take up
to stop
and extinguish
those darts
seems hard to
find, doesn't
it?
I want to show
you a picture
of the kind
of shield
Paul mentions
here, the
word he uses
because Paul's
been talking a
lot about unity
in Ephesians.
It's very
important to him
for the church.
Look at the
shield that he's
talking about.
It's a door
shaped shield,
very large, and
the Roman soldiers
would take them
up and they'd
come together
with their
shields overlapping
or interlocking.
They'd form a
group together,
they call it a
small group,
they called it a
small group or
something like
that.
I can't remember
exactly, I think
it was a small
group, and they
do that to protect
each other, right?
And I love that
beautiful picture
because sometimes a
brother or sister
has to pick up
the shield of
faith for you.
They have to
take God's
word, the sword
of the Spirit, and
speak truth and
encouragement into
your life because
you're too weak to
see it.
We need each other
in the battle.
But remember,
again, it's active
abiding.
Y'all know a lot
of truth.
You're not changing
your theology most
of the time.
What's happening is
we're not bringing
it to bear in our
lives.
We're not abiding
actively in the
battle.
We're not taking it
up.
It means not do I
theoretically believe
God's good and there
are lots of wonderful
promises and I've
never doubted any of
them.
What it means is
actually here in
this situation,
will I choose to
believe that God
is good, that He
has been and is
for me, that He
showed it to me by
sending His Son to
endure my greatest
pain in my place,
that I can trust His
promises again now,
taking up the shield
of faith, abiding
actively, not in my
own strength, but in
His, right?
In the strength of the
one who's conquered.
I hope you're
convinced as we've
talked this morning
that our peacetime
lifestyles won't work,
that will continue to
get picked off by
Satan if we function
that way.
Something's got to
change.
We've got to remember
the power that our
enemy has.
We've got to remember
our own weakness.
And I hope you've seen
anew as I have this
week, the absolute
necessity of accessing
the moment by moment
strength of Christ for
this battle.
I hope we can encourage
each other to reject
the peacetime temptation
of self-sufficiency
and that everything's
okay and we've got
this.
And be mindful of the
urgency of depending
in every situation on
Christ whose power is
great and whose victory
is sure.
I know it's late.
I figured it was going
to be.
But one last question
for you.
What are you fighting
for?
What are you fighting
for?
Are you fighting
hard like me?
Do you see it in your
own heart?
Are you fighting hard
for a peaceful life?
To be successful
enough that you get
comfortable enough and
you can just enjoy some
peace?
Look at this vision in
Revelation chapter 12
where Satan gets
defeated.
The voice says,
Now the salvation and
the power and the
kingdom of our God and
the authority of his
Christ have come for the
accuser of our brothers
Satan here in
Revelation has been
thrown down who
accuses them day and
night before our God
and they have conquered
him how?
By the blood of the
lamb and by the word
of their testimony for
they loved not their
lives even unto death.
Satan's conquered by
the blood of the lamb
and by those actively
trusting in him and it
says what about them?
What did it look like
for them to actively
trust him?
That they loved not
their own lives even
unto death.
I recognize that
mindset not in myself
but in Paul in this
passage where Paul asks
for people at the end of
our passage to pray for
him too, right?
Because he's in prison
so pray for Paul for
what?
That he gets out of
jail, right?
He's stuck in prison,
he's in chains.
Now what does Paul pray
for?
Pray for me in prison
that I might speak the
mystery of the gospel
boldly.
He is just like those
who've conquered in
Revelation.
Not fighting for their
own lives, fighting for
God and for his kingdom.
What's our priority?
How much do we love our
peacetime lifestyles?
Lifestyles?
How hard do we fight for
them?
Does it make sense when
we're in a war?
Does it fit with what
God's word tells us?
That we have a war against
Satan and sin and evil in
which we have not yet
resisted to the point of
shedding our blood.
But if it be that it comes
to that, would it be that we
would be those who love our
king and the gospel of his
kingdom rather than loving
our own lives even unto
death?
What are you fighting for?
Let's pray.
Father, your word is indeed
a sword and we're told it's
a double-edged sword and we
feel that it cuts to our
hearts because none of us
here has adequately
appreciated the war that
we're engaged in.
And so we've failed to take
up the strength that you've
given us.
Father, I thank you this
morning that in the midst of
our weakness, the strength
and the victory of Jesus is
secure.
That it hasn't changed and
that those resources are
available to us in him again
no matter how many times
we've neglected them.
Oh, Father, make us people
who don't fight in our own
strength, but make us also
not those who would cease to
fight.
Make us those who would care
more about your kingdom than
our own, who would value your
gospel going forward more than
our own lives.
Christians are everywhere and in
this country being asked
whether they will stand or
whether they will save their
own lives.
Father, make us those who
value your kingdom over our
own, even our own lives.
Thank you for Jesus.
Would you strengthen us in his
victory and we ask it in his
name.
Amen.
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Thank you.