Father, we know that demons exist and that they are real.
And we know that they attack people.
And we know that they especially love to attack Christians.
And they love to attack churches.
So, Father, we gather here, having sung your praises and having prayed to you and having heard your word read.
And we gather now at this time to read your word and to think about your word.
So, Father, I know I have no power in and of myself as a frail human being.
But I thank you that in Jesus, by putting my faith and trust in him, you have adopted me as your child.
And you are my father in heaven.
And so, Father, in the name of Jesus, may every demon that is present or affecting or tormenting or influencing in any way, any person in this room or this church, in the name of Jesus, may those demons be bound.
In the name of Jesus, may those demons be cast far from here, never to return.
And, Father, we do not want to be left empty.
We ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with might and power and deep conviction upon us at this time.
We ask that we would be here, that you would help our hearts to be here in the name and presence of Jesus.
That he would walk among us and be present amongst us.
That he would touch each one here personally to some needing healing to bring healing, to some needing correction, correction.
Father, he knows what we need.
And we ask that he would be present and that he would truly be the one who ministers.
That I, Father, would merely be your herald, proclaiming your news to your people in your city, to your glory.
And this I ask in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Please be seated.
So, we're going to talk about demons.
So, I'm a Christian.
And as a Christian, what it means to be a Christian, it means that I have trusted Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
It means that I believe that he is the one who is God, the Son of God, who came and took on flesh and lived amongst us to redeem ordinary human beings like you and me.
And I believe that not just because of the narratives and the arguments for God,
but preeminently I believe that because he prophesied and predicted that he would die.
In fact, he said he came to earth to die.
And he did die on a cross.
And on the third day, he rose from the dead.
And that's a reasonable thing to believe because they've never found the body.
And the body was gone.
He was resurrected.
And, you know, I think that if somebody is able to rise from the dead, they're pretty trustworthy.
If they're able to prophesy that that's going to happen, predict that that's going to happen, they actually do it, that means they're pretty trustworthy.
And so, we call the Christian faith the Christian faith.
And that's a very, very good way to understand it.
Because all knowledge and all systems of belief on one level, at the very root, there's a faith which is there at work.
But sometimes people in the world mistake hearing the Christian faith as if all it is is we kiss our brains goodbye.
You know, at work, some of you have PhDs in engineering.
And some of you are engineers.
And some of you are lawyers.
And some of you don't have all those degrees.
But you're just as smart as those people.
But you just happen to have gone a different route.
And you know how to fix cars.
And you know how to make meals.
And you know how to run families.
And you do all of that type of stuff.
And there's one half of our brain which is sort of all about reason and ration.
And then we sort of shut that with a big, big wall.
And there's this faith part.
And that's what many people in the world think.
And that's, in fact, how many people think.
It's one of the reasons why people can believe very, very, very silly things in the world.
And just by extrapolation, Christians also believe such silly things in the world.
But the fact of the matter is, I've just put to you,
if there really was a man who said that he came from God, that he was God himself,
that he came to make human beings right with God,
and if he said, the way that I'm going to vindicate my claim is by predicting
that I will die a death that I can't actually organize myself,
and I will die in this particular manner,
and after three days the grave will be empty,
and I will rise from the dead,
and I will appear to you to prove that to you.
And if a man is able to do such a thing,
he is a trustworthy man,
a man worthy of being listened to.
And Jesus teaches not just that God exists,
but Jesus teaches that angels exist,
and that demons exist.
And I believe those things.
And the Christian faith, on one level, of course, is a faith.
It's another topic of conversation,
that all knowledge has faith at its very basic root.
Those of you who are educated in a particular way,
the dream of empiricists and rationalists is a false dream.
You have to begin with some things that you believe in faith,
but it's not just a faith.
The Christian faith, Jesus is calling us to enter into the real world.
Into the real world.
And today, as I proclaim to you,
that not only is there a God that does exist,
the God that exists is the God who's described by Jesus,
because he's trustworthy.
But the God who exists,
not only is he exists,
but there's angels that exist in the real world.
There are demons that exist in the real world.
And so, in a sense, by listening to the Bible,
you enter into the real world far more.
You know more about the real world than the CBC does.
You know more about the real world
than the Supreme Court of Canada does.
You know more about the real world
than the University of Ottawa does.
Because the Bible wants us,
Jesus wants us to know what the real world is really like.
In the real world,
there are spiritual beings
that really exist,
that have sometimes an impact on human beings.
And there's angels,
and there's demons,
and we're going to look at that.
So, if you turn in your Bibles
to Ephesians chapter 6,
Ephesians chapter 6,
and you turn to verse 10,
and text along.
If you don't have Bibles of your own,
you can look up on the screen.
But it's always very helpful
to bring your own Bible, by the way.
Not just for people like me
who have a love of paper,
but it's really helpful
just to be able to mark it
or make little notes in your own Bible,
and it can be very helpful for you later on.
But let's listen to this.
The reason I'm talking about this today
is because we're preaching
through the book of Ephesians.
We're finishing Ephesians today.
Next week,
I'm going to begin
four-sermon series
on different prophecies from Isaiah
about the birth of the Messiah.
And then after a Sunday
where Matt's going to preach,
I'm going to begin a series of sermons
on the book of Judges.
And that's what's going to be coming up.
But we're looking here.
We're finishing the book of Ephesians.
And this is how Paul finishes his letter.
And we'll begin reading in verse 10.
Finally,
or another way to translate that is,
henceforth,
or now we hear it,
let's go,
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.
Verse 12,
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.
And we're just going to pause there.
We're going to pause
and camp there for a moment
and just try to understand
a little bit about what he's saying.
Obviously,
within this text,
we can see there
that the devil
is mentioned.
But it also has these other
very interesting images.
The first image,
my version uses wrestle.
I think the version
that Anne read
said struggle.
Wrestle
is a very literal
type of word.
It's an image of,
it's not like
being in a bunker
in Nevada
controlling a drone
over Pakistan
that you press a button
and the bomb goes
and you kill somebody.
This is a face-to-face,
hand-to-hand type of struggle.
To make it very graphic,
you can smell their breath.
You can smell their body odor.
It's a direct,
in-your-face type of struggle.
And then the Bible
talks about something
which is a little bit,
one of the things here,
it says,
we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood.
But then it says
these other things.
And you need to be very clear
that what the Bible here
is describing
is different types
of spiritual beings.
The Bible doesn't
just describe angels.
The Bible has other types
of ranks of angelic beings.
Some of you
who are old and Anglican
remember the hymn
Ye Watchers
and Ye Holy Ones.
If you don't remember it,
you can look it up
on the internet.
Ye Watchers
and Ye Holy Ones.
And in,
I think it's the first verse
of that hymn,
it gives the ancient
Christian classification
of nine ranks of angels,
angelic beings.
The old Christians
read the Bible
very carefully.
We have a great prejudice
against old Christians
and it's just blatant prejudice.
The fact of the matter,
if we think about it,
we're constantly distracted.
We're distracted by Instagram,
by Facebook,
by YouTube,
by Netflix,
by all these other types
of things going on.
We have by radio.
You know,
for many of these people,
the only thing they had
was a bit of the Bible.
So they read it over
and over and over
and over again.
So they got really smart at it.
And they noticed things.
And so what we see here
is because a demon
is an angel
that has rebelled against God
and has become bent in evil.
And so what we see here
is different types of angelic,
I mean,
of demonic beings.
There are demonic beings
that can be called rulers.
Demonic beings
that can be called authorities.
A demonic being
that can be called
a cosmic power
or a cosmic force
over this present darkness.
A demonic power
that can be described
as a,
very literally,
it would be a spirit force
of evil.
The heavenly places
is just describing,
here it doesn't mean heaven,
it just means,
in a sense,
the environment
and the world
that angels
and demons live in.
That's what heavenly places
means there.
It just means they're,
in a sense,
they're natural habitat,
so to speak.
And the word there,
just for those of you
who want a little bit
of a thing,
what it says
they're cosmic powers
or cosmic forces
over this present darkness,
the Greek word
which is used there,
it's the only place
in the New Testament
that it's found.
I've not talked about this
in other weeks,
but Ephesus was famous
throughout the entire
ancient world
at that time
as being the center
of the occult.
A center of magic,
of witchcraft,
of calling down
on spiritual forces.
And this word,
cosmic powers,
is a word
which would have been
if you had gone back
in time
and you went
and got the manuals
about how to try
to reach out
to evil spirits,
it was constantly
calling them
that Greek word.
So Paul is doing
something very specific
to the people
who are right there
in Ephesus,
some of whom
would have come out of
or if they themselves
had not practiced
or tried to practice
what we call
the occult,
they would know
people who have
and that would have been
one of the things
in the manuals.
If you go back
in the book of Acts,
you'll see that after
the gospel comes
to Ephesus,
there's one time
where people come
under conviction
that they have to get rid
of these books
and they burn books
that are worth
tens of thousands
of dollars
as they come
under conviction
that they should not
have any type
of dabbling
in such things.
And it's very,
very interesting.
You see,
one of the things
about the biblical description
of demonic beings,
of evil beings,
is that they,
well,
it's almost like
a military metaphor.
You know,
the private,
in the sense,
a demon is like
a private,
private first class,
I guess.
I don't want to go too far
because I don't know
much about the military,
but a captain
has a wider range
of power and authority
and a major more than that
and a general more than that
and in a sense,
there's some type
of a similar type
of demonic presences
or beings
that have,
in a sense,
a bigger,
wider,
we might even say
an institutional
and cultural
forming role.
See,
it's very interesting
and I don't want
to go very far
on this,
but I find it
very suggestive
this week
as I've been
meditating upon
this text
that he goes
right from talking
about the institution
of slavery
to demons
and not only
that he goes
from the institution
of slavery
to demons,
but not just
individual demons,
but rulers
and dominions
and authorities
because I challenge
the skeptics
who are here
about such things.
Isn't on one level
the institution
of slavery
something that seems
to be more like
hell than heaven?
Can't you see
that there are things
that go on
in nations
and cultures
that seem to have
something more
than just one
particular demon
at work?
Haven't we seen
even in our own
culture,
haven't we all been
in some type
of an organization
or a department
where there's a sense
of darkness
and oppression
in it?
Isn't it reasonable
to assume
that beneath Nazism
and other types
of evil
that have been
in the past
and are growing
in the present,
a love of the
culture of death,
that there might
be something
of the evil
one
influencing
human affairs?
Is that a completely
and utterly
irrational thing
to believe?
That's not an
irrational thing.
Don't we all
on one level
sense?
Don't we say,
how could they
do that?
Like,
when I was in Israel
just a couple of,
like,
a month and a half
ago,
one of the things
I did,
and if you ever
go to Jerusalem,
you have to go
to,
I can't pronounce
it in Hebrew
very well,
you have to go
to the Holocaust
Museum.
You have to do
that.
And you need
to take,
I'm going to give
you one little
piece of advice,
make sure you
allow an hour
or more,
maybe two or
three,
and don't plan
that much
afterwards,
because it
will knock you.
You will receive
a blow.
And one of the
things which is
so shocking
about that,
there's so,
I can just go
on and on
about everything
that's shocking,
but there's a
section where it
talks about those
who are specifically
involved in
seeking out Jews
to exterminate
them.
And the vast
majority of them
had master's
degrees and
doctorates in
literature,
in philosophy,
in what we
call the
humane letters
in psychiatry.
Isn't there
something,
isn't there
the smell of
sulfur?
about such
things in our
culture?
Isn't there?
So here's the
thing,
because we're
camping here a
little bit,
and we're going
to move on,
but we need to
camp here a
little bit.
You know,
if you ever
read J.C.
Ryle's book
on holiness,
it's a great,
great,
great book.
And one of the
things he does,
which is very,
very unlike most
other books on
the subject,
is he spends,
I think,
the first 40%
of the book
talking about
sin.
And he says,
if you want to
go really high,
you've got to
dig deep.
And he said,
so many books
on things about
how to live a
Christian life,
they just brush
over a certain
type of thing,
and they immediately
try to build
high.
And he said,
you just think
about building
anything.
The taller the
building,
the deeper you've
got to go.
So if you want
to talk about
reaching the
heights of heaven,
you've got to
really go deep.
We're going to
spend a little
bit longer on
this,
not because I
have a fixation
about it,
but because
there's so little
that's wise,
that's talked
about in our
culture about
these things.
But here's the
first things.
Demonic influence
is a human
problem.
It isn't if
all of a sudden
Christians are
the only ones
that are affected
by demons.
No, it's a
human problem.
It can be a
problem for
cultures,
for nations,
for movements.
Why is it
that all of a
sudden there's
so many people
in a culture
who seem to
go in a way
which is just
so wrong?
Like, why
is that?
Is that
completely
unreasonable
to think
that there
might be
something of
hell,
a power
beyond that
which is
physical,
which is at
work in such
a transformation,
such a movement
so quickly?
And the
second thing,
if you could
put up the
next point,
if you've
gathered my
view,
these are
real,
there are
real spiritual
beings that
are evil.
they are
hostile to
all that
God has
made,
especially
human beings.
They are
doomed,
but can
still affect
the world
and human
beings.
They delight
in the rape
of the
environment.
They delight
in cruelty
to animals.
they are
hostile to
the good
creation that
God has
made.
But they
also seek to
influence human
beings.
They especially
hate human
beings,
partially,
because what
is a human
being,
according to
the Bible?
Made in
the image
of God.
Every human
being you see
is made in
the image
of God.
They hate
marriage.
Why?
Because in
marriage you
see a good
marriage,
an image of
the relationship
of Christ
to his
church.
And because
no demon
can ever
create anything,
it can only
corrupt.
And God
has granted
to some
human beings
the power
of procreation
that no
demon can
do.
That no
demon can
do.
it's really
important for
us to
remember and
to understand
that the
devil is
not God's
equal.
God has
no equal.
All demons
are created
beings.
demons.
And Jesus
didn't have
to die
on the
cross to
defeat
demons.
Because God
can do it
and they're
gone.
The reason
Jesus died
on the
cross is
for us.
Although his
death on the
cross is
also a
profound
defeat of
demons.
One of the
ways,
we're going
to see in
a moment,
one of the
different ways
that demons
affect us
when we look
at the
armor of
God,
and if you
think in
many cases
of the
opposite of
it.
But at a
very,
very simple
level,
if you just
think of the
different ways
in the
Bible that
the devil
or the
demons
are described,
they are
described as
being liars.
one of the
names for
the devil
is the
accuser.
And so
one of the
ways that
we human
beings are
affected by
demons is
precisely along
that line
of deep
seasons of
accusation,
unredemptive
accusation in
your life.
To believe
lies about
your partner
or your
children or
your boss,
to be
gripped by
lies about
them,
to be
captivated by
internal
conversations
where we
say something
and this
other person,
our boss,
or a
co-worker,
or an
underling,
or a
neighbor,
or a
husband,
or a
daughter,
says
something that
goes back
and forward,
and it's
not the
way they
actually would
talk.
But we
get caught
up in
this story,
in this
narrative of
how a
person is
going to
act,
and how
they're going
to behave,
and what
they're
thinking,
and we
get caught
up in
it,
and we
get so
caught up
in it,
it's as
if it's
real.
We have
almost
literally,
as the
pictures make
to mock
of it,
it's almost
as if for
some of
us,
and for
many of
us,
but for
all of
us at
some time
or another,
almost as
if there
is a
little
person
right beside
us,
speaking
into our
ear,
over and
over again,
the same
types of lies
and
accusations.
Those of
us who
have
struggled
with
addictions,
whether we're
conscious of
it or not,
there's several
core lies
that people
who struggle
with addictions
say to
themselves
over and
over again,
and those
of us who
have struggled
with addictions
are familiar
with what
some of
those are.
We might
not have
ever named
them,
but when
I say
them to
you,
you will
recognize
them.
the closer
someone gets
to know
me,
the less
they'll
like me.
The closer
someone gets
to know
me,
they will
find me
repugnant.
No one
will love
me as I
really am.
No one
will love
me as I
really am.
You might
not say
that very
many.
I can
guarantee
there are
people in
this room
who have
that not
every day
all the
time,
but for
long seasons
that said
into their
ear over
and over
again.
There is
something
unclean
about me,
something
broken
about me,
something
shameful
about me,
something
wrong
about me,
something
doomed
about me.
No one
will meet
my needs.
I need
to meet
them
myself.
If I
don't get
this,
I am
nothing.
how can
I
actually
ever
possibly
survive
a day
or a
week
or a
month
without
that
drink,
without
that
pornography,
without
that
rush
of the
drug?
At the
same time
that we
have a
belief,
quickly
dashed,
I'll just
do it
this one
time,
and
tomorrow
I'll
stop.
And if
you think
about how
powerful
these types
of processes
of accusation
and lies
are,
in many
people's
lives,
you realize
how some
of it is
so close
to the
Christian
truth,
but deeply
perverted.
you are
fallen.
You're
far more
fallen than
you possibly
can imagine,
but I can
tell you
this,
there has
never been a
time in
your life
that you
have been
unloved
by God,
and he
loved you
so much,
that knowing
everything there
is about you
at the very
deepest levels
of who you
are,
and
everything
about you
at the
deepest
levels
of who
you
will
be
tomorrow,
next week,
next month,
six months
from now,
ten years
from now,
if you're
still alive
and Jesus
hasn't come
back,
and Jesus
knew every
single one
of those
things with
a clarity
that you
cannot
possibly have
for your
own self,
and still
he loved
you so
much to
die for
you.
And to
take on
to himself
every wrong
you've ever
done,
every wrong
you ever
will to,
and take
upon himself
that,
and the
shame that
goes with
it,
and the
punishment
it
deserves.
And Jesus
did it
knowing
you
perfectly.
And for
those of
us who
are
Christians,
who still
struggle,
and maybe
will struggle
for a long
time with
those types
of lies
and
accusations,
see,
here's the
gospel.
The gospel
is the
doom you
deserved
was taken
on by
Jesus,
and the
destiny he
deserved
was offered
to you
by grace
alone,
received by
faith alone,
and Jesus
alone.
The doom you
deserved was
taken on by
Jesus,
and the
destiny he
deserved was
offered to
you by
grace alone,
received by
faith alone,
and Jesus
alone.
And I
stand before
you as a
fallen man who
has done many
wrong things and
still will do
wrong things.
But I put my
faith and trust in
Jesus, and if a
guy like I can do
it, so can you.
And if he loved me
enough to die for
me, he loved you
enough to die for
you.
And when you put
your hands in the
hands of Jesus, and
you receive him as
your Savior and
your Lord,
every doomed bit
of you fell on
him.
And I stand
before you, the
collar is
irrelevant, clothed
in Christ's
perfect standing
before God.
And so the
lies of accusation
and doom and
foulness are
lies.
The lies that
there are no
hope or no one
will love you as
you really are,
are lies.
They are lies.
Do a whole course
on how demons
influence you, but
that's how every
human being is
influenced by demons.
God's
things.
If you go to the
next text, because
we need to spend a
little bit about
this, and you'll
see how it is.
It's very
interesting.
Look at verse
13.
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.
Just pause there for
a second.
The Bible says, it
says therefore, but
it's really, in a
sense, trying to
capture the whole
book of you can do
this.
Those of you who
know the whole story
of what Paul's going
to do now is he's
going to describe six
pieces of armor, and
he's going to
describe them using
the words of the
Roman soldiers.
All of them, if you
go back and get a
good academic
commentary, every one
of the pieces of
armor is connected
to something in the
book of Isaiah.
Every one of them
is connected, because
in Isaiah, God is
described as a
mighty warrior.
And so Paul, on
one level, is
speaking to pagans
and to the Jewish
hearers.
They go, ah, that's
in Isaiah, ah, that's
in Isaiah.
There's these
connections.
Go to a commentary.
I'm not going to go
through it.
I only have ten more
minutes left, so we
don't have time to go
through it.
But one of the things
which is very
interesting, it's a
complete reversal of
this very powerful Old
Testament story that
many Jewish people and
many of you would
know.
Maybe not all of you,
but there's a famous
story of David going to
fight Goliath.
And Goliath is this
huge giant, and David
says, I'll go fight the
giant.
And so Saul says, you
need armor, here's your
armor.
And the armor's way too
big and way too heavy, so
David doesn't use it.
And so here's this
delightful mystery, this
delightful paradox.
The armor that God
gives an ordinary
Christian like you and
me is the armor he
wears.
But in the mystery of
grace, when you put it
on, it fits you
perfectly.
Fits you if you're as
big as Daniel, or as
small as whoever the
smallest one of us is
here.
It's this profound
mystery of God's armor
is big enough for him,
but when you put his
armor on you, it fits
you perfectly.
Fits you perfectly.
And so look at verse
13 again, 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.
Verse 14, 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, the
sword of the spirit, which
is the word of God.
Just pause there.
That goes up.
I don't know if you've
been able to.
Oh, they have been
perfect.
Perfect.
So here's this wonderful
thing.
We'll talk about some of
these things in a moment.
But, you know, I was
thinking about this this
week.
You have this image that
God invites you and I've
been actually in my
prayers many times this
week actually trying to
imagine putting these six
things on.
And it struck me that we
all put things on.
Don't we?
Like how many of us sort of
wake up happy but then
what do we do?
We put on resentment.
We put on anger.
We put on bitterness.
We put on our game face.
We look at the mirror and
say, you're a winner.
You can do this.
You can accomplish.
You know, we put on our
best clothes.
You know, for some of you
who are women, you put on,
you know, your best makeup
and you put on your
gait.
You know, you put all the
we put things on.
You know, we put on
resentment.
We put on anger.
We put on hate.
We put on optimism.
We put on arrogance.
We put these things on.
And the Bible is saying,
don't put that stuff on.
Put this stuff on.
And what's the first thing
that he wants you to put on?
Is a belt made out of truth.
Why is this so important?
Why is this?
Because who's the
the Bible wants us?
What happens in salvation?
In salvation, you put your
trust in Jesus.
The Holy Spirit enables you
to put your hand and
trust in Jesus.
And Jesus takes you by the
hand and he takes you out
of the people of the lie.
And he makes you a citizen
of the people of the
truth.
The devil is the father
of lies.
Jesus is the way,
the truth,
and the life.
And it's not just the
truth of God's word.
It's just truth.
It's if you're in a
business and your boss
is blowing steam about
the financial projections,
you are to be a person
of the truth that says,
actually, these figures
are bad news.
If you're in a government
department and he's
trying to make it look
as if everything is going
up and to the right,
but you look at all of
the metrics and it's
going down,
you're to be the gal or
the guy who says,
excuse me,
it's going down.
let's know the truth
so we can deal with it.
And then you look at
the next thing.
So the first thing is a
belt that's made out of
truth.
And the second thing is
this breastplate,
this thing that will
protect you from blows
on your chest.
And it's the breastplate,
it's not the breastplate
of all your good works,
it's the breastplate of
righteousness.
Remember how I was
sharing the gospel,
how what makes me right
before God is not my own
righteousness,
but what makes me right
before God is in a sense
I am clothed with Christ.
That this is to grip me
as I go throughout the
day,
that God will not love me
more tonight because I
preached a good sermon.
My worth is not measured
on how I do for 35 or 40
minutes on a Sunday morning.
So where was I?
Let's go on to the next
one.
I can't remember exactly
where I was,
but that's fine.
A God thing.
So, oh yeah,
so you know what,
I'm, you know,
it's the breastplate
of righteousness.
I stand before God
protected by what Jesus
has done to make me
right with him.
Just look at the next
one, the helmet of,
no, there's the,
verse 15,
shoes for your feet,
which is,
in other words,
how do you put,
how do you,
what do you want to
have on your feet,
you know,
and what you do is
you want the gospel,
in a sense.
What the gospel gives you
is the power to stand.
What the gospel gives you
is a love for people.
What the gospel gives you
is a concern for the city.
What the gospel gives you
is that you walk towards
problems and problem people
rather than away from them.
It gives you this type
of readiness,
and that's what you put
on your feet.
verse 16.
No, I missed the helmet,
didn't I?
No, I haven't,
I haven't, okay.
The shield of faith
with which you can
extinguish all the
flaming darts of evil,
and this is actually
a really important bit.
I have to watch my time,
and it's because
the Bible here combines
two images at the same time.
On one hand,
our struggle with
those things that are demonic
is an in-your-face-direct
type of thing,
but it's not an
individualistic thing,
because what made
the Roman legionnaires
great was their ability
to fight as a unit,
and so these are
four foot by two foot
square shields,
and if you've seen
some old movies
that capture this,
what do they do
in a battle?
The shields lock up.
Guys from behind
put their shields
up above like that,
and you have this
impenetrable line
that protects you
from the missiles
and the arrows
and the attack
of the other person,
and so there's this,
in a sense,
this is a message
not just to George,
but also to Messiah.
It's an individual image
and a congregational image
of us doing this together,
and the faith is just,
you know,
it's faith and a trust
in Jesus
and what he's revealed
and the gospel
and what the Bible teaches,
that that's, in a sense,
what is to protect us,
and then in verse 17,
the helmet of salvation,
what is to protect our heads,
so to speak,
from those types of blows?
Salvation is a little bit
different than righteousness.
It's the same,
but different.
It's this biblical idea
that I'm made right
with God by faith.
I am being made
more like Jesus
by faith.
I will be completely
like Jesus by faith.
It's justification,
sanctification,
and glorification.
It's that
I have been made
right with God.
I am being made
more like Jesus.
I will be glorified.
That's what this is
to remember
on our head.
That's the helmet
of salvation,
the three tenses
of salvation,
and then
the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Bible,
which is the thing
by which we are
to understand
what the real world is
and how we share the faith
and how we understand.
It's the Bible.
How do you put it all on?
I'm running out of time.
If you could put up
the next point,
please,
I've missed these things.
The Lord has provided you
his armor
and empowered you
and called you
to stand in spiritual battle.
That's what this is saying.
The Lord has provided you
his armor
and empowered you
and called you
to stand in spiritual battle.
And how do you stand?
How do you put on the armor?
How do you move forward?
Could you put up
the next point?
You and I,
we both stand
and we advance
on our knees
in prayer
in the Holy Spirit.
We stand
and we advance
on our knees
in prayer
in the Holy Spirit.
Look at what the Bible says.
If you could just go
to verses,
oh,
to verse 18.
I guess I've mixed up
my order a little bit.
Verse 18.
Praying at all times
in the Spirit
with all prayer
and supplication
to that end,
keep alert
and 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.
Put it on with prayer.
I mean,
maybe one of the things
that we can do this week
is you take this little text
of scripture
and maybe write it down
and have it in your pocket
and just imagine
you're going into a meeting,
you're going into a situation,
you're being attacked
by those accusing
types of thoughts
and say,
Lord,
I really need to put
your armor on.
some of you
are visual people.
Lord,
may truth be
what goes around my waist.
Lord,
may that which covers me
be the righteousness
that comes from you.
Lord,
on my feet,
make me be gripped
with the gospel
so that the gospel
shapes and forms
how I look at problems
and how I see people
and where I get
my confidence from.
Lord,
remind me
and help me
to remember
that I have been saved,
that you are saving me,
and that I will be glorified.
And that out of that
I can look at my weaknesses,
I can confess my faults,
I can acknowledge
that I'm not all powerful
and not always right
because of the security
of the helmet
that you have provided me.
And Father,
help me to pick up
the shield
and put it on my,
I'm right-handed,
my left arm.
And Father,
just grip me
with the faith,
with what the Bible
teaches is true
and what the Bible
teaches is false.
And what it means
to put my faith
and trust in you,
Jesus,
and know that
given that you did
rise from the dead,
that you conquered sin
and you conquered death
and all spiritual
powers of evil
are as nothing
beside you,
that that is my,
that is what will
protect me
from the blows.
And help me
to take up
your word,
to read it today
and to seek
to understand it
and to remember it.
And help me
to look at the world
and understand
that people
are not my enemies.
They might think
I'm their enemy
and that's a thing
I need to pray into,
but they're not my enemy.
That what I really
need to deal with
are the demonic forces
that are around me
and people that I know,
ordinary people
that I know
who are under
demonic influence,
and attack
and I am needed
to bring
the love of the gospel,
the truth of the word
and the power of prayer
to pray for them
and view them
not as my enemies,
not as my enemies.
I mean,
there is a possibility
of peace with God
that comes through Christ
that is available to all.
I invite you to stand.
Just bow our heads
in prayer.
Father,
I've mentioned in particular
those of us
who struggle
with different addictions
or alcoholism.
Father,
I lift those of us
who in particular
struggle with that.
I lift us
before you
in particular today
and ask that you
help us
to so trust in you
and so walk with you
that we might have
a mind
which is quietened
by the gospel,
that we might believe
the truth
that comes from you,
that you might give us
ongoing victory
against that addiction,
that alcoholism.
Father,
I lift those of us
who struggle with that.
I lift them,
we lift them
before you
and ask for your healing
power and authority
to come to bear,
that they might know
that you walk with them,
that your armor
is available to them.
And Father,
for all of us
in different ways
and different times,
Father,
under the influence
of demons,
we ask that you
would help us
to be gripped
by the gospel,
that you would help us
to pick up the armor
that is your armor,
that is perfectly fit
for each one of us
and perfectly fit
for us as a congregation
and for other congregations
together to stand,
that you might help us
to put it on,
that you might deliver us
from seeing people
as our enemies
and instead see them
as people made
in your image,
that you would call us
to love
and seek their good
and show us
and help us
to pray for them,
especially in light
of the demonic things
that they themselves
might not recognize
that they deal with
and struggle with,
that you might make us
individuals
and small groups
and men's
and women's ministries
and church other ministries
and the congregation
as whole,
that you would make us
a people of prayer,
gripped by the gospel,
a people of prayer,
advancing on our knees
for the good of the city,
the good of the world,
for the salvation of souls
and the glory of your name.
And all God's people said,
Amen.