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Reading Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it
Teaching:
Final instructions are really important, aren’t they? There have been many times where to my cost I’ve not listened fully to what someone has said, because I too eager to get on with things, and then to my cost I paid the price for not listening fully to the end.
Here today in our reading, we have Paul providing instructions to the church in Ephesus which he’s hoping they take notice of. Paul’s instructions are his final instructions to them, and yet they are ones not to be ignored. These Ephesians need to listen very carefully to this.
And Paul’s last instructions are about spiritual warfare. Now this morning you might be thinking well this has no relevance to me – I’m not in a war. I beg to differ folks. Everyone of us is in a spiritual battle every day. There’s a spiritual battle going on in your families right now where some of your family members are not followers of the Lord, where children are following a path that is not what you hoped for. Some of us have a spiritual battle going on around addictions – addictions to alcohol, addictions to gambling, addictions to porn. Some of us have friends and family who are battling with the issues of mental health, where their minds spiral down into places that are so dark that issues of suicide, self-harm, depression are such a reality. And all of this folk is about a battle – a battle between what Satan wants to destroy in you versus the hope that only God can bring. Don’t ever think that these things in life come just because some of us have bad luck. There’s no mention of luck within scripture – it simply doesn’t exist. Here’s what Paul says in our reading today – verse 12 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. You see once we place our troubles of this world into the context of the wider spiritual battle that rages against your soul, it’s then we realise that we need to be prepared for the battle in the way that Paul describes here in Ephesians 6.
Every Christian is involved in a war, no one can decide they want a peaceable life. We all need to know how to fight. You see in this text, there’s a battle that we are in, there’s armour that we need, and there are prayers that we have available to us.
Verses 10-12 talks about the battle that we are in.
We might not be able to see the battle, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It reminds me of the time I first started to hear about using the Cloud for saving files from my computer. I was trying to imagine this cloud in the sky that held all my photos and documents. But where is the cloud? We all need something more tangible to see. And it’s the same with a spiritual battle – it’s very real even though you can’t put your hands on it. For me, I now recognise more and more the spiritual battles that exist around me in my ministry role. For example, I know that when I am preparing my sermon during the week, many other distractions will get in the way preventing me from fully concentrating on it. And it happens every week – so what is it? Well, it’s a spiritual attack that I can’t physically see, but I know that Satan is doing everything he can to prevent the Gospel being spoken on a Sunday morning. Why? Well because it’s a threat to him. He knows he is defeated already but he will put things in the way to try to prevent God’s servants from reaching others with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Now for some of you, you want the Christian life to be one of blessing all the time. But if that was the case then how on earth would we ever learn to persevere in the race as the writer to Hebrews puts it in Chapter 12 “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”. If today you are a new Christian, or even if you have not yet surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus, then I’ll make no bones about it – the Christian life isn’t suddenly all wonderful with no problems – far from it. Jesus himself said this in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world”.
The Christian life is not simply a struggle – it’s a war. Once you give your life over to Jesus then make no mistake about it – you become Satan’s enemy and he’s going to throw everything at you to make you give in and walk away from Jesus. For anyone who says that Christianity is some wishy-washy religion, then they clearly don’t understand the war that is raging on us. That’s why Paul makes it absolutely clear that we need to be strong, but not just strong but strong in the Lord. You see with all that life throws at us these days if we don’t stick close and strong to the Lord then we will come off the rails, and slowly but gradually we will rely less on him. COVID was a classic example of that – many people didn’t return to church, and one of the reasons (I’m not saying the only reason) was that they didn’t stay close to the Lord for their strength. You can’t use your own strength; you need strengthened by the Lord. And so, the battle for our souls is so real.
And so verse 13 – 17 lists the armour that we need to put on in order to fight the battle raging for our souls. So God will give you all that you need when you go to battle. But note that Paul says put on all the armour. This gives all of us some idea of what we are facing. It’s not some little attack we are facing. This is full-on war, and we need to be properly protected from it.
I wonder have any of you been paintballing? I can remember the first time I went, I thought to myself, oh it’s going to be so much fun. Until the point at which the instructors hand you a face mask, and they tell you that such a little paint pellet could put your eye out. I remember the first time that I was hit by one of the little pellets – it definitely leaves its mark. So when Paul describes the armour that we are to put on, he’s making it clear the nature of the battle we are about to face, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. And look at how Paul keeps referring to standing. Verse 11 “Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand”, Verse 13, “ Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then”. This is all about standing – it’s not about gaining new ground. You see when Jesus rose from the grave, he was declaring that the victory was his. We have the victory, so we are not having to claim new ground. We have the victory. But remember the Lord is instructing us to wear the armour, because the enemy still likes to throw darts our way.
So who are we defending ourselves against? Verse 12 gives us some idea. Yes chiefly it’s satan. But it also includes his army. Remember that satan doesn’t work on his own. He has others to help him with his mission, and he is able to work in humans who even indirectly can cause destruction to God’s people. Remember what Jesus said to Peter – he said, “Get thee behind me satan”. Now we don’t believe that Peter was satan, no. But we know that satan was behind the scenes controlling thoughts that Peter had, in the same way as he does every day in our world. Satan is working behind the scenes in all kinds of way, and we need to be aware of it. Anywhere were we see lies, dishonesty, selfish gain, lack of integrity, power struggles, divisiveness – all these are not from God, and therefore they are controlled by Satan. John 8 says that he is a liar. Revelation 12:9 says that he is a dragon, and he is especially after people who bare the mark of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:2 says he is working in those who are disobedient. And Satan will particularly attack the gathering of God’s people, that being the Church. That’s why there are so many splits and disagreements, because the devil is like a roaring lion seeking out those he wants to devour. He wants to do the Church harm. He attacks marriages. He has a field day with the internet. This is the enemy that we face, and I believe that he is at work in society everywhere. I wonder are you aware that he is at work? Don’t dismiss him as some red-faced man with a pointy tail and a fork. He is a deceiver, and he wants to destroy you and those you love.
But the good news is that there’s an armour available to us.
Paul begins in verse 14 with the belt of truth. That might be us speaking the truth from God’s word, or it could be inner truth which is all about integrity. In a world today where truth is actually now so hard to see, don’t we need to be people of the truth. Truth has left our newspapers, truth has gone from our politicians, and that’s why today we must be people who others can rely upon. You see satan loves lies, so the people of God ruin satan’s plans when they walk in truth.
Next, the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate would have protected all the major organs. This is about the righteous character of the people of God. But satan wants to ruin our holiness, it’s our holiness that is a distinguishing mark of Christians. And so satan will try to attack this. So, Paul is saying put on righteousness like a breastplate as it is guarding all the vital organs. And I think there’s nothing more important than our pursuit each and every day of righteousness – to seek after holiness in our lives. And when we see leaders within churches who do not walk lives marked with holiness it really tears the church apart. Pray that our leaders, not just pastors, but all who lead in the church, that they would pursue after holiness in their lives.
Next, our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. When we have good news to tell someone, we are full of enthusiasm and move quickly to do so. We are ready and prepared. Think of that in comparison to someone whose coming to tell bad news. Don’t they walk rather slowly into the room? But when there’s good news there’s an eagerness to share it. So Paul is saying we have good news to tell the world, which brings peace to people’s hearts today. People need to know that in a world where everyone seems to be fighting, where countries are divided, we can run in and tell everyone there’s a way to be reconciled, because the Lord is our peace through the blood of Jesus. This is what we should be ready to go and take to someone – he says have your feet ready to go and tell the gospel that unifies enemies and that reconciles those who are far away.
Next, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. In roman times this would have been a shield that was the height of a man, and it was dowsed in water so that when arrows with a fiery tip came, they would bounce off. So, Paul is saying, while we continue in this battlefield, you’re not always going to know which way to look but there’s one way to always look internally and that’s to look up in faith and believing in the one who is righteous and who is faithful. Satan is going to attack us with arrows of doubt or arrows of accusation. Is God there? Why did God allow this to happen? But when you are confident in knowing who he is and that your salvation is secure, then you don’t need to worry that backup won’t come. He says that when you have faith in him, the enemy cannot do what he can do to people who take matters into their own hands because their faith in God runs short. So hold on in faith, trust God.
And then verse 17, take the helmet of salvation. This is the great hope that we all should have known that ultimately if everything goes pear shaped, we’ve been saved. He says go out there knowing this for certain – that you have been saved.
And then finally take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Central to my ministry to you all over nearly 8 years has been God’s word, and yet, and yet, we still have so many who are not studying it. It’s the one area where I feel many in this church are still babies who haven’t moved onto solids. In all our discussions as a church family, whether in vestry meetings, in handing out uniforms or food, in running holiday bible clubs, in planning for events for the future, the only place where we will receive true wisdom for our actions is in God’s word. I therefore encourage you to bring your bibles when you gather. Bring your bibles, search the scriptures for wisdom, don’t be lazy and expect others to feed you. It’s the word of God. How many books have you read in your lifetime? And so, against this, how many times have your read the word of God. It’s the weapon by which we defeat satan. When Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness, how did he respond? 3 times, Jesus says, “It is written”. He knows that in order to defeat satan he goes immediately to the word of God. And then it says that the devil left him. Martin Luther wrote, “And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us”. What truth? The biblical truth as revealed through the scriptures.
He says the battle you are in, requires the armour that you need, so use it.
So, there’s a battle that we are in, there’s armour that we need, and then Paul finishes off in verses 18-20 that there are prayers that we have available to us.
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people
How much have we prayed about the difficulties that we go through? Do we surround each decision in prayer? Paul is saying, we are to pray on all occasions – not just when things are tough, it’s in every situation. When you are sending your children out to school, are you praying for them into the day? When you hear about the needs within our parish, are you praying? When you are dealing with that spiritual attack in your life, whatever that may be, are you laying it before the Lord? Sometimes we pray, but Paul tells us to pray all the time. And it’s then that Satan backs off. When our conversations are with the Lord in all situations, there is simply no foothold that Satan can make into our lives. We can have all the other armour, but unless we are plugged into the power source, then we can’t do all the other things. Prayer is that vital a source of power for life. A bit like a battery that loses its charge, we will always drain, the more we are in this world, and so the only way to know we are walking in the right path is to be plugged in constantly to the Lord.
Folks, today remember that the battle is real. Can you recognise how Satan each day tries to pull you away from your dependency on God? If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus then don’t be naïve to think you’ll get through unscathed – Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. Therefore, we must stand strong with the armour around us each and every day. We must choose to either live this life in our own strength or in God’s strength. God gives us the armour to fight the battle. Remember he’s won, but we are still in the fight, so stand firm until the day where you can claim the inheritance that is due to all those that remain faithful through the fight.