Spiritual Warfare: Equipped for Battles

Father, we're so grateful for that truth.

That while our sins may be many,

! Your grace is abundant.

!

For Cliff, for him sharing the word with us this morning,

I pray that you would go before him and bless him,

bless the ministry of the word as he presents it,

and I pray that our hearts would be receptive,

that your Holy Spirit would do its work in us,

and help us not just to be hearers of the word,

but to be doers of the word.

We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, good morning.

It is great to be with you already.

In Sunday school, it was great to be able to share

a little bit about the ministry that God's called us to in England,

and we do have, let me just mention,

our prayer cards and some stickers on our table

in the back of the foyer there,

if you would like to pick one up.

That would be great.

If I could encourage you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And I don't know if you normally do this or not,

but we're going to read the scripture together.

We're going to stand together.

If there's a Bible in front of you,

and you aren't sure where Ephesians is,

I think it's on page 979 in the Bible.

But if we'll stand together as I read

from Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10.

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

and as shoes for your feet,

having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith,

with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one,

and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,

which is the Word of God,

praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance,

making supplication for all the saints,

and also for me,

that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly,

to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

for which I am an ambassador in chains,

that I may declare it boldly,

as I ought to speak.

Please have a seat.

Well, I probably don't need to remind you of this,

but if you haven't heard,

our country is involved in a war,

a war with Iran.

You probably have seen that on the television,

in the news.

Maybe you've felt that as you went to the gas pump,

although it's starting to come back down again.

Reminders of the fact that there's a war happening.

But if you're honest,

you probably don't think about it that much.

There aren't really that many visual and auditory reminders

I'm imagining here in Columbus.

I know when I talk to my mother-in-law up in Akron,

it's like, you know,

yeah, I see it on the TV,

but that's pretty much about it.

Where we live in the UK, in Swindon,

we live just below a Air Force base,

a U.S. Air Force base called Fairford,

and it's a place where the planes fly in and out of

going to the Middle East to the war.

So we see bombers and things flying over.

There's auditory reminders.

You can hear the planes before you see them.

You look up in the sky,

and they fly right over our house

as they head out and back.

Every single day for the past couple months,

you see the planes,

and you're reminded there's a war happening.

However, it still feels a little bit removed from us.

It's not like being on the ground in Iran.

We have some colleague who work in Kiev in Ukraine,

and they speak about having to hide in the hallways

and things as bombs are going off around them

and buildings are being destroyed.

It'd be a lot different living in the war zone,

wouldn't it?

You'd probably be reminded in a different way

about the war that's happening around you.

And as we think about this reality

of what we read in Ephesians 6,

we're reminded that there is a war that's happening.

It's happening every single day.

It's a war that is happening here in Columbus,

here this morning at Maranatha Baptist Church.

It's a war that maybe we forget about

as we go about our daily life.

Because this war doesn't get the same kind of news coverage

as the war in Iran.

It doesn't get any kind of press coverage.

And we can't see it,

even though we can see some of the effects

of this war around us.

And that's what Paul is reminding the Ephesians

as he closes his letter

that he has written to the church there in Ephesus.

He wants to remind them of this reality of spiritual war

that they are involved in.

Now we're jumping right into the end of Ephesians.

And so I know there's a lot that happens before in Ephesians.

And I'm not going to share everything,

but just a very quick overview

that leads us up to this point.

Because God has this glorious picture

that Paul writes about,

this plan for his people,

the church in his world.

God's plan for God's people in God's world.

In chapter 1 of Ephesians,

we are told that God has this plan

to unite all things together

in heaven and on earth in Christ.

In chapter 2,

we begin to see how that plan is being realized

as people are brought into a relationship with God.

He brings them from spiritual death

to spiritual life.

He makes them alive by grace through faith in Christ.

It's an amazing reality.

And we are made new creations in Christ.

Individually.

But that's not all that chapter 2 says.

It also says that the Jews and the Gentiles

are brought together

into one new body,

one new humanity.

God's creating a new humanity

that we know of as the church.

And if you're here as a believer this morning,

you're a part of that body.

You're a part of that church.

And in chapter 3,

he goes on to tell us

that God has this,

he's displaying his manifold wisdom

to the entire cosmos

in the church.

I wonder if you feel like that this morning

as you sit here.

This is a display of God's manifold wisdom.

Right here.

You look around the church.

Isn't that a wonderful thing?

And then in chapters 4 through 6,

he begins to show us

what that picture looks like

as we live out our lives

as Christians.

Right?

As we walk out our faith.

Right?

As we walk in love.

As we walk in wisdom,

in light,

in unity,

in purity,

in wisdom.

And then as he closes his letter,

he talks about spiritual warfare.

And in one sense,

it might feel like he's kind of

taking a left turn,

but in another sense,

this is so applicable

to what he's been saying

for the whole letter.

Because I don't know about you,

but sometimes it can feel

really difficult in church.

I don't know.

Maybe Maranatha is different.

But sometimes relationships

can be difficult, right?

Sometimes it can be hard

to live out our faith

and we struggle.

Why is it so hard?

Why is it so hard

to live out the picture

that Paul presents here

in the book of Ephesians?

Well, because we're under attack.

There's a battle that's raging.

And we are involved.

We are at war.

An unseen spiritual battle

that's taking place.

And we need to be equipped

for the battle.

So there are three things

that we're going to think about

from Ephesians 6 here.

The first is

that we must prepare

for the spiritual battle.

We must prepare

for the spiritual battle.

We see that in verses 10 through 12.

Well, how is it that we're going

to prepare for the battle?

Well, first,

it requires God's strength.

See that in verse 10.

Finally, be strong in the Lord

and in the strength

of His might.

Do you notice

the strength terms there?

Strong and strength

and might.

Three terms there.

He's building upon.

He's trying to remind them.

Finally,

as we are engaged

in this battle,

the very first thing

we need to understand

is that we need God's strength.

Why does He need

to remind them of that?

Well, because we are often prone

to fight in our own strength,

aren't we?

Why?

I've got this.

I'm okay.

This isn't going

to be a problem.

No, He says,

you are not strong enough

in and of yourself.

But there is a strength

that is available to you

that will make you

strong enough for the battle.

It's the strength

that comes from God.

It's being strong

in the strength

of His might.

It's a passive verb there

when it says be strong.

It could be translated

to be made strong

or to be strengthened.

This is something God does

in and through us

by His Spirit.

You see,

this battle

that we're engaged in,

we're going to see

is supernatural

and so it requires

supernatural strength.

And that's why I think

Paul prays the way he does

in the book of Ephesians.

In chapter 1,

verses 19 and 20,

Paul prays

that they would know

the immeasurable greatness

of His power

towards us who believe.

And then he goes on

to tell us

what that power is like.

What is that power like?

It's the power

that raised Jesus

from the dead.

I mean,

that's some power.

And he says,

that's available to us.

And so he prays

that they would know

that power.

Why?

Because they're going

to be engaged

in this battle

and they need God's strength.

In chapter 3,

again,

when he prays,

he prays that God

would grant them

to be strengthened

with power

through His Spirit

in their inner being.

They're going to need

that strengthening

in order to live out

what he's going to talk about

in chapters 4, 5, and 6.

This is going

to be necessary.

We need Christ's strength

for this battle.

But not only do we need

His strength,

we need His armor.

And that's why he goes on

to say,

put on the whole armor

of God

that you may be able

to stand against

the schemes of the devil.

The whole armor of God.

Whose armor is it?

God's armor.

He provides the armor

to us.

And we are to put on

the whole armor,

not just parts of it.

You know,

this is probably

a familiar passage

to many of you.

You've grown up in church.

You Sunday school.

It's like,

oh yeah,

I know there's

the six pieces of armor,

right?

And you have the helmet

and the sword

and the shield.

And it doesn't do

so much good

just to know about it,

right?

Paul doesn't say,

know about the armor.

He says,

put on the armor,

right?

So it doesn't know good

if it's just kind of

sitting over there

and I know it's there

and it's great.

No, I need to be,

right?

People who go

onto the front line,

they're like,

well, I know I have

some equipment

that's back in the tent,

but I'll just kind of

leave it there.

No, they're going

to put it on.

Why?

So they're prepared

for the battle.

God has given us

this armor

so that we can be

engaged in this battle.

It's a metaphor

that he's using.

Again,

he's not talking about

physically putting on

pieces of armor.

When Josiah was younger,

there was a VBS

of the church

that I grew up in.

They were doing

about spiritual warfare

and we were the missionaries

for the week

and so we had to produce

these videos

and so we dressed him

all up,

you know,

in the little plastic,

you know,

armor that you can get.

That's not what

we're talking about.

It's a metaphor,

right?

Putting on,

and Paul uses

a different metaphor

in Colossians,

does he?

In Colossians 3,

put on the new self,

the new man.

It's synonymous,

right?

That's what he's

talking about here.

Being prepared

for the battle

means we need

his armor.

But we also need

to know our enemy,

don't we?

When you're fighting

in a battle,

you need to know

who the enemy is

and so he wants us

to know who the real

enemy is in the next verse.

For we do not wrestle,

he tells us who the enemy

is not,

we do not wrestle

against flesh and blood.

So the enemy

is not other people.

The enemy

is not other religions.

The enemy

is not other churches.

The enemy

is not people

who don't know Jesus.

No.

The enemy

is not human.

Well,

who is the enemy then?

Well,

the enemy

is the rulers,

authorities,

cosmic powers

over this present

darkness,

the spiritual forces

of evil

that are in

the heavenly places.

This is where

the real battle

is fought.

It's a cosmic reality

of spiritual forces,

the devil

and those who

are aligned with him

who are fighting

against God

and his people,

seeking to disrupt

God's kingdom.

And they're fighting

with all of their strength.

Satan knows

his time is short.

That's what Revelation 12 says.

He knows

his time is short.

And so one of Satan's

strategies in this battle

is to get us

focused on the wrong enemy.

We start fighting

each other

rather than fighting

the real enemy,

Satan,

rather than taking

our stand against him

in the armor of God.

So the battle

is against the devil

and his spiritual forces.

So if we need

to know our enemy,

then it's important

for us to make

sure that we

understand him well.

Right?

You could just imagine

maybe a path

and having ditches

on either side.

Right?

There's a way

in which we should

understand who our enemy is,

but there are some ditches

we could fall into

if we aren't careful.

Two of the ditches

on either side,

we could underestimate

our enemy

or we could

overestimate our enemy.

I don't know

which maybe you might

have more of an issue with.

Different people

will have an issue

with one or the other

typically.

For many people,

they will underestimate

the devil.

If you underestimate

the devil,

you won't worry

about putting on

the armor.

What do you need it for?

He's not that strong.

We don't need to

really worry about him.

Martin Lloyd-Jones,

I think there will be

a quote that comes up,

says,

I am certain that

one of the main causes

of the ill state

of the church today

is the fact that

the devil is being

forgotten.

That was written

over 50 years ago.

That's still true today.

The reality is

that Satan is alive

and active.

He is limited.

Okay?

But we can't

underestimate him.

He is attacking us.

He's like,

we're told in 1 Peter,

or 1 Peter,

that he is like a lion

who is seeking

someone to devour.

Does that sound like

a friendly enemy?

Does that sound like

somebody we don't need

to be worried about?

I mean,

I don't want to be

in a cage with a lion.

I'm going to be

his lunch.

And so we don't want

to underestimate him

on the one hand,

but on the other hand,

we don't want to

overestimate him.

And sometimes people

do that.

Oh, you know,

we need to be afraid of him.

Oh, he's got so much power.

He's so much more powerful

and all of this stuff

that's happening in the world

and, you know,

witchcraft and new age stuff

and, oh, it's,

you know,

and they're afraid.

Well, if we're afraid,

what are we going to do?

We're going to run

the other way,

aren't we?

Is that what Paul says?

He says,

take your stand.

Be strong

in the strength

of his might

and put on the full armor

of God

so he can stand

against the schemes

of the devil.

And listen,

we don't have to be afraid

of our enemy

because he's already defeated.

That's the good news

of the Bible.

Yeah?

The good news of Christianity

is Jesus already defeated

our enemy.

It's already done.

The battle has been won

at the cross

and through his resurrection.

Jesus disarmed,

we're told in Colossians

Colossians 2:15

chapter 2,

verse 15,

he disarmed the rulers

and authorities

and put them to open shame

by triumphing over them

in Jesus.

That's what's happened.

Now,

just because the battle

has been won

doesn't mean that there

still aren't battles

taking place.

It's kind of like

World War II.

Right?

World War II

pretty much was won

on D-Day,

June 6th,

1944.

But the reality is

that the war

didn't stop

on June 5th,

did it?

It continued

for almost a whole

another year

before VE Day,

May of the next year.

And some of the fiercest

fighting was in that

last year.

Some of the worst

casualties happened

in that last year.

It's similar.

The battle's been won,

but there's still

a battle taking place.

The war has been won,

but the battle's

still taking place.

But we should be

encouraged.

Jesus has won.

And if you know Him,

you're on the winning side.

And you have everything

necessary for the battle.

So we need to prepare

for this spiritual battle.

Secondly,

we must stand firm

in God's armor.

So we're to put on

the armor of God

and next He says

that we're to stand firm.

Verse 13,

therefore,

take up the whole armor

of God,

why that you may be

able to withstand

in the evil day

and having done all

to stand firm,

stand therefore.

So He had these

strength terms

in verse 10.

Now He has stand terms,

right?

Take your stand,

stand firm,

stand therefore.

Why?

Well,

because we need to take

our defensive position

against the enemy.

It doesn't say

attack the devil,

does it?

It says take your stand.

It's primarily defensive

and that's why

when we look at

the armor,

it's primarily

defensive as well.

we're to hold

ground that Jesus

has already won.

He won that ground.

We're not to let

the devil take back

any of that ground

or try to.

He can't ultimately

do that

because He's already won.

Jesus has already won.

But He's going to fight

with everything He has

to disrupt

God's work

in this world,

in churches,

in families,

in communities.

When is He supposed to,

or when are we supposed

to take our stand?

It says in the evil day.

Do we live in the evil day?

What do you think?

Yes?

No?

I don't know.

As I look around,

it feels like that's the reality.

We live in the evil day

and we're told

in the evil day

to take our stand.

Not in peacetime.

You don't need to take

your stand in peacetime.

We are at war

and we need to be ready

for taking our stand.

Paul is trying

to emphasize

a sense of urgency here

as he piles up

these standing words.

He wants us

to be ready

with the armor of God.

And then he goes on

to share the pieces

of the armor,

which again,

we're familiar with.

I'm not going to spend

a lot of time

talking about each

of the pieces of armor,

but before we get

to each of the pieces of armor,

some people think,

you know,

Paul,

he talks about being

in chains, right?

An ambassador in chains

at the end of the passage,

right?

In prison,

and maybe he's chained

to a guard

and he's looking at his armor

and that's what,

and that might be the case.

I don't know.

I'm not Paul.

But I also wonder

if he didn't have

the book of Isaiah in mind

because in Isaiah,

there is a picture

of a divine warrior.

It's talking about Jesus,

the Messiah,

who fights in God's armor.

And it uses even similar terms,

breastplate and helmet

and belt.

I wonder if he had that in mind

as he's writing these words

because remember,

it is the armor of God,

God's armor

that's given to us

to fight in this battle.

He's won that battle

and now that armor

is available to us as well

as he fights for

and saves his people

we see in Isaiah

and we're told

to take up that same armor.

So the first piece

is the belt of truth.

The belt of truth.

In each of these pieces,

there's a word associated

with this one is truth.

When we think about truth,

right,

we think of objective truth.

The Bible is God's objective truth.

It's his spoken word to us.

This is true.

We can trust it.

We can stand upon it.

God is faithful to his word.

And that's really important.

In a culture,

I live in a culture

where God's word

is not valued.

It's not seen

as important.

And unfortunately,

sometimes in churches,

that is the case.

No,

we need to make sure

that we stand on the truth.

But not just know the truth.

I mean,

that's important.

We're called to live it out,

right?

So there's a reality

of the objective truth,

but the subjective reality

of living out that truth

as we are truthful,

reliable,

faithful people,

as the truth works its way

in and through

our lives.

Now,

Satan seeks to undermine

God's truth,

doesn't he?

He wants to distort God's word.

He wants us to turn away

from God's word.

In John chapter 8,

John 8:44

verse 44,

it says that this is a description

of Satan.

He was a murderer

from the beginning.

He does not stand

in the truth.

Why?

Because there is no truth

in him.

When he lies,

he speaks out of his own character

for he's a liar

and the father of lies.

So Satan is the father of lies.

He has no truth,

but God is the God of truth.

And Satan tries to fight

against God's truth

with his lies.

He's been doing this

ever since the beginning

of the Bible.

Just read your Bible,

right?

The very beginning,

he lies to Adam and Eve,

doesn't he?

The serpent comes

into the garden of Eden,

and what does he say?

Did God actually say

that you can't eat

of any of the trees

in the garden?

Did he actually say that?

And what did Eve

and Adam do?

They believed the lie.

Now let's not be too hard

on them because

every single person

has believed the lie

as well.

Satan is fighting

against God's truth

with his lies.

We need to have

the belt of truth on.

God's objective word,

Jesus is the truth,

the way,

the truth,

and the life.

We need to have

that belt fastened

around us

so that we can

battle against

the lies of the enemy.

Second piece of armor

is the breastplate

of righteousness.

Again,

when we think

of righteousness,

we might be reminded

of the righteousness

of Jesus,

his perfect

sanctifying,

his perfect

justifying righteousness

that we experience

when we trust in Jesus.

Not only are your sins

forgiven,

and that's a wonderful thing,

when you trust in Jesus,

your slate is wiped clean.

All of your sin

has been dealt with

on the cross.

Is that good news?

Do you know that

that's not the end

of the story though?

It's not like your bank,

you know,

balance goes from

negative to zero.

It goes infinite.

Why?

Because we are credited

with the righteousness

of Jesus.

It's imputed,

given to us.

We stand in

his righteousness.

That's a wonderful truth

so we can put on

the breastplate of righteousness

because we stand

in the righteousness

of Jesus.

And that then leads

to sanctifying righteousness.

So then again,

we are people

who should be

righteous in our character

and our conduct

and the way that we live.

We should be known

as righteous people.

Not perfect people,

but people who are

transformed by God's Spirit.

And that affects

the way we live

and that should be noticed.

We need to put on

that breastplate

of righteousness.

Why?

Well, because Satan

wants to accuse us.

Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12:10

verse 10.

Satan is the accuser

of the brothers.

He accuses them

day and night

before God.

Did I say

he's a relentless enemy?

What is he doing?

Accusing us

day and night

before God.

There he is.

You know about that cliff?

I mean,

do you see what he did?

Oh,

do you hear what he said?

Oh,

don't you remember?

And he's there

accusing

us before the Father.

But you know

what the good news is?

Not only is there

an accuser,

the Bible says

there's an advocate.

1 John,

1 John chapter 2,

1 John 2:1

verse 1.

We have an advocate

with the Father.

Who is the advocate?

So Satan is our adversary,

the one who is attacking us.

Who's our advocate?

It's Jesus Christ.

And do you notice

what it says about him?

He's the righteous.

Jesus is the righteous one.

And we stand

in his righteousness

as we are

in this battle.

We can stand

in the righteousness

of Jesus

because our salvation

is not dependent

on what we have done

but what Jesus has done.

That is foundational

to Christianity.

If we get that wrong,

then we get

Christianity wrong.

It's not about

being a good person.

So many people in England

think that that's

what Christianity

is all about.

Be a good person.

No.

It's about what

Jesus has done

because all of us

are not good people.

All of us are sinners

in need of salvation.

And God in his love

sent his son

who came to this earth

and lived a perfect life.

The only human being

ever to do that.

And he went to the cross

and he paid

the penalty

for our sin.

He was buried

and he rose again

conquering Satan,

conquering death,

conquering sin.

He stands

as our victor,

our savior

and we trust in him

and we stand

in his righteousness.

A third piece

is the shoes

of readiness

from the gospel

of peace.

The gospel

prepares us

for the battle.

It gives us

stability and security.

stability and security

comes from

the truths

of the gospel.

It is the gospel

of peace.

So in Romans 5.1

we're reminded

that we've been

justified by faith

and as a result

of that

we now have

peace

with God

through Jesus.

It's the gospel

good news

that says

we have peace

with God.

Again,

not because of

what we've done

but because of Jesus.

That's a beautiful thing.

That's what he's talking

about in chapter 2

when he says

that people have been

made alive

and they've now

been saved

by grace

through faith

in Jesus.

And one of the results

of that is we have peace.

We are no longer

at war with God.

We were before

but now we aren't.

And he enlists us

to be a part

of his army.

What a joy it is

to serve

King Jesus.

But not only

do we have peace

vertically

we have peace

horizontally.

That's what chapter 2

also tells us.

We've been brought

together

into one new humanity.

We have brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

We're a part

of one family.

God's family

as his children.

And so

there's this reality

of the gospel of peace

but even as we think

about the shoes

of the gospel of peace

I'm reminded

of the reality

of sharing

that good news.

Right?

So not only do we stand

in that good news

and the truths

of the gospel

that we're justified

and we have peace

with God

but we have that message

to share with people.

It's one of the

privileges we have

as Christians.

We get to share

the good news

of Jesus

with people.

It's wonderful.

It's difficult.

Satan fights against us

at every step

as we're seeking

to do that.

He's trying to distort

the truth that we share

and blind people

Paul says

in 2 Corinthians.

But God is stronger

than that.

And so

as I think about the shoes

I'm reminded

of Romans 10 15

where Paul quotes

from Isaiah

Isaiah 52:7

chapter 52

verse 7

how beautiful

are the feet

of those

who preach

the good news.

How are people

going to hear?

Well some people

need to be sent

and those sent people

get to preach

the good news

and their feet

are beautiful.

We need to have

those shoes

on our feet

as we take

the good news

of Jesus

to the world.

Satan doesn't want us

to live as God's

reconciled people

and he doesn't

want us to take

the gospel

to those

who are trapped

in darkness

and yet it's part

of the battle

we're engaging.

The fourth

piece of armor

as we continue

to move on

is the shield

of faith.

As we think

of faith

think of trusting God.

I think it's one

of the easiest ways

to describe faith

is trusting in God.

We trust in him.

He is faithful.

We have confidence

about who he is

about what he says.

We have confidence

in the promises

that he has made

in his word.

We can stand firm

in those realities

and as we trust

in God

we're able

to deflect

the attacks

of the enemy.

He seeks

to attack

your faith

if you're a Christian.

I'm sure

if you've walked

with the Lord

for any length

of time

you will know

that there are attacks

that come your way.

There's temptation

to sin.

There's doubt

and guilt

and shame

that he seeks

to remind us of.

We can stand firm

in the reality

of God's truth

as we trust

in his word.

1 Peter 5, 8, and 9

I mentioned this

alluded to it earlier

right?

The devil prowls around

like a roaring lion

seeking someone

to devour.

What are we to do?

Resist him.

How?

Firm

in your faith

with the shield

of faith.

We resist the devil.

We resist his attacks

with the shield

of faith

so that we're prepared

for the battle.

The next piece of armor

is the helmet

of salvation.

This reminds us

of the reality

that we are saved

by God's grace

but there's also

a sense in which

we understand

and know that

deep down

in our souls.

Why?

Because God

by his spirit

says to our spirit

it says in Romans

that we're children

of God.

And so not only

is it just like

oh yeah I know

the Bible says

that when I put

my trust in Jesus.

No, you experience

and feel

the reality

of being saved.

Of being rescued.

Of being brought

into God's family.

The helmet

of salvation.

God wants to

or sorry

Satan wants to attack

our assurance

of salvation.

Constantly.

And this is why

again

understanding the reality

of why

and how we're saved

is so important.

If we begin

to think

that our salvation

is dependent

in us

in any way

this is one

of those places

that Satan

will attack

and he'll get

in.

If we aren't

protected

we can know

that we're saved

if we're trusting

in Jesus

and his work.

The Bible

promises that

and we can

trust God's word.

And lastly

the sword of the spirit

the word of God.

Again I've already

said Satan

wants us

to disbelieve.

He tends us

not to believe

God's word.

So he did it

in the garden

of Eden

and then he

repeated it

didn't he?

In the beginning

of the New Testament

just like he did

at the beginning

of the Old Testament

you have the beginning

of the New Testament

as Jesus comes

on the scene

and the spirit

leads Jesus

out into the wilderness

and what does

Satan do?

He comes

and he tempts him

three times

and Jesus

refutes those

temptations

every single time.

How does he do that?

The word

of God.

Yeah.

Do you know

where he quotes from?

The book

that all of us

would go to

if we're being

tempted.

The book

of Deuteronomy

like you know

it like the back

of your hand.

It's just interesting

isn't it?

All three times

he quotes

from Deuteronomy.

I guess that's

an important book

to know.

And so the reality

is he battles

against Satan

even when Satan

tries to quote

scripture at him

from Psalm 91

he refutes

that he doesn't

take the bait

he stands

firm

in the midst

of those temptations

in a way

that Adam and Eve

haven't

and we haven't

either.

And we can

thank God

for that

and we can

seek to follow

his example.

That's why

knowing scripture

is so important.

I'm so thankful

in the church

that I grew up

in we had Awana

and I memorized

so many verses.

There are still

today verses

that I know

because of

that program.

I'm thankful

for that.

And that helps

me that equips

me for the

battle that

we're engaged

in.

So we need

to stand firm

in God's armor.

I wonder have

you been putting

on the whole

armor of God?

So prepare

for this

spiritual battle.

We must stand

firm in God's

armor.

And lastly

we must pray

and keep alert

verses 18

to 20.

We must pray

and keep

alert.

We need to

keep alert

because the

battle is imminent

and if we

aren't alert

we will miss

the dangers

around us.

We won't

see what's

happening and

we won't be

prepared for

the attacks

of the enemy.

I'm reminded

of Mark 14

Mark 14:38

verse 38.

Watch and pray

that you may

not enter

into temptation.

The spirit

indeed is

willing but

the flesh

is weak.

I don't know

if you remember

where that was.

Again if you

know the story

of the gospels

well.

This is just

before Jesus

is going to

the cross.

He's going

to be praying

himself in

the garden

of Gethsemane.

And what

does he do?

He tells

his disciples

the three

disciples that

are there

watch and pray

that you might

not fall

into temptation.

There's a

battle raging.

You're not

aware of it.

You need

to be

prepared for

it.

How are

you going

to be

prepared for

it?

Watch and

pray.

The spirit

is willing

but the

flesh is

weak.

Isn't that

what you

see happen?

What do

they do?

They fall

asleep.

They're not

prepared for

the battle.

When Jesus

is arrested

they all

flee.

Peter denies

him three

times.

Yet Peter's

spirit I

think was

willing.

Right?

Because just

before that

Peter says

I will go

to my grave

with you.

I will die

with you.

His spirit

was indeed

willing.

His flesh

was weak.

So when the

battle raged

and the

temptation

came he

denied the

Lord three

times.

We need

to be

ready.

And prayer

is one of

the ways

that we

equip and

prepare

ourselves.

Our lack

of prayer

reveals our

lack of

dependence on

God.

I don't

know about

you but

prayer is

hard.

Okay?

I'm not

standing here

as like

I've got

this all

sorted out.

My prayer

life is

the best

prayer

life.

It's a

struggle.

It's a

battle.

It's hard

because it's

part of

this battle.

Satan

again doesn't

want us

to pray

because he

knows that

we need

God's

strength.

He knows

that we

need God's

armor.

And as

we put on

that armor

as we're

praying and

we're asking

for God's

help in this

battle.

God's

And so

he's trying

to get us

not to

pray.

Don't worry

about that.

I mean

nobody's

going to

know.

Nobody

sees that.

And yet

when I

don't pray

what I'm

saying is

God

actually I

don't

need

you.

I

got

this

sorted.

What

am I

doing?

I'm

standing

in my

own

strength.

What

has he

told us

right at

the

beginning?

Be

strong

in the

strength

of his

mind.

Not

in our

own

strength.

We

need

his

help.

And so

we

need

to

saturate

every

aspect

of this

battle

in

prayer.

And that's

why he

uses the

term

all in

the next

couple

verses.

When should

we pray?

At all

times.

How should

we pray?

With all

prayer and

supplication.

How should

we pray?

With all

perseverance.

Who should

we pray

for?

For all

the saints.

Four times

he uses

the term

all.

That's a

challenge

isn't it?

I mean

when I

think about

my life

I pray

at some

times

with some

prayer and

supplication

some

perseverance

for some

people

and I

imagine

you're

probably

similar.

And that's

okay.

I'm not

here to

beat you

up.

I'm here

to say

this is

so

important.

Let's

be people

who pray.

We are

so grateful

for people

who pray

for us.

Like I'm

telling you

that the

battle that

we are

engaged

in in

the UK

is not

any

different

than the

battle

here.

But we

are so

dependent

on the

prayers

of God's

people

for us.

Our

church is

dependent

on it.

I think

there's a

picture of

our

church

that's

going

to

come

up

next.

Please

be

praying

for

Pathway

Church,

for the

believers

there

who are

engaged

in

this

battle.

Pray

because

Satan

is

not

happy

that

a

church

is

being

established

in

this

community.

That

people

are

being

rescued

from

darkness

and

brought

into

God's

kingdom.

They

are

not

happy

about

that.

And so

he's

fighting.

Please

be praying

!

Please

be praying

for us

as well.

And I

can say

that because

that's

what Paul

goes on

to do.

He says

pray for

me.

What does

he pray

for?

For

clarity

and courage.

That words

may be

given to

him to

proclaim

the mystery

of the

gospel.

And that

he may

open

his mouth

boldly

to declare

it

boldly.

Please

pray that

for us