Eph 6:18b-20

The scripture passage we're reading today is taken from Ephesians 6.

We're doing verse 18b, but I'm going to read the entire of 18.

Verse 20, which is page 979 in your pew Bible.

Sorry.

So we're dealing with warfare.

We have been dealing with warfare, spiritual warfare.

Warfare is engagement in or the activities involved in a war or conflict.

There are different types of warfare.

There's a natural warfare, and here in the text we are encountering and learning about the reality of spiritual warfare.

And we are told here about what is necessary or what our strategy should be to fight and to be victorious in a spiritual war.

In fact, the natural wars that we are seeing take place on the battlefields around our world or in the hearts and minds of humanity and in our own hearts and minds, because we too are a part of humanity, are flesh and blood wars.

These wars that can be seen and even felt viscerally.

But here in the text we are told that even such wars are not the fights that we need to be distracted by.

Because the origin of our very own flesh and blood conflict, both in our beings and in the outside world, originates from a spiritual war that is raging in full effect.

A friend in Los Angeles once pointed out when we were just theologically reflecting about what we observed was going on in the madness of our world.

She said to me, she said, Evan, what you don't see is what's real.

That's what she said.

She said, what you don't see is what's real.

So if what we don't see is what's real, then somehow it behooves us or it is in our best interest to engage in this spiritual battle with a very real enemy who's not visible to us, although we are told that we can recognize his schemes.

But even though he's not visible to us, we're facing a very real enemy and we have to engage this enemy in a very unique way.

In fact, before we talk about the strategy outlined in Ephesians, we should be reminded and embrace the very real fact that this enemy is not only real, but this enemy is fully committed to our destruction.

Fully committed.

In fact, the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5 points this out quite vividly when he warns us that our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

So our enemy's ultimate goal is not just to irritate us or to get on our nerves or to make us sad or even oppressed.

He's ultimately trying to destroy us.

His enemy, Satan, and the forces of darkness is ultimately trying to destroy us.

Now, knowing that we are in a spiritual war and knowing that the nature and the objective of the enemy we are facing, we have to understand why this instruction to pray or communicate with heaven in this warfare context is so important.

Here's an illustration that may help.

I've never been a foot soldier.

I'm sure some people here have been in the military, but one of my best friends and one of my favorite cousins have been.

Everybody has a favorite cousin.

We used to beat them up when they were kids.

This is that cousin.

But they were both, and they were both, and one is still in the Marine, Marine grunts.

They're a Marine infantryman.

And I'm a bit of a bootleg war historian, too, because I've always found the psychology of human conflict interesting and also some of the strategy.

If you know anything, for example, about the American Civil War, what was considered one of the most pivotal battles in that war was the Battle of Gettysburg.

That took place in July 1863, and it was so pivotal that if the North would have lost that battle, then I would most likely be at Yale Divinity School on a student visa from Canada or the UK.

Now, there was a battle within that battle that occurred on the second day in the Battle of Gettysburg, which was a three-day battle.

And that battle, many historians believe, was the most significant, smaller battle within this larger Battle of Gettysburg.

It took place around a hilltop situated at the Union Army's extreme left flank called Little Round Top.

Geographic importance of Little Round Top was there because of where it was situated on the battlefield.

Now, whoever controlled that ground could dominate the countryside for miles.

But this hill represented the most vulnerable flank of the Union lines.

So losing that position would be disastrous.

But along with its geographic location, it was equally important to point out that it was on a hill or a high ground.

It was strategic not only because of its location, but more so because of how it sat in that location.

I understand, and this is from my best friend, mostly, I'm sure my cousin would concur,

that in warfare, having the high ground gives you a significant advantage.

And although in modern warfare, air power can neutralize the advantage of high ground,

it is still better to have the high ground.

Because the high ground gives you perspective or a point of view that puts you at the advantage over the enemy.

So when we pray, as the essential element of spiritual warfare,

we need to not only remember that our God rules the high ground and sits on the highest ground in this war where our enemy is not flesh and blood,

but that our God also owns the high ground on which he sits.

And therefore, has a point of view or the perspective that will give us the victory

when we have to engage the enemy and discern his destructive schemes.

So now that we find ourselves in warfare,

we pray to get instructions for the fight.

And then God begins to download his point of view from the high ground.

And here in Ephesians,

the first thing we are told to do actually in this passage of Scripture

is keep alert with all perseverance,

making supplication for all the saints,

or praying for all the saints.

Let's look at that first half of this verse.

In the military,

in the infantry in particular,

both officers and enlisted,

whether it's the army or the Marines,

you are taught that you need to fight for the man next to you,

or even the woman next to you,

depending on the country you're from,

because some women are in combat,

like with the men.

I know that happens in the Middle East.

But you have to fight for the man next to you,

the one who's standing beside you.

There's no one else that you need to worry about

in that moment of battle,

because your brother or sister in the fight

is the one who truly matters in that moment of life and death realities.

Also, while you are preparing for the fight,

or in the fight,

when you are in the field,

you're often facing or experiencing sleep deprivation,

or extreme fatigue.

I understand that this is a daily reality of the infantrymen,

when they are in the field,

and being alert,

which includes not snoring when you do sleep.

In spite of how you may feel,

you have to be alert,

no matter how you may feel,

but it's something that basically,

your life and the life of those who fight beside you

are dependent upon.

Now, when a soldier is in a battle,

one thing's always certain,

or is on the battlefield,

this is always certain,

that an ever-present threat exists.

Even if there's downtime,

or they may be back,

they may be back at the base camp,

or playing basketball,

or flag football,

or card games,

what often will underlie their thoughts,

even in their moments of rest and relaxation,

is that there is an enemy out there

whose objective is hell-bent on destroying them.

In other words,

impending danger is always lurking,

so being alert has to become a discipline.

It has to become a discipline,

and this requires all perseverance.

Perseverance implies steadfastness,

tenacity,

or staying power.

So the implication here is that

staying alert takes effort.

Staying alert in warfare requires us to

also be honest about what is going on around us,

and even in us,

so that we can be more effective for the fight.

I suggest that one way of staying alert

is being committed when we pray

of first taking a spiritual inventory

of our own lives before the Lord,

just telling the truth to God

because God already knows us,

and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work in us

to help us grow toward wholeness and maturity,

to help us where we cannot help ourselves,

and therefore become more effective soldiers

for God's kingdom.

Staying alert involves us not only looking for the attack

of the enemy from the outside,

but allowing God to give us victory over the enemy

and the challenges of our flesh on the inside.

Paul writes in Romans 7, 18-21,

for I know that nothing good dwells in me

that is in my flesh,

but I have the desire to do what is right,

but not the ability to carry it out,

for I do not do the good I want,

but the evil I do not want

is what I keep on doing.

Now if I do what I do not want,

it is no longer I who do it,

but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law

that when I want to do right,

evil lies close in hand.

Saints, we are perpetually, sorry,

fighting a battle on the inside,

and we need the healing and gracious power

of the Holy Spirit

to lead us into victory

on a daily basis in that battle,

yet we also face the enemy on the outside.

And so does everyone else

whom we know and who we do not know

who follows Jesus Christ.

And we not only need to pray for ourselves then,

but we need to pray for them,

for all the other saints,

all around the world.

And when Hebrew says all,

in Greek and in Hebrew,

all means all.

Why is this necessary?

Because when we pray to the God of the high ground,

that God sees or has a perspective

that prioritizes community.

Here's what I mean.

Ephesians 3 gives us a clear,

clearer, a clue earlier

when it declares that for this reason

I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven

and on earth is named,

that according to the riches of his glory,

he may grant you to be strengthened

with power through his spirit

in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith,

that you being rooted and grounded in love

may have strength to comprehend

with all the saints

what is the breadth and length

and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ

that the past is knowledge,

that you may be filled with all

the fullness of God.

All the fullness of God.

God loves us.

And we are able to grasp

a broader sense of that fullness

of what the love of God is

through community.

For instance,

I don't know what the love of God

looks like in the context of surviving

or combating cancer.

I have friends that do.

But I do know what the love of God

looks like when you have to walk

loved ones through terminal illness

or face never-ending financial crisis,

wanting to work and you can't get arrested

for a job.

I know what the love of God

looks like in those contexts.

I don't know what the love of God

looks like when you have to live

with chronic illness.

But I know saints who do.

I don't know what the love of God

looks like when you have to serve

hard time in prison

for a bad decision.

But I know people who do.

So the fullness of God's love

is such that there is

are so many dimensions

that in order to grasp

some measure of it

beyond our own experience,

you and I need to be in community.

And this makes the health

and safety of this community

a priority of prayer

and warfare.

prayer.

Because God is continuously

pouring out expressions

of his loving kindness

in this community.

So we must pray for all the saints.

Second,

prayer gives us the courage

we need

to do our kingdom job well.

Prayer gives us

the courage we need

to do our kingdom job well.

We already know

that we are in a war,

a fight.

And a fight,

and in a fight,

we need courage.

Even if we think

we got some courage.

If we're honest,

we can admit to times

in our lives

where our courage

has faltered.

And we're not even referring

to spiritual warfare per se.

Just basic courage

we need to have

even hard conversations

that need to be had.

But here it's interesting

that Paul in the context

of spiritual war

is asking that

prayer be offered up

so that he will first

know what to say

in relation to the mystery

of the gospel.

And that once he knows

what to say

that he will say it

with courage.

Now Paul was a communicator.

He was a leader

but in a

but an additional gift

that he possessed

was his ability

to communicate

clearly

and to argue

or reason

when presenting

the gospel

to those

outside of the faith.

We see a number

of instances of this

not only in his writing

but we see it

in actions being

described to us

that he does.

For example,

it can be pointed out

in Acts 17,

16 through 34

when he's speaking

to the men of Athens.

First he's reasoning

in the synagogue

with the Jews

and devout persons

and then he's out

in the street

with the philosophers

who love to philosophize

as scripture points out

and then it

as scripture points out

and then it culminates

with his sermon

on Mars Hill

or Mars Hill.

I'm going to strip over

the Greek word of it

beyond that word of it

but it's Mars Hill

it's also called Mars Hill

where he contends

for God

who these Athenians

sought to label

as the unknown God.

He proclaims,

he proclaims

that this God

is truly the God

who made the world

and everything in it.

So Paul was a proclaimer.

Now using military terms

since we are dealing

with warfare,

proclaiming

in the context

of leadership

which was his MOS

or his military

occupational specialty.

In the military,

the military,

the MOS

is one's job description

basically.

If there's a war

or battle

then everyone is

counting on you

to do your job.

The job,

that job

and to do it

with a reasonable degree

of proficiency

and definitely courage

in order to bring

about the victory

for your unit,

your military force,

your country

or the kingdom

that you've pledged

your allegiance to.

Interesting that

although Paul

was gifted,

a gifted

and brilliant communicator,

we see his humility

and his dependence

on God here

because he did not say,

hey, this is what

I want to say.

No, he wanted to know

what the God

of the high ground

wanted him to say

in order that the mystery

of the gospel

be communicated

and done so

with effectiveness.

You see,

God knew the proper context

in which Paul

needed to speak.

God was intimately

familiar with the audience

of Paul's message

whenever or wherever

he would find himself

delivering it.

It is believed

that the context

in which he was to speak

was one where he had

to defend this new faith

before Nero,

the Caesar in Rome,

to allay any suspicion

that Christianity

was a threat to the empire

as some new Jewish sect

or heretical group

as far as many of their

fellow Jews

had categorized them,

but instead,

it was a new community

of both Jews

and Gentiles.

Paul wanted to be clear

in his message

given the subject matter

and bold

given the audience

and what could have

been at stake

when declaring

that Christ had,

when declaring

what Christ had done

in merging Jews

and Gentiles

into this new humanity.

And how was it

this mystery

was also good news

for all?

Boldness

was also required

because,

as he points out

in verse 19,

he was in chains.

He was a prisoner.

He needed courage

in this battle

from the God

of the high ground.

Similarly,

similarly,

God knows

the context

of our battles

individually

and as a community.

our battles

are always

couched

in specific

contexts.

You and I

cannot always

fight every

spiritual battle

the same

because the next

battle may be

surrounded

by totally

different contexts.

For instance,

when Winston Churchill

made his famous speech

in the House of Commons

in World War II,

it wasn't World War II

for us yet,

but it was World War II

going on,

June 4, 1940,

when the United Kingdom

was under assault

from Nazi Germany's

Blitzkrieg

or lightning war

from the air,

he sought to encourage

the people of the UK

to persevere

when he declared

we shall fight in France,

we shall fight

on the seas

and on the oceans,

we shall fight

with growing confidence

and growing strength

in the air.

He goes on to say

we shall fight

on the beaches,

we shall fight

on the landing grounds,

we shall fight

in the fields

and in the streets,

we shall fight

in the hills,

we shall never surrender.

Now what Churchill

understood about warfare

is that battles

have different

contextual frameworks

that require

the proper equipment,

intelligence,

training,

and personnel

who are operating

in their military

occupational specialty

with a strong degree

of competency

and in unity

with one another

in order to be victorious.

In spiritual warfare,

each of us has

a spiritual MOS

as it were,

military occupational

specialty.

And even though

we may be familiar

with our gifting

to the point

where we think

we know

what the specific

battle requires,

the example

being given here

should encourage us

to seek

God's instruction

in prayer.

in spite of what

we think we know

and doing so,

we'll be doing,

think we know

and doing so,

we'll be better positioned

to discern

when we pray

to defer in the context

of our battles

because the God

of the high ground

knows what we need

from him

in order to win.

finally prayer

is necessary

not only because

we are soldiers

in a fight

but we are also

ambassadors

with a message.

We are soldiers

in a fight

but we are also

ambassadors

with a message.

Paul describes

himself here

as an ambassador.

2 Corinthians 5.20

when he addresses

the Corinthian church

he declares

we

are ambassadors

of Christ.

Then he tells us

that as ambassadors

God is

making his appeal

through us.

How does this work?

This appeal thing

or this ambassador thing.

Now ambassadors

in our modern context

are diplomats.

These diplomats

are envoys

or persons

designated

to represent

one government

in its dealings

with another.

Now they are typically

four central duties

of ambassadors

when we think about them

in a modern sense.

These duties

are representation

policy

protecting citizens

and management.

And management

typically happens

at the embassy

where the diplomat

is assigned.

However

for the sake

of what we're seeing

in this text

I want to look

at two of the duties.

The duty of representation

and the duty of policy.

First

who do we represent?

We are ambassadors.

Scripture tells us

that we are ambassadors

for Christ

just like Paul.

It says

Paul is in chains

which is not necessarily

the image

or the context

we imagine

when we think

of ambassadors

because being an ambassador

should carry

a more polished image.

But maybe the point

is that the context

of our battle

or the framework

of our fight

does not change

the role

that we are given

as Christ's ambassadors.

And in our representation

of Christ

we are representing

God's kingdom

and God's kingdom

quoting Dr. Tony Evans

originates

from God's realm

which is spiritual.

He goes on

to clarify

when he says

he does not

deny that the whole

universe constitute

the realm

of God's kingdom

which means

that God's kingdom

is all embracing

or it is God's

comprehensive rule

of all creation.

It is just that

the origin of God's kingdom

is from above

not from the earth.

So we are representatives

of a heavenly kingdom

here on earth

and here on earth

and it is something

that we can never

relinquish

or get away from

and need to always

be mindful of.

Now I don't say this

to put pressure

on you and myself.

It's just reality

of the situation.

But I want to

encourage you

by saying that

God gives us grace

to do our duty

in spite of ourselves.

Please remember

there is grace

that abounds in Christ.

And I cannot

emphasize enough

how incredibly kind

God's grace is

in relation to humanity

but particularly

to his church.

1 John 3 declares

so see what love

the father has given us

that we shall be called

children of God.

And then he writes

and that is what we are.

So we are representatives

for Christ

and God's kingdom

but our duty

is also

to convey

the policy

of the kingdom.

Now in order

to carry out policy

aptly defined

as a deliberate

system of principles

to guide decisions

and achieve

rational outcomes

the ambassador

has to consult

with the president

the head of state

or the sovereign

about what the policy is.

So as ambassadors

of Christ

we receive our policy

and directives

in the midst

of the battle

from the Lord God

from the God

of the high ground.

In other words

even in the midst

of our roles

as soldiers

fighting the enemy

through prayer

we are also able

to receive

instructions from God

who rules the high ground

on how to carry out

kingdom policy

as his ambassadors.

As soldiers

we fight against

the forces

of the enemy

of our souls

but as ambassadors

with a message

God is making

an appeal

through us

to the world.

Now this message

is one of reconciliation

and this is reconciliation

that begins

with salvation.

Theologian

Paul Fidesz

when speaking

of one dimension

of how God's

salvation works

he writes

in our world

in our world

how God's salvation

works in our world

I'm sorry

he writes

that God

acts to heal

and reconcile

entering a great

cost

into the disruption

of human lives

in order to

share our predicament

and release us

from it.

God embraces us

as fragile humanity

he embraces us

he embraces us

in our predicament

through Christ Jesus

and we

carry that message

of reconciliation

to the world

as his ambassadors.

It is kingdom policy

that God so loved

the world

that he gave

his only begotten son

that whosoever

believes in him

should not perish

but have everlasting life.

Let us by God's grace

continually look

to God

to the God

of the high ground

in prayer

with the goal

to be bold

effective ambassadors

of that message

of reconciliation

and bold effective

soldiers

fighting the forces

of the enemy

of our souls

who seek to distort

that message.

Prayer

in the context

of spiritual warfare

is what will give us

perspective

that we need

but it also provides us

with the strength

we need

for the fight.

God bless you.

God bless you.