Spiritual Warfare

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 6 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 6,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

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 and 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,

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.

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 and

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 and

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

and 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.

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, 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 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,

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,