Armed and Sent: Standing Firm in Christ (Spiritual Warfare Part 2)

Well, last night, or technically early this morning, one of the most anticipated boxing matches in recent history took place.

Canelo Alvarez versus Terrence Crawford.

And as the fight was approaching, everyone makes their bets.

Who do you have?

Who do you think's gonna win?

I had Crawford.

And then he ended up winning.

But what's interesting is what drives us to want to watch these things.

What makes us want to watch the many documentaries they do leading up to a big fight or wanting to watch the Super Bowl or the NBA finals or whatever we can think of?

And I it's this it's this tension of we don't know who's gonna win.

And so we want to root for one side against the other in hopes that the person or the team we're rooting for ends up victorious.

That is to some extent similar to what we're learning about spiritual warfare.

The difference is we're more like a soldier or an ambassador, as Paul in this text uses that language.

So think of a soldier or an ambassador who's in enemy territory.

They don't choose war, they're just deployed into it.

They don't necessarily get a choice.

Their task is to stand firm and represent their kingdom, their country, their government.

And that's our life as Christ followers.

We don't get to choose do we want to engage in spiritual warfare?

We're rather we're Christ's disciples, we're soldiers for Christ, so to speak, and we are deployed into a spiritual battle.

But what makes us different than a boxing match or the Super Bowl or any type of event in that matter is the fact that we know exactly what the outcome is going to be.

Like imagine watching a big boxing match or the Super Bowl, but you already know exactly how everything's gonna unfold.

You already know the exact score.

Well, that kind of takes all the fun out of it, doesn't it?

But for the Christian, we are deployed into a spiritual battle.

However, God equips us with his armor, his word, and prayer so that we can stand boldly in honoring him.

And he also gives us a cheat sheet in saying, I've already won.

However, as we've been learning last week, we are called to do something.

We are called to stand, we are called to resist, we are called to put on the full armor of God.

And last week we just focused on the foundation of what is spiritual warfare, knowing our enemy, who is the devil, our adversary.

And this morning we're gonna focus on verses 14 through 20 and unpack what does Paul mean when he uses this metaphor of the full armor of God.

And here's what I want to highlight for us this morning.

Because you are united to Christ, you are to take your stand in his strength and open your mouth with his word in boldness.

Because you are united to Christ, take your stand in his strength, and open your mouth with his word in boldness.

So if you look down in uh chapter six, verses fourteen through twenty, uh, well, ten through twenty, rather, you see this language all throughout of both God being the one who supplies the armor, who supplies the power, supplies all the resources the Christian needs to be able to resist the schemes of the devil.

But then if you begin at verse 10, you also see a lot of this language that exhorts the follower of Christ to do several things.

So let's just start at verse 10.

The Christian is called to be strengthened, but not in and of themselves, but by the Lord and his vast strength.

In verse 11, the Christian is to put on the full armor of God.

Why?

So that you can stand against the schemes of the devil, which implies you have a role to stand against the schemes of the devil.

I believe in these verses alone he uses the phrase against about five times.

But then in verse 13, he gives a reason.

For this reason of taking up your stand against the schemes of the devil, put on the full armor of God.

Why?

So that you may be able to resist in the evil day, which implies if you don't do what Paul's instructing, you will not stand and resist in the evil day.

But then in verse 14, we see stand again, stand, therefore, with truth, like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest.

And he goes on to describe this armor of God.

But the point he's making is Christians stand, which is not just a defensive posture, it's both defensive and offensive.

We stand to resist the fiery arrows of the enemy, but we also go on the offense to attack as we seek to serve the Lord.

Now, Paul isn't trying to give us a one-to-one breakdown of the armor.

I I've read a lot, I've I've listened to sermons over the years since I've been a Christian, where sometimes I feel like each piece of armor is used as an illustration in a way that I don't think Paul meant.

So I want to highlight this morning primarily what is Paul getting at when he's describing the full armor of God, and he gives this list of each piece of armor.

Now, here's one of my main arguments for not taking this as a list of each item that we are to carry, a spiritual checklist and say, Do I have the sword of the spirit?

Do I have this and that?

Paul isn't trying to give us a one-to-one breakdown of the armor.

Here's why I would say that.

Because in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul gives a similar description of the armor of God, but listen to what he says.

He says, But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love and a helmet of the hope of salvation.

So there, Paul switches it up and he calls the breastplate, not the breastplate of righteousness, as he does here in chapter 6.

Instead, he says the breastplate the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation.

So I believe what Paul's doing when he's encouraging his audience is he's he's not saying this is a detailed checklist.

No, when Paul talks about the armor of God here in Ephesians 6, he's not giving a checklist of specific equipment, but rather he's showing what it looks like to live out as a Christian your union with Jesus Christ in the middle of the fight of spiritual warfare.

Now, where am I getting that from?

Keep in mind, before we rush into applying each piece of armor, we've got to ask, where did Paul even get this imagery from?

Now, many would say he's likely using the image of a Roman soldier.

He's writing this letter from prison.

It's very possible that he was even chained to a Roman uh soldier at the time.

And so maybe he's looking at this soldier and using uh his armor as an illustration for biblical truth.

That is completely plausible.

But we also have to keep in mind Paul was a trained Pharisee saturated in scripture.

He mastered the Old Testament, which means things like Isaiah 59 would have been at the forefront of his mind.

In Isaiah 59, we see this imagery of a clever military metaphor describing our God.

Here's what we see.

If you turn over actually to Isaiah 59, I want you to see this for yourselves.

Isaiah chapter 59, and remember, the Old Testament would have been Paul's Bible.

Isaiah 59 · chapter mention

We have the full Bible today.

So Paul would have been very familiar with these themes and passages of scripture.

In Isaiah 59, we see a description of the brokenness and the fallenness of the world.

And if you jump down to verse 14 through 17, listen to God's word.

Isaiah 59, beginning in verse 14.

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off.

For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil is plundered.

The Lord saw that there was no justice, and he was offended.

He saw that there was no man, he was amazed that there was no one interceding.

So his own arm brought salvation, and his own righteousness supported him.

He put on righteousness as body armor, and a helmet of salvation on his head.

He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak, so he will repay according to their deeds.

That is not the only passage.

As a matter of fact, there are several passages in Isaiah that describe the Lord our God in these warrior terms.

So I believe Paul is using this imagery.

So he says, God himself is putting on armor.

Now, is God the Father actually putting on armor and going to battle?

No.

But Paul is using this imagery when he says God the God puts on righteousness as body armor and a helmet of salvation on his head.

This is all warrior language.

God arms himself to confront evil, judge injustice, and rescue and redeem his people is what Paul is alluding to.

So in Isaiah 59, God looks around, sees the corruption and rebellion of his people, and says, If no one else will intervene, I will.

And he puts on armor, not made of metal, but of righteousness, salvation, and a zeal for justice.

So, bringing that to the New Testament, as this Jewish former Pharisee is writing inspired scripture, when Paul tells believers to put on the full armor of God, I don't believe he's saying, go build your own armor, go to your local armory, so to speak, and get your armor.

He's saying God already wore this armor in battle.

And now through Christ or through your union with Christ, which he unpacked it in chapters one through three, he says, God lets you wear that armor too.

So here's what's key.

The breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation show up in God in Isaiah as God's own armor.

And then in Ephesians, Paul is saying, You are now in Christ, disciples.

And if you are in Christ, so wear what he wears.

Stand in the strength that he supplies.

Put on the full armor of God, which means put on his armor that he is supplying you.

So the big idea here from Paul is that this is this is borrowed armor.

This isn't a to-do list of this is the type of things or behaviors to put on as a Christian, though.

We'll get to that later.

There are certainly implications in that category, but rather it's a call to rest in the victory and protection that Christ has already won for all of his followers.

And with that take, that gives us so much more of the boldness Paul talks about in this text and recognizing, okay, it's not about when you think about like David and he's putting on Saul's armor and he's like, This doesn't this doesn't match, right?

No, in this situation, it's like, yeah, it doesn't match, but it's it looks good on you.

Because it's the Lord's.

It is for you to empower you and equip you.

And don't worry about the battle.

It's already been won.

Which makes me wonder, you know, the longer I've been studying this chapter, I'm like, so Lord, in your providential sovereignty, do you then just give us your armor and give us your power to engage the battle simply just for our own sanctification?

Like we're fighting a battle that's already a defeated foe.

You're already victorious, but we still are called to engage and resist.

So you're just doing this to, number one, help us to love you more as we see your vast power and how you protect and lead us, but then also to mature us in our faith as we learn.

It's one thing to say, God is good, God is faithful, he's in control.

It's another to go through like spiritual warfare in your life and suffer and endure pain, and you see God go before you and fight the battle and bring you through.

Then when you say God is good, God is loving and faithful, you say it with a different tone in your voice, don't you?

That's what's happening here in Paul's exhortation to these believers in Ephesus.

So we must be reminded this is borrowed armor.

And when we put on this armor, we're not just defending ourselves, we're stepping into the same battle our Savior stepped into.

And we're fighting with his gear and not our own.

But I believe the the to better appreciate what the full armor of God is and what our role is in combating spiritual warfare, we gotta understand what it means that we have been united to Christ.

Now, we talked about that a couple weeks ago when Paul unpacks that uh throughout chapters one through three.

But before we walk through each piece of armor, I think we've got to remember something.

This armor isn't just a metaphor for spiritual habits to put on, but it's a picture of who we already are, even right now, in Jesus Christ.

This isn't armor we make, it's not something we build upon, it's armor we receive because of who we're united to, which is Jesus.

So three quick things.

Number one, this armor belongs to God, according to verse 11.

He graciously gives it to his people.

Number two, it's the very armor Christ Himself put on and triumphed in, as we see in Isaiah, uh, that imagery rather in Isaiah 59.

But third, because we are united to Christ, his strength becomes our strength.

And his victory becomes our victory.

Just wrestle with that statement, the first half of that statement.

Jesus' strength is your strength.

Just ponder that real quick.

So, you know, the strength that he used to conquer death, sin, and Satan, that strength is your strength.

Now I know when I say things like that, if you're like me, you you hear like, yeah, I believe that, but I don't feel real strong, Cam.

That's why the promises of God are never determined on how firmly you're clinging to them.

They're true because the God of the universe said they are true.

So let me put this plainly: putting on the armor of God is really about putting on Jesus Christ, recognizing your union with Him.

For example, you can turn here if you like, but Romans chapter 13, verses 11 through 14 is a good illustration of this theme of putting on Christ as our armor, or rather resting in our union with Christ and seeing that as the full armor of God.

Romans 13:11–14

In Romans chapter 13, beginning in verse 11, Paul says this Besides this, since you know the time, it's it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

The night is nearly over and the day is near.

So let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let us walk with decency as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual impurity and promiscuity, not in quarreling and jealousy.

Listen to verse 14, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

So even there, Paul is saying, You know what time it is.

You live in the last days.

Sin is rampant, the enemy is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour.

He's scheming against all of you, Christians, in all of your churches.

So what are you to do?

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And look at the individual application at the end of verse 14 and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

Interesting point.

Spiritual warfare isn't always just out there somewhere, the weird, mystical, demonic influence and all that stuff.

Spiritual warfare starts in our own hearts.

Being tempted and enticed by our own sinful nature or the world and giving in is also spiritual warfare.

Now, look, I'm gonna try my best here to illustrate this, but I want to show you why I believe Paul is using this imagery of this armor, the full armor of God, as just another way of describing our union with Christ, or like he just says in Romans 13, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm gonna take each piece of armor and just try to highlight number one, the armor and how it connects to our position in Jesus Christ, and then how that then leads us to live, live that out practically.

So, for example, starting with the belt of truth.

If you know your Bibles, you know that the Bible teaches us that Jesus is the truth, John 14, 6.

His word is truth, it points to him.

The whole Bible is a story of how Jesus has come to reconcile sinners back to the Father through his work on the cross.

So the practical implication of putting on Christ who is truth is we walk in truth with integrity and honesty and not deception, and valuing the word of God, seeking to have it dwell in us richly.

He says, the breastplates of righteousness.

Jesus is our righteousness.

Why do you think there's several gospels that describe his earthly ministry?

Because he lived a perfect life in full obedience to the Father, therefore fulfilling the law.

And when we trust in Christ, his righteousness, what happens?

It becomes our own.

If we want to use theological words this morning, we receive his imputed righteousness as a gift that we did nothing to earn or deserve.

So when we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we're recognizing Jesus is our righteousness.

Practical application?

So we pursue righteous living, even if it cost us.

If we are united in Christ, who is our righteousness, and when God looks at us judicially, he sees the very righteousness of his son, then as we live on this side of heaven, with the Spirit's help, we strive to be righteous.

Amen.

That is the righteousness of Christ.

He uses the shoes of the gospel of peace.

Jesus is our peace, the one who reconciles us to the Father, the ultimate high priest and sacrificial Lamb who laid down his life so that we can be at peace with God the Father, by offering himself as a substitutionary atonement for our sins, so that we can be reconciled to our Father.

So we live as gospel people, living in peace, not division, loving our Father for reconciling us to himself through his Son, and proclaiming the message of peace so that others may be reconciled to the Father.

He uses the shield of faith.

We just sung about God's attributes.

Jesus is the source and protector of and perfecter of our faith.

We trust in his promises, especially when life feels shaky and we go through suffering and trial and struggle with sin.

Our faith is our shield, and it's not just faith as in you go to Costco and buy a can of faith, right?

What saves us is not faith itself, faith out in the ether somewhere, but faith in Jesus Christ, who is the object of our faith.

Keep that in mind, Christians, as you try to share the gospel, you're not saved just by faith.

You're saved by what you place your faith in.

We all have faith.

Y'all all had faith that driving the church today, your car wasn't gonna blow up and kill you.

That's faith, right?

You put your faith in your vehicle safety.

Some more so than others.

But we are saved by our faith in Jesus Christ.

He says, helmet of salvation.

Jesus is our salvation.

1 John 5, 11 through 12.

So we let that truth guard our thoughts, giving us hope and courage.

We preach the gospel to ourselves, reminding ourselves of our justified status before the Lord when the adversary, the devil, comes and tries to tempt you by planting thoughts in your head.

Oh, well, certainly God will never forgive you.

Don't you know what you did five years ago, ten years ago?

Don't you know what you've done since coming to faith in Christ?

Like, yeah, he saved you, but he doesn't really want relationship with you.

That's when we put on the helmet of salvation, which is recognizing Jesus is my salvation.

I preach Christ to myself, reminding myself of the truth of the gospel that saved and redeemed me by the blood of Christ.

He describes a sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Who is Jesus?

The Word made flesh.

Jesus is the word made flesh.

So we wield his word.

Well, how do we wield his word?

Well, first you got to start by knowing it, loving it, and proclaiming it.

He is the word.

So when you proclaim God's word, whether it's in a church setting, whether it's in your household, whether you're discipling your kids, you're sharing it with coworkers, family members, you are sharing Christ, who is the embodiment of the word, and the word all points to him.

This is why I love Paul's words in Titus chapter 2, verses 11 through 12, where he says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us, think about that.

Titus 2:11–12

So the grace of God instructs, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lust and to live in a sense.

Righteous and godly way in the present age.

So, how do we live godly, righteous lives in the present age?

By putting on Christ, by knowing Christ's word, who embodies his word, by being transformed by his word, by knowing it, loving it, but also teaching it to others.

When we do that, the grace of God instructs instructs us to turn away from sin and to turn towards righteousness.

So, what I'm trying to hold up here is that when Paul is describing the full armor of God, you don't put this armor on like a soldier putting on gear, getting ready for battle.

You put it on by remembering and relying on who you are in Jesus.

In fact, it reminds me of how we take the Lord's Supper every every Sunday.

What are we doing every Sunday?

We are intentionally doing something that's a symbol, but that reminds us to put on Christ, to remember what he did for us thousands of years ago on a cross and what he is doing for us even now in sanctifying us and reminding ourselves of his promise, where he will one day return for his church and we will take the supper with him in person.

This is why Paul says in Romans 13, 14, put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

To put on the armor of God, the full armor of God, is to walk in your identity in Christ, to practice what's already true of you because of the gospel.

I think one of the simplest definitions of sanctification is becoming what you already are in Christ.

In the eyes of God, you are positionally holy.

But progressively on this side of heaven, we have the privilege of striving and growing, disciplining ourselves to look more and more and more like Jesus and less and less like our former father, the devil.

So the goal isn't for you to leave this morning thinking, I need to go find some spiritual armor and mature and putting on that armor.

No, the goal is that you would say, Because of Christ, I have right now everything I need.

I just need to wear what's already mine.

I just need to tap into what the Son has already supplied by his divine grace.

Here's an everyday example.

When we're tempted to gossip or when fear creeps in and anxiety or depressing thoughts, the goal isn't for you to just discourage, stay discouraged, and wash those things away when they weigh you down.

No, those are the battlefields.

That is the spiritual war.

That is when you tap into the armor and recognize the armor of God isn't a theory, it's not just a Christian fortune cookie piece of wisdom.

It's the very resource you cling to and grab to and reach for in those exact moments.

When the enemy accuses you, reminds you of your past sin, and you say, You're right, I did do those things, and Jesus hung on the cross to purchase me and redeem me from the penalty of those very sins.

What's your plea?

You preach the gospel to yourself and remember who you are in Christ and whose you are in Christ.

Or think of it this way: a mother doesn't just prepare herself for the day when she wakes up.

She grabs her children, if she's a good mom, grabs her children, makes sure they're in the right mind, clothed and fed before getting them out the door.

That's how the Father loves and protects us.

He doesn't just save us and say, okay, good luck.

Go endure the world, and I hope to see you back here when Jesus comes back.

No.

He supplies us everything we need, he cares for us, he clothes us in his own armor so we can face what's ahead.

Think about that.

Before, like when the Lord saved you and knew he wasn't just gonna Star Trek you up into heaven, he knew he's gonna leave you here for a lifetime, right?

He he said, What is the best thing I can give them so they make it?

What is the best resource I can give them to give them the resources they need to fight faithfully?

I'll give you my own armor, which is my son.

You have that right now as you sit in that pew if you're a Christ follower.

So the point is you're you're cared for by your father.

I think sometimes when we think about spiritual warfare, I think many of us are more influenced by entertainment and crazy books and accounts of exorcisms and all that stuff.

I'm not saying there isn't a category for that, but I think we tend to neglect most of spiritual warfare is unseen.

Many of much of it starts in our own sinful inclinations and in the culture and world we live in.

But when we get too preoccupied, if you remember what I said last week, what do we what do we as Christians tend to do?

We either get way too occupied with spiritual warfare or overcorrect to the other side and act like the devil and his fallen angels just don't even exist.

We want to be sober-minded in the middle, recognizing no, we have been deployed into a battle, but we shouldn't get too preoccupied thinking the devil's following us around, personally attacking us, but rather recognizing we are cared for by our father and we are equipped by our father for the fight.

I think that's sometimes, for instance, it's like um when I used to box, and uh other fighters would sometimes get too preoccupied with whoever they're about to spar with, like, oh, he's really good or this or that, instead of focusing on, but do you feel confident in your training?

Like, start with the resources you have.

Now, if you're not good, then maybe just pick up something else.

But if you have resources, you want to tap into those resources instead of just looking at your enemy and getting preoccupied with them to the point where you cower in a corner.

Do you do you understand how shameful that is to see the attacks of the enemy and cower in a corner is to say, God is not more powerful than my enemy?

Because you're neglecting the resources he has entrusted to you.

Now, Paul in our text, he gives us the full armor, but in there, he's also highlighting uh a few things.

Number one, the transforming power of God's word and the authority of God's word.

He also highlights the power of prayer, which I would say is also an offensive weapon.

But then he also uses this imagery, describing himself as an ambassador.

If you look down, let's let's look go back to verse 14.

He says, Stand therefore with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chests, and your feet sandal with readiness for the gospel of peace.

In every situation, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And notice in verse 16, he doesn't say, in which you can extinguish like a handful of the arrows, in which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray at all times in the spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

Let me let me just stop there.

I want to focus first on briefly the word that Paul is highlighting.

If God's truth is rooted deep in your heart and mind, I'm sorry, if God's truth is not deeply rooted in your heart and mind, if you are not striving as a Christ follower to seek to have the words of Christ dwelling in you richly, just know I say this lovingly and pastorally, you stand no chance against the schemes of the devil.

This isn't the pastor trying to step on everyone's toes who seems to neglect studying the Bible and making that a priority in your lives.

I'm just going to give you a very sober warning.

The word of God is very clear that God's word helps you stand in the fight.

You shouldn't want to go to the Bible just to stand against spiritual warfare.

You should want to go to God's word because the creator of the universe, who's your father, has revealed his very heart to you in a book.

That should drive us to God's word.

But just know if you're if God's word is not rooted deeply in your heart and mind, you do not stand a chance.

Why would I say that?

Well, number one, in the armor of God, he's number one saying one of your pieces of armor is the word of God, so there's that.

But then keep this in mind: the enemy knows what he is doing.

Satan has been scheming and devising for centuries.

He knows the word of God better than you ever will in your lifetime.

He even has the added advantage of he saw a lot of this stuff actually play out.

But when God's word takes hold of you, it gives you strength to resist and to stand firm.

Here's a great example.

Jesus as our Savior is our example.

When Satan tempted Jesus for 40 days, what was Jesus' main ammunition against the devil?

He quoted the Bible.

Think about that.

The creator, like he was God in human flesh.

He could have done anything to resist Satan, and what he chose to do and modeled even before us today, is he quoted the word of God.

And he prevailed.

That's why John could say in 1 John 2 14, speaking to a group of believers, he says, You are strong.

God's word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Listen to that.

He doesn't say you're strong because you're mature Christians or you're just stronger than other believers because you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps, you're more holy than everyone else, you're the Navy SEAL Christians.

He says, You are strong.

God's word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

That'll give you some hope to fight, doesn't it?

Or Paul in Philippians 1, he says, just one thing.

As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Then whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.

I love that.

Whenever you see that phrase, if you remember going back to 1st and 2 Peter, that phrase the faith is referring to the body of doctrine we believe in as Christ followers, which means they know their word.

They have sound doctrine.

And because of that, they are enabled, empowered by the grace of Jesus Christ to stand firm, not just individually.

Notice that corporate language in there, in one spirit, in one accord, contending for the faith of the gospel together, and not being frightened in any way by your opponent.

There you go.

You see that corporate element to spiritual warfare again.

It's not just us individually, it's us corporately fighting against the schemes of the devil.

So with this highlight of the emphasis and power of the authority and sufficiency of God's word, think of it this way.

Let me illustrate it as a medical prescription.

When you are ill and in pain, and a doctor prescribes you medication that will treat your ailment and heal you, it doesn't work unless you take it.

That's like you have the pill prescription sitting on your table and you just sit down and stare at it.

What is that going to do for you?

The same goes with the Bible.

If we leave it in our cars, if it's on our bookshelf and we rarely pick it up, or we just pick it up when life crashes and we're burning, well, that's not what God designed it for.

Leaving medicine in a bottle won't heal you, and God's word is the same.

It only transforms us when we consistently take it in.

And that's going to look differently for everybody in this room.

If you rise up early in the morning and you diligently study God's word, praise God.

If you stay up late and study God's word, praise God.

If you carve out days in the week where you have undistracted time to study, if you read a chapter, if you read a whole book in one sitting, I don't care.

Seek to have the words of Christ dwelling in you richly.

That is what we are all expected to do.

But Paul also uses this language, this imagery of an ambassador, where he describes himself.

He's he in other letters, he even refers to himself as an ambassador in chains.

In 2 Corinthians 5, you can turn there if you like.

2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 17 through 21, he uses this language there as well, and I think it's helpful to look at.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21

Second Corinthians chapter 5, beginning in verse 17.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Speaking to the church in Corinth, he says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away, and see the new has come.

Everything is from God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.

We plead on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

See that reconciliation language all throughout there, don't you?

Now, Paul, in context, there is speaking of himself and his gospel partners as ambassadors for Christ, but I do believe it applies to us as well in 2025 who follow Christ.

But notice the language in 2 Corinthians there.

He says in verse 19, I'm sorry, verse 18, everything is from God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

One of the most humbling realities in the Bible to me is the fact that God, even though he is sovereign over every particle of dust in this room right now, he has chosen to work through means.

People are going to come to faith in Christ.

Jesus is going to build his church.

Satan and fallen angels cannot thwart God's redemptive plan for the world.

However, God in his wisdom, for his own divine purposes, for his glory, has chosen to work through the means of people, sinners like you and me, opening our mouths and proclaiming the message of reconciliation that has been entrusted to us.

And he has promised that when we do that, his spirit will illuminate the truth of his gospel and bring people to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

That is a very humbling reality when you think about that.

God chose to build and expand his kingdom through people like you sharing his message, which brings him glory.

Which is why Paul uses this image of an ambassador.

You guys know what that is, right?

If you're an ambassador for a nation or a king, you don't go running around sharing your own message, propping yourself up as I'm the ambassador of America, here's my message.

No, your job is to simply relate what your king, your government, your country has told you to communicate.

And you do your job to faithfully and persuasively communicate that message on behalf of whom you were sent.

You're an envoy, so to speak.

That is how Paul views himself.

And what's interesting about Paul's situation is he is writing this language, I mean, I'm sorry, this letter, using this language, as he's writing from a prison cell.

So think about that.

Paul is writing to a group of Christians in a church, as an he's saying, I'm an ambassador, and I am praying that you guys will pray on my behalf to be emboldened to proclaim the very message that got me locked up in the first place.

That's Paul's perspective of his ministry, right?

Here we think of ministry of success as, well, does Paul have a large platform?

Is he speaking at a lot of Christian conferences?

Does he have a podcast and all this?

He's in prison.

He can't even preach for them on Sunday morning because he's in the jail cell.

And what is he doing?

I am going to write to encourage the church in Ephesus to follow Jesus.

Oh, and let me slip in at the end.

Hey guys, pray for me that God will empower me, embolden me to proclaim the very gospel that got me locked up right now.

That is faith.

He could have easily prayed, deliver me, Lord, get me out of here.

That would have been an appropriate prayer.

It would have been unholy for him to pray that.

But he seems content and no, I recognize in God's sovereignty, I'm a prisoner of Christ, which means he providentially has me in this prison cell.

I am not the man Paul is.

If I was locked up in Greensboro and I got to email Redeemer, it would be very short.

Pull some money together and get me out of here as soon as possible.

But Paul is not thinking about self-preservation.

He's not thinking about his own comfort.

He's thinking about how can I help these dear Christians magnify the name of Jesus Christ, even from a prison cell.

Which brings me to his emphasis on prayer.

If you look down at verses 18 through 20, he says, Pray at all times in the spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

Pray also for me that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.

For this I am an ambassador in chains, and pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.

Spiritual warfare, friends, is not an individual sport.

It is corporate.

He encourages the church in Ephesus, all of them, to pray all the time, with every prayer and request, to stay alert with all perseverance, but notice the phrase an intercession for all the saints.

It is a corporate battle, which I would just encourage you this morning.

If you're not a member of this church, I would encourage you to sign up for the membership class, learn more about what it means to covenant with a local group of Christians to follow Jesus and to enter into unity with them and to help us as redeemers stand against the schemes of the devil.

Or we would be happy to help you find another gospel preaching church where you could live out the spirit of the New Testament, because a Christian detached from a local church is vulnerable, according to what I see in Scripture.

But Paul prays for them to lock arms with each other and pray corporately, to intercede on behalf of one another so that they may resist their enemy, their adversary, the devil, and his fiery arrows.

In light of that, let me ask you a question, friends.

Who are you presently actively praying on behalf of?

If most of the content of our prayers are inward focus, I think something's wrong there.

Don't get me wrong, we should pray for ourselves.

There's a whole host of language in the Bible that helps us even have content of what we should pray on our behalf.

But I think often our prayers look more like Americans chasing the American dream rather than Christians seeking to magnify the name of Jesus.

God, give me comfort, give me a raise, give me a better job, give me obedient kids, whatever we can think of, right?

Paul is encouraging these Christians, pray that you stand firm against the attacks of the enemy, against your church.

Who are you actively holding up in prayer?

You know, a really good habit, friends, to do.

I I learned this years ago just actually from reading Paul's letters and just being convicted about how often I read Paul's letters that include prayers, and he's always praying for the spiritual edification of churches he loved.

And I just started this thing where sometimes if I'm praying for somebody, I'll just shoot him a quick text and say, Hey, pray specifically this for you and your kids or whatever it is.

Sometimes that that just encourages people to know someone, someone else, somewhere out there, has interceded on my behalf to God.

And that just might be something someone needs to just be emboldened that day to follow Christ.

But who are you actively holding up in prayer?

If your prayer is only about you, I think you've missed the nature of the fight.

And you rob yourself of the joyful ministry of seeking the edification of others.

But notice in those verses in 18 through 20, even the apostle Paul, who we all love and wrote most of the doctrine we all have come to love, even Paul needed prayer.

Even Paul sitting in a prison cell prayed that they would pray for him specifically for courage.

So if the apostle to the nations needed Boldness to faithfully proclaim the message as he ought to, as he said, how much more do we?

So to ask another question, how often are we praying, Lord, embolden me, empower me, help me to be reminded of the power you've given me to do the very things you call me to do for your glory and for the good of your people?

Prayer is not the last resort of the desperate, but the first weapon of the faithful.

Charles Spurgeon once said, I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.

I don't know if I fully agree with that, but I understand what he's getting at.

Um I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.

God works through means.

One thing I'm looking forward to in the new heaven and the new earth is just seeing the spider web of testimonies and connections of how did this person come to faith?

Because this person over here prayed for them 30 years ago.

I look at my own life.

I didn't know a single Christian when I came to faith.

I randomly just decided in my depression I need to go to church.

I don't went to a church.

I would love to know in heaven, did someone pray for me one day I just don't know about?

And you answer that prayer, Lord, by moving in my heart to go to church, even though I had no connection to a church whatsoever.

Like I that's the beauty of prayer.

God chooses to work through means.

And that's the beauty of church life.

There will be heroes in heaven that on earth we will never know about.

Churches that just see spiritual growth and they have no idea it was because of a widow who's been praying on behalf of the congregation for 20 years that no one knew about, and God was listening to that woman's prayers.

But Paul's chains, even though he's an ambassador in chains, notice that Paul's chains don't silence his mission.

They rather highlight it.

Even though he's in prison, does the message of God's word stop?

No, because here we are thousands of years later reading a letter a Jewish man wrote from a jail cell.

So even though he's in chains, the mission is not silent.

He is Christ's representative even in prison.

Let that encourage you.

You can minister even in the midst of trial.

You can minister even in the midst of your brokenness.

I don't know if you knew this, but God doesn't only use clean people to minister to his people.

If that was the case, I would not be standing up here this morning.

God uses broken people to minister to other broken people.

And your trials and tribulations does not mean as a uh as a Christian, you're in a season of you need to sit on the bench.

Let me wait till I get out this trial, and then maybe God can use me.

No, God can use you even in the midst of your brokenness and trial and suffering.

And praise be to God for that.

Because the ministry is what the Lord does through us, not what we do for Jesus.

So if we get that right, then we understand, well, then God's ministry can never be thwarted because it doesn't rely on me in the first place.

That's another sermon.

Moving on.

The enemy's goal is not only to attack us, keep this in mind, but to silence the message of Christ.

We need to we need to be sober-minded here.

I love all you in this room.

None of us is special enough for Satan to want to devour us individually.

He wants to devour what God would use you to do for his glory.

That is what he is opposed to.

The Sat Satan did not hate Adam and Eve per se.

He hated what they would represent, which is why he got them to participate in disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit.

Keep that in mind.

He is far more intelligent than I think a lot of Christians like to give him credit for.

But your circumstances don't counsel your calling, whether in hardship, whether in the workplace opposition you face, or even in suffering, what never changes about a Christ follower is you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

The question is, are you communicating your king's message or another message?

Same goes with, I'm careful with this phrase.

I don't know if I would say everyone's a biblical counselor.

Everyone gives counsel.

Whenever someone shares with you suffering, hardship they're going through, and you open your mouth and respond, you are giving counsel that is founded on some worldview.

I would hope it's a worldview founded on the sufficiency and authority of God's word to give hope and help in Jesus.

So we got to keep that in mind.

Our circumstances don't cancel out our calling.

And friends, keep in mind, it's not always just verbally what we communicate.

You're an ambassador in how you just lead your life.

By example, the choices you make and don't make is also proclaiming a message through your deeds.

You guys might be familiar with what a joint terminal attack controller is in the military.

These are the soldiers who have the training and the ability on the field to call in airstrikes.

If you ever, I love a good war movie or show.

So when a platoon is really getting pinned down and the JTAC, you know, radios in, it's like danger close, bring it in, right?

That's what prayer is for the believer.

Now, the danger with us is we use it as a last resort.

When we're losing, when we're we're being drug along, right?

Then we call in the Air Force.

No, we pray before we even step on the battlefield.

We may not carry the biggest weapons, but we do have the line to call in heaven's firepower.

It is so humbling and encouraging and emboldening to be reminded at any given moment, simply because of the blood of Jesus, I have direct access to the Father.

Do you understand that to a Jew, that was like unfathomable?

Like that wasn't even a category.

You had to go through all these channels to get an audience.

And even when God spoke audibly in the Old Testament from the top of the mount, they was like, yo, Moses, please tell him don't do that again, because we are scared we are going to die.

So this idea of having like access to God and him welcoming your presence and him actually think about this: the creator of the universe responding to something you ask him.

That is what all of us have as Christ followers, which is why we should never cower in a corner or fear spiritual warfare as if the devil and fallen angels have some kind of power over us that God hasn't already triumphed over.

Sure, they can demonize us and so on and so forth.

I would say go listen to the sermon last week, but you can't.

Paul knew that, and that's why he is concluding this letter saying, pray for each other, and while you're at it, pray for me, that I may be bold enough to proclaim the message as I ought.

So, in summary, in this spiritual battle that we've been deployed into, your strength is not your own, it is Christ's in you.

So put on Christ, take up his word, and through prayer stand firm and speak bold as his ambassador until the day he returns in victory and looks at you in the eyes and says, Well done, good and faithful servant.

Amen.

Let's pray.