Made For More - A Study In Ephesians - 6:10-24

Well, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

That's where we're going to be today.

Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And we'll start in verse 10 in just a moment.

This is our last series, last sermon in our series, Made for More.

We've been talking about how there's this reality in Scripture that you are somebody, that your life does really matter, that you were made for more than just your life on its own.

That you were made for more freedom, more purpose, and more joy.

And we get to see how the gospel shapes our lives, our identity, our relationships, our work, our worship, as we recognize that we were made for more.

And as we start to live the life that God has intended us to live.

And so our theme for this past year has been this idea that comes from Ephesians that we were called to maturity, that we were called to grow up, that God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers to do what?

To equip the saints for the work of ministry.

Like the work of ministry isn't just those who are in vocational ministry, those who are professional Christians, those who get paid to do spiritual things.

No, we're all called to the work of the ministry.

And the work of the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers is to equip the saints, the body of Christ, to grow up in every way into Christ when each part is working properly so that it builds itself up in love, meaning that we're different body parts with different functions, different uh purposes for each of us to live out.

And as we live out those different purposes, those different functions, we're building the body up in love, and we're building each other up in love as we grow and become more like the head Jesus Christ.

And this happens only as we remain connected to him, only as we uh remain connected to his body, the church.

Like you don't get to say, I follow Jesus.

Jesus is my guy, but it's just Jesus and me, no church, nobody else.

No, that that's not a category that we see in Scripture.

We're called into the body of Christ.

And so as we looked at Ephesians, we saw that Ephesians 1 showed who the believer is in Christ, all these identity statements that I encouraged the church multiple times of hey, if you want to know how loved you are by God, if you want to know who you are in Christ, go to Ephesians 1 and just write down all those identities that the word tells us who we are in Christ.

Chapter 2 demonstrates that uh individually we were dead and we were made alive in Christ Jesus by grace through faith.

And then it talks about how we're called into unity corporately in verses 11 through 22.

Chapter 3 then goes into this uh this beautiful prayer, this expression of uh how beautiful it is if we would understand the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of the gospel.

And then chapter 4, we're called to unity, especially in light of this new life that we have as believers.

Then we talked in chapter 5, as Joey shared, about uh walking in the spirit, walking in love, how how we were called to be this uh model of creation, this mini-model of the new creation.

And then uh we were encouraged with how husbands and wives are to live, and we're to meant to display the love that Jesus has for his church, and we were called into that.

And then we saw some practical instruction on uh how we are to work and how we are to parent and how we're to be children and how we are to oversee those that we lead in a work setting.

And then here uh there's this picture of the armor of God, and you've probably seen it on a Sunday school poster, and it might be like, okay, I know that one, I'm I'm ready for that one, uh, let's just move on to the next book.

What's the next series?

Come on.

Uh, but there's really beautiful things for us to unpack in this imagery, starting with the idea that, hey, there's a spiritual battle that's going on around us.

And if we're not aware of that, uh, I think the enemy wants us to be lulled to sleep and not think that there's a spiritual battle.

He wants us to uh just say, oh, well, uh, I get to just come and like church is like a great social group.

I get to find a lot of friends there.

No, like what we're doing here is much more significant than that.

If you think this is just a social club, I'm sorry, but we're gonna disappoint you.

We're gonna let you down.

We are not the best social club.

We are uh a body of believers that are being equipped to help people follow Jesus.

That's what we're all about.

We want to help people to know Jesus, love Jesus, live for Jesus, and tell others about him.

And so our purpose in gathering is to point our eyes to Jesus and to worship God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit together to be reminded of the good news of Jesus Christ, that he lived the perfect life we could never live, that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, to purchase a place for us in heaven with him, that he rose from the dead, he defeated sin and death forever.

Like we have to remind each other of that good news, of the good news that he will return one day to make all things new, to wipe away every tear, to right every wrong.

So we're eagerly anticipating that.

As we look at this passage, I'm guessing that there's one of three uh groups of people in the room.

Uh, some of us will love this passage, like your favorite movies might be Braveheart, Gladiator, Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan.

Some of you love UFC, you get excited about gun ranges, paintball, face paint.

Uh for these, you're like, finally, we're getting to the good stuff.

Let's go.

Some of you might find it antiquated and ridiculous because the description of this ancient weaponry and warfare.

Like, it's almost like the Bible was written to a specific group of people in a specific time.

And so the weapons and the warfare that we're talking about is describing the best weapons and warfare of that time.

Crazy, right?

Uh, and so you were like, man, it'd be cool if there were M16s and sniper rifles, grenades, laser-guided weapons, maybe some drones, maybe some stealth bombers in there.

Come on.

Uh, maybe, maybe it seems like this picture is a bit ridiculous.

And another group might say, man, this this military language, it's a little much.

Maybe it's a little unenlightened.

Haven't we had enough of this religious and holy war talk?

Let's all let's all talk, not all talk about the spirit and evil, uh, simply the product of an uninformed, superstitious writer, are not the real problems more psychological, physiological, relational, emotional, economical, political.

How should we respond to these questions?

Well, the passage isn't antiquated.

It's not, it's an ageless passage in the Word of God, that it's meant to instruct us and guide us.

We can't replace the items of the armor with contemporary items like the bazooka of righteousness, the drone of truth.

We're not going to do that.

Not only because it would be silly, but we would lose the metaphorical point that the author in Scripture had.

And so as we we look at it, it's also ageless because humanity has not changed.

Like we're all still engaged in a spiritual battle that's all around us.

We have spiritual needs that haven't changed.

The evil one who's still active, he's just as active now as he was in the garden.

The believers in Ephesus and the believers in Taylor, Texas, and Greater Taylor have the same need for Christ and his mighty power.

The passage is not ridiculous.

It's rooted in the Old Testament, right?

Like some of this language are like, this is warrior language, just talking about war, that makes me uncomfortable.

Well, the language that we see speaking of God in the Old Testament, the language we see speaking of the Messiah, is the language of this Messiah who's a warrior, a Messiah who uh who comes to conquer, who comes to reign.

And the Old Testament often refers to God and his Messiah as a warrior and his people as troops who are in need of God's strength.

So here's a few, just in case you don't believe me.

Exodus 15, 3.

The Lord is a warrior.

Yahweh is his name.

You have clothed me with strength for battle.

You subdue my adversaries beneath me.

Psalm 1839.

Psalm 35, 1 through 3.

Contend, O Lord, against those who contend with me.

Fight against those who fight against me.

Take hold of a shield and buckler, and rise for my help.

Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuer.

Say to my soul, I am your salvation.

Or Isaiah 42, 13.

The Lord advances like a warrior.

He stirs up his zeal like a soldier.

He shouts, he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemy.

This is a picture of God the Messiah as a warrior, a warrior king.

And sometimes we're like, I want that just that gentle lamb, Jesus.

Well, we look at all of Scripture here at Taylor Bible Church.

We want to be encouraged by all of Scripture and balance out God's love and God's justice, God's meekness and his strength.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald who proclaims peace, who brings the good news, uh, the news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns, Isaiah 52, 7.

And as uh the Messiah is spoken of in Isaiah, it also uses similar language, the same language that we see used of the armor of God here.

Righteousness will be a belt around his loins, faithfulness will be a belt around his waist, Isaiah 11 5.

Isaiah 49 2.

He made my words like a sharp sword, he hid in me the shadow, he hid me in the shadow of his land, he made me like a sharpened arrow, he hid me in his quiver.

Paul picks up these illusions, and his readers resonate with this background, and so we should also.

The passage is rooted in the Old Testament imagery of the king.

It points to the nature of the Messiah and his mighty works.

It's not a bizarre passage.

He's also concluding a lot of the themes that he's written of in Ephesians by bringing out those same pieces in his final chapter as he writes this.

Uh, he's kind of highlighting what he said before as he's wrapping things up.

Like he says, he's talked about his divine power again.

He's going to talk about the divine power here in this text.

He's talked about the tension between already and not yet, that Christ already triumphed over the powers of darkness, giving us new life and freeing us from fear.

But we've not yet experienced the fullness of the fruits of Christ's victory.

For their powers of darkness still exist, even though they are defeated ultimately.

And there's this these pictures of these Christ-like virtues connected with the pieces of armor that have already been mentioned: truth, righteousness, peace, the gospel, the word of God, salvation, and faith.

And then the last two prayer has been modeled by Paul.

And also uh we've been encouraged to pray.

And then uh throughout Ephesians, and then it's gonna happen again, there's gonna be another encouragement for us to pray.

And he said we should put on the new self.

Now he's gonna say we should put on the armor of God.

The armor given to us is God's own armor.

The armor of God is to put on the Messiah himself.

It means to be identified with him and to fight with his strength, displaying his character.

So, what we have here is a carefully put together conclusion that recaps and motivates us to live out the mission that we've been given.

And as we do this, uh, we should remember that the victory has ultimately already been won in Christ, but we're not yet experiencing the fullness of that battle, of that battle being won for us.

There are still parts of wrestling.

So, as we look at this text, uh believers are called to stand firm in the midst of spiritual warfare by God's power with God's armor and in constant prayer.

So, how can we stand firm in spiritual warfare?

I'm gonna ask you to stand if you're able for the reading of God's word.

These are uh God's words, not James' words.

And we're gonna look at ten through twenty in our in our standing right now.

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

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil, and having done all to stand firm, stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication, to that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me and 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.

This is the word of the Lord.

You may have a seat.

Let's pray.

Lord, would you illuminate your word right now with the words that are spoken here to explain your words, maybe may they be bold.

May they make sense.

May you be glorified in our gathering.

This is all about you and your glory and your goodness.

And so we look to you.

We trust you.

I pray that you would guide our minds at this time, that you would help us to set aside distractions, help us to set aside uh things that might keep us from hearing what you would have for each of us to do from your word today.

I pray right now that you would shape us, that you would mold us, that you would uh create a clean heart in us.

Help us to lean into your righteousness and experience that personally as we live it out.

Lord, would you hide me behind your cross?

It's all about you.

It's all for your glory.

Have your way in this service, have your way in our hearts.

Would you be glorified?

We pray this in your son's name.

Amen.

So the first way that we can stand strong in spiritual warfare is that we need to be aware of the battle.

We're gonna have three points from the text and then an application point together.

The first one we need to have is that we need to be aware of the battle.

There is a spiritual war going on around us.

After Paul has said so much about how to live in these relationships, he wants to emphasize that humans, people, are not our ultimate problem.

Humanity's true struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it's against the evil, the spiritual forces in the heavens.

And what we call spiritual warfare is the conflict in the spiritual realm that impacts and affects the physical realm.

The daily problems that we face are rooted in what's happening there in the heavenly places.

But the good news is that all the resources you need to fight that battle are there too.

Paul told the Ephesians that through Christ, God had given them every blessing they needed in the heavenly places.

That was in Ephesians 1, 3.

The risen Christ is there at God's right hand, and Christians are spiritually with him there, but the cosmic powers of this darkness are also in the spiritual realm.

And I think there are three ways that we often get tripped up as we talk about spiritual warfare.

Some of us uh we underestimate the enemy and his attacks on us.

Like we think, uh, no big deal.

No, like he wants to steal and kill and destroy, he wants to ruin your life.

So don't underestimate uh his will is to destroy each of you, especially if you have professed that you follow Jesus.

And on the other extreme of that, some of us obsess with Satan, demonic attacks, the spiritual arena.

Uh, we should be aware of his influence and attacks, but then we should rest in God's power.

That God is the sovereign one, that he has conquered, that he has given us access to every spiritual gift in the heavenlies, as we just read.

Uh, that Satan is not omnipotent, and the battle has already been won.

And three, some of us use spiritual warfare as an excuse to not take personal accountability for different things in our lives, our mistakes, our fleshly desires.

Oh, God, uh, the enemy is just after me again.

It's uh it's uh my tire's flat, must be the tire demon.

He's getting coming after me.

Uh when did you check your air tire pressure last?

Right?

Uh you've got a piece of that it that's also our human responsibility that we need to uh walk with, uh, that we need to take responsibility.

Oftentimes we're shooting ourselves in the foot and then blaming Satan.

No, you did that to yourself.

Like you've inflicted a wound on yourself.

You don't get to blame Satan for every wrong thing that's happening in your life.

Oftentimes it's our flesh, our love for this current world that trips us up, not the enemy attacking us.

We are easy targets because uh we have these desires that are contrary to the way of the Lord.

So how can we stand firm in God's power?

This text equips us for that.

The battle that we face every day, it's rooted in the schemes of the enemy.

In his efforts to deceive us, he's happy for us to picture him as a cartoon character with these little horns and this red jumpsuit carrying a pitchfork, so you won't take him seriously.

But he's like an opposing football team watching all the game film, knowing your history, knowing your weak spots, knowing your sin patterns, and preying on those.

He's not omnipotent, he's not all powerful, he's not omnipresent, he's not everywhere, but he is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour.

His goal isn't to keep you from experiencing God's will.

His goal is to keep you from experiencing God's will for your life.

You're not their first assignment, and they're good at what they do.

But we have to fight the spiritual fight with the spiritual.

Your human strength won't work.

Your only hope is to be strengthened in the Lord.

Verse 10, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, put on the armor of God.

Our only hope is if we put on the armor of God, that we might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Through the cross and the resurrection of Christ, the victory is already ours.

The devil has lost.

The only power he has is the power that you give him.

We should stand firm in Christ's victory.

So when he accuses you and says, Oh, you're worthless, you're nothing, you say, Well, aren't you already defeated?

Satan, Jesus has already put you in your place.

And he's he's going to accuse, he's going to lie, he's going to make us feel less than.

In other words, you stay under the area where the victory has already been achieved under the cover of God's armor.

It's like an umbrella.

If you're standing with an umbrella, I know it's a lot less manly than the armor of God, but listen to me for a second.

If you're standing under an umbrella, under God's covering, you are protected, right?

Uh, it doesn't stop the rain, but it does stop you from getting wet.

Okay.

Most of you have held an umbrella.

You haven't held armor, so giving us a connection that we actually have experience with.

Uh, you have to dress for success in this thing called the Christian life.

In the evil day, when your number comes up, you're wearing uh when you're under full-on attack, you must be wearing the full armor of God.

So you should know our enemy.

We already know our enemy.

Paul hasn't mentioned the devil.

Uh he's given his uh Greek title, uh Diablos, which means slanderer.

He opposes, he accuses.

Uh, a couple other names for Satan, uh, adversary, the devil, the head of demons and his minions, the serpent, Beelzebel, the ruler of this world, the God of this age, the prince of the power of the air, the evil one, the dragon.

His various names display the fact that he's wicked, powerful, and cunning.

We need to consider how Paul describes the enemy, telling us that the devil is evil, obviously.

Uh we need God's armor because we are facing the one who opposes God.

Paul mentions uh the spiritual forces of evil in the evil day.

Further, the evil one is also strategic.

In verse 11, Paul tells us to be aware of his schemes.

We need to be aware of his schemes.

He's wily, subtle, and devious.

He's already pointed out some of the ways he works.

He tries to gain a foothold by tempting us to speak falsehood, to have uncontrolled anger, to steal, to share unwholesome talk.

He's trying to deceive us into our former way of life before we knew Christ.

He's trying to make us look more like him than Jesus.

And we have to stand firm against that.

He wrestles.

In verse 12, it says that we battle or wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the cosmic powers, against uh the authorities, over the powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The word talks about this battle being against these rulers, these evil forces of evil in the heavenly places.

This context of this matchup between soldiers, and it's a close, intense battle filled with manipulation and strategy.

The devil is not firing uh laser guided missiles from a distance, he's upon us, he's nearby in this imagery.

As uh Jesus warned Peter, he said, Hey, Satan wants to sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

Like Satan, if Satan's demanding to sift Jesus' followers like wheat, then it's not not crazy to think that Satan wants to sift us like wheat now.

Uh Peter would later describe Satan in 1 Peter as uh a de Prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, and then encouraging his readers to be sober-minded, to be watchful.

Some of you may have wondered, what do you mean we don't wrestle with flesh and blood?

Like Paul, you've been beaten with rods, imprisoned, left for dead, shipwrecked, endangered countless times and more.

What do you mean it's not physical?

He's saying that the battle behind these is another battle, a spiritual battle, an unseen battle that's cosmic and spiritual in which we're engaged.

So we need to be aware of this battle.

And then as we're aware of this battle, how can we stand firm?

Verses 13 through 17, we take up the armor of God.

And I'm gonna give us the whole point first.

Put on God's armor.

We put on God's armor.

We're aware of the battle, we put on God's armor.

And he's gonna give six pieces of armor that are kind of divided into these three categories, three that you would always have on you, and three that you would take with you when you're engaged in the attack.

When you're engaged in uh you would use them as needed.

The first three, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel shoes.

And the second three that you would use as needed, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit.

And you see this repeated expression, this repeated urging to stand firm, to withstand, to stand, therefore.

He wants us to stand in his armor, to put on his armor.

The belt of truth.

We need to stand with a belt of truth, with the truth like a belt around our waist.

When a Roman soldier was went to war, he tucked his clothing into his belt and he fastened it securely so that he could be mobile in battle.

Truth is the objective standard by which reality is measured.

Where do we find truth?

God's word is truth.

How can we do this?

How can we wear truth like a belt?

It's to live authentically before God and before God's people.

Since Satan is a liar, you start with truth to be ready for battle.

He can't function in an environment of integrity.

Bring it all into the light, bring it all into truth, and the enemy will be squirming.

God's provided salvation through truth.

The fruit of light is truth, and our responsibility, therefore, is to speak the truth in love.

For us to live in truth, for us to walk in truth, fasten around our belt, our waist like a belt.

We've got the belt of truth.

Second, the breastplate of righteousness.

Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

You need righteousness like armor on your chest.

We remember our righteousness is not our own.

It's been imputed to us by Jesus.

We've already said this a few times.

But he who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus willingly said, I will take your place, I will become sin so that you can have my righteousness.

It's called the great exchange.

He gives us his perfection, he takes our sin upon himself, pays for it fully, freely, forever on the cross.

For our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So then when Satan accuses you, you can protect your heart with the truth of your righteous standing in Christ that's to be reflected by righteous living based on the truth.

I'm already righteous in Christ, and so now I'm going to live like it.

Like I'm legally righteous before God because of the perfect work of Jesus.

Now let me actually walk that out.

And that doesn't happen day one.

It's a process of sanctification where we're becoming slowly more and more like Jesus, where we're growing up into that calling as we're being sanctified, that uh when we are justified, we're freed from the penalty of sin.

That as we are being sanctified, we are freed from the power of sin.

And then one day we'll be glorified with Jesus and we'll be freed from the presence of sin.

And we eagerly anticipate that day.

That day that we will be glorified, that our bodies will not have all of this marring, all of this deformity of sin nature that hinders us.

Unrighteous acts are like an open invitation to Satan and his demonic forces to invade our hearts and our lives in order to defeat us spiritually.

So put on the breastplate of righteousness so that you don't give an inch to Satan in the areas of impurity, lust, greed, or injustice.

Realize who you are in Christ and live out that new identity in righteous living.

Because I already am perfect in Christ, let me live like it.

Let me live up to that standard that God has called me to.

God has given us a new person, new righteousness that's given freely to us, and the fruit of us living in that light is us living out that righteousness.

Put on the new person, live as who you already are in Jesus Christ.

And then he goes to the gospel shoes, verse 15.

As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

These gospel shoes, you need feet, your feet sandal with readiness for the gospel of peace.

Roman soldiers would wear sandals with cleats built in to help them to have a firm footing and to stand their ground under attack.

Regardless of whatever turmoil they were going through, let the peace that results from righteous living confirm that you're operating and moving in God's will.

Shoes are really important.

You want to choose your shoes wisely for what you're doing.

Like I busted up my shoes yesterday trying to do some work with uh concrete and asphalt, uh, wearing the shoes I wear at all these other places.

They're not made for that, so they got a big hole in them.

Um, and now I'm experiencing the consequences of that poor decision.

You have to, you need to wear the right shoes for the right job, right?

I'm not gonna wear crocs to go and play uh pickleball.

That would be silly.

It wouldn't just look silly, it wouldn't work well, right?

You want to wear the right shoes for the right job.

Paul is saying, hey, believers should always be ready to share the gospel, be ready to herald the good news of Jesus Christ.

Uh Roman soldiers, like I said, had great footwear.

They had these studded half boots or sandals that would help them to travel great distances.

They could cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, they could pursue the enemy in every nook and cranny, and as they went into hard places, they had shoes that could handle it.

Paul tells us to take up the whole armor.

He doesn't say, uh, hey, put on the breastplate, put on, and then whatever you want, choose your own adventure, you're good.

No, he says, put on the whole armor of God.

Be ready for this.

Each of us may must take on the whole armor of God, take on the whole character of Christ.

The shield of faith.

Verse 16, take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

This isn't like a frisbee-sized tiny disc.

Uh, it's like a the size of a door.

It covered the whole body.

Biblical writers would often refer to God as a shield.

We have a shield to protect us from the darts of the enemy when we put on Christ, believing the promises of God.

As we believe what he says about us, and what he says is ours.

We need to put on the shield of faith.

Take it up.

Hold on to it.

What is faith?

It's acting like God is telling me the truth and being obedient to God and his view on a matter, not just trusting my own understanding, but his understanding that he's given me.

When he calls me to be obedient, I'm not asking him why.

I'm just obedient.

And God's word, then, as I take up the shield, acting in faith activates a divine fire extinguisher and it blocks those darts that come from the enemy, those flaming darts.

So God's provided a faith as a gift from God.

He's provided us being built up in faith.

Our responsibility is to believe in Christ and believe him over our own thinking, over our own ways.

He calls us to put on the helmet of salvation.

Take the helmet of salvation.

This is going to protect the head, the mind, the control center of the body, recognizing that our spiritual standing in Christ must protect our thinking.

If you don't clearly understand the gospel, that's God's power for salvation, you will not operate as one whom God promises to deliver from the power and the penalty of sin.

We think God's thoughts and don't operate on human wisdom, operate on God's wisdom.

We resist the enemy.

Trust in him.

Don't listen to the enemy's life.

God's provided salvation by grace.

We believe in Christ for our salvation.

And finally, the sword of the Spirit.

The last piece of armor that he describes is the sword, which is the Word of God.

It's the only offensive weapon in the ensemble.

The word that he uses here doesn't describe a long sword, but it's more like a dagger intended for hand-to-hand combat.

He's talking about the word of God spoken.

He's talking about how the word of God is spoken and it's made effective by the Spirit to cut through the enemy's lies.

When Jesus was tempted, he declared, It is written.

The ladies just went through a whole study about how Jesus was tempted, about how he responded to the lies of the enemy, that Jesus defeated the enemy using God's word.

And the enemy was using God's word to accuse Jesus, to tempt Jesus, but he knew God's word better.

So it's not just memorizing it, but it's understanding it and it's recognizing the right way to live according to his word.

We also must learn to use the Bible against the enemy.

He's allergic to God's word when it's used consistently and rightly against him.

Some of us might admire the Bible, we might put it on display in our homes or somewhere, like a huge prominent Bible.

But then we don't open it.

Like the power is not just in the physical Bible, it's in opening the word, it's in loving God's word, seeking to understand him.

Not because, oh wow, this word is beautiful, but like as I read his word, it is beautiful, and it helps me understand the author and his beauty, his strength, his goodness, and what he wants for us, each of us.

Meditate on it, pray it, proclaim it, read it.

You need God's word.

Don't go into battle without a sword.

And I I would encourage you, like, don't just like have it read, but like memorize it.

Commit it to your heart.

Commit it, like we we can make time for this.

It is important for us to make time for God's word.

Sometimes it feels like uh five minutes of a Bible study is like way too way too long, way too painful.

Uh but then we've got more than five minutes.

We've got five hours for to catch up on our shows that day.

And it's it's crazy, it's just a prioritization.

We've got to realign our hearts with God and His Word, and so commit it to our memory.

Commit it to your mind, because that's often in com in my conversations when I'm recalling something.

It's not recalling something that I vaguely remember, it's something that I've taken time to sit down and try to memorize.

And it's okay if you don't memorize it perfectly, but there's there's joy in that process.

And there's there's something beautiful that happens as we are realigning our hearts with God's word through memorizing it, through uh saying, this is important, this is valuable, I'm gonna treasure God's word and I'm gonna make time to memorize it, even if I stink at memorizing it.

Because you're probably actually better at memory and memorizing things uh than you think.

And I could give you an example if I just started singing a popular song.

Uh, you can finish the lyrics because you've committed to it, because you've enjoyed the process.

And so there are ways that we can memorize and we can find delight in memorizing.

And what better for us to memorize than God's Word?

Now, what's interesting here about the armor is that what about the soldier's back?

Paul mentions no equipment for the backside.

And um, in The Pilgrim's Progress, uh, John Bunyan says, it's because a Christian had no armor for his back.

The best option was to stand his ground.

Let us hold our ground against the evil one with our armor on as we advance the gospel into the world.

So put on the armor of God.

Don't depend on yourselves, don't rely on yourself.

Depend on the Lord.

Trust in his ways to fight against the enemy.

Why do we depend on ourselves instead?

Why what are we hoping in?

Like maybe we don't believe there's a battle, maybe we don't want to trust anyone besides ourselves, maybe because we don't have faith that God is going to deliver us in this way.

So as we're equipped with God's armor, that then he's called us to continue in prayer.

Uh in this verses uh 18 through 20, there's this call to pray continually in the spirit, with alertness and perseverance for boldness.

I know that's a lot of words, so that's where we're going to put it up and keep it up here for a second.

He tells us exactly how we are to pray, that we're to pray continually in the spirit with alertness and perseverance for boldness.

And some of you might be like, shouldn't prayer have been like a javelin or a spear?

Like that would have been cool.

Uh well, prayer is connected to every aspect of the armor of God.

Like prayer is how we put on the armor of God.

It's linked with every other weapon.

It doesn't need its own analogy.

A supernatural battle can only be waged with supernatural weapons, tapping into supernatural power.

And so we're to pray continually in the spirit with alertness and perseverance for boldness.

We're to pray at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication, to that end we're to keep alert with perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I'm an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as out to speak.

I love that reminder that Paul gives that hey, I'm in chains, I'm in prison.

Would you pray that I keep preaching the gospel?

Would you pray that I keep sharing the gospel clearly?

I'm not above needing prayer from the saints.

I'm not above needing your prayer, so pray for me.

Pray for all the saints, but also for me.

Pray for boldness.

He finishes his prayer, the divine means for putting on the spiritual armor, a reflection of the person and work of Jesus on our behalf.

A Christian spiritual resources are accessed through relational communication with God.

How often should we pray then?

At all times, with all perseverance and intercession for the saints.

Prayer should be woven into our lives.

It should be sometimes there are times for us to pray like a quick one-liner, like a dart to the Lord, like a quick arrow prayer.

There are times for us to set aside extended, uninterrupted times for us to commune with the Lord in prayer and expect Him to speak to us.

Like it could look like a walkie-talkie, or it could look like a sit-down meeting, praying before an empty chair, setting aside time for him, expecting to hear from him.

There are different types of prayer.

There's adoration and worship.

He says, pray in all ways, with all prayer and supplication.

Make supplication for all saints at all times.

That word's meant, uh, pray for me.

So he's telling us all these different ways to pray with all prayer and supplication.

What are the different ways that we are to pray?

We do this, we've modeled this in our prayer meetings: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.

Adoration is worship.

We're praying, thanking God for who he is.

Confession is confessing to God, hey, I've fallen short.

Will you forgive me in these ways?

Confessing, saying, I have fallen short of what you've called me to do.

Help me to live according to your ways instead.

Thanksgiving is praising God and thanking him for what he has done.

So adoration, who he is, uh supp uh thanksgiving, what he's done, supplication, making requests of God.

That we we have supplication.

Sometimes we put supplication as the front at the front end, uh, but we try to prioritize that last in our prayer gatherings, saying, let's pray first, praising God for who he is, what he's done for us.

Then after that, we're gonna confess, we're gonna give thanks, and then we're gonna bring our request.

We should pray corporately, like with other believers.

We should pray in agreement for these prayers.

We see this in Scripture.

We should give the prayer of faith when we pray for healing, trusting that God will provide the healing.

Saying, God, would you give me faith?

James 5.15 says the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up.

Prayers offered in faith for someone who is sick, asking God to heal.

And we pray and we believe.

There are prayers of consecration saying, God, I want to set myself apart to you.

I want to dedicate this part of my life to you.

We see this in Scripture.

I want to follow your will.

Like Jesus before uh going to the cross said, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.

Uh the Bible also speaks of praying in the Spirit.

Uh prayers for when we are unable to think of adequate words.

In those times, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.

We should pray with alertness, pray with perseverance, don't give up.

Ask God what you should be praying for, and then listen, and then pray that way.

Pray for boldness to live out God's plan, uh, to live out your own responsibility within God's plan.

And then we should also pray for others.

Like we should be a family of believers that prays for one another.

So, like we have a great prayer channel that as things are prayed for, uh, a lot of us, like there are like five to ten people that will pop on and say, Yes, I'm praying for you.

I'm praying in agreement with that right away.

And it's beautiful to see that.

But like we have access to that more than just on our prayer channel.

We should always be uh sharing those prayer requests that are aren't just like the superficial, like my aunt's cat is sick.

No, we we don't care.

We we can pray for cats, but we don't want to pray for cats instead of praying for real things for you.

So don't hide behind uh somebody else's prayer requests, bring your prayer request and share because you are going into you're going through something, or you're about to be going through something, or you're coming out of something really hard.

So we share real life here, and it's okay to bring the messiness to the body.

Like we should bear one another's burdens.

We shouldn't just be like pretend it's all okay, Christians.

Do we recognize that we're in the midst of a spiritual battle and call on him for help?

And then there are four verses at the end where he's giving these final remarks.

He's gonna send Ticchus, uh, his beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, to tell you everything.

I've sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace be to you, brothers, and love and faith with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus with love incorruptible.

I love this part that he's sending his brother Tychicus, who's a faithful minister.

He's in prison.

And he's like, hey, take this letter and then go encourage the saints in Ephesus.

He says the same thing to the saints in Colossae.

Uh he's sending them to the Ephesian church, he's sending them to the Colossian church, and he's in prison.

Like, you'd think, hey, Paul, don't you need like more support in there?

And he's like, No.

You guys go be encouraged.

He's going to encourage you guys.

So, how can we apply God's word that we looked at today together?

Uh, the question is this: will you stand firm through spiritual battle?

Will you be aware of the battle?

Will you put on God's armor?

Will you pray continually in the spirit with alertness and perseverance for boldness?

Like that's a very specific way to pray.

Very specific pieces of armor to put on.

But first we have to recognize that there's a spiritual battle going on.

And if you're here and you don't believe in Jesus, you haven't trusted him for your salvation, none of this makes sense.

Like, do not pretend to put on the spiritual armor.

It's not accessible to you until you've trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

So, first, trust him.

Like on your own.

The bad news is that you are a sinner, that you are on a path to hell, that you need saving by grace through faith.

You need the perfect, spotless Lamb of God to come and pay the penalty for your sin.

And Jesus has already done that.

So will you trust in him?

Will you put your faith in him alone for your salvation?

And say, God, I want to follow you and your way for my life, not my own.

And if you're you're interested in doing that today, we'd love to talk with you.

We'll have our prayer team available in just a few minutes.

We'd love for you to come and talk to us and we'd love to pray with you.

But for us who have believed, are you aware of the battle?

Are you regularly putting on the armor of God?

And are you praying continually?

Are you praying for one another?

Do you have alertness and boldness and perseverance in that?

Are you calling on God throughout your day, the one who fights for us and leads us?