Battle Ready | The Goal

Doesn't that make you want to watch Lord of the Rings or something like that right now?

Here we go, here we go.

Hey, have you ever gotten a handwritten letter that just made you smile?

Now, it's probably today it's probably not gonna be a letter.

It's gonna be a text or a DM or an email.

Whatever it is, you open it up and it's just it's full of encouragement.

It's it's full of promise and good news.

It's so much stuff that you should be excited and grateful about.

It tells you, hey, you're going in the right direction.

Keep going.

A message, whatever it is, that's that's that good, you save it.

That's what Ephesians is.

Ephesians is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, which is a beautiful city.

It was it was incredible.

Kelly and I actually got a chance to tour the ruins there.

This was a massive city, very, very influential in the Roman Empire.

And the church in Ephesus was legit.

Like God was doing some stuff in that church.

Paul spent a lot of time there, a lot of time there.

When he writes 1 and 2 Timothy, Timothy was the pastor of the church in Ephesus.

Church history says that Mary, Jesus' mom, Mary, she spent quite a bit of time there.

And it's also believed that John wrote the gospel of John while he was in Ephesus.

The Christians there, man, they were on fire, on fire.

So Paul writes him a letter.

He writes him a letter and he says stuff like this.

He says, Hey, but God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much that even though we were dead in our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ Jesus from the dead.

That's good news.

And then he says, For by grace you have been saved through faith.

This is not your own doing, it is a gift of God.

And then he says, Now all the glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.

That's just a taste.

He talks about how Jesus won, how we have so much to be grateful for, how we have grace and forgiveness.

Now get ready.

Get ready for what?

I mean, he talks about how Jesus won through the cross and the resurrection, how your identity is secured in Christ, how we have grace and forgiveness because of Jesus, how we have an inheritance waiting for us because of him, all of this amazing stuff.

And then he says to close it all out, suit up.

Alright, I mean I'm down.

When I hear suit up, my mind goes to let's put the helmet and shoulder pads on.

It's game time, let's go.

Or maybe suit up because something like, the British are coming, the British are coming.

I'm with you, Paul Revere.

It's time to fight for my country.

That's not what this means at all.

Actually, it has nothing to do with that.

So why would you write this letter that's so encouraging, so much good stuff in it, just to end the letter by saying, hey, you need to put some armor on because you're about to get into a fight.

That's kind of jarring.

Like not much of a transition.

So why would you do that?

I guess the only reason you would write an encouraging letter and then end it by saying, get ready for a fight, the only reason you would do that is because the fight's real.

This is how he closes it out.

This is Ephesians 6, verse 10.

Ephesians 6:10

A final word be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all of the strategies.

Some translations say schemes, all of the schemes of the devil.

For we're not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, we're not, but against evil rulers and authorities.

Evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.

Then, after the battle, you will be standing firm.

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me a question that I just I can't stop thinking about.

He said, Hey, Matt, when it comes to our church, what keeps you up at night?

And I said the first two things that came to mind, which were true, but as I keep thinking about that question over the last couple weeks, my mind goes to these four verses in Ephesians 6.

Like, this is what keeps me up.

Does our church see this?

Do people know that this is real?

I mean, I don't I do not want you to be ignorant to the truth.

Because ignorance with this particular subject has some serious, serious consequences.

Like I want you to know that the time of evil that verse 13 talks about, the time of evil is right now.

Like we're in the middle of it.

And you can sense it too.

We can all feel it, whether you are a Christian or not.

Sure, you can look and see and hear about evil that's happening in the world, but also you can sense it right now without even seeing it.

Like we all know that something's off.

That's the unseen world.

There are spiritual beings, there are evil spirits and powers and principalities.

There are demons.

Satan is very real.

All of that stuff is very real.

This is not something that Hollywood has come up with.

In fact, Hollywood can't even come close to grasping the seriousness and the scope of this.

And this is what we're fighting against.

We are not fighting against flesh and blood.

Hear me on this.

This is the truth.

The enemy is not China or Russia.

That's not the enemy.

The enemy is not the opposite political party from you.

Whatever side of the aisle you're on, that's not the enemy.

The enemy is not a I.

The enemy is not the chiefs.

We are a multi-fan-based congregation, church, so just let's be kind.

It's so fun to poke at that because my team is awful this year.

But hear me, here's the truth.

The enemy is also not that guy you don't like.

That person that's offended you, the person that drives you nuts, that person doing shady things.

They're not the enemy.

We're not fighting against flesh and blood.

I mean, this is reality, whether we want to accept it or not.

We can choose to ignore it, we can choose to be ignorant to it, but Satan wants that.

He absolutely wants that.

When it comes to the spiritual world and the spiritual battle that exists, something that's working against you and I is the fact that we live in a post-Enlightenment society.

Now here's what I mean: there are awesome things that came out of the Enlightenment, great things like logic and reason were brought into the equation.

It's a really good thing.

The scientific revolution, which by the way, was led mostly by Christians, or incredible advancements in technology that have set changed the course of history in a positive way, the emphasis on education.

There were awesome things that came out of the Enlightenment.

However, there were also negative consequences.

One of the negative consequences that came from the Enlightenment is that we ignore the unseen world.

We ignore the spiritual reality because, Matt, that's for primitive minds.

We know better now.

Like we can explain it with logic and reason.

Man, a huge consequence of the Enlightenment, it created a sense of arrogance, which created ignorance to the truth of the fight that we're all in.

Again, whether you are a Christian or not.

There's a great line from the movie, The Usual Suspects.

Here's what it says the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn't exist.

And there's a lot of truth in that.

Man, the Bible talks about Satan.

The Bible talks about demons.

The Bible talks about what he calls powers and principalities, evil spirits.

The Bible talks about spiritual warfare.

Why?

Because it's real.

Now, we don't need to be scared of it.

And at the same time, we don't need to obsess over it either.

When it comes to spiritual warfare, there tends to be a spectrum.

On one end of the spectrum is this belief that it's all made up.

This stuff doesn't exist.

Demonic activity, people would say that.

Those are the people that can't use logic or reason.

They're controlled by fear and emotions.

Like we believe in the science, not the spiritual.

Well, that mindset comes from a place of arrogance and ignorance.

And it's a dangerous mindset.

Man, that end of the spectrum, that mindset, that's that's kind of like a soldier believing the enemy doesn't exist because he physically can't see the enemy right now.

Even though he is standing in the middle of a city block that has been devastated by bombing.

He can see all the destruction around him.

He's standing in the middle of it, but he doesn't believe the enemy is real because he can't physically see the enemy that caused all of the destruction.

The enemy can't be real, the war's not real.

I can't see it.

That's a serious mistake to think that way.

So is the other end of the spectrum that says everything is spiritual warfare.

I got a flat tire today.

That means the devil's trying to mess me up.

Maybe.

Can I offer a possible other explanation for that?

Maybe the reason you got a flat tire, it's not the devil.

Maybe it's because, just go with me on this, it's kind of crazy.

You ran over a nail.

Like, maybe that's the reason why.

Not everything is, the students love that.

They're like, yeah.

Not everything is spiritual warfare that you encounter.

It is a serious mistake to think that everything is spiritual warfare or that nothing is.

Both are serious mistakes.

And Satan will use either one for his schemes.

Man, we don't have to be afraid of this.

Romans 8 says this, one of the best verses in the Bible.

And I am convinced that nothing, do you know what the Greek word for nothing means?

Nothing.

It means nothing.

Nothing can ever separate us from God's love.

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow.

Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

No power in the sky above and the earth below.

Indeed, nothing in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We don't need to be afraid.

We also don't need to obsess over it either.

We cannot over-spiritualize things and we cannot under-spiritualize things.

We need discernment.

Hebrews 5 talks about growing in your powers of discernment by recognizing what is right and what's wrong.

We need discernment.

We need to be aware.

We need to be equipped.

We need to know how to proactively and reactively respond to the spiritual fight that we're all in.

Man, Paul acknowledges the truth of this.

He acknowledges evil spirits.

He acknowledges the powers and principalities of the world.

He acknowledges demons.

He acknowledges the power of hell, Satan himself.

But even with all of that, nothing can separate us from the power of God, the love of God, the redemption of God, and the inheritance of God that's found in Jesus.

Nothing can separate us, but they're going to try.

That's why he writes about the armor of God in Ephesians 6 to close it out.

And that's why we're doing this series.

Like Daniel did such a fantastic job setting this up last week.

And just like you've got to know who the real enemy is if you're going to be battle ready.

Well, if you want to be battle ready, you also have to know what the enemy's goal is.

There is a prize in mind.

There is a goal in mind whenever two sides are fighting, whenever there's any kind of battle.

They could be fighting over land, they could be fighting over resources, could be fighting over people groups, could be fighting out of retaliation.

There is something the two sides are fighting for.

Do you know what the prize is in the spiritual battle?

You.

You're what's being fought over.

Over humanity.

That's what the spiritual battle is for.

God's prize possession.

But here's the truth, you and I need to know.

This should be encouraging.

The outcome of this battle is not hanging in the balance.

Like we don't have to sit around and say, man, I hope Satan doesn't win.

Like I hope he's not, I'm team Jesus.

I hope Jesus can come through.

Let's see how this plays out.

That's not what we're thinking at all.

The outcome of this battle has already been decided.

And if you want to read more about it, read Revelation.

I know some people get freaked out by Revelation.

You shouldn't.

If I could sum that book up in one word, you know what it would be?

Victory.

That's the theme of Revelation is victory.

Man, we're not waiting.

We don't have to worry about what the outcome is going to be.

Colossians 2.15 says this.

He, meaning Jesus, he disarmed the rulers and authorities.

Some translations say demonic rulers.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

Where did Jesus win that victory?

That's the cross.

The outcome of the battle has been decided at the cross, and Jesus won.

But here's my question.

If Jesus disarmed the enemy at the cross, then why do you and I need to put the armor of God on right now?

If the enemy is disarmed, then what do you need armor for?

Let me give you an illustration from history.

In the European theater, World War II officially ended on May 8, 1945.

But do you know when the war effectively ended?

It was June 6, 1944.

A year earlier, almost a year earlier.

I mean, when the Allies won on the beaches of Normandy, that effectively ended World War II.

When they secured a beachhead, Nazi Germany was defeated.

It was only a matter of time.

However, the fighting didn't stop.

In fact, some of the most brutal fighting of the war happened after D-Day.

Like the enemy was defeated.

Victory was impossible for Nazi Germany, but they kept fighting, trying to take as many men as they could with them.

Basically, Germany adopted a scorched earth policy after D-Day, and that's exactly where we're at right now.

Like we are living somewhere in between the cross, and when Jesus comes back, which will officially end this battle?

The enemy knows they lost at the cross.

Now they will continue to fight, do everything they possibly can to cause as much damage and destruction until Jesus comes back.

And that's why we need to put the armor on right now.

Jesus said, he was very clear, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.

The church, Capital C church.

That is, the church is all believers everywhere in the world who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Jesus of the Bible, not some other religious book, the Jesus of the Bible, and now they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

That is the church that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

However, individual people and individual churches, like Lightbridge, can fall.

That's why there is so much language in the New Testament that says things like to those who endure to the end, those who stay faithful to the end, to those who conquer, those who fight the good fight, finish the race.

The New Testament talks about individual people and individual churches that fall away.

The New Testament actually names those individual people and those churches.

And the same thing can happen today.

People that just walk away from Jesus.

Or allow their lives to be destroyed by sin.

Or people that become antagonistic towards the gospel, towards Christ, towards other Christians.

The great news is there's still hope.

There's still grace if someone wants to turn around and come back to Christ.

I mean, I can name people right now that I know they've blown up their lives with sin.

They've knew Jesus, man, they were part of a church and they walked away and they're like, I don't care.

It's heartbreaking.

And the longer you follow Jesus, the more you're going to experience that.

You'll experience it.

And for some of you, that's a big pain point right now.

Someone you love.

Not walking with Christ.

Someone you love has to turn their back on Jesus.

It could be a kid.

That's one I hear a lot.

Or a spouse.

Or parent, sibling, a really good friend.

It's painful.

And the same thing can happen to individual churches.

A church that allows divisions over stupid things is a church that's losing to the schemes of the devil.

A church that does not take repentance seriously is a church that's losing to the schemes of the devil.

A church that preaches heresy and false doctrine is a church that has lost the spiritual fight.

A church that flies the rainbow flag is a church that has lost the spiritual fight.

Victory is secure, but the fighting's not over yet.

So we need to put on the armor so that we finish instead of fall.

Man, the goal of this spiritual fight for Satan is to destroy people and destroy churches.

How's he gonna do that?

What's the game plan?

New Testament's written in Greek.

The Greek word for schemes right here, the schemes of the devil.

The Greek word is methodiah.

It's where we get our word for method.

The enemy has been watching game film on you and I for a long, long time.

He's been watching game film on all of humanity.

He knows where you and I are weak.

He knows how to attack us.

He has methods to attack us.

In fact, if you want to learn more about those methods, there's a fantastic book by C.S.

Lewis called The Screwtape Letters.

It's one of the books, it's one of the very few books that I reread multiple times.

I don't even know how many times I've read that book.

It's an allegory, it's a short read.

It's an allegory, letters back and forth between two demons.

And all they do is talk about how do they mess with us?

How do they destroy people, destroy Christians, destroy the church.

That book is like, C.S.

Lewis wrote that in the 40s.

It's almost like you picked up the enemy's playbook and now you know what he's gonna do.

If the Broncos had the chief's playbook, that's what the screw tape letters is like.

Fantastic read.

Here's actually here's a question to ask yourself.

Ask yourself this if I was the enemy, how would I attack me?

The whole idea is to know where you're vulnerable, right?

Man, if I'm if Matt is answering that question, I would say discouragement and distraction.

Like I know that I am vulnerable to all kinds of temptations and attacks when I'm discouraged and when I'm distracted by things I should not be distracted by.

I would also attack me with envy.

I struggle with envy.

I gotta watch that.

I'm weak there.

Man, if you're gonna know the schemes of Satan, you gotta know the schemes.

You gotta know how, how, and where, and when you're vulnerable too.

Now, individually, we're all different.

Where I'm weak, you might be very strong.

However, there is a scheme that Satan will try to use on all of us.

It's one of his favorite attempts.

He's been using it on humanity for all of time.

It's what he loves to do to try to destroy us.

That scheme is idolatry.

Now, Satan wants you to give reverence to anyone or anything other than Jesus, who is the only one worthy of your reverence.

Idolatry is spiritual adultery.

And once you do that, now you are working with the enemy.

Idolatry is partnering with the enemy for your own ruin.

Man, if you want to see evidence of spiritual warfare in our lives, look at the objects that we might have more reverence and adoration for.

Is there anything that you love more than Jesus?

But if Satan wants you to give your worship and your glory to anything other than Jesus, and that's idolatry.

Psalm 106 talks about this.

It kind of gives a quick history of God's people in the Old Testament and how they kept getting seduced by idolatry.

Here's what it says They, God's people, they mixed with the nations, the world, and they learned to do as the world did.

They served idols, which became a snare to them.

They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

That's intense.

And unfortunately, you see that pattern throughout the Old Testament.

Now, what's really easy for you and I to do right now is we can fall into something that C.S.

Lewis calls chronological snobbery.

Meaning it's very easy for us to look back in the past and say, well, they were idiots.

Like, I can't believe they fell for that.

I can't believe they did that.

We would never do that.

We're much better than that.

We know better.

We're enlightened.

But here's the truth.

You and I learn as they did from the world all the time.

Like one of the most dangerous things in the world is when the church doesn't look anything different from the world.

When we learn idolatrous practices from the world.

Now we may not be worshiping little statues.

Maybe we are.

I don't know.

Actually, can I get into something for a second?

I'm gonna do it anyway.

I'm just asking you, like inviting you to participate.

Let me say this.

Zodiac signs.

Horoscopes.

Fortune telling.

Crystals.

Ouija boards.

Tarot cards.

Demonic.

It's demonic.

Matt, hold up.

Alright, let's.

It's innocent.

That stuff's just innocent.

There's just some of the energy that it brings.

It's kind of fun.

Oh, I know.

But do you know what's behind that energy?

Psychics.

Matt, like, Matt, I talked to the psychic that I had never met before.

This person never met me in my entire life.

And yet they could tell me in detail things that happened in my past.

Can you believe that they knew that?

Yes, of course I can believe that.

There have been demons watching you your entire life.

That's how the psychic knew.

It's demonic.

Like stay away from that stuff.

The Bible calls that divineation and flat out condemns it.

Divineation is the practice of seeking hidden knowledge or secret guidance or divine guidance from the spiritual world or the occult.

Instead of through God and His Word, all that stuff, stay away from it because it's demonic.

It's real, but it's demonic.

And maybe you're thinking, well, Matt, okay, cool, but I don't do that kind of stuff.

Great, I'm proud of you.

Great.

Now, but I gotta ask you this: do you and I still do as the world does?

Have we learned from the world by worshiping self?

Because the world will tell you to worship yourself all day long.

Or worshiping sex, money, comfort, I don't know.

I mean, is there anything, think about this, is there anything that gives you satisfaction, stability, a sense of control more than Jesus?

Now take that thing, whatever it is, and if it was threatened, restricted, or removed, how would you respond?

Would you get emotional?

Would you get defensive?

You might even be getting defensive about some of the things that I just said, things that I just listed.

That may be an indication that you're holding on to an idol.

Idolatry is putting anything or anyone, I don't care what it is or who it is, anything or anyone above Jesus.

And hear me on this.

Demons are the agents that inspire idolatry.

It's one of Satan's favorite schemes to destroy you, to destroy me, to destroy churches.

That's what's going on right now that we cannot see.

And hear me on this, hear me on this.

Idolatrous people are very easy for demonic powers to use and influence.

That is not just a biblical statement, that's a historical statement too.

What do you think was really behind Nazi Germany?

Do you really think that Hitler came up with Mein Kampf all by himself?

No.

What do you think was behind Mao's China?

What do you think was behind slavery in the American South?

What's even more messed up about that is there were Christians trying to use the Bible and manipulate the Bible to justify owning a human being?

Demonic.

By the way, the type of slavery that you saw in the South pre-Civil War, the transatlantic slave trade, that is condemned in scripture.

In fact, you know what the penalty is if you get caught doing that in the Bible?

Death.

Because it's demonic.

What do you think is behind human trafficking and pornography?

What do you think is behind all of the riots and the destruction that's happening in Europe right now?

It's being destroyed.

Well, Matt, that's because of mass migration.

Well, yeah, maybe that might be the vehicle of it.

What do you think is behind it?

Jesus said in John 10, he said the enemy, Satan, came to steal, kill, and destroy.

That's what you're watching happening in Europe right now.

What do you think is behind the abortion industry?

We're not fighting against flesh and blood, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Those evil rulers, those mighty powers, those demons, Satan himself, they will work through political systems.

They'll work through cultures and ideologies so that they can undermine the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, and they will do whatever they can to destroy Jesus' church and all people because all people are image bearers of God.

That's the fight that's happening in real time on earth right now.

And we gotta see it.

We gotta be awake to it.

Things like injustice and racism and the mass production of drugs like fentanyl and heroin, human beings being exploited through sexual trafficking and pornography, the celebration of wealth and greed, political corruption, power abuse, all of that stuff are tactics inside this spiritual battle.

All of it is now again.

Hear me on this.

We don't have to be afraid.

We don't.

Because Jesus already won.

And because we've been given God's armor.

However, we need to be aware and we need to be awake.

And the worst thing we could do is let that armor just sit on the shelf.

And we gotta put it on.

So here's what we do.

And we're gonna get into this more and more throughout this series.

How you live is a form of spiritual warfare.

How you live is a form of spiritual warfare.

How would somebody somebody else describe the way you're fighting right now based on the way you're living?

Romans 12:1 says this.

Romans 12:1

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all that he has done for you.

Let them, your bodies, he's meaning your life, let your life be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he, God will find acceptable.

This is truly the way to worship him.

How you live is a form of worship.

What are you really worshiping by how you live?

If you're worshiping Jesus, worshiping Jesus is warfare against the enemy.

Pretty cool.

So a couple things.

Things for you to do right now, and just continue doing this.

Whatever stirs your affections for Jesus, do those things.

Could be slow mornings with a good cup of coffee, your Bible, and a book.

That's I would encourage you to be in the Word every day regardless.

But man, that stirs my affections for Jesus.

Maybe it's going out to dinner with some friends, having a good steak and a good glass of red wine that just you laugh, you're grateful for these friendships.

Maybe that just stirs your affection for Jesus, and you're like, man, God, thank you for these friendships.

Or maybe it's going up into the mountains and going on a hike and seeing God's beautiful creation, the fingerprint of his power, like Romans 1 talks about.

Maybe that that stirs your affections for Jesus.

Worship music.

You're rocking out in the car, you drive up and you pull up next to somebody at a stoplight, and they're really weirded out by you because you are going to town on whatever song that is.

Keep going.

Keep going.

If that stirs your affections, let's go.

If your window's down, just make sure you can sing well.

Man, whatever it is through your affections for Jesus, on the flip side of that, if there is anything that you are doing, anything in your life that is shrinking your heart for Jesus, get rid of it.

Remove it.

Man, if if you want, if you got a garden, you gotta maintain it if you want it to grow, produce, and thrive, right?

You don't just plant a garden and walk away.

No, you gotta maintain it.

That means you gotta kill some weeds or get rid of some rabbits in your backyard.

That's my issue right now.

Those things are evil.

Don't email me about it.

Like they're just they're not cute, they're a problem.

I just touched a nerve.

I felt the tension, excitement, and anger right there.

Don't email me.

If there's debris or book or branches down, whatever, like that's gonna prevent growth.

I mean, you gotta remove that stuff.

Remove the things from your life that are robbing your affections of Jesus.

Like, what is that?

Also, live a life of repentance.

Repentance means to turn away from sin and turn towards Jesus.

Run from sin, run to Christ.

Not only is repentance a gift, it's a gift, it's a doorway to freedom and forgiveness.

Also, you know what's cool?

Repentance is a counter-strike on the enemy.

The enemy can do nothing against repentant people.

Power comes through repentance.

Everybody likes to talk about revival.

We're gonna get into this more later on.

Everybody likes to talk about revival and how to spur that up.

Revival never happens unless repentance happens first.

Never that go through history.

Whenever you see massive revivals, repentance came first.

It's a counter-strike on the enemy.

Also, build up the church.

Build the church.

Satan's coming to tear the church down.

Here's how you build up the church.

One, you serve it.

Serve the church.

Other Christians.

Also, God has given every single person in this room, everybody online, He's given you different gifts and strengths and abilities and experiences and talents.

Use those to build up the church.

Build up the church with encouragement.

Man, you see this throughout the New Testament.

You'll see, you'll see the call to build up the church, and almost right after it always is encouragement.

Be generous with encouragement.

Tell somebody, man, like, hey, I see you doing this.

I see you having this impact.

I see God doing this in you.

I see you on this in this direction.

Keep going.

I see how you've been gifted in this way.

Here's how you've blessed me.

I can encourage people.

Encouragement builds up the church.

And then you pray.

A strong church is a church that's filled with people that have worn-out knees because they're praying to Jesus.

In fact, that's how we fight.

We fight on our knees.

That will not only build up the church, but it will protect it and push it forward.

Now we're going to get into this more detail on all of this.

Don't be scared of the spiritual warfare that's real.

I just want you to be aware of it.

I want you to be equipped.

I want you to be encouraged, and I want you to have the armor on.

Because we're going to fight one way or another.

And not only do we need it in our families and everybody that's a part of our church, Northern Colorado needs us to have the armor on.

We're the last line of defense.

That's the church.

So here's what we're going to get into.

Let me read out the rest of Ephesians 6.

Here's what Paul says.

Verse 13.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand firm, stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth, 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, 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 perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

That's praying for other Christians, and also for me.

He's talking about Paul.

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 might declare boldly as I ought to speak.

That's where we're going.

So be encouraged, be equipped.

And right now, what I want to do is I just want you to give some time.

I want you to have time to reflect on this.

Like we're going to take communion right now.

If you grab the cup in here, you can grab it.

If you didn't get one, they're at the doors on the way out.

Man, communion is for anyone who's a Christian who's put their faith and trust in Christ.

We remember Jesus' blood spilled on the cross, that's the juice.

And the cracker is his body that was broken for us.

Taking communion means you are recognizing the victory that's already happened.

So just take a minute, be quiet, reflect on that, say thank you.

Ask God to open your eyes, to give you discernments, and to help you put on the armor as we go through this in this series.

Take some time and then we're going to worship again.