Ephesians 6:10-20 - War or Peace?

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We're going to be in Ephesians chapter 6 this morning.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

As I mentioned earlier with the kids, we're to the armor of God passage in Ephesians.

It's right at the end of this section of the book where Paul's been doing applied theology,

talking practically, giving instructions to the church.

He's talked about marriage, family relationships, how to engage in the workplace.

And in the midst of all of that, right in the midst of the mundane of life, Paul says there's war.

It's been weighty for me this week, partially because of the subject matter when you talk about spiritual warfare.

Partially because God has been doing a lot of work in me, showing me my sin in new and deep ways as I've wrestled with this.

But I want to tell you how excited I am about this passage this morning.

It is one of the more convicting, at least for me and I think for many of us,

and challenging passages in this letter.

It's also one of the most encouraging and hopeful.

So we need to hear it this morning.

Ephesians 6, beginning at verse 10.

Let's give our attention to God's holy word.

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 that evil day,

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 in opening my mouth,

boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains,

that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.

Pray with me.

Holy Spirit, I'm well aware this morning that Satan does not like the truth about himself,

or the truth about Jesus,

to hit home in our hearts.

To be something that is more than just something we hear,

but is something we embrace,

and something that changes our lives.

Holy Spirit, fight for us this morning.

As we open your word,

would you use it in powerful ways in our hearts and in our lives.

We humbly ask it in the strong name of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

The Queen Mary is a massive ship over three football fields long

that has now been turned into a museum in Long Beach, California.

It was a luxury liner that was built in the early 1930s

to be the absolute best way to get across the Atlantic.

It was traveling in style.

People like Winston Churchill and Bob Hope,

and lots of celebrities.

Clark Gable all traveled on this

because they wanted to be traveling in style

as they crossed the Atlantic.

When World War II began, though, everything changed.

This ship that had been the standard in travel

with extravagant amenities that it was known for

was turned into a troop transport ship.

It used to be you could only put up to 2,000 people on it

because they wanted the space.

They wanted to be able to travel in luxury.

They turned it into a troop transport ship

where up to 16,000 troops were packed in at one time.

Look at some of these pictures.

There's a picture of the ship, beautiful.

Look at how they packed troops onto it.

Packed them in because there was a war going on

and they needed to get across.

There were things that needed to be done.

If you go to the museum that the ship is now,

you can actually go and see the contrast

between the two arrows that the ship served.

You can see right up against each other,

part of it's set up for peacetime

with this beautiful china and more forks around it

than I know what to do with when I sit down at dinner.

Set up for dinner right next to, on the other side,

the mess hall where with your one metal tray,

you're packed in there next to each other.

I love the contrast of this next picture.

Over here, your perfect hotel-like accommodations

with ruffled bed skirts.

That's my favorite part of the picture.

And then all of a sudden the war hits

and bunks packed in up to eight high.

So men just slamming in there up against each other.

The contrast of what it looks like when the war hits.

That's the difference in how you live

during wartime and peacetime, isn't it?

It's not just about soldiers on ships.

Priorities change.

Sacrifices are made.

The realities of war impact everyone, right?

War changes life for all involved.

Talk to someone who lived through World War II

if you didn't.

On the home front, kids who used to be in class

were planting victory gardens

and gathering trash from trash heaps

in order to salvage it for munitions.

Food was rationed to make sure soldiers had enough to eat.

And so when you're in the midst of war,

peacetime lifestyles seem completely inappropriate,

don't they?

You would never ask one of these guys

to put a ruffled bed skirt on his bunk, would you?

It wouldn't make sense for 15,000 plus soldiers

to sit down to every meal with three forks.

It doesn't make sense, does it?

You don't sit around twiddling your thumbs

when lives are at stake.

It wouldn't make sense.

So you read a passage like this one this morning

that asserts quite clearly

that we live in spiritual warfare,

that we are at war.

And I look at my own life

and I wonder if it makes sense.

Am I even consciously aware

of being engaged in war at all?

If so, does the way I'm living

make sense with that?

I've asked myself that a lot this week.

Does the way I live make sense

with the truth I'm told

that I'm constantly engaged

in spiritual warfare?

Does the way I approach

spiritual matters in my life

look like I'm living in wartime

or peacetime?

I pray.

Mostly when I get needy enough

or tired enough.

I see myself excusing sin

in my own heart

and in the way I treat my wife

and my girls

because it's not as bad,

it doesn't look as bad

as somebody else's.

So I mean,

it's just a little sin, right?

It's really no big deal,

just a little sin.

You know, nobody noticed.

I love being comfortable.

Not having cable during football season

feels like a sacrifice to me.

I love being comfortable.

More than that,

I love things being peaceful.

I like for everybody to be happy.

Anybody else like this?

If everybody would just be happy

and not complain,

nobody be upset,

everybody be happy around me,

I'm going to be thrilled.

Even if that means

not addressing things

that need to be addressed.

Even if there's conflict,

maybe,

that shouldn't be ignored.

Just be happy.

Ignore pain

and heartache

and conflict

as long as I can.

Ask yourself that

about your own life

and the life of the church.

Does the way we approach

spiritual matters

look like we're living

in wartime

or peacetime?

We gather for worship

when it's convenient.

You know,

it's just a little

refueling anyway, right?

I mean,

I'm going to be fine.

Take it or leave it.

I'm good either way.

We come to God's Word

when it fits our schedules

or when something

really upsetting happens

and we need it.

We pray,

but we don't plead

very often.

We give generously,

but not sacrificially.

I mean,

we wouldn't want to do

anything unwise

or unreasonable.

We encourage people.

We say nice things

to them about themselves

in order to build them up.

Their self-esteem,

we want them to feel good

and we think they'll like us

if we say nice things,

but we rarely encourage them

about their faith in Christ

and their hope in Him.

We all too easily

cut each other down

as though we're not

dependent upon each other

for protection.

We share the good news

of the Gospel,

don't we?

At least we talk about it.

We'll share the good news

when it's really

a perfect opportunity.

When there's not any risk

of embarrassment

or failure involved.

I mean,

it's not like,

after all,

this is a matter of life

or death or eternity

or anything like that,

right?

Wartime or peacetime?

What do you think?

Take a step back.

Be honest.

Size us up.

How do we approach

our spiritual lives?

What do you see

in our urgency?

In our sacrifice?

In our commitment?

Haven't we become

very comfortable

with the idea

that there might be

an occasional skirmish

here or there

and we'll jump in

when needed?

Something might come up.

Life's not perfect

but pretty much

things are just fine

as they are.

We're pretty comfortable

with that.

And Paul says

it's a dangerous place

to be,

to be living like peacetime

in the midst of warfare

all around you.

He says,

beware.

And this passage says

that's exactly

what we face

every day.

Spiritual warfare.

The kind most Presbyterians

in Huntsville, Alabama

would like to deny

is actually going on.

And God says

don't deny that.

Don't ignore

these words of warning

this morning.

Because we live

in spiritual warfare

we must stand firm

in Christ.

It's absolutely vital

to our spiritual survival

Paul says.

It's absolutely vital

to the eternal survival

of others.

We must awaken church.

Listen,

we've got to wake up

to the reality

of what we face

every moment

of every day.

It's clear

what this passage

tells us to do.

We're told to stand,

aren't we?

Four times

it's in here.

Stand,

stand,

stand.

That's what we're

supposed to do.

Well,

how?

In order to stand

in this battle

first,

we must acknowledge

our real enemy.

look at verse 11.

It says we're

standing there

at the end of verse 11

against the schemes

of the devil.

That's what we're

standing against.

For we do not

wrestle against

flesh and blood,

but against whom?

Who is it that we're

standing against?

Who's the real enemy?

The rulers,

the authorities,

the cosmic powers

over this present darkness,

the spiritual forces

of evil

in the heavenly places.

It's not pretend.

The struggle is

a constant one

because our enemy

is real.

And it's not a circumstance

or a person

in your life

who's the enemy.

The enemy is Satan himself

and the spiritual forces

of evil

that he leads.

He's not just a cartoon

in red pajamas

with a pitchfork.

Satan is fighting

against you

even where

in the heavenly places

where you're seated

with Christ.

He's fighting

against you there,

shooting flaming darts

at you,

verse 16,

prowling around

like a roaring lion

looking for someone

to devour.

Satan and his demons

are not to be

taken lightly.

They're not all powerful,

but they are powerful,

especially in this

present darkness,

this world of sin

and brokenness

where we live

and where they're at work.

The Bible tells us

Satan is a tempter,

that he loves

to lead us into sin.

It says he's the accuser

of the brethren,

that he loves

to create doubt in us

about God

and His love for us.

And the Bible also says

he's the father of lies,

right?

That he loves

to distort God's truth

for his own ends.

One of the great cons

and lies

that Satan

and his cohorts

have perpetrated

on, at the very least,

the church in our day

and in this country,

is that we're at peace.

That there's no battle

going on.

We can just enjoy ourselves,

kick back and relax,

consume some church,

do what we feel like,

live independently

and autonomously,

be okay on our own,

as though we're at peace.

Instead of at war.

And most of us

have bought it,

haven't we?

Most of us in our culture,

and think about your own life,

we've bought that.

We're very comfortable

just living on our own.

And most of us

who do feel like

we're at war

think the enemy

is Republicans

or Democrats.

Think the enemy

is Baptists

or Methodists.

Can you imagine that?

On the same team.

And we've made them

the enemy.

Even sometimes

football games

elicit from us

more urgency

and passion

similar to a war.

We talk of culture wars,

we talk of worship wars,

but very little mention

of spiritual wars,

of all-nighters

battling in prayer

for a brother or sister.

Listen,

our enemy is not

flesh and blood.

your husband,

your boss,

your former best friend,

the person sitting next to you

this morning

with whom you disagree

about something

is not the enemy.

And when we begin

to think that way,

that that's the greatest enemy

we have,

is that flesh and blood,

something or someone

in our lives,

we lose sight

of the real war

we're called to engage in

against Satan

and his cohorts.

And this plays

right into their hands.

Because what's their goal?

What's Satan trying to do?

He wants to disconnect us

from Jesus,

doesn't he?

That's the entire goal.

That's the idea.

That's what he's shooting for.

He's scheming towards that,

in fact.

He's thinking of all

the different ways

he might be able

to disconnect us

from Jesus,

to prevent our active trust

in God,

to offer us fulfillment

elsewhere.

There's life over here

to downplay our need

so that we trust ourselves

instead of God.

And when the enemy

is flesh and blood,

that's exactly what happens.

Because when the enemy

is flesh and blood,

I can pretty much

handle it on my own, right?

We'll just outwork them

or outsmart them

or if it comes to it,

outvote them.

And that's how we'll do it.

We can handle this.

We can do it.

And so we've disconnected.

Practically speaking,

in those moments,

we're disconnecting

from Jesus

because we can handle it.

We're just fine.

And so our enemy has us

right where he wants us,

drifting through life

on our own,

failing to see

the reality of our enemy

and thus failing to prepare

to withstand his assaults.

This sets us up perfectly

because he knows

on our own.

When we get there

and we're relying on ourselves,

he knows our natural weakness.

He does.

If we're going to be able

to stand firm,

we must admit

our own need.

We must know it

even better than Satan does.

We must remember

that on our own,

we're easily deceived,

that our flesh is weak,

right?

This is the repeated

implication of this passage

in several places.

Look at verse 10.

Finally,

be strong

in the Lord

and in the strength

of his might.

It actually means

to be strengthened.

The implication is

you're weak

and you need to receive strength.

Verse 11,

what's the armor of God

for that we may be

able to stand

against the devil

and what he's doing?

Implication on your own

without the armor,

you cannot,

you are not able.

Verse 13,

we're told again,

take up the whole armor

of God

that you may be able

to withstand

in the evil day.

Again,

implication on your own,

you will fall

over and over again

just like we confessed

earlier.

Think of Eve.

Eve walked with God,

right?

She spent time with Him.

She wasn't born

with a sinful nature.

And what happened

when Satan

zeroes in

to tempt her?

She ate.

She fell.

Peter was in

Jesus' small group

for three years,

right?

Jesus was Peter's

small group leader

and Satan says,

you who've been trained

by Jesus,

who've sat at His feet,

I want to sift you

like wheat.

And when He's allowed,

Peter denies three times

even knowing Jesus.

If we're going to stand

firm in Christ,

we have to admit

our own weakness.

That we're not just okay.

And it's vital

because one of the

great promises

of our peacetime lifestyle

is our own self-sufficiency,

isn't it?

That we've pretty much

got it.

Or at least me

and a couple of guys

around me,

we're fine on our own.

We can do this together.

No big deal.

If I'm not actively

at war with someone

who's crafty

and powerful,

I'm not too worried

about handling

whatever life might

throw at me.

And admitting our need

is going to push us

to Jesus

for strength

and help.

And that's really

the point of this

entire passage.

That in order to stand

firm

in Christ

against the devil

and his cohorts,

we must actively

abide in Christ.

Christ.

We won't stand

unless we stand

in Christ.

It's not just knowing

the power of the enemy

and the weakness

we have on our own,

but it's the power

to defeat the enemy

that's essential, right?

Just having some knowledge

about the reality

is not going to be enough.

This passage

is abundantly clear

on one thing.

That power

to defeat the enemy

belongs to God.

To Christ himself.

We see this

through the whole passage

starting in verse 10

where we're told

the strength we need

is in the Lord

and the strength

of his might.

Paul does again

what he did

in chapter 1

if you remember

where he piles up

power words

one after the other.

The strength

and the power

of God's might.

He's saying

that's where the power is.

Jesus is indeed

the one throughout

the New Testament

with the power

to defeat Satan.

We see it

several times,

don't we?

He does it

in his temptation.

He does it

throughout the Gospels

when he casts out demons

and he does it

foremost on the cross

where Colossians 2

tells us what?

He triumphs

over the same

powers and authorities

mentioned in Ephesians.

Jesus triumphs

over them

at the cross.

He publicly

shames them.

Triumphs over them.

Over the same ones

against whom we battle.

Jesus has conquered them.

He has the power

and resources

to defeat the enemy.

Christ is the victor

on the cross

and in the empty tomb

where he defeats

sin and death

where he's exalted.

Ephesians 1.21 says

far above all

rule and authority

and power

and dominion.

He's powerful

above them.

I love the way

the old Puritan prayer

describes Jesus

and his victory.

It's in the valley

of vision.

Read this with me.

Great was the joy

of Israel's sons

when Egypt died

upon the shore.

Far greater joy

when the Redeemer's foe

lay crushed

in the dust.

Jesus strides forth

as the victor,

conqueror of death,

hell,

and all opposing might.

He bursts the bands

of death,

tramples the powers

of darkness down,

and lives forever.

He,

my gracious surety,

apprehended for payment

of my debt,

comes forth from

the prison house

of the grave

free and triumphant

over sin,

Satan,

and death.

Show me herein

the proof

that his vicarious

offering is accepted,

that the claims

of justice

are satisfied,

that the devil's

scepter is shivered,

that his wrongful throne

is leveled.

Amen.

That's good stuff.

I wish I'd written that.

Jesus wins.

The victor

has been crowned.

His triumph is sure.

He reigns in power.

But where does that

leave us?

Here's the point

of what Paul is saying

in our passage

this morning.

He's saying

that the same power

over our enemy

is ours in Christ.

We take up

the armor of God

by being actively

connected to Jesus,

by drawing strength

from him.

It's been a constant

refrain of Ephesians,

right?

Over and over,

in Christ,

in the Lord,

connected to Christ.

It's why we've called

the whole series

Connected in Christ.

There's something

about that

that changes

our identity

and changes

all of our reality.

We have the power

to defeat the enemy

not because we're

so strong,

but because we're

connected to him,

to the one who has

all the power

we just talked about.

That power

from chapter one,

remember that?

The resurrection power

that raised Jesus

from the dead

is not only for Jesus

but toward whom?

Toward all those

who believe.

That power

is for you.

You don't grovel

before your powerful enemy.

You can stand

against him

because greater

is he who is in you

than he that is

in the world.

Amen?

You know Jesus

is stronger than Satan.

You've learned that

since you were a kid.

But did you forget,

Christian,

that you are connected

to him?

That the resurrection

power of Jesus

prevails for you?

Have you forgotten that?

The armor of God,

contrary to much

popular opinion,

is not primarily

about our being strong

and fighting well enough

with our own weapons.

It is rather about

the incredible resources

and weapons

at our disposal

because we're connected

to Christ.

That's why,

by the way,

at the end of it

we're told to be praying

all the time

for all the saints,

even the ones

wearing the armor

because it's about

our dependence on God,

right?

It's His armor,

after all.

The armor of God

we're told to put on

day by day,

to take it up,

to stand firm in it.

The focus of this passage

on the armor of God

is not about the particulars.

It's more telling us

to put on the whole armor of God.

But I'll mention

the particulars briefly

starting at verse 14.

The belt of truth.

Got a beautiful visual

for these.

He was right over here

earlier, okay?

The belt of truth.

God's truth

that directs us

against the lies

of Satan.

The breastplate

of righteousness.

God's holy character

that we've received

from Him

and then been called

in this very letter

to emulate.

The readiness

given by the gospel

of peace.

Having been made

right with God,

we're prepared

to share that good news

with others.

The shield of faith

where we trust

God's promises

in the midst

of the devil's accusations.

The helmet of salvation.

God's amazing power

to rescue

and protect us.

And the sword

of the Spirit,

the passage says,

is God's word

to guide

and direct us.

To fend off

the attacks

of the evil one

as of course

Jesus did

when He was tempted,

right?

When He responds

to Satan,

it is written,

it is written,

it is written

over and over again

with the word of God.

Do you see how

the armor we have

is indeed God's armor?

That all of it

is His?

And He tells us

to take it up.

To put it on

in order to stand firm.

Now,

what does that look like?

I'll be honest,

to this point,

that sounds pretty hokey.

Like none of us

actually carries around

a foam sword

that says

Sword of the Spirit

on it

and thinks it does

something for us.

What does it mean

for us

to put it on

or take it up?

This is what I mean

by saying

we must

abide actively

in Christ.

Day by day,

in all circumstances,

it says,

we must draw

on the strength

of Christ.

It's not a question

of did we

once upon a time

trust Jesus

so our eternity

is secure,

although that's important.

But do we trust

Jesus right now?

When we take

our Christian life

casually,

when we assume

there's peace

instead of an

ongoing war,

we fail to avail

ourselves of that

connection to Christ

practically

in a particular

situation.

Let me tell you

what I mean.

A couple of examples

of what this warfare

looks like

to help us see

what Paul is calling

us to in abiding

actively in Christ.

Often Satan works

through temptation,

right?

He begins to

tempt us

with questions

about sin.

Is that sin

really dangerous?

Won't it feel

so good?

Is it really

a big deal?

I mean,

isn't it only

a big deal

if you get caught?

Or only if you

don't stop

after a while?

I mean,

you can just

do a little bit

of it.

And we're told

the resources

to resist

the tempter

are in

God's truth.

The belt

of truth

that sin

is really

deadly

to me

and to others.

That my heart

longing after

sinful desires

really is

destructive to me

even if no one

notices.

That Christ

really is more

valuable

than what

sin offers.

Those truths

are there

and it's not

enough just

for the theology

to be true.

We have to

put it on

in this

situation.

Abide

actively

then the

truth has to

matter about

that sin.

But often

we give in.

And when we

give in,

he's there

as the accuser,

isn't he?

He wants to

question us

again.

Satan says,

did God

really say

he loved you

no matter

what?

Could someone

like you

really be

in his family?

Could he

possibly be

okay with that

after what

you've done?

What a failure

of a husband

you are,

hurting the

one person

you promised

to love.

We've all

felt it,

right?

Satan

subtly

trying to

disconnect you

from Jesus

through sin

and now

through accusation.

And this

passage says,

what do we

do?

We respond

by actively

abiding

in Christ,

by taking

up the

promises

of God's

word.

Again,

not merely

theoretically

that God

loves sinners.

I believe

that God

loves sinners.

That's great.

In that

moment,

it's not just

theoretically

do I believe

that and that

nothing can

separate us

from the

love of God

in Christ

Jesus our

Lord.

But this

sinner in

this situation

needs to

believe there

that God

still loves

me,

that he's

not kicking

me out of

his family

for this

sin,

actively,

actually

abiding in

the midst

of those

evil

accusations.

Listen,

when you've

blown it,

and we all

have,

it's hard to

believe that,

isn't it?

Your theology

may not have

changed on the

books.

You didn't

go and decide

to believe

something different,

but sometimes

your theology

doesn't seem

to matter

when you feel

like you've

blown it.

So we have

to recognize

the seriousness

of this battle,

the urgency

of abiding

actively in

Christ,

of drawing

on his

power to

combat the

enemy.

When Satan

tempts me

to despair

and tells me

of the guilt

within,

upward I look

and see

him there

who made

an end

of all

my sin.

I see

him,

the victor,

the one

who has

conquered

sin,

the one

in whom

I'm

righteous,

and I

can stand

against

Satan's

accusations.

One more

example.

We said

Satan's not

only the

tempter

and the

accuser,

but he's

also the

father of

lies,

right?

And so

tragedy hits

in your

life,

and pain

and heartache

and real

hardship and

difficulty that

you didn't see

coming.

And what does

he whisper?

What does

Satan whisper

to you?

Many of you

have heard him

say this to

you recently.

God's not

really good.

He doesn't

really care

for you.

He doesn't

have your

best interest

at heart.

If he was

good, he

could never

have let

this happen

to you

or to

them.

Little

darts,

right?

That slip

in to our

hearts because

our guard

is down.

It's peaceful.

There's nothing

really dangerous

in my life.

I'm coasting

along and

those little

fiery darts

slip in

and in no

time at all

they start a

raging fire

in our hearts.

You've felt

it, haven't

you?

So we're

to do what?

To take

up the

shield of

faith.

Trusting God

and His

promises and

sometimes, let's

be honest, we're

so discouraged

or depressed

that the shield

of faith we're

to take up

to stop

and extinguish

those darts

seems hard to

find, doesn't

it?

I want to show

you a picture

of the kind

of shield

Paul mentions

here, the

word he uses

because Paul's

been talking a

lot about unity

in Ephesians.

It's very

important to him

for the church.

Look at the

shield that he's

talking about.

It's a door

shaped shield,

very large, and

the Roman soldiers

would take them

up and they'd

come together

with their

shields overlapping

or interlocking.

They'd form a

group together,

they call it a

small group,

they called it a

small group or

something like

that.

I can't remember

exactly, I think

it was a small

group, and they

do that to protect

each other, right?

And I love that

beautiful picture

because sometimes a

brother or sister

has to pick up

the shield of

faith for you.

They have to

take God's

word, the sword

of the Spirit, and

speak truth and

encouragement into

your life because

you're too weak to

see it.

We need each other

in the battle.

But remember,

again, it's active

abiding.

Y'all know a lot

of truth.

You're not changing

your theology most

of the time.

What's happening is

we're not bringing

it to bear in our

lives.

We're not abiding

actively in the

battle.

We're not taking it

up.

It means not do I

theoretically believe

God's good and there

are lots of wonderful

promises and I've

never doubted any of

them.

What it means is

actually here in

this situation,

will I choose to

believe that God

is good, that He

has been and is

for me, that He

showed it to me by

sending His Son to

endure my greatest

pain in my place,

that I can trust His

promises again now,

taking up the shield

of faith, abiding

actively, not in my

own strength, but in

His, right?

In the strength of the

one who's conquered.

I hope you're

convinced as we've

talked this morning

that our peacetime

lifestyles won't work,

that will continue to

get picked off by

Satan if we function

that way.

Something's got to

change.

We've got to remember

the power that our

enemy has.

We've got to remember

our own weakness.

And I hope you've seen

anew as I have this

week, the absolute

necessity of accessing

the moment by moment

strength of Christ for

this battle.

I hope we can encourage

each other to reject

the peacetime temptation

of self-sufficiency

and that everything's

okay and we've got

this.

And be mindful of the

urgency of depending

in every situation on

Christ whose power is

great and whose victory

is sure.

I know it's late.

I figured it was going

to be.

But one last question

for you.

What are you fighting

for?

What are you fighting

for?

Are you fighting

hard like me?

Do you see it in your

own heart?

Are you fighting hard

for a peaceful life?

To be successful

enough that you get

comfortable enough and

you can just enjoy some

peace?

Look at this vision in

Revelation chapter 12

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

where Satan gets

defeated.

The voice says,

Now the salvation and

the power and the

kingdom of our God and

the authority of his

Christ have come for the

accuser of our brothers

Satan here in

Revelation has been

thrown down who

accuses them day and

night before our God

and they have conquered

him how?

By the blood of the

lamb and by the word

of their testimony for

they loved not their

lives even unto death.

Satan's conquered by

the blood of the lamb

and by those actively

trusting in him and it

says what about them?

What did it look like

for them to actively

trust him?

That they loved not

their own lives even

unto death.

I recognize that

mindset not in myself

but in Paul in this

passage where Paul asks

for people at the end of

our passage to pray for

him too, right?

Because he's in prison

so pray for Paul for

what?

That he gets out of

jail, right?

He's stuck in prison,

he's in chains.

Now what does Paul pray

for?

Pray for me in prison

that I might speak the

mystery of the gospel

boldly.

He is just like those

who've conquered in

Revelation.

Not fighting for their

own lives, fighting for

God and for his kingdom.

What's our priority?

How much do we love our

peacetime lifestyles?

Lifestyles?

How hard do we fight for

them?

Does it make sense when

we're in a war?

Does it fit with what

God's word tells us?

That we have a war against

Satan and sin and evil in

which we have not yet

resisted to the point of

shedding our blood.

But if it be that it comes

to that, would it be that we

would be those who love our

king and the gospel of his

kingdom rather than loving

our own lives even unto

death?

What are you fighting for?

Let's pray.

Father, your word is indeed

a sword and we're told it's

a double-edged sword and we

feel that it cuts to our

hearts because none of us

here has adequately

appreciated the war that

we're engaged in.

And so we've failed to take

up the strength that you've

given us.

Father, I thank you this

morning that in the midst of

our weakness, the strength

and the victory of Jesus is

secure.

That it hasn't changed and

that those resources are

available to us in him again

no matter how many times

we've neglected them.

Oh, Father, make us people

who don't fight in our own

strength, but make us also

not those who would cease to

fight.

Make us those who would care

more about your kingdom than

our own, who would value your

gospel going forward more than

our own lives.

Christians are everywhere and in

this country being asked

whether they will stand or

whether they will save their

own lives.

Father, make us those who

value your kingdom over our

own, even our own lives.

Thank you for Jesus.

Would you strengthen us in his

victory and we ask it in his

name.

Amen.

Amen.

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