Ephesians Putting on Your Armor ~ Don t Forget Prayer Ephesians 6:18-24

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1 Ephesians Putting on Your Armor ~ Don t Forget Prayer Ephesians 6:18-24 In a recent meeting held by the writer a series of prayer services had taken place beforehand asking for the outpouring of the Spirit. Two of the brethren who supplicated most vociferously for an old-time revival were the first to leave, or rather run, when the Gospel battle opened. All of this convinces us that there is a lot of praying done on earth where not only the heart is not involved but the head is also unemployed. Sentences are uttered memoriter. they have been spoken many times before. The brother praying heard somebody else use the words and adopted them. And now it is a memorized speech to the Almighty from the knees. The man going through the motions of this means of grace is saying his prayers. Who wonders when the genuine work begins; when the Holy Ghost convicts; and the power of God falls upon mind, heart, and conscience, that such puppet figures of real soldiers of the cross go down before the roar of the first Gospel gun, or tumble over each other in their flight from the battle field. The same cannon, however, that makes some run brings a lot more to the front, and the ranks of Gods army are not weakened, but sifted and strengthened by the two movements of the goers and the comers. It so proved in this meeting, and every other meeting that we held since we have been an evangelist. ~ Living Illustrations By B. Carradine 1 One of our greatest assets is to be found in prayer. Why is it so poorly used? Why is it so perfunctory, so self-absorbed? Prayer is what undergirds and strengthens our armor. We need to use it or we will lose it. I Introduction II Prayer for Others Verse 18 III Pray for Paul Verses IV Closing Thoughts Verses V Conclusion I Introduction: So we come to the end of this specific road. Next week we leave the land and move on to the sea. Instead of fighting warfare we re going fishing, or maybe the fish is going peopling. But we haven t quite ended the discussion of the armor of God. In review let me remind you of the different pieces. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of 1 Authors, Various, Classic Sermon Illustrations, Albany, OR, Version

2 the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:12-17). As we ve seen, the real truth about fighting spiritual warfare is to live the Christian life, not by some superstitious approach propagated by the deliverance movement and authors such as Neil Anderson. And make no mistake, we do fight against Satan and his kingdom, but we do this by walking as God calls us to walk. We ve seen Paul picture this walk in relationship to Roman armor. What is illustrated is being in the Word, walking in God s truth, depending on His righteousness imparted to us, and living out the reality of our salvation in an ongoing process of sanctification. And while the battle is fought primarily in the defensive mode, we are to reach out to others, spreading God s truth no matter the cost. He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:15-16). But there is still one element missing, not from the armor because Paul leaves his word picture at this point. Remember, we are to be constantly filled with the Spirit, which is an ongoing process. And what is vital to this process and the whole subject of spiritual is prayer. Last week we talked about prayer in general. This morning we examine it within the specific context of Paul s writing. Matthew Henry states: Prayer must fasten all the other parts of our Christian armour. There are other duties of religion, and of our stations in the world, but we must keep up times of prayer. Though set and solemn prayer may not be seasonable when other duties are to be done, yet short pious prayers darted out, always are so. We must use holy thoughts in our ordinary course. 2 II Prayer for Others: And Paul starts by calling us to pray in the Spirit. What does this mean? Well as we discussed last time, we are to pray to the Father, through His Son, in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is especially important because when we depend on the Spirit in our prayer life, we will be praying in concert with God s will rather than our own. Hanegraaff explains it this way: To pray in the Spirit on all occasions, then is to recognize the sovereignty of God over every detail of our lives. In effect it is a way of saying, Thank God this world is under his control, not mine! In the yielded life there is great peace in knowing that God has every detail of our lives under control. He will not spare us from trials and temptations but will use the fiery furnace to purge impurities from our lives. 3 Understand, we cannot fight the battle out of our own strength. Any expectation to the contrary is disconnected from reality. And we come up with all kinds of explanations as to why we try to live the Christian life out of our own strength. Can you identify any of your excuses? Often it is because we believe the old cliché, God helps those who help themselves. And 2 Henry, Matthew, Commentary On The Bible (condensed), Ephesians, Public Domain, hypertexted by Oak- Tree Software, Inc.. 3 Hanegraaff, Hank, The Covering, W. Publishing Group, 2002, p ) 218 (

3 much of the teaching found in many churches is works oriented, so is it any wonder many haven t gotten into the habit of depending on God s strength and the Spirit s power. When we pray in the Spirit we are depending on His power and leading to bring us in line with God s will. So it is any wonder that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16)? Now going back to one of the major points of Ephesians, everything found here occurs within the context of the community of believers. Paul starts from the assumption that as believers we are living and functioning in concert with other believers. This in and of itself is one of strongest weapons against Satan s attacks, assuming of course one is in a sound church. No Roman solder would long survive if he was fighting in a vacuum. So prayer, carried on in this context, is to include intercessory prayer for the benefit of others in our unit. Our prayer life is to be ongoing. It is to include all the aspects of prayers we discussed last week with an emphasis on the intercessory component. What do you see as a component of Paul s request that is frequently missing from our prayer life? It is persistence. pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). This is what Brother Lawrence constantly emphasizes. His biographer notes: If sometimes he is a little too much absent from that divine presence, God presently makes Himself to be felt in his soul to recall him, which often happens when he is most engaged in his outward business. He answers with exact fidelity to these inward drawings, either by an elevation of his heart toward God, or by a meek and fond regard to Him; or by such words as love forms upon these occasions, as, for instance, My God, here I am all devoted to thee. Lord, make me according to Thy heart. 4 Prayer is to be an ongoing activity in the midst of life, not when we can fit it in. It is to be carried on in the context of all other activities. This was certainly the pattern found in the early Church. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). We are to pray individually, we are to pray corporately, we are to pray for one another, and we are to pray for our leaders. Our lives are to be typified by prayer for this is the best resource we have in our spiritual battle. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14). 4 Lawrence, Brother, The Practice of the Presence of God, Fleming H. Revell, Grand Rapids, MI, 2005, p. 41. ) 219 (

4 III Pray for Paul: Paul also understands that for those who are in ministry, the prayers of the community uplift them in their own spiritual battle. Probably one of the most important prayers we can offer up is for those in authority over us, for them and their families. The fact of the matter is that even Paul needed intercessory prayers for himself. Those who are on the front lines are always in danger of attack. Consequently, he often asks for prayer for himself. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should (Colossians 4:2-4). John MacArthur notes: Paul did not plead, pray on my behalf, in order that his ankles, raw and sore from his shackles, might be healed, or that he might be freed from prison and suffering. His deep concern was that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. When Satan tempted him to keep quiet about Christ, he wanted God s help to be bold and faithful to proclaim the gospel. He wanted help in his own battle against Satan, and he pleaded with his brothers and sisters at Ephesus to pray toward that end. 5 If Satan is concerned with keeping us ineffectual and defeated, how much more so when it comes to those who are our teachers. The more visible a person is, the bigger a target they make. This is why we need to prayer for our leaders. After all, Satan says: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Matthew 26:31). We have seen this as leader after leader has fallen on the battlefield, victims to their own sin, lack of accountability, lack of support system, and a target of Satanic attack. Everyone in the service of the Lord is vulnerable to attack, but as we are filled with the Spirit, as we have a rich and active prayer life, we must put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, (we) may be able to stand (our) ground (Ephesians 6:13, adapted). IV Closing Thoughts: And so Paul comes to the closing of his letter. He is sending this letter with Tychicus who will also bring the recipients up to date on how Paul is doing. Paul had spoken of Tychicus on another occasion. Tychicus is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord (Colossians 4:7). The purpose of a first-hand account was to encourage the readers of the letter. Tychicus could reassure them that Paul was living in the reality of the teachings he was giving to them. Paul closes with the comfort of three wonderful spiritual qualities, peace, love, and faith. And to the extent we find them present in our lives and the lives of the local community, we will stand for the Lord, be a testimony for Him and see the work of the Gospel prosper. 5 MacArthur, Jr., John., Ephesians, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986, p ) 220 (

5 MacArthur closes the section and the book by stating: Grace, or divine favor, was the gift Paul desired for all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. That is the love that belongs to true believers; sp Paul is really identifying the ones who will receive grace as only those whose love is not temporary and thus untrue but permanent and thus genuine! To apply obediently in the power of the Holy Spirit the principles of peace, love, and faith taught in this epistle will yield to every believer the blessing and favor of God. 6 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35). V Conclusion: We have seen a lot of truth in the study. We have considered the importance of our testimony as believers, lived out within the community. We have been given examples of how we are to care for one another be we husband or wife, parent or child, employer or employee. We have seen that God is the source of the strength we need in order to care for and love one another. And finally we have seen that Satan is constantly set on destroying this testimony and undermining the work of the Gospel. But here too, God not only provides the necessary strength but He provides all the resources required to live a life of faith and withstand the devil s schemes. As we ve seen this morning, prayer is the foundation of our defense in battle. And as we will see over the coming weeks, prayer is our solace when we are experiencing the consequences of living in a fallen world, be they from the world, the devil, or from our own actions. A Prayer in Distress There was once a man in belly of a fish miraculously kept alive. He was in a strange, dark, horrible place, and he says of it: Out of the belly of hell cried I. Was his cry of any use? Yes. We read: Out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardst my voice. My prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine holy temple. Wherever you may be, and in whatsoever trial you may be involved, the Lord will hear your cry and come to your help. If any soul here is, like Jonah, in the very belly of hell in feeling and apprehension, yet his cry will prevail with Heaven, and he shall know that salvation is of the Lord. A poor man s cry will sound, through the telephone of Christ s mediation, in the ear of God, and He will respond to it. ~ SPUREGON 7 6 Ibid., p McClure, editor, J. B., Pearls from Many Seas, Albany, OR, Version ) 221 (

6 Ephesians Putting on Your Armor ~ Don t Forget Prayer Ephesians 6:18-24 I Introduction II Prayer for Others Verse 18 III Pray for Paul Verses IV Closing Thoughts Verses V Conclusion I Introduction: (Ephesians 6:12-17) II Prayer for Others: (James 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18; Acts 2:42; John 14:13-14)

7 III Pray for Paul: (Colossians 4:2-4; Matthew 26:31; Ephesians 6:13 adapted) IV Closing Thoughts: (Colossians 4:7; John 13:34-35) V Conclusion: Personal Application: I pray we are all a bit better equipped to fight the fight we ve always been in. At all costs let us remember to be constantly filled with the Spirit, live our lives in prayer, and to Put on the Whole Armour of God. Prayer for the Week: Lord, bless us and keep us and make Your face to shine upon us and give us Your peace. In Jesus name, amen.

8 BIBLIOGRAPHY Bibles for the study of the book of Ephesians Complete Jewish Bible, Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., Clarksville, MD, 1998 New American Study Bible, (Updated) Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999 New Century Version, World Bibles, Nashville, TN, 1991 Commentaries Bruce, F. F., The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984 Edwards, Mark J., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. VII, Ephesians InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1999 Gray, DD, James M., The Concise Bible Commentary, Henry, Matthew, Commentary On The Bible (condensed), Ephesians, Public Domain, hypertexted by OakTree Software, Inc. Hoehner, Harold W., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Volume 2, Ephesians, Victor Books, Colorado Springs, CO, 1986 Ironside, H. A., In The Heavenlies, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, NJ, 1952 Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Commentary, Old Testament, Vol. 2, Isaiah, Keener, Craig S., IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, Kent, Jr., Homer A., Ephesians The Glory of the Church, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1971.

9 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn, An Exposition of Ephesians, The Christian Soldier, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2003 MacArthur, Jr., John., Ephesians, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986 McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 5, Ephesians, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN 1982 Stedman, Ray C., Riches in Christ, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1976 Stott, John R. W., The Message of Ephesians, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1979 Wesley, John, Notes on the Whole Bible, The New Testament, Books for the Ages, Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament ~ Volume 2, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971 Wood, A. Skevington, The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Ephesians, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 General References Douglas, J.D. and Merrill C. Tenney, NIV Compact Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney, editors, NIV Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 Easton M.A., D.D., M.G., Easton s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 1897, hypertexted by OakTree Software, Inc. Goodrick, Edward W., John R. Kohlenberger III, and James A. Swanson, Greek to English Dictionary and Index to the NIV New Testament, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999 Halley, Henry H., Halley s Bible Handbook, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1965 International Standard Biblical Encyclopedia,

10 Larson, Gary N., reviser, The New Unger s Bible Handbook, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1966 NIV Study Bible Notes, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999 Richards, Lawrence O., New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1991 Tenney, Merrill C., The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1980 Journals Bibliotheca Sacra, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX Chafer Theological Seminary Journal, This product is produced by permission of Chafer Theological Seminary, which holds the copyright on Chafer Theological Seminary Journal. The Emmaus Journal, Emmaus Bible School Westminster Theological Journal Study of Paul Cole, R. Alan, The Expositor s Bible Commentary, The Life and Ministry of Paul, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 Getz, Gene A., Paul, Living for the Call of Christ, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2000 Swindoll, Charles R., Paul, W Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2002 Wangerin Jr, Walter, Paul a Novel, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI,, 2000 Spiritual Warfare Hanegraaff, Hank, The Covering, W. Publishing Group, 2002

11 Powlison, David, Power Encounters Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 1995 Stedman, Ray C., Spiritual Warfare, Word Publisher, Waco, TX, 1976 Spurgeon, Charles, Spiritual Warfare in a Believer s Life, Emerald Books, Lynwood, WA, 1993 Wiersbe, Warren W., What to Wear to the War, Back to the Bible, Lincoln, NB, 1986 Wiersbe, Warren W., ed. Classic Sermons on Spiritual Warfare, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1992 Study Tools Baxter, J. Sidlow, Explore The Book, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1960 Spurgeon, Charles, The Charles Spurgeon Collection, Version 2 Spurgeon, Charles, The Spurgeon Sermon Collection, Volume 4 Albany, OR, Version Willmington, Dr. H. L., Willmington s Guide to the Bible, Tyndale House, Wheaton, IL, 1981 Other Reading Authors, Various, Classic Sermon Illustrations, Burroughs, Jeremiah, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Geisler, Norman, Chosen But Free, Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, MN, 2001 Second Edition

12 Hanford, editor, Thomas W Popular Quotation, McClure, editor, J. B., Pearls from Many Seas, Moody, Dwight L., Bible Characters, Albany, OR, Version Strang, C. B., Meeting Life Situations,