Message for the LORD'S DAY MORNING, December 11, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 16 in Ephesians Sermon Series ( Rags To Riches ) A Field Manual For Spiritual Warfare Ephesians 6:10-18 (NKJV) Today we will conclude our series from Paul's Letter to The Ephesians, that we began almost four months ago. Please open your Bibles to today's scripture text in Ephesians chapter six. And let's read verses 10-18. EPHESIANS 6:10-18 (NKJV) 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints P R A Y E R ***************
I N T R O D U C T I O N One of the predominant themes in movies and TV shows is the battle between GOOD VS. EVIL. *For BATMAN it was THE JOKER * For SUPERMAN it was LEX LUTHER * For LUKE SKY WALKER and HAN SOLO it was DARTH VADER * For POPEYE it was BLUTO * And for THE SMURFS it was GARGAMEL Of course all of these are fictional characters engaged in fictional battles. But in our scripture text this morning, the apostle Paul warns the Ephesians as well as all of us, that we are engaged in a very REAL BATTLE with a very REAL ENEMY. Many Christians do not take spiritual warfare seriously or at least seriously enough. In fact, a great number of Christians dismiss spiritual warfare as fantasy. But brothers and sisters, the truth is spiritual warfare is very real! Spiritual warfare does exist! Our enemy is REAL! Our battles are REAL! And if you and I are going to be victorious in the Christian life we must take spiritual warfare very, very seriously!
illustration: Over the years the United States Army has distributed field manuals to every soldier. These field manuals are basically instructions on how to survive in battle. Included in the manual is such information as: what to do if captured by the enemy, and what to do if trapped behind enemy lines, and what to do if tortured or interrogated by the enemy. These field manuals provide the soldier with vital information that may make the difference between life and death on the battlefield. Our scripture text this morning is basically A Field Manual For Spiritual Warfare. In these verses, Paul provides us with vital information that will make the difference between victory and defeat in our spiritual battles. First of all, Paul tells us about... I. Our ADVERSARY (vs. 10-12) 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 1. One of the keys to victory in any conflict is that you have to know your enemy. In the field of athletics, coaches prepare for a game by studying game film of their opponent for hours, seeing if they can find their greatest weaknesses and vulnerabilities. When it comes to spiritual warfare we must know our adversary if we are to be victorious.
2. Paul clearly identifies our adversary in verse 2. It is none other than the devil himself. The devil is the archenemy of God and all of God's children! 3. In verse 10, Paul reveals a very important truth that we must firmly grasp if we are to be be victorious in our daily battles with Satan; and that is: We cannot, I repeat, we cannot fight our adversary by our own human power or strength! We cannot defeat him by sheer will power or raw determination. We cannot out wit or out smart our adversary! This is a spiritual battle not a physical one. And the only way we can be victorious in our daily battles is to rely upon the strength and power of the LORD. 4. Throughout this Ephesian letter Paul has been reminding us that everything we are and everything we have is because of Christ. We are RICH in Christ! We are ONE with Christ! His LIFE is our life! His POWER is our power! His TRUTH is our truth! His WAY is our way! And now Paul is telling us in verse 10 that His STRENGTH is our strength and His MIGHT is our might! If you and I try to win our daily spiritual battles by any other means than by the strength and power of the LORD Jesus Christ we are doomed to lose battle after battle and to live our Christian lives in constant defeat and discouragement! Our strength, our power, our might to win our battles comes from the indwelling presence of Christ within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.
5. Paul goes on to tell us in verse 11, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now what does Paul mean by the wiles of the devil? Wiles refers to a modus operandi or a mode of operation. The wiles of the devil or the devil's mode of operation is use trickery, and deception, and lies, and craftiness. His mode of operation is to lure us into traps and snares. This was his tactic on Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden, and he still uses the same mode of operation today. That is exactly how our adversary operates. He is always trying to trick us, and deceive us, and to lure us into his traps and snares. And it is vitally important that you and I understand that when it comes to spiritual warfare the battlefield is NOT some piece of earthly real-estate. You and I ARE the battlefield! Our MINDS,, our HEARTS,, and our SPIRITS are the battlefield. In spiritual warfare you and I are both THE TARGET Satan aims at and THE TROPHY he is after. 6. We must also understand just how much Satan hates us. Our lives are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ, a scent that drives Satan stark raving mad! We are the ones that got away! We are reminders of his defeat! In fact he hates you and me so much he desires to destroy everything that is precious and dear to us.
He wants to destroy your marriage, your children, your friendships, and your relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. He wants to destroy your reputation and ruin your witness and testimony for Christ. Satan could care less if you are religious, but he will do everything he can to stop you from having a close, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to keep you off your knees in prayer to render you powerless. And he wants to keep you out of God's word to blind you to the truth. His goal is NOT to make you hate GOD; His goal is to fill your life with so many worldly pleasures and treasures that you have neither the time or affection for God. And the more determined you are to live for the LORD, the more determined Satan is going to be to stop you! Do you see now why Paul is admonishing you and me to put on the whole armor of GOD so that we may stand against the wiles of the devil? 7. Moving on to verse 12 Paul gives us a very detailed description of our adversary... Paul says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (verse 12)
8. Satan would have us to believe he is God's equal counterpart. He would have us to believe he is omnipotent or all-powerful like God, but he's NOT! His power is limited! He would also have us to believe he is omni-present or present in all places at all times like God, but he's NOT! It just seems like Satan is everywhere because his demonic forces are spread out all across the world. And Satan has lots of allies in government positions and in the entertainment industry, and in the news media, and in the academic world. Satan would also have us to believe he is omniscient or all-knowing like God, but he's not. Contrary to what you may think, there are no verses in the Bible that says Satan knows everything or that he can even read your thoughts. But Satan is very adept at predicting human behavior because he has seen it operate for thousands of years. 9. Well after giving us this description of our adversary, we might be inclined to believe this is a battle we can't possibly win; that our adversary is simply too smart and to strong to be defeated, but that's not true! As we move on to verses 14-18, Paul tells us about...
II. Our ARMOR (vs. 14-18) 1. Having the distinction of being both a Jew and a Roman citizen, the apostle Paul was well-acquainted with Roman soldiers. Remember, when he wrote this letter he was under house arrest, being guarded by a Roman soldier twenty four hours a day seven days a week. 2. No doubt, much of the imagery Paul uses in these verses was gleaned from his knowledge of the armor worn by Roman soldiers. 3. Two times in our text, Paul has already admonished us to Put on the whole armor of God. (vs. 11, 13) Can you imagine one of our American soldiers going into battle without his helmet or without his bullet proof vest, or without carrying his rifle? The wise soldier knows to put on the whole armor because each and every piece serves a specific purpose. 4. Likewise, you and I must put on the whole armor of God because to neglect to put on one piece or another leaves us vulnerable to attack from our enemy. OUR SPIRITUAL ARMOR (A) The first piece of armor is THE BELT OF TRUTH. v. 14a Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth... This is fairly easy to understand. John 8:44 tells us Satan is a liar and the father of all who lie and when he lies he is speaking his native language.
Remember I told you earlier one of Satan's wiles is to deceive. He deceives us by lying to us. And one the best ways we can defend ourselves against his lies is not only to know the TRUTH of God's word, but literally to WEAR His truth. We wear God's truth by obeying God's commands and putting His word into practice in our daily lives. If you are constantly discouraged and feel defeated all the time in your Christian life, chances are its because you haven't put on the belt of truth. In other words, you're probably not spending some quality time each day in the word. (B) Next, Paul tells us to PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.. (v.14) The breastplate shielded the soldier's vital organs, primarily his heart, from suffering a fatal wound. The Breastplate of Righteousness has nothing to do with our own works of righteousness, but rather it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It has to do with His righteous work on the cross. You see, one of Satan's favorite weapons against us is to accuse us of our past and present sins and to constantly remind us what miserable failures we are as Christians. If you are trusting in your own human righteousness to protect you in battle you are up a creek without a paddle. The scriptures teach us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. In other words, our righteousness offers us NO PROTECTION against Satan's accusations. In fact, our human righteousness makes us more vulnerable to Satan's attacks.
But when we trust in the righteousness of Christ to save us from our sins, our hearts are protected from Satan's accusations. And when Satan reminds us of our past, we can confidently remind him of his future! (C) Next, Paul tells us to PUT ON THE SHOES OF PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.. (v.15) The battle shoes worn by the Roman soldiers in Paul's day were made of layers of metal and leather. They had spikes on the bottom of the shoes for sure footing; and often had a long spike protruding from the toe of the shoe to stab or lacerate the enemy. A good pair of battle shoes was vitally important to a soldier being prepared to march upon command or to stand firm on the battlefield. The Gospel is the Christian's battle shoes! As Christians we must be prepared or be ready to obey the LORD'S commands at all times. We must be prepared to share the gospel with those who are outside of Christ. And we must be prepared to use the gospel to defend ourselves against an attack from our adversary, the devil.
(D) Next, Paul tells us to TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH. v. 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Roman soldiers used two types of shields in battle. One was a small,light weight, round shield about 2' in diameter that was secured to their arm by two leather straps. This shield was primarily used to deflect the blow of an enemy sword in hand-tohand combat. The other type of shield was much larger. It was 2 1/2 ' wide and 4' high. It was designed to protect the soldier's entire body. When the enemy would fire arrows or flaming arrows, the soldier would kneel down behind this large shield to form a wall of protection between his body and the flaming arrows. FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD is our shield of protection against our enemy. Satan is constantly shooting his flaming arrows of doubt, and discouragement, and despair at us. But when we put all of our faith and trust in GOD our faith acts a shield of protection against Satan's flaming arrows. (E) Next, Paul tells us to PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION.. (v.17a) The helmet of course was worn by the Roman soldiers to protect their head, their brain, from a dangerous and potentially deadly blow from an enemy sword.
When Satan attacks us, usually the very first thing he targets is our mind. He wants to get inside our head. He wants to mess up our thinking, especially regarding our salvation. Satan knows if he can get us to doubt our salvation it will destroy our confidence, and our peace, and our faith and trust in God. What does it mean to PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION? It means that you and I place all of our hope of salvation in the work Christ did on the cross, and not upon our own works. It means we believe what GOD'S WORD says about our salvation, not what Satan whispers in our ear. (F) And then in the latter part of verse 17, Paul tells us to TAKE UP THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Every other piece of our armor is for DEFENSIVE purposes. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT or the WORD of G0D is our only OFFENSIVE weapon in our battle. Remember when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness? How did Jesus go on the offensive against Satan? He used the sword of the Spirit. He quoted SCRIPTURE. He combated Satan's LIES with the TRUTH of God. This is why it is critically important to stay in the word of God. If you neglect your daily Bible reading, in essence you are going unarmed into battle each day.
5. In verse 18 Paul says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints Don't ever under-estimate the importance of prayer in fighting your daily battles. We are fighting a supernatural enemy and to fight a supernatural enemy we need a supernatural power. PRAYER is the means God has given us to tap into His supernatural power. And when you and I neglect our daily prayer life, not only are we ill-prepared to fight our daily spiritual battles, we are virtually assuring our failure and defeat. *********************************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N A godly man by the name of ISAAC AMBROSE wrote a book in 1660 entitled: The Christian Warrior. I want to share a brief excerpt from his book as we close: God is on the side of all true wrestlers, and if God is for us, who can prosper against us? The LORD JESUS not only feels deeply, but prays earnestly for His children when they wrestle with their grand adversary. No sooner does Satan run in upon you but Christ runs into the bosom of His Father to intercede for you. Christians be not afraid of Satan; he is only a creature of limited power. Yes, he is potent, but your Captain is omnipotent. Satan is real. Satan is powerful. Satan is wicked. And Satan is clever. But most importantly, SATAN IS DEFEATED! So Be strong in the LORD and in the POWER of HIS MIGHT!