Sermon Tone Analysis

All of life is war, from the cradle to the grave we are at war.

Your soul, your mind, your family, your career are fields of conflict.

Until Satan is finally thrown into the lake of fire, our peace with God will have to be a vigilant peace.

Because Satan will certainly give us no peace if we are at peace with God.

Ephesians 6:10–17 (ESV)

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

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

12 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.

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 firm.

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Make no mistake the war we are in is against supernatural evil powers of the kind we cannot even fully understand or comprehend.

Modern readers come to this text in three ways.

1.

Some love the whole idea and picture there favorite movies like: Brave-heart, Gladiator, 300, Black hawk Down, and Saving Private Ryan.

Some of them love UFC.

Some love the camouflage with gun racks picture.

They get excited about gun ranges, paintball guns, and face paint.

2. Others find this text antiquated and ridiculous because of the description of ancient weaponry and warfare.

A person dressed up in a tin suit does not communicate strength, vitality and security to us in the 21st century!

3. Another group might find this militaristic language fanatical and unenlightened.

Have we not had enough of religious holy war talk?

Is not all Paul’s talk about the spirit and evil simply the product of an uninformed superstitious writer?

Are not the real problems in the world simply psychological, physiological, relational, economical, and/or political?

This text is not antiquated or outdated, because our society has not changed since this letter was first penned on paper.

Our spiritual needs have not changed, and the evil one is still active.

He is just as active now as he was in the garden.

Believers in Ephesus, and believers in every city in the world have the same need for Christ and His mighty power.

1.

The What of our Spiritual Warfare

(What are we to do?)

*We are called to Be Strong in the Lord

Note: We need to be careful that we are not looking in the wrong places for strength.

Our strength is not in our resources and ability, in how long we have been Christians, in how much we know about the Bible, or in how long we have been in ministry.

Our strength is in our union with Jesus Christ and His supernatural power that flows through our life.

The Lord is a warrior; and Yaweh is His name.

Exodus 15:3

Our Lord is a fighter and champion of His people Psalm 35:1-3

Our Lord moves like a warrior and His enemies hear Him coming.

Isaiah 42:13

How are we the strongest in the Lord? - When we put on the Whole Armor of God.

(identifies the necessity for a complete suite of protection)

Note: Put on requires an action to take place that is not a question of whether we should take up the armor of God.

This also, does not give us a statement of ever taking the armor off.

When do we first get this armor of protection that God has for us.

It comes through the Holy Spirit who provides the armor necessary to be protected against Satan’s schemes.

There is a very real Danger of Falling in This Battle

Three times Paul tells us to take every precaution necessary for us to stand.

The armor of God does not come out of nowhere.

*Power in the Divine giver of Power:

The call to be strengthened…by His vast strength.”

Draws on our minds back to the earlier prayers in scripture.

Remember when Sampson had lost his strength, had his eyes put out and was at a dinner party for his captors amusement.

Samson calls on the Lord for one last rush of his mighty power to destroy his enemies.

*Power in the Already but not Yet:

We are reminded that Christ has already triumphed over the powers of darkness where he is now seated at the right hand of the Father, now giving us new life and freeing us from the fear of the powers of sin and death.

But we have not yet fully experienced the full fruits of Christ’s victory, for their powers still exist (though they are defeated).

SATAN’S LEASH - AND IMPENDING DOOM: God is sovereign over Satan.

The devil does not have a free hand in this world.

he is on a short leash, so that he can do no more than God permits.

In effect he must get permission - as in the case of Simon Peter, where Jesus discloses, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has asked to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31).

And case of Job: “The Lord said to Satan “Behold, Job is in our hand; only spare his life” (Job 2:6).

*Power in Christlike Virtues

The virtues are connected with the armor: truth, righteousness, peace, the gospel, the word of God, salvation, and faith.

*Power in the Prayer

The summons for us to pray at all times reflects a reminder of where our ultimate power comes from and the boldness that he gives us to complete the task, Paul reminds us at the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 that he has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith and therefore laid up for himself a crown of righteousness for the day of his appearing.

Paul drew on great strength during his time in prison before his head was removed from his body.

*Power in Putting On

“Earlier Paul tells us that we should put on the new self, created according to God’s likeness” Ephesians 4:24

An “be imitators of God” as beloved children Ephesians 5:1

To now put on the full armor is to be identified as God’s warrior dressed in his armor.

The armor give to us is to put on the Messiah Himself.

It means to be identified with Him and to fight with His strength, displaying His character.

2. The Why of Spiritual warfare.

(Why are we to put on the whole armor of God)

*We are called to stand against Satan’s Schemes.

(Paul implores us 3 times to take pains to stand, that is, not to fall.)

Part of our Sanctification

God intends that part of our preparation for heaven be a life of warfare with hell.

He calls it a “good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18) and a “good fight” ( 1 Timothy 6:12).

It is good, not because we might be killed, which we might, but because these fire-fights refine the gold of our faith in life and death.

He see’s behind the enemy lines, and knows exactly what the strategies are that we must deploy in our cosmic battle, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan. 2 Corinthians 2:11

ILLUSTRATION

Here is the problem, Hollywood and other entertainment media appears to dramatize sensationalism and lure of evil in the spirit world such that it successfully captivates the interest of many.

This reminds me of the Romans who packed the Coliseum in the first century to witness the slaughter of humans by gladiators and ferocious animals.

Passive spectators seem to participate in the dramatizations and real life news of Satan’s evil acts.

Such passive and consistent participation in the portrayal of evil cannot have any positive yield.

This also links the root cause of personal and cultural disorders are seemingly and consistently denied.

The Coliseum of our present culture today is the right for human life.

Where we call babies fetuses and killing of millions of children as mercy killings.

The forces arrayed against us have three main characteristics.

1) His schemes are powerful

They are principalities and powers the rulers o this present darkness.

The word kosmokratores was used in astrology of the planets which were thought to control the fate of mankind, in the Orphic Hymns of Zeus, in rabbinical writings of Nebuchadnezzar and other pagan monarchs, and in various ancient inscriptions of the Roman emperors.

John describes him in John 12:31 as the ruler of this world.

Dr. Chuck Lawless 8 ways the enemy attacks the Church

Congregational Division

False Teaching - Everything from the songs being sung, to poorly exegetic scripture, to out and out distortion of God’s word.

Family Breakdown - Many churches hardly pause when another home falls apart, and the enemy is in the corner of the room pleased with his work.

Hidden Sin - Satan is lurking behind the pulpit of all of Churches and taking down even the greatest of our spiritual leaders.

Transfer Growth Diversion - Satan and his demons are seldom threatened when churches “grow” by “swapping the sheep” of other churches.

Many churches brag about their growth, but never ask whether they are seeing non-believers turn to Christ or how many people are becoming mature disciples of Christ.