Stand and Pray 6:10-24

Learning to Stand

As a young man in the late 1600s, Edward Teach joined the crew of a British ship that was headed to the Caribbean. Much later in his nautical career, he managed to capture a merchant vessel and turn it into a 40-gun warship. Teach soon became known as Blackbeard—the most feared pirate in the hemisphere.

Blackbeard had some success as a pirate, but his “career” abruptly ended when he encountered a contingent of the British Royal Navy. In a desperate battle, he and his fellow pirates were killed, putting an end to their terrorizing exploits.

Long ago in the heavenly places, an angel fell into spiritual piracy. Lucifer was a cherub who stood in the radiant glory of God. But his own self-love replaced love for his Creator. Desiring to be like the Most High, he led a rebellion and was cast out of heaven ( Today he and his henchmen are doing whatever they can to commandeer the lives of human beings.

Whilst he is defeated he is sore loser, and will still attack us from his wounded postion and so we need to stand firm, remember that Christianity is not a cruise ship but a battleship, and our warcry is that of Luthers

And though this world with devils filled Should threaten to undo us; We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. —Luther

Our Three Points

Stand Against - 6:10-12

Stand Firm - 6:13-17

Stand In - 6:18-24

My Overview

In this short passage, Paul tells us to stand four times, and pray three times. This is how we combat spiritual warfare, since we are waging war against spiritual things it makes sense that the weapons we use are spiritual. We can not win the war by using metaphysical tools. It is interesting that in this list of weapons only one offensive weapon is mentioned, with the rest of them being of a defence nature, that should tell us that ‘all guns blazing’ approach is reckless and short sighted.

Our enemy has been in the battle long before we arrived on the scene, and he is precise with his attacks that has rendered many a Christian useless in the battle, because we have not defended ourselves against his attacks. Being strong and fighting is not up to us, our empowering is something that is done to us as Christians not something we do.

Christianity is a battleship, not a cruiseship! many christians are unprepared and are distracted thinking they can wander through life living a selfish existence. The enemy loves distracted, selfish Christians they are so preoccupied with shiny objects and meaningless pursuits. If we position ourselves as soldiers engaged in a battle we have the right framework to walk this world and be active in not only pursuing and defending our new humanity, but also engaging in bringing others into it.

1. Stand Against

Ephesians 6:10–12 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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.

It can sound foreign to Christians to be at war and battle, since we have been given peace and called to be Peacemakers, and to live peacably with all men, and to love God and our neighbour (our Christian neighbour, our Muslim neighbour, our Athiest neighbour etc..).

Ephesians teaches that Christ’s conquest of Satan is displayed in his Church. We are the people who are partakers of the victory won upon the cross, in Chapters 1 -2 Paul has deeply explained how Jesus beat Satan and his dominion and now rules over these evil powers. The gospel is the means in which we found our victory and where future members of the church will meet theirs. Unity in the new humanity is the way we stand against the rulers, powers etc.

Struggle means to wrestle, its not now a war of intellectualism, but of fighting against the lies and distortion that the enemy brings against our personal faith. For example causing us to sin or to doubt that we have faith, or that God will take it away from us. Behind the politicians, the world leaders, the religious leaders of false religions and our antagonistic neighbours. Or further from home the real persecution of the church through beatings, imprisonment, beheading etc. This is the dark, evil force that Paul has talked about in Ephesians. we are not waring with the flesh and blood component of the vessle that is bringing it. This helps us to love the person and to have a pure gospel response and not a screaming match, or hatred of them.

The enemy is powerful and can wreck havoc, but we must remind ourselves that he is a defeated foe. A good illustration is the successful D-Day landing of allied forces in France on 6th June 1944, which struck the decisive blow and ensured victory. However, the troops kept fighting the Germans and pushing them back to Berlin where they eventually fully surrended. This shows us that the victory has been secured, and we are to fight the prideful foe until Christ comes again and they will be fully bound up and done away with for good.

We have the tools, weapons and we have God himself in the battle and no situation is beyond God’s control or power. So in light of this we stand strong and bve courageous, this ties in perfectly with God’s triple command to Joshua in leading Israel to occupy Caanan “Be strong and Courageous”

Josh 1:6-9 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

This courage foreshadowed Jesus (literal translation of Jesus is Joushua) courage in defeating the foe and taking back the land (God’s Kingdom established on earth). This is the same for us to be strengthen by this truth, so that we can be strong and courageous as we continue the gospel work in this world, advancing this Kingdom and seeing more of the devils dominion desimated as more souls are won from darkness into light.

The enemy will attack our unity, and gospel peace since he knows thats how we operate in safety and power. This is why Paul has been so focused on unity throughout the whole book of Ephesians. We see the enemy prowls around like a pretator.

1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

2. Stand Firm

Ephesians 6:13–17 NIV

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 the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The armour of God is not something we heroically make, master and put in they are all products of the Gospel, that we must remember we have and therefore use. We wear Christ and his victory upn the cross, we are already armed with faith in the gospel we don’t need to do works or be extra good to combat him. Our spiritual defence is not to let him worry us, since we already have the armour and we must continue to keep wearing it, becasue it is to do with our faith and that is what the devil wants us to abandon.

Belt of Truth

The belt was attached to this breastplate and would help to protect the abdomen, but also would help hold it up. So for us, the belt is the same. The belt holds up the righteousness, the belt of what? The Belt of Truth. You can't have righteousness without truth. You can't have truth without righteousness, they go together. We live in a world of fake news, fake stats, fake people and a world that is hostile to an absolute truth.

Isaiah 11:5 “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” speaks of the promised Saviour in Isaiah, in whom we find in Jesus. Jesus is both righteous and faithful. The Roman soldier had a protective apron which protected his lower extremeties, likewise when we wear Christ and keep trusting the gospel that saved us we too stay protected. Jesus is the truth the way and the life.

Breastplate of righteousness

Our family drove across the country in 2018, one of our stops was to the war museum in Canberra. On display was a bible with a bullet in it. The story behind it was that a soldier was saved by his bible in his top pocket when it stopped a bullet from penetrating his Heart. Such a great analogy for us, the enemy will shoot for your heart of faith and only God’s truth in his word can stop it. Again Isaiah said that the saviour would

Isaiah 59:17 “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”

Becasue of Jesus’ perfect living and exchange upon the cross

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

When we remember this, and dig deep into that part of the gospel we are wearing the breastplate and it gains strength.

Gospel-Shoes of Peace

Steel Cap Boots (snake season) living on the farm and having to wear steel cap boots to protect the feet from all sorts of nasties, including sharp nails, metal, glass and snakes in snake season. We live in an upside down kingdom we war with peace, unity, love, Joy, grace and mercy. We bring our Kings messge of salvation.

Isaiah had also promised the beautiful feet of the Messiah who would carry the message of salvation and the Kingdom of God

Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!””

Jesus filled thes shoes, because he is the Messiah.

Who is the greatest evangelist as we all can trace our salvation to his fulfilled proclamation. We are now to wear these shoes and become beautiful feet as we carry this message of salvation and peace. It is not just about sharing our faith, as the gospel is far bigger than that. We are to be agents of the gospel, we are to embody peace, love, grace, mercy, justice and to live wise godly lives, redeeming the time, ready to do the whole will of God.

Shield of Faith

For protection, each soldier was equipped with a large curved rectangular shield, helmet, and segmented plate body armour. The legion would deploy in three lines with shields facing outward to present a uniform front to the enemy. The Roman army of the imperial period was virtually undefeatable on the battlefield. Shields were 4 feet tall and and 2.5 feet wide, had leather bound over wood with metal to protect the whole body of the soldier, also if soaked in water, it wouls stop fiery arrows.

Our shield of faith is none other than God himself, the very one who gave us our faith and protects it.

Proverbs 30:5 ““Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

Again that weapon is found in the truth of the Gospel that reminds us that God has done the work for us.

He protects the whole body, the body of Christ. And stops the fiery arrows of the enemy when they attack our faith. The soilders use to lock their shields to form the turtle which would be virtually inpenetrable. We too are to lock our sheilds together and protect one another. Example, be their for one another especially when others are down and remond them of God’s faithfulness even when we are not.

“The enemy of your soul is standing on the wall. He wants you to retreat. And he will throw everything he can until you do the one thing he wants: give up and stop walking in joy.” — Scott Slayton

Helmet of Salvation

Isaiah 59:17 “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”

Like being protected from blows to the head which can lead to death, we wear Jesus’ salvation as our protection from the thoughts of doubt and disbelief that the enemy throws our way. This helmet represents that the battle has already been won, and this victory is protected. Especially when the enemy tries to tell our mine that we are defeated, or that we are not part of God’s salvation becasue of who we are or what we have done.

Sword of The Spirit

The Word of God is a sharp instrument, Isaiah tells us that the Lord

Isaiah 49:2 “He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.”

Jesus destroyed the devils attacks and drove him away in the wilderness when he said “it is written, it is written” We know that it is sharper then any double edged sword cutting through to our very thoughts and intentions.

Whilst these are all true we must remember that the greek word used here is not the word ‘logos’ Word but ‘rhema’ meaning his message. Which means that it’s not just understanding the gospel at an intellectual level, but also ensuring we are proclaiming it’s truths and promises against temptations, doubts, divisions and delusions that Satan will attack us with.

In 2015 -147 Christians, mainly students, were killed by Islamic tremists in Garissa province, Kenya, humble and courageous archbishop, Eliud Wabukala, responded with these fine words of gospel confidence: "We will never surrender our nation or our faith in Christ to those who glory in death and destruction. We will not be intimidated because we know and trust in the power of the cross." That is exactly what it means to put on the armour of God. While we are wearing this spiritual armour of faith in the gospel, Satan will continually fail in his attempts to stop our churches from demonstrating the wisdom of God in his gathering us under Christ's rule. To be victorious in spiritual warfare, all we have to do is keep trusting the gospel! Whilst the armour reflects who God is and what he has done for us, we put on God and display his charater in strength. We

Ephesians 5:1 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children”

3. Stand In

Ephesians 6:18-24 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

If the armour of God is our strength, then prayer is our strategy and foundation and we are to stand ‘In’ prayer. Prayer is also the root system of our being, it reaches up to our source of nutrient and living water. Spurgeon called church prayer ‘The engine room’. Others call it the war room. It is not really important, it is vital. Without it we will shrivel up and die.

A verse like “Pray in the Spirit” can and has been misconstrued, however we are wise here at Collie Church of Christ. We have and are learning that context matters. This verse is not a verse about speaking in tongues, this verse like the other verses in Chapter 6 act as a summary of what we have read in this epistle (letter).

It is in the same context as being the agent like in 3:6 “who stregthens you”, and who is your down payment, and “who fills you” in 5:18. So what does this ‘Pray in the Spirit’ mean? It means not to be overwhelmed with emotional estactic feelings, but instead being empowered by the Spirit to pray in accordance with the truth of the gospel and allowing the richness of Christ’s word to dwell deeply in us.

Pray all ways and for all things

Pray for each other

Pray for the gospel

Pray for everything

Long thought out prayers

Short quick arrow prayers

Spontaneous thanks giving and petitions

Alone and with others

Protective prayers, Lament prayers, Mountain top Prayers,

As Paul says ‘Pray always without ceasing’

Great summary prayer is

Matthew 6:9-13 ““This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

Pray for each other

“Shared sorrow is half sorrow; shared pleasure is double pleasure.” ― Eddie Jaku, (The Happiest Man on Earth).

Do you feel helpless with what you see God’s people around the world, a brother or sister who is expereincing loss, pain, disease. Or a fellow church family member lost in sin and destruction? Instead of just getting frustrated, Pray! This is the most valuable thing you can do and it is the most afective. Keep a prayer journal and mark off the prayers that God has done, I did this for a while at my last church and every single prayer we prayed was answered (not always the way we expected).

You have a target painted on your back if you are a Christian, becasue you are in the fight. Any time we advance forward for God expect the enemy to take a shot. Prayer is the most valuable weapon, either defensively or offensively you have. Expect to be persecuted, hated, troubled, attacked for this is a small taste of what Jesus endured. He hates us becasue he hates God. So pray for unity, pray for peace, pray for the gifts we have in this church, pray for each others walk.

Pray for the gospel

Pary for the boldness to clearly declare the true gospel to all around you. Pray for your ministers, or closer to home pray for me that I clearly declare and teach so others will understand (Youth Group). This is important as I am your missionary appointed by God to so the work of the ministry, to teach, disciple and equip.

We are all on mission together, so equally pray that you understand the immense scope of the gospel and to declare it plainly and boldly, and pray for many opportunities for the gospel to go out! Pray that we live out the great commssion spoken by our very Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in Matthew.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Ephesians 6:23-24 “Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

Pray for the Peace and Love between you all, pray for the reminder of God’s grace, mercy, kindness, favour and faithfulness. Lift each other up in this daily. And above all pray the Love for Christ increases in our hearts, so that in some small speck reflects the love that he has for you.