The Reality of the Battle

INTRODUCTION

In life, it is easy to stick our heads in the sand and act as if we do not see something, or if we do not acknowledge something; it is not happening.

Since I graduated High School, I have struggled with my weight.

I was not struggling because I thought I looked ok until I realized I did not.

Ignoring the problem or refusing to accept the situation does not mean there is not a problem.

We ignore so many things in life, hoping they will go away.

At the conclusion of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul turns to the subject of spiritual warfare.

There is a saying: "Whether you believe in the devil or not, he believes in you."

Spiritual warfare is real, something every believer should expect to encounter on the journey with Jesus.

Paul's perspective is unique and helpful for the believer; he saw serious spiritual warfare in Ephesus.

Life can be challenging at times. It seems like there are times when nothing seems to come easily.

It seems in our spiritual walk that, we take two steps forward and three back.

I have seen people who would give up and quit when things got tough.

I see other people who persevere through the tough times in life.

When I look at what is happening to our society today, it seems like we are fighting a losing battle.

Society, in general, seems to be sliding so far from God that it seems hopeless.

The church seems to be fighting a losing battle in the arena of ideas.

It seems like those who have anti-God agenda are winning the battle.

Many Christians feel bruised and defeated.

I know many of you are struggling with your faith.

Somewhere along the line, you were made to think that life would be easy when you gave your life to Jesus, only to find that it is not true in the way you thought it would be.

The battles rage within you.

There seems to be a temptation at every turn for some.

How does it appear that the church and Christians fail in life and the public arena of ideas?

We have the greatest message EVER, given to us by the Creator of ALL THINGS!

Life should not be this difficult!

THINK HERE!

Here is what it boils down to.

We are all in a war.

I do not think we understand that.

We are in a battle.

We are all soldiers in God's army.

Before you give your life to Jesus, you are at war with God.

When you give your life to Jesus, you are then engaged in another war.

The enemy is trying to take you captive; he wants to get you back on his side.

If we are going to wage a successful campaign against the enemy, there are some things we need to know.

It is time to pull our heads out of the sand.

Ephesians 6:10–12 (NET 2nd ed.)

10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

SERMON

I. A reality check.

We will begin with a reality check.

After all, Paul has written to the Ephesian church; he starts this final section of the letter with the word FINALLY!

Soldiers are expected to engage in a battle when there is a battle.

Soldiers are shamed if they run from the battle or refuse to engage because they do not think there is a battle for them to fight.

Soldiers are expected to be strong and stand their ground when the enemy attacks!

The enemy we face is formidable; we need to be strong.

Verse ten begins by encouraging us to be strengthened in the Lord.

The word "be strengthened" means to "be empowered."

We are encouraged to let the Lord empower us to fight the battle.

Philippians 4:13 (NET 2nd ed.)

13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

Put another way, "I can do all things through Him who EMPOWERS me.

We suffer defeat in our battle when we decide to go it alone.

How many Christians do you know who, when fighting a particular battle against some sin, would go into the woods and hide or try to defeat an enemy by their own strength?

Our soldiers are not sent into battle alone, without support or training.

Our soldiers know their power and strength come from the military and the training and support they receive from the military.

Even as teams of soldiers are fighting in the streets, they have air cover to help strengthen them in their fight.

You will only win your battles when you fight them with the Lord!

We MUST understand our power comes from Him.

Throughout the Old Testament, when the Israelites would go to battle, God made it clear that He was the reason and the cause of their victory.

When God was helping Gideon put an army together to fight the Midianites, Gideon had an army of over 30,000 men.

God told Gideon that Gideon did not need 30,000, so God narrowed the number to 300.

How could 300 men be victorious?

Because God was strengthening them!

When you are in the middle of a battle in your life, you need to let God strengthen you and let God's people know that you need help.

You do not always have to tell them every detail, but we are ALL in the same army.

Outside of Jesus, we are powerless!

Verse 11 tells us to clothe ourselves with the full armor of God so we can withstand and repel the attacks by the enemy!

We will cover this in the next observation.

Our enemy is cunning and sly.

Paul uses the word "schemes."

The word "schemes" denotes "cunning and deception."

The word was often used for a wild animal who cunningly stalks and then unexpectedly pounces on its prey.

Our society is crumbling because people are falling prey to these destructive schemes!

The church is crumbling because we refuse to realize we are engaged in a battle!

The reason for this is so that we can "stand firm" against the schemes of the devil.

Standing firm was a military term that meant "to hold on to a position, not to lose ground gained.

You cannot launch an offensive if you cannot maintain the ground you have already gained.

I have been told that one of the more challenging parts of the Vietnam War was that it was hard to tell who the enemy from the friendlies at times.

If you are going to fight a successful war, you MUST know who you are fighting.

Many times in the past, the church has declared war on the wrong enemy.

People are not the enemy. The battle is on a higher level than the flesh.

Verse 12 reminds us that our battle is fought on a higher plane than people.

People are victims of the enemy, not the enemy.

Some of them are willful participants in the devil's army; most have been deceived by the schemes of the devil to join up with him.

Ephesians 6:13–17 (NET 2nd ed.)

13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.

14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace,

16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).

II. An equipment check.

Verse 11 leads into this part of the text; we are encouraged to clothe ourselves with the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the enemy/

Verse 13 builds on that thought, adding that we are to take up the full armor of God so that we can stand our ground on the evil day and having done everything to stand!

We are told, "Do not let the enemy find you defenseless; take up your armor, and do it now without hesitation!"

This is a very urgent command!

How often have people had their lives destroyed because they were unprepared for what was coming at them?

We are told we are to resist in the evil day.

This phrase most likely means in the critical moments in life when the devil assaults us. We know this will happen, so we always need to be ready.

To stand implies that we must rush into battle, defending and attacking.

Without the full armor of God, we will not be successful in this endeavor!

We are to do our duty, and God will do His part.

We are not to lie on the couch and watch the battle; we must actively participate in the fight!

We are to take it to the enemy, and we do this by learning how to use the full armor of God!

We have several examples in the bible of people standing firm’ David, Peter and John, Daniel, and Gideon.

All these people stood their ground and gained ground in the face of evil.

Let's' take a brief look at the full armor of God.

The belt was a simple but essential part of the armor; it held everything together.

Without the belt, the tunic would get in the way, the breastplate would not stay where needed, and the sword would not be very easy to handle.

Paul compares the belt, this simple yet essential piece of the armor, to truth.

The truth is what holds us together.

A person of clear conscience who is a person of integrity will be able to face the enemy without fear.

Once lies creep into our lives, everything starts to fall apart.

John MacArthur Jr suggests this verse deals with the commitment needed as a soldier of Jesus.

Many people are willing to talk a good game, but few are ready to get in and mix it up.

Only the committed athlete is successful.

They take the time to train and prepare for what they are doing, and as a result, they are successful.

Only the committed soldier will win the battle.

The breastplate covered the soldier from the neck to the thighs, protecting the upper torso and all the vital organs. It was also known as a heart protector.

The breastplate was made of leather, bronze, or for the wealthy, chain mail.

Righteousness is uprightness of character or integrity of character.

It is a life lived in obedience to God's word.

Verse 15 adds our footwear.

A soldier cannot fight if their feet are in bad shape.

If you have to engage the enemy and your feet are swollen and blustered, fighting is hard.

What is spoken of here is that we are to be perpetually or be in a habitual state of readiness in walking in the way prescribed in the gospel.

We are to be firmly planted in the gospel of Jesus.

The gospel is where we get our traction to fight and defend.

The shield of faith is what we use to protect ourselves from the flaming arrows of the enemy.

There were a couple of different types of shields used by the soldier.

One was a small one attached to the arm used to deflect an enemy soldier's blows at close range.

The other was a large one that was as wide as a soldier and about 4 feet high.

They were made out of leather many times, and before battle, they were soaked in water so that when the enemy would fire flaming arrows at them, the flame would not burn through the leather.

This type of shield was more than just a piece of personal protection.

The shield was made to interlock with the shields of other soldiers.

The shields formed a "portable wall" to protect the whole army when soldiers stood side by side. This made a wall of protection for all the soldiers.

In verse 16, this is the type of shield Paul speaks of.

When an army was approaching, the people would take arrows and dip them in a pitch solution and fire flaming arrows at the approaching army.

The wetted shields would extinguish the flaming arrows.

The wall of shields would also protect the army.

We are called to fight the ENEMY together, not one another!

The helmet and the sword were the final pieces of the full armor of God!

When the enemy is trying to fill your head with lies concerning God's love for you and the salvation we have received, we must continually accept our salvation as a fact.

Many times Satan will attack our position in Christ.

Most of us realize we do not deserve the salvation we have, and Satan plays on that every time we make a mistake or whenever we sin and realize we need to repent.

The sword was important to the soldier's survival because it was how you would fend off the enemy combatant.

The sword of the Spirit is the word of God.

"Word" means more than general statements.

It deals with individual words or particular statements.

We are to know God's Word in a profound way.

We are to be able to handle the Word precisely.

Our survival and faith depend on it!

Ephesians 6:18–20 (NET 2nd ed.)

18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints.

19 Pray for me also, that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak—that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

III. A communications check.

Communications with headquarters can make the difference between winning and losing.

Paul asks for us to communicate with the Father through prayer1

General prayers, and specific prayers (petitions), are to be offered up all the time.

We need to be constantly in contact with our Lord so that we can be victorious and so that we can help others be strengthened!

We pray with perseverance!

We don't quit, no matter what that battle looks like or how bad or hopeless it looks!

CONCLUSION

Spiritual warfare is real.

We MUST understand the battle we fight and who we are fighting!

Sticking our heads in the sand does not make the battle not happen!

What are you doing to prepare for the battle each day?