30. New Life 101: Trusting in God’s promises and relying on his power. Ephesians 6:16-20

Ephesians 6:10–20 (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, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

The context of the Christian life is spiritual warfare. Why? Because God’s enemy is now your enemy.

God says in Ephesians 6:10-13 that we are under attack from Satan…

“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.”

This means that, even if we calm all the physical and visible conflicts and circumstances there is still a spiritual war and you will experience spiritual warfare.

I mentioned last week that our motivations for praying and evangelizing others cannot be circumstantial, physical, or visible. I say that because there are many in the world of American Christianity who pray for revival in our country and for things to turn around from a selfish perspective. Our goal is Christians isn’t for people to follow God so that the circumstances of our personal lives can be easier or better… our goal for wanting people to follow God is the salvation of their souls and the glory of God in their lives and the earth!

If the goal is simply for our circumstances to be better or easier… then when the circumstances become easier or better the motivation for growing God’s kingdom goes away… and there are days where I am afraid that at some point that is actually what happened in many churches and communities around America. When things seemed good in our personal lives, neighborhoods, cities, states, etc we let our guard down and put down the armor of God. And, in doing so we have opened up churches and our homes to the schemes of Satan.

And I think that one of Satan’s schemes today is to distract the church and tempt the church to chase after a cultural change through a morality movement without aiming for heart change that comes with a move of the gospel.

Satan is working to deceive and to accuse…

In Revelation 12:9–10 (ESV) it says this concerning Satan, “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

Satan is called a deceiver and an accuser… He has many schemes, but his goal is rooted in his selfish rebellion against God… and if he can get Christians and churches to work hard at things other than seeing souls converted and disciples growing he wins small battles on the way to his eventual eternal demise.

Satan’s Schemes:

Twisting the Word Accusation Temptation Intimidation Division Doubt Fear And more… the Bible doesn’t give an exhaustive list as much as we see the aim of the devil is rooted in rebellion.

Look again at Ephesians 6:10-13

“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.” Ephesians 6:10-13

In verses 10 and 13 we are given encouragement and instruction in the face of spiritual warfare. “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might… 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.”

In the face of ongoing spiritual struggles God calls Christians to do all they can to stand firm against the schemes of the Devil. (Ephesians. 6:10-13)

Doing all you can to stand firm begins with bracing yourself with the truth.

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Doing all you can to stand firm requires “Guarding your life and heart by grace and good works”

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Doing all you can to stand firm requires resting in the peace of God and running with the gospel to our neighbors and the nations.

15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Today we zoom in on verses 16-17.

“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.”

Doing all you can to stand firm requires trusting in the promises of God and relying on the power of God.

First we need to focus on the reminder God gives us that this is our mindset in all circumstances.

On one hand we need the reminder that we should live by faith in every aspect of our lives, and at the same time we should guard our minds and anchor our hope o the future in our salvation.

On the other hand we need the instruction that in every evil circumstance we find ourselves we are to employ the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation.

Verse 16 says that we will experience the flaming darts of the evil one.

These flaming darts are things like- doubting your salvation, uncertainty in God’s promises, depression, guilt over things you been forgiven for… lies, twisted scripture and doctrine, worldly priorities that pretend to be spiritual…

God teaches us here that Satan can be at work in each and every circumstance. As Sam Storms says that Satan can be at work when:

Faith is fresh and your faith feels strong.

You are in an unfamiliar environment

You are experiencing a time of affliction

You have experienced highs or lows

You have just sinned and when you are striving to be holy.

I have felt led to apply our passage today to a few of the most familiar categories of Satan’s schemes: Accusation, Lies, and Temptation.

These three schemes often result in the familiar struggles we have as Christians. Struggles like doubt, depression, uncertainty, guilt, and the desire to give into temptation.

In every circumstance, and in the face of the familiar schemes of the Devil, God calls you to trust in His promises and His power.

The shield of faith and the helmet of salvation both aid in our defense against the schemes of the devil.

Faith is trusting in the promises of God over…

In Hebrews 11 there is a list of men and women who trusted in God’s promises. They trusted in His promises to the point of acting on their faith with their entire lives.

Faith is about the object more than the person who has it. That means that the shield of faith is more about trusting God than it is about the strength of the person.

The helmet of salvation can apply to many different aspect of our spiritual lives. But, because God uses relates the helmet to our salvation, I believe it is good for us to consider the word Hope.

The helmet of salvation helps us to visualize guarding our minds… like the breastplate of righteousness helps us to visualize guarding our hearts. We need to guard our minds against the lies, accusations, and deception of the enemy…

And, we do this with hope. Why hope? Well, it is our hope that sustains us in the face of the onslaught of the devil. Our hope is in the power of God to deliver us. And we have hope in his deliverance in the already and the not yet.

God has already delivered us from our sins, and yet we are still waiting the complete deliverance from sin, death, and evil at the return of Christ.

In the smallest of moments and circumstances our hope is the power of God to deliver us from each and every scheme of the devil that we face. Every lie, accusation, and temptation is something the Lord has the power to deliver us from. And, in the situations where we might die in our affliction- we still have the helmet of our salvation to guard us from the enemy!

As the Word says in Romans 8:35–39 (ESV), “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The enemy can only do so much to us… we have the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation to defend against the worst of his schemes.

Two ways to fight against the flaming darts of the enemy:

Cling to the promises of God

When it seems like things will never get better… and this can include doubt, uncertainty, struggle, temptation… in the worst of your life circumstances God’s promises are there to hold on too.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Context

Jeremiah 29:4–14 (ESV)

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord. 10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:18–30 (ESV)

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

God has promised a future for everyone who belongs to Him… and that future doesn’t mean an absence of difficulty or hardship… Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians from prison!

Not only that, but Jesus was crucified… and who are we to think that we would evade difficulty when Jesus Himself was crucified. (Slave and master, sit and my right and left- you don’t know what you ask for! )

Remember, God’s enemy is now your enemy… you are going to experience spiritual warfare. So, cling to the promises of God (know them- the Word is our focus next week- but must be mentioned here)

There are many promises in Scripture… but I have found myself lingering in the perspective of Charles Spurgeon this week.. and I think some of it is because I have been studying and praying about our next series at Christmas…

But the promise that Charles Spurgeon brings to bear in the face of the enemy’s darts is this:

“I will be there God.”

“This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below and will make a heaven above.Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe your spirit in it; swim an age, and you shall find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and you shall find no bottom: ‘I will be their God.’ ”

If you belong to God, then He is your God. And this comes through a covenant in Christ, and God is a keeper of His covenants. He has promised eternal life to all of those who are His… and the promise we cling to is that we have a future and hope with Him for all eternity.

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3–4)

And so in the face of any and every circumstance- under the fire of the enemies darts… fight it by clinging to the promise that in Christ- you belong to God!

And not only do you need to cling to the promises of God… but you must also depend on the power of God.

Depend on the power of God

Ephesians 6:10 says to “be strong in the Lord.”

The power to face all that comes our way cannot be found within… we need a power from outside ourselves to endure and face all that comes our way.

Just like clinging to the promises of God runs the full length of the Christian life- so does depending on the power of God.

For how else do we believe that we will be resurrected and transformed in the end? By the power that raised Christ from the grave!

It is the power of God that trust in… and it is the power of God that we depend on for our salvation and in the face of the flaming darts of the enemy.

The message of the gospel is that we are saved by the power of God…

David Strain writes of this truth with the following: “the message is that “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Christ is the “power of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). The omnipotent God who hung the stars (Ps. 147:4–5) and who delivered Israel by His great power (Ps. 106:8–10) daily calls us to learn the hard lesson of the Apostle Paul, to whom God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul responded: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (vv. 9–10)”

In the midst of your doubt- depend on the power of God

In the midst of your depression- depend on the power of God.

It was Spurgeon who said, “God’s people have always in the worst condition found out the best of their God.” CH Spurgeon

Spurgeon also said:

“The devil has been arguing with Christians for so many years, that he understands the case against them a great deal better than any of us do, and if we begin to controvert with him, we shall soon find that that old hater of man will soon get the mastery over us. But if we say, “I give it in, Satan—I give it in, I am a sinner—the chief of sinners, hast thou anything more to say? I give it all in, but I answer thee with this—‘The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin, I believe in Him, and my sins are, therefore, washed away,’”—this is the high road to perfect comfort.” CH Spurgeon

Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 come on the heals of reminding us that difficulty and struggle fit within the plans of God. We must first trust Him with the circumstances we face- and hear the Word in Ephesians that we are to put on the armor of God in all circumstances… and from a place of trusting in the plans and will of God we learn to depend on God in any and all circumstances. No matter the situation we are never separated from the love of Christ… and in each and every situation- including death we are not overcome if we are in Christ!

We join with Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:7–10 (ESV), “7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

The power of God to cleanse us and make us right with Him is the power that we depend on the face of every dart the enemy sends… including and especially the flaming darts of temptation.

Temptation: Enticement to satisfy real desires through illegitimate means. Example: Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness

Matthew 4:1–11 (ESV)

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

Satan tempted Jesus with what he knew would appeal to his humanity and his divinity.

Being tempted is not a sin! But what we do in the face of temptation can be sin.

Depending on God’s promise and power requires knowing the Word.

Jesus’ example

Depending on God’s power typically means removing your weak self from the situation.

Joseph ran

Paul told Timothy to flee from passions…

In the moments where you cannot run from temptation, you can run to God.

This is the need to pray at all times, to depend on the Spirit, and to press on and persevere regardless of what we go through…

Again, we join with Paul in saying in 2 Corinthians 4:7–10 (ESV), “7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

And also when he says later in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (ESV)

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Depending on God’s power, like faith that saves requires that we act… and acting will look like running and standing. Sometimes we stand firm by running from the temptation, other times we run to God while we stand in the face of temptation and a situation we cannot get away from.

But we should not stay when fleeing is available. And we should not flee when it means we would no longer be standing firm (renouncing Christ)

In every circumstance, and in the face of the familiar schemes of the Devil, God calls you to trust in His promises and His power.

Closing:

Do you belong to God? Can God say of you that He is your God? (Have you trusted in Christ?)

Have you been running when you should be standing, or standing when you should be running?

Have you claimed God’s promises without also accepting His plans?