Be Aware of the Battle

Series Intro

Throughout WW2, as battles raged from shorelines to bunkers, from country to country, over sea after sea, people needed hope. People needed someone to stand in the gap of leadership not only to lead, but to speak hope, courage, and bravery into the hearts of nations.

From leaders such as FDR to leaders across the sea, one leaders quotes stand out among the rest, hear some of them:

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure”

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender”

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be”

What was Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, trying to accomplish with these quotes?

What was his end goal?

He wasn’t necessarily rallying troops on the shorelines, no, he was speaking more to the common man, the citizen at home who had to hide in bunkers at night during the many German blitz.

Though he wasn’t always speaking to soldiers on the battlefields, he was still yet preparing troops to fight where they are, to hold the spirit of battle. He was preparing them for the battles that they would face at their very own front door.

This is not the first time in human history this has happened, nor is it a compiled list of “best quotes,” as even greater battle quotes exist.

In the first century, a battle continued to rage, one which began long before and one we see daily still yet. The battle for the soul. The battle of “good and evil.” The battle that we all must fight with sin and with Satan.

Paul, in Ephesians 6, takes a few verses to prepare us for battle! To help us understand who we are fighting and how to counter him.

For the next few weeks, we are going to look in Ephesians 6 and we are going to learn how we are called to Prepare for Battle!

Intro

Ephesians is the perfect book to talk about these matters. The recipients, Christ followers in Ephesus, were no strangers to either the military or the struggles of a pagan culture (both being important in order to understand the battle we face and the analogies Paul uses).

Ephesus was a busy port city, one of great size as well. It was a very “urban” city, one with much travel to and from, and much religion, very little of which Christian.

Ephesus was the perfect storm for idolatry and paganism. It was the perfect city to receive the Word of God through Paul to put on some good armor and prepare for battle.

But, what kind of battle? Is there even still a battle for believers to face?

Look with me at Ephesians 6:10-13

There IS A Battle for Believers

Reading this, we see a real battle! One that is deeper than flesh and blood, one that goes beyond the battlefield or the sea. We see a spiritual battle, spiritual warfare if you will.

As Paul writes this, he is rounding out the entire book of Ephesians and giving some final warnings. He just spend 5 and a half chapters talking about how we as Christ followers are to be unified by God, how we are one family now, and how we are to be totally one body in Christ.

It is interesting that God includes this in the finale of the letter. He is basically saying “Finally, in order to truly be unified in Christ, to be followers of Jesus, you must prepare for a battle. You must prepare for warfare. You must prepare for the enemy. You must remain prepared no matter what.

Paul begins this section of Scripture by urging the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord, strength is not needed is there is no battle.

2 Timothy 2:1 “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

Strength from God has been needed from the very beginning of time, however, strength to stand in the midst of spiritual warfare has been doubly needed since the fall of man, when Adam and Eve failed against that battle and allowed sin to enter a perfect world.

There is a battle, it is all too real, it is around us at all times.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

This is not some vain warning, this is a call to arms, this is the reality of our fallen world, there is an enemy, and he seeks whom he may devour.

The world is devoured by him at every turn. We were once devoured by Satan prior to our invitation into the Faith.

And, no matter how long you have been saved from that evil roaring lion, he is still seeking, he is still looking for you.

There is a battle for believers, take it to the bank.

And, you may be wondering now, what is this battle? How do we face it? And, we will get to that throughout the next few weeks, for now, let’s learn about what the battle is NOT

The Battle is NOT

Ephesians 6:10–13 KJV 1900

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

For we wrestle not with flesh and blood verse 12 tells us.

This is it in a nutshell, this is the idea that Paul is bringing to the table.

This battle is not the battles that take place on shorelines and battlefields.

Paul is not warning us that we must armor up against school-yard fights or even serious wars, these are givens. No, rather he is telling the Ephesian believers, and consequently us, that there is more warfare than meets the eye. There is more fighting behind the scenes than on the frontlines.

The Ephesians were very familiar with warfare. The port city would have commonly seen naval ships come in and out, and being such a large and well known travel city, there would have been plenty of conflict within as well.

They were very familiar, as are we, with what war looks like.

That is why Paul seems to be reminding them, or teaching them of this different kind of warfare. The warfare that has existed from long before the first battle was found on Earth’s soil. He is teaching them not of flesh and blood, but of something deeper, something darker, something on which, as he began this passage, we must draw out total strength from God.

When we think of the battlefield, like Churchill, we think of drawing arms, of rallying the troops, of calling on the strength of our soldiers, land, sea, and air.

But, Paul tells us that, our strength for this battle comes not from man, for the battle is not from man. The strength comes from God, the protection, the orders, the guidance, the charge, the victory, it is all from God.

The battle is not you vs me, no it is more.

The Battle IS

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Paul says the battle is against principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places.

All that to say, our battle is against the devil, his power, and his zeal for your soul.

Satan means slanderer or adversary. Listen to some of the names he is called in Scripture

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need to Know Our Enemy (6:11–13)

• “The Devil” (

He is evil. He opposes God. This is who we are facing, this is against whom the battle rages.

He is strategic.

In Ephesians, Paul has shown some ways in which Satan tries to destroy us.

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need to Know Our Enemy (6:11–13)

He tries to gain a foothold by tempting us to speak falsehood (4:25), have uncontrolled anger (4:26), steal (4:28), or share unwholesome talk (4:29). These are all former ways of life, the ways we once walked before God made us alive with Christ (2:1–5). Satan can make things look attractive and desirable and distort the truth, camouflaging the evil.

The word wrestle that Paul uses in this passage shows us this image of a one on one battle between soldiers. Meaning, the Devil is not firing at us from a distance, no, rather he is upon us, and we cannot face him alone. We cannot overcome his temptations alone.

The battle is real. It is against the evil one.

The battle is against, lies, it is against slander, it is against the spread of false gospel, it is against temptation, it is against sin.

Let me be clear, the battle is not against the people who perform these acts necessarily, but against the sin themselves.

True, we must correct said people and even at times, disassociate with them, but we must remember, this battle isn’t against the flesh and blood, but against the evil itself.

In Ephesus, there was serious paganism, serious demonic presence, serious sin in your own time, look at Acts 19. Our culture today can, sadly, boast the same. We must realize then, and we must prepare to stand!

Prepare the Stand!

This may be some of the scariest moments of your short life on this earth, but when push comes to shove, when culture permeates your family, when sin seeps into your churches, when we are, as we always are, under spiritual attack, we must be prepared to stand!

Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Take up God’s armor, and stand.

Note, we are not called to forge our own armor, but to take the armor made and given by God himself. We will touch more deeply on these armor pieces in following weeks.

What Paul is telling us is, we don’t stand on ourselves, our ground, or our false rightouesness. We don’t stand with our boldness or cunning. We stand by the grace, truth, boldness, and righteousness of Christ!

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need to Know Our Enemy (6:11–13)

We must also remember that the Devil has been defeated. We can have confidence because Jesus has already won the victory for us (1:19–22; 4:8). Paul does not urge us to win the battle here but to stand. The authority of the powers has been broken, and their final defeat is coming soon

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need to Know Our Enemy (6:11–13)

The decisive victory has been won. We fight with confidence because all things will ultimately be put under Christ’s feet!

We must stand, as Paul urges, in the evil day. In the days of evil. In each generation. Where evil abounds, there must be found faithful Christians ready and willing to stand.

Paul is not talking about some specific time in world history, rather He is urging Christ followers to stand from the beginning of time to the end. In each age. Wherever there may be evil, stand!

In our culture today, we know against what we must stand. We must stand against the sin of the culture, we must stand against the hyper-sexuality of our world, we must stand against sin and for Christ. This is the call.

Are you prepared to stand? Are you prepared to stand in this battle and watch the Lord fight?

Are you prepared to be bold in the marketplace, the schools, and your jobs?

Are you prepared to stand?

SONG

Conclusion

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure”

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender”

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be”

Are you prepared to defend the faith? Your faith? Your faith in Jesus Christ?

Whatever the cost may be, are you ready to stand? To fight on the beaches and landing grounds, in the fields and in the street?

It is no time for Christian ease and comfort, it is time to dare and endure. To take up arms and armor and fight the adversary with the strength of God Almighty alone!

Prepare for battle, because it is real. Its not you vs. me, no, it is us vs the enemy.

Be led by the Spirit of God today, and prepare for battle.

Maybe you don’t know this Great Protector yet..

*salvation plea*