Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

If there is one thing we sense from the natural world around us right now it is this: Fall is upon us.

And as they days come and go and fall turns into winter we will hear more people talking about dressing appropriately.

They will be dressing in different clothes than they did this summer.

Summer is hot, and we need to dress light… but as the weather changes, we find ourselves dressing warmer and in layers.

Why?

It is important.

Now that is just one example speaking about the need to dress appropriately.

There are many more out there, but I chose that one cause it is “close to home if you will.”

Now, the Bible speaks about dressing appropriately in different texts.

And today we will look at one of those, but not from the physical stand point.

Today, I want to begin a message will take a couple of weeks to work our way through on the whole armor of God.

The armor of God is the most important articles or garments we can dress ourselves with each day.

They have a purpose, they have a place and they will seek to help us, keep us safe if you will in difficult days.

So this morning lets find Ephesians chapter 6, and our passage text is verses 10-20.

And this morning we will pay close attention to these verses today, verses 10-13 right off the bat.

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Now in Ephesians chapter 6 we find the Apostle Paul is writing to the believers at the church of Ephesus.

Now Ephesus is a wealthy port city, it was a center of learning and it was positioned right in the middle of several key trade routes, so there were good and people from all over the world passing through this area all the time.

And Paul is not there as he writes to them right now, we do believe he is under house arrest in Rome during this time.

Now being a city that lay right in the middle of some important trade routes through Asia Minor, a city with a lot of diversity in people and their different religious beliefs had the potential to place a lot of distractions for those living in the city…

And why not, people have always been hungry, looking for “truth” some might dabble in all the different teaching in the city.

But here is the real problem.

The ole devil is there, lurking, stalking using all these different religious distractions to catch people un-aware, deceiving them and taking them captive.

Paul sees what is happenings and calls the Christian church there to be alert, to be ready so they can defeat the attacks of the devil with God’s help.

And with this thought rounding out our introduction, I think this is a great place to begin...

1. Recognize There is a Spiritual Battle Around You.......

The entire reason for Paul writing to those believers at Ephesus was based off of this truth, there was a Spiritual Battle taking place around then and yes the Devil’s goal was a overcome, defeat the believers there at Ephesus.

Why would that be so important to the devil?

They were the people of God to begin with, the devil is against God, he is against God’s people.

But also I believe the Devil had a desire to make those believers there un-usable so they would have no witness to their community and those passing through it.

Go back to our passage and examine with me the Paul’s message...

Do you see what Paul says here.

Walk through this passage with me....

A. They faced the Schemes of the Devil.

There is the first indication that a battle was taking place.

Consider the word scheme… the Greek word there is Methodia, literally speaking to the methods of the Devil, but the word has a dual meaning tied to it, literally the deceptive methods of the devil.

The devil hated those believers and he hated what they were doing, how they were living and the impact they stood to have as they lived for God.

So the Devil schemed against them.

Please note the devil has a logical, systematic plan in place to harass, hinder and hurt the children of God if He is able....

If you live in his world ( yes you heard that right.... Jesus called the devil the ruler of this world and the prince and power of the air), and if you live in His world, participating in His lies, always desiring what is on the other side of the fence, guess what… You will fall to His schemes.....

And along with facing the schemes of the devil,

B. They faced a Spiritual battle, not a Physical One...

You see here is the second portion of the problem, the battle is a Spiritual one and we are not equipped to fight that battle in our own strength.

Look again at what Paul says in verse 12

My gracious, when you look at that list look at the allies the devil has in this battle we face, we can begin to better understand why we are not able to do this alone.

Look at what Paul says here: Spiritual rulers, Spiritual authorities, Cosmic powers that rule in the darkness and against the Spiritual forces of evil.

We are no match for these forces, the battle is a Spiritual one and not a Physical one.

We must realize we are not equipped in our own strength, in our own might to overcome the schemes, the deception of the devil and those forces who are aligned with Him.

So how can we win, what is the formula for success?

It begins Paul says by standing in the Lord.

2. Stand With and In the Lord...

If there was something we truly were blessed by as a kid, it was when someone took up for us when we were smaller and someone wanted to bully us.

We appreciated the fact that suddenly we didn’t have to put up with that person or their ways any longer.

In the same fashion, the Lord takes up for us, when we stand with Him.

Lets look back at two verses this morning, verses 10-11

What does Paul tell us....

“...Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.....”

What does it mean, “ to be strong & in the strength of His might..... what is Paul referring too?

Consider this.....

We are weak..... in our natural selves, oh we might be able to do this or that, to hang in there in difficult times.... but that type of strength is only superficial.

It certainly is not adequate for the real battle, the real tests of the faith.

Simply said… we are not able in our own strength.

What’s the answer?

We are to walk with the Lord and rely on His strength.

So how do we walk with the Lord?

Faith....

Faith is the key… By faith we walk with Him and he strengthens us. it is the same strength Paul refers to in

By Faith we walk with Jesus, His strength becomes our strength.

But it begins with the decision to stand with Him.

Here is a question for you: Where do you stand today… what lies ahead might appear to be huge, overwhelming but the Lord has the battle, He has the fight already won.

A great parallel to this is a passage in the Old Testament, Joshua chapter 1.

Moses is dead, the Lord God has taken him home.

And Joshua has been called to step forward and take Moses place.

Joshua has always been there, right beside Moses.

He has learned a lot, he has a heart for serving, but until this day it was Moses.

I am sure he is probably a little fearful, a little uncertain but listen to what the Lord says to Him.

Joshua chapter 1, verses 5-9

Three times in this passage the command the Lord gives Joshua is for him to be “...strong and courageous...”

Yet again it is not Joshua strength, the Lord is not calling Him to get pumped up,"…Hey Joshua, did you eat your Wheaties today, boy,.... you are going to need them....”

No the call is for Joshua to have faith, to walk in the Lord’s strength

To be courageous enough to stop any form of doubting and believe and trust the Lord.

As the Lord had been with Moses so the Lord promised He would be with Joshua.

If he could have faith, If he could obey the Lord’s other commands, to do the law of God, to not allow the Book of the Law to depart out of his mouth and to study it… He would find success.

To know the Word of God, to obey it and to study it.. it imparts life.

Now when I compare the two accounts, what the Lord tells Joshua and what Paul is directed to share with the believers at Ephesus is the same.

Stand in my strength, have faith and I will lead the way and fight the battles...

Anything else, leads to failure...

Having success will come when we have a true understanding of the war that rages, this spiritual battle is against you, your allegiance, your will, and your faithfulness to the Lord and His Kingdom.

the Key to Success begins with trusting the Lord.

Faith.

Being willing to stand in His truth no matter what...

So this brings me to just one last thought today.

So this brings me to just one last thought today.

3. Get Dressed in His Armor...

Get dressed in His armor, Paul refers to this as the whole armor of God.

Because of these first two thoughts I am reminded that this is no ordinary battle, we have already discussed that it is indeed a spiritual battle, it is not against flesh and blood that we fight.

No! It is a battle that at the very heart of it all is much bigger than we are, but we do not fight alone, and so like Joshua we set out in His strength and in His courage.

And this is exactly the urgency that Paul is painting in His letter to those at the church in Ephesus.

look at verse 13…

The first word is one I have reminded you to always pay attention to when you read and study the word of God.