Sermon Tone Analysis

*Pentecost 15, September 17, 2006*

We’re at War!

*Text:* Ephesians 6:10–20

*Other Lessons:* Psalm 119:129–136; Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8; Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23

* *

*Sermon Theme: *In this war, we need the full armor of God!

*Goal: *That hearers would realize the cosmic seriousness of our struggle against Satan, yet be confident that in Christ we are safe and victorious.

/ /

/Introduction:/ Most people probably don’t realize this war ever happened: the Spanish-American War.

Ever even heard of it?

For a brief time, from April to August 1898, we were at war with Spain.

This is the war that began with Americans shouting, “Remember the /Maine/!”

I bet we don’t remember the /Maine/, do we?

This was the war with Admiral Dewey at the battle of Manila Bay.

This was the war with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders and their charge up San Juan Hill.

Almost as if it had never happened, in four months, Spain had surrendered.

Fact is, they weren’t much of an opponent.

By the late 1800s, Spain was several centuries past its prime.

There’s another war not many people realize is going on, because the enemy is largely unseen.

This war is more critical than any our nation has ever fought, and the casualties are much heavier.

This time the enemy is no pushover.

Every ounce of our energy, every weapon we can bring to bear, every defense we can raise will not be enough.

*In This War, We Need the Full Armor of God!*

I’m not talking about the war against terrorism that began five years ago this past Monday, September 11, 2001.

That war is against a nearly invisible enemy who nevertheless seems to be operating in the shadows everywhere.

*I.

I am talking about the war with Satan.*

In our text, Paul writes to the Ephesians:

/“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”/ (vv 10–12 NKJV).

A.

If any of you have seen any of the Star Wars movies, you have a good visual of our war with the greatest evil empire and the ruler of darkness himself, Satan.

He likes the way a lot of this war is going, because his trickery and deceit are working.

Amongst humanity, he’s got enemies, allies, and plenty of neutrals.

But nearly all of them have been tricked into forgetting that this war exists and what this war is really all about.

B.

Satan’s enemies are people, Christians, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The reality of this warfare with Satan is confusing to Christians.

Television evangelists and fundamentalist preachers often talk about the great war to be fought between God’s forces and the forces of Satan.

They call it Armageddon—the great war at the end of world.

You may have heard people talking about whether the wars in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq might be the beginnings of Armageddon.

Many fundamentalist Christians believe this will be the final war to end all wars, actually fought on earth, physically, in the Middle East.

That is a terrifying thought for some Christians.

My point is this: When people make some end-of-the-world battle so important to their theology, or when Christians become frightened about it, Satan is winning.

He’s diverting attention from the fact that the Great War is being fought right now—and /we’re winning!/

          C.

Satan’s got other poor souls even more confused.

Imagine, the devil has human allies.

Satan worship is a real religion in America.

One satanic priest claims that as many as fifty thousand human sacrifices are performed every year in the United States.

That number may be hugely inflated, but time and again police do attribute violent crimes to satanic cults.

The entertainment world sometimes exerts a satanic influence.

One very hot musician was asked why his group devoted so much of its material to deviltry.

“Because,” he answered, “the devil sells.”

So often satanic involvement begins with things that seem like fun: drawing pentagrams, playing with Ouija boards, conducting séances just as a gag.

But thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, do consciously relinquish their souls to the devil’s leading and control.

They can’t possibly grasp how terrible hell will be.

Even those who’ve consciously allied themselves with Satan have forgotten that he’s fighting a very deadly war with and against their own souls.

D.

Satan hopes to inflict exactly the same fate on those who try to remain neutral in this war.

So many people, even professing Christians, don’t really believe we’re at war at all.

They don’t really believe there’s a devil.

This may be the devil’s wiliest scheme.

When someone doesn’t believe in Satan, or when we forget, we forget we’re at war.

When we do that, we become even more vulnerable to sin than we were already.

We can begin to rationalize our favorite sins, whatever they may be—loving our cars a little too much; showing love for our kids a little too little; failing to show love to God at all, except the occasional Sunday morning; maybe even pretending sex outside of marriage is love.

Whatever.

When we forget our war against Satan, we can rationalize almost anything, because we think we’re hearing words of wisdom rather than whispers of the enemy.

3.

St.

Paul won’t let us forget: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (v 12 NKJV).

Satan is real, he’s at war with us right now, and he’s powerful!

/Transition: /Yet when the last drop of blood has been shed, we’ll be able to stand against him, because

*II.

God provides us with all the armor we need.*

“Therefore,” Paul says, “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (v 13 NKJV).

A.

Believe it or not, the Spanish-American War was a war that America wanted.

1.

No less than Theodore Roosevelt, then serving as assistant secretary of the navy, wrote in 1897, “I should welcome any war.

This country needs one.”

2.

And the whole country got behind it.

For that brief period, the energy of the whole nation was devoted to war.

                    3.

We need the whole armor of God for our war against Satan.

To Paul’s way of thinking, there’s no such thing as putting on half the armor of God.

We need all the protection God gives!

B.

Picture the armor in your minds.

1.

A Roman soldier preparing for battle first puts the belt over his short tunic.

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth” (v 14a NKJV).

Every soldier in every age and in every kind of war needs to feel convinced that the cause for which he’s fighting is true.

Our cause is true.

We stand against Satan and against the world because God has opened our eyes to see him as he truly is.

Because Satan has blinded the world, it may ridicule us, abuse us, and call our cause foolish.

But someday our cause will be vindicated.

2.

“Having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (v 14b NKJV).

We know our righteousness will never stand against Satan, because our righteousness, our works, the best we can do, is as filthy rags.

But God has firmly fastened onto us the righteousness of Christ.

Jesus did that on the cross, laying down his armor to die and rising from the grave to give us absolute protection against all Satan’s accusations—the assurance that we are forgiven, that we wear Christ’s own holiness.

3.

As a result, we stand, “having shod [our] feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (v 15 NKJV).

In the midst of war comes that beautiful word, /peace/.

Now that our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ death, we are at peace with God.

We are in holy alliance with God.