Who Are We Really Fighting?

Introduction

Good morning and Happy New Year!

Even though we haven’t seen anyone since last year, you all don’t look like you have changed a bit!

And what a year 2020 was!

Many people struggled during 2020 and we lost many very good people in the last year.

And I know we have heard and may have even said ourselves that we are so glad that 2020 is over, like the calendar moving forward one day is going to change the world.

Well, the reality is the same problems that we had at 11:59pm on December 31st are still going to be there at 12:01am on January 1st.

Just the movement of a clock or a calendar doesn’t do very much to change things.

If we want things to change and things to be different in 2021, then we have to step up and do what is necessary to effect change.

We used to train our new social workers to become what they call “change agents,” in that their job is to help others see what is necessary to make changes in their lives to improve their lives.

We as Christians really need to be “change agents” of the world.

I know I may sound like a broken record, but if we really want 2021 to be different than 2020, then we have to step up to the plate and do the necessary work in order to facilitate the changes that are needed in our world.

We can no longer push this responsibility off onto others.

We can no longer say, “the preacher will do that” or “the church board will do that.”

It is time that we all step up and get into the fight.

However, the first step of getting into the fight is really understanding and recognizing who our true enemy is.

Who is it that we are REALLY fighting against anyway?

Is it our politicians?

Is it the evil dictators of the world?

Is it the people who belong to other religions?

Is it the people who just think and believe differently than we do?

Who really is it that we are fighting?

And I am afraid that we really do not have a good grasp on who our true enemy is.

We have lost focus and forgotten all about the spiritual realms in this universe.

And I am not talking about ghosts and goblins.

I am talking about the true forces of good and evil that exist in our world.

And example of this comes from the devotion from this last Tuesday in Our Daily Bread.

The writer of the devotion tells this story . . .

In 1876, men drilling for coal in central Indiana thought they had found the gates of hell. Historian John Barlow Martin reports that at six hundred feet, “foul fumes issued forth amid awesome noises.” Afraid they had “bitten into the roof of the devil’s cave,” the miners plugged the well and scurried back to their homes.

The miners, of course, were mistaken—and some years later, they would drill again and be rich in natural gas. Even though they were mistaken, I find myself a little jealous of them. These miners lived with an awareness of the spiritual world that is often missing from my own life. It’s easy for me to live as if the supernatural and the natural rarely intersect and to forget that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”

And that is what we are going to be talking about this morning.

Our true enemy.

So, if you want to turn to Ephesians 6 in your Bibles, or if you want to follow along on the screen, Paul writes this . . .

Scripture Focus

Ephesians 6:10–20 NIV - Anglicised

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

The True Enemy Revealed (vs 10-13)

Now, I know that we are all familiar with this passage and we are all familiar with the “Full Armour of God.”

Over the years we have talked about it many times.

But also as each day of each year passes we also have a tendency to grow complacent and begin to forget about who we are really, really fighting against.

So, we need to be reminded.

And this passage does just that.

However, before Paul actually reveals the enemy to us, he also tells us something else.

In verse 10, Paul writes this . . .

Ephesians 6:10 NIV - Anglicised

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Now, why would Paul tell us to first be “strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power?”

Because Paul knows human nature.

Remember, these people that Paul is talking to and delivering this message to are under extreme pressure.

They are being persecuted by the Jews.

They are being hunted by the Romans.

They are being lied to by false prophets and others wanting them to drink their koolaid.

And their natural reaction is to lash out and attack those people who are trying to attack them.

But, they are lashing out at the wrong thing and doing it the wrong way.

They are trying to do everything under their own power and have forgotten all about God and God’s way.

They have forgotten about the power of God that is present in their lives, that is there to fight these battles for them.

And they needed a strong reminder.

And so do we.

We need to be reminded of our enemy, but we also need to be reminded of how we are going to defeat the enemy and under who’s power we are going to defeat the enemy.

And that power is the power of God.

It always has been and always will be.

The only way is God’s way.

So, with that out of the way, Paul reminds us now of who our enemy really is.

He writes . . .

Ephesians 6:11 NIV - Anglicised

Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Who’s schemes?

Not the democrats.

Not the republicans.

Not the Russians or the Chinese.

No, the devil’s schemes.

And the devil is not going to be defeated by guns, knives, and bombs.

The only way to defeat the devil is to put on the full armour of God.

We can kill every evil dictator in the world, but tomorrow another one will pop up somewhere.

Because the devil doesn’t care who a person is, the devil is all about control and all the devil wants to do is control people.

And if one falls he will just get another one.

So, we MUST fight with God’s weapons of war if we want to really win.

We have got to stop fighting with one another and start fighting against the devil.

Paul goes on . . .

Ephesians 6:12 NIV - Anglicised

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

It is those spiritual forces of evil that drive and influence the evil rulers, authorities, and powers in our dark world.

And that is who we are to fight against.

If you want to kill the snake you have to cut off it’s head.

But we first have to know where the head is.

And that is on the global level, but let’s bring it down a bit to a local level.

In our Bibles the word “evil” is also a synonym for “sin.”

You can interchange the two.

And if we break it down to that level, then we also have the struggle with sin.

Both the sin around us and the sin within us.

Last week we talked a great deal about our internal struggle with sin.

The war that wages within each of us so that we don’t really know what to do.

Well here is the key to winning that war.

Recognizing that the struggle is caused by the sinful influences in our lives.

And the question we have to ask ourselves is what are we going to do about it?

Are we willing to put on the armour of God and fight against it?

Or are we going to let it overrun us?

The same is true in our community.

Sin runs a muck in our small community.

But what are we going to do about it?

We cannot sit by and let everybody else deal with it.

We have to put on our armour and get into the fight.

If we want change, we have to be part of the change.

If we want 2021 to be different from 2020, then what are we willing to do about it?

Paul goes on to say this . . .

Ephesians 6:13 NIV - Anglicised

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Not to fall back.

Not to retreat.

Not to give up.

To stand our ground.

To stand firm in the salvation of the Lord.

But I want us to notice something else here.

Paul says when the day of evil comes.

What he is saying is when the day that evil comes knocking at your door, what are you going to do about it?

He is also foreshadowing that great evil that is coming to world in the end times.

He is talking about everything John wrote about in the Book of Revelation.

He is saying we had better be ready.

He is sounding the alarm to us all.

But again, what are we going to do about it?

The Weapons of War (vs 14-17)

Well, I guess the first thing is to know what the armour actually is.

Which is what Paul gets into next.

He writes this . . .

Ephesians 6:14–17 NIV - Anglicised

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I am going to read what one of my commentaries says about this because it sums it up the best . . .

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:14b

Before a Roman soldier put on his armor, he put a belt around his waist. This held his garments together and served as a place on which to hang his armor. The belt of truth refers not to the facts of the gospel but to subjective truth, a believer’s integrity and faithfulness. As a soldier’s belt or sash gave ease and freedom of movement, so truth gives freedom with self, others, and God.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:14c

The breastplate of righteousness refers not to justification, obtained at conversion (Rom. 3:24; 4:5), but to the sanctifying righteousness of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) practiced in a believer’s life. As a soldier’s breastplate protected his chest from an enemy’s attacks, so sanctifying, righteous living (Rom. 6:13; 14:17) guards a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil

Feet fitted with the gospel of peace:

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:15

Instead this refers to a believer’s stability or surefootedness from the gospel which gives him peace so he can stand in the battle.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:16

The shield in a Roman soldier’s attire, made of wood, was about 2 1/2’ wide and 4’ long. It was overlaid with linen and leather, to absorb fiery arrows. Thus it also protected the other pieces of the armor; hence Paul used the phrase, in addition to all this. Of faith is a genitive of content; the shield consists of faith. The idea, then, is that a Christian’s resolute faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one aimed at him. (Cf. “evil one” [Satan] in John 17:15; 1 John 5:19.)

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:17

The helmet and sword are the last two pieces a soldier takes up. A helmet, being hot and uncomfortable, would be put on by a soldier only when he faced impending danger. Having one’s head guarded by a helmet gives a sense of safety, so the helmet of salvation refers either to present safety from the devil’s attacks or to a future deliverance, “the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thes. 5:8).

Finally, a Roman soldier would take in hand his sword, his only offensive weapon. Of the Spirit refers to the source or origin of the sword; hence it is “the sword given by the Spirit.” “The sword of the Spirit” is specified as the Word of God. “Word” (rhēma; cf. Eph. 5:26; Rom. 10:8, 17; 1 Peter 1:25) refers to the preached Word or an utterance of God occasioned by the Holy Spirit in the heart. Believers need this “sword” to combat the enemy’s assault, much as Christ did three times when tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1–11).

Prayer is the Glue (vs 18-20)

However, none of this armour is any good unless it is all held together by something.

And that something is prayer.

Paul finishes up . . .

Ephesians 6:18–20 NIV - Anglicised

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Without prayer and communication with God, none of it is possible.

Altar/Challenge

And the challenge for us this first Sunday of 2021 is this, do we want 2021 to be different from 2020?

And if so, then what are we willing to do about it?

Let’s pray . . .