Believing For More
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Bold Prayers, Bold Gospel Witness
Ephesians 6:16-20
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.
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine!” ~Abraham Kuyper
The resurrected and ascended Christ is King of kings. He has all authority in heaven and earth and with his own blood, he has purchased a people from every tribe and tongue. This Jesus says go and make disciples of all nations. This Jesus says, go far and wide and into every nook and cranny and proclaim the good news of the gospel. Make disciples by teaching them everything he has commanded us.
And this mission is supposed to make us joyful. It’s supposed to be our delight. It’s supposed to be the happiest cause in all of creation, but…it’s not.
Why is sharing the gospel so hard? Why is talking about our faith in Jesus so hard for so many of us? Why do we go weeks and months and years without ever sharing our faith with someone outside the church?
Perhaps it is hard to share the gospel and to talk about our faith because it is spiritual conflict. It is spiritual conflict not with the person but the demonic forces that want to keep the person enslaved to sin and death.
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 6:12
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.
So, there is a spiritual dynamic associated with every every gospel encounter, every gospel conversation. When a person turns from sin and turns to Christ...
Luke 15:7
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Likewise, when a person turns from Christ and turns back to sin...
1 Corinthians 5:5
5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
We live in a spiritual world, but to truly be spiritual is to be alive in Christ.
To be alive in Christ is to be alive to the true Christ and the whole Christ. Colin Hansen talks about how easy it is to pick and choose the parts about Jesus we personally like. He says,
“Almost everyone loves something about Jesus... We often seize on one aspect of his character and ministry and brandish it as a weapon against other believers. And we rope our partial Jesus into some of the nastiest conflicts.”
Not being able to receive both, the squishy and the terrifying realities of who Christ is means of two things: A) I’m a baby Christian. Or B) I’ve not experienced a true conversion to Christ. Paul addresses this again with the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 2:13-14
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The world celebrates the natural man. But the natural man and the whole world has, over the last 2-3yrs experienced a great disturbance.
Change we all know is a constant, but the rate of change over the last 2.5yrs has accelerated drastically.
People are wondering when is the next shut down. Will I have a job? Will I be able to provide for my family? What do we next time the schools shut down? What’s the next pandemic to get ready for? Will someone else I know and love die during the next pandemic? Will war be in our future?
On and on I could go listing all the reasons that people are troubled during these times. But I remind you of the passage I read in the beginning and remind you that life is very spiritual.
In Ephesians 6, take note of Paul’s description of the spiritual and natural reality he was living.
1.He is an ambassador of the gospel.
2. He is in chains because of it.
Why is he in chains? Because gospel witness is a spiritual battle. The Roman officials have no logical explanation for why their keeping Paul other than they must. Thus Paul’s description of this conflict are even more pertinent. Notice the “alls” For he says,
In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith. (v16)
To extinguish all the flaming darts of the enemy. (v16)
Praying all times in the Spirit. (v18)
With all kinds of prayer and supplication. (v18)
Keep alert with all perseverance. (v18)
Making supplication for all the saints, for me and the bold proclamation of the gospel. (vv18-20)