The Believer's Battle

Today we’re going to begin a three-week series on a passage from Paul…a passage that focuses on reality. Paul brings to the forefront the reality of our battle.

If you haven’t noticed…the world today seems at times to be upside down. A radio personality I used to listen to…some time ago… became known for the tag line, “I’m living in a world I don’t understand.”

And in a very real way, sometimes, it probably seems to you…at least it does to me....that there seems to be a real push back against the faith Christianity holds to. Against the principles, we try to hold to. Against the truths we hold dear…if even sacred.

We generally have tough day to day lives with inflation and a national debt and a war going on that affects everything. We have politics…and it doesn’t matter what side you’re on…there is yelling and screaming and uncivil arguments about everything under the sun.

Then there are battles about what is true, about morality, about the definition of life, about identity, about gender, about relationships.

The truth of reality. The truth about what is real. That’s what is often the center of many battles.

While practicing law, Abraham Lincoln once asked an opposing representative, “How many legs would a sheep have if it called his tail a leg?” The rep promptly answered, “five.” “No,” said Lincoln, “it would not. It would have only four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one.”

We have many very similar battles today over truth. And these battles have long been in existence in different ways, ever since the first twist of truth was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden.

Last week we touched on the truth found in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis. And we found, that in the account of the first mom, Eve, we have truth given about man and woman, roles for them, we have a concept of marriage defined by God, the concept of family and how families help cover the earth with God’s glory by filling it with people…imagers of God, and what God really thinks about human life. God created, designed, and blessed the process of how a man and woman live in relationship but also the process of how the earth is filled...bringing a children into existence. And then we did talk about how we live on this side of the fall…on this side of the first sin. We’re out of perfection. And so we see many difficulties and faults in the world when it comes to these things.

Paul wrote something in his letter to the church in Ephesus. All through this letter, that would have been circulated through all the house or family churches in the ancient city of Ephesus… tidbit fact… if you go there today you’ll see that some parts of the old city has been the site of archeological digs…and its near the city of Izmir Turkey.

But Paul wrote something that many times today we’ll associate with children’s ministry object lesson type teaching. We’ll look at this specific parts in the weeks to come, but today we’re looking at the beginning of this well known passage often just referred to as the armor of God. Reading through this whole passage though you’ll find this isn’t a little kids passage. Paul writes this to point to something very significant in the life of a believer.

Paul is pointing to reality. To truth. So we can see past what the world …or technically Satan…might be twisting for us…so we can see more clearly.

I have to read with glasses now. There’s a pretty important purpose with glasses…you go into the store to buy something and you can’t read what’s on the packaging…or a prescription bottle? Hearing is another thing…wow.

Do you think Satan wants us to not see and hear God’s truth accurately? Does he want to twist truth ever so slightly that we don’t pick up on something …and then just go with what we think is best? Absolutely Satan wants to do that!

He doesn’t want you to see reality! Period. Reality is that God’s real. He created. Reality is that God loves us. That sin is real. That we can’t get rid of it on our own. That we need Jesus. That’s reality.

So Paul writes this little passage to remind us of some reality…truth.

The whole book of Ephesians is about a believers spiritual battle.

Ephesians 6:12 (CSB)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness,

against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

struggle - Ephesus (political and religious struggle, truth struggle…port city…lots of cultural differences between those passing through and those living there). Lots of claims to what is right and wrong. What is real and what is not. What are Christians claiming? Caesar is not God, Roman gods and goddesses are not worth following. Jesus died and rose…therefore there’s a way to live…and it isn’t what they’re seeing around them.

struggle isn’t against mankind…against people who oppose you or dislike you or those who disagree with you. That’s not where your battle should be focused.

HARD!!!!

Paul....wants to talk with Caesar.

Hate - Christians probably are struggling with the emotion of hate…gossip…

Do we see this today?

Paul said that the person who is disagreeing with you is not the enemy.

The person who is ridiculing you is not the enemy. The talking head or the person on Facebook or Twitter is not the enemy.

Let’s look at something Paul said....a truth claim he made… concerning Satan.

2 Corinthians 11:14 (CSB)

14 ...Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Are you going to visibly see satan with reddish scaly skin and horns and a tail with a pointy end and he’s carrying a pitchfork? No…Paul is saying “You’re not going to recognize him!” You need to remember truth in order to flush him out. Truth about what is real and what is not. About what is true.

Charlie Chapman entered a Charlie Chapman look alike contest…1920 …just for fun of course. He entered under a fake name. Just for fun. He came in third.

Truth…is often obscured or held back or made fuzzy. And so Paul…just before he writes about our battle…not being against fellow humans but against a bigger subject…he writes this...

Ephesians 6:11 CSB

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.

Schemes ....of who?

James writes this to the believers he’s leading...

James 4:7 CSB

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Peter writes this in his letter to fellow believers.

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

your adversary…your real adversary is looking for someone to devour.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 CSB

3 For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Every thought…have you ever noticed that in your head you can talk up a great battle against someone around you? You can talk them down and destroy them…and have a lot of anger, anxiety, fearful emotions…let alone high blood pressure and sleepless nights worrying about things… and Paul says…um…that person is not really your focus. You might…might…be their focus…but your focus isn’t them. Its the one who is influencing them…Satan himself. Jesus said…pray for your “enemy.” Do good things for them. Be kind to them. Those are Jesus’ words. Why? He died for them. That’s hard! Instead of destroying the argument someone has…we want to destroy the person instead. And we see this mode of operation all around us…and its now seeming louder and louder isn’t it.

Francis Schaeffer…an incredible theologian and author …leader…said this one time when speaking at a conference in 1982.

He said that often times we focus on “bits and pieces”....and at that point in time he said “permisiveness (relativism…everything is ok…you be you only and do what you want …most everything is ok), pornography, even the mention of God being pulled from education, the breakdown of the family, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, …and we could add more today couldn’t we?

He said sometimes we focus on those things…as though they are the main problem. They are difficulties for sure aren’t they....but the main thing? He would go on to say that they are the results…the outcome…of a world, a nation, a community that has moved away from a God centered reality to one without God....one that is godless and happened by chance…where in the end we all just die and that’s it.

He made the claim that we all need to get back to a way of living where God is the center of everything and all truth comes from Him.

The author of Hebrews writes something about this …saying

(Hebrews 13:14) this world is not our home…therefore we do not battle in this life like the world, like Satan would want us to.

That would take us off task…of filling the earth with God’s glory, His peace…and the truth about His son Jesus.

Quick example: It is easy to watch the news or read a post online that is in disagreement with what God’s truth is. The abortion argument is an easy one to look at today. One side says it is an argument of choice…the other side says this is an argument about the definition of life.

As a believer I’m going to stick with the first three chapters of Genesis…when God designed the process of how a child comes into this world.

But when someone pushes back against that…argues about that. Stands and yells at someone else about that…it’s hard to focus isn’t it. Satan would say…Satan’s minions would influence us in a way that would lead us to begin to hate that person…try to defeat that person…when in reality,

Truth.

Reality is that that person has been influenced by someone or an idea …and the battle isn’t between people…its about what truth claim is right.

Satan says...”Make it personal!”

God says...”Act out of love…I sent my son for them too.”

Wow....our battle is not against flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

This week...

I would encourage you to go back and read through this book. Ephesians is not a long letter. It is full of spiritual references though…how to live type of spiritual references.

And then this next week…watch for times when you find yourself being pulled to first think something that Jesus probably would call you out on…in a loving way. Words and actions begin with thoughts and emotions in our hearts don’t they? Jesus said that…what comes out of a person’s mouth first appears in the heart. Guard your heart.

Where’s the battle? In your heart. Satan wants your heart this next week and he’ll do things, disguised as an angel of light…to influence your words and actions.

Use the words Paul wrote as a filter this week. Filter everything you hear and read through this filter....YOu’re battle is not against people....it’s against the evil that brought about and influenced others to sin.

We’re all in the same boat.

Paul saw Caesar as a person who was just a lost …just as far from God as he was…both needed Jesus.

Pray that Jesus grows you this week to be a powerful and bright Kingdom ambassador. Two Kingdoms....the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God. That’s our focus. All these other things will fade away. Eternity is where we’re headed. Let’s choose a life that leads towards eternity with God.

Prayer- Decisions-

Response time...

Lord help us see clearly. It is so hard to not live for ourselves. Selfishness comes easy to us. Help us to die to that old self so we can live for you…and allow your spirit to work through us to influence people around us. Help us invite people into the peace that we know.

In Christ’s name we pray..