So Satan and his minions are hell-bent on destroying all that God holds. Dear And most of all that means God's children. They wield their power in this present darkness, and it is against them. that we are wrestling. Welcome to Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller.
I'm Pastor Larry McCarthy, and we're so glad you're joining us today. Pastor Philip, we're talking about spiritual warfare, spiritual battles. This is a real enemy, isn't he? That's right. That's right.
You know, the scriptures talk about the three great enemies of our soul: the world, the flesh, and the devil. And Paul's been telling us in Ephesians that in terms of the world, we've been taken out of the world as followers of Christ, as believers in Jesus. We now have a new family, a new culture we're in. We're in the church, this group that's rehabituating our lives and putting good influences into our world. And so that enemy has sort of been defeated at some level, right?
And then we've got the flesh, which we all war against, but now we have the Spirit indwelling us, and we have His desires, and we're learning to walk by the Spirit.
So Paul's dealt with both of those enemies, but now the question is: what about the devil? What about the devil and his minions and all the spiritual forces of darkness that are arrayed against followers of Christ? What do we do about that? Them. And we're going to turn here.
Paul's going to go and talk about the armor of God. But the first question we have to talk about is why does that armor, why is it necessary? Why do we need it? And that's what Paul's going to be talking about today.
Well, let's go now to the pulpit of the Moody Church as we prepare to learn more about spiritual warfare. This is part one of the sermon, STANDING FIRM. Today we come to our final message in the letter to the Ephesians in this series we've been going through. And in case you have forgotten, it is in fact a letter. And like a lot of correspondence, it closes with words of warmth and Pragmatics.
Paul wants to make sure the Ephesian church knows that he's all right, that the people with him are doing well, even though he is in prison. He wants them to encourage, he encourages them to direct their questions to the courier of the letter, a guy named Tychicus, who is well-informed and up to date. And then Paul closes out with a brief but meaningful benediction, signing off with a prayer in his customary style. But before Paul wraps everything up in this letter, he gives one final charge to the Ephesian believers to stand firm in the faith. And to do so, he uses the imagery of a Roman soldier armed for battle as an analogy of the spiritual protection that is ours in Jesus Christ.
In verse 11, he says, put on the whole armor of God.
Now, growing up in church, this was one of my favorite all-time Bible lessons because this was flannel graph gold. How many of you remember those flannel graphs? How many of you have no idea what a flanograph is? Oh, you are missing out. This was a technological breakthrough like you cannot even imagine.
A felt board with felt pieces on it. You had all the layers with the different armor that was stacked on top, and you could visualize the whole thing. When I was in middle school, one of our youth leaders even dressed up in the full armament of God, you know, like a Roman centurion in total cosplay glory. And it was amazing. But this passage isn't just for kids.
It's for all of us. And so let's jump in and discover what the armor of God is all about. Grab your Bibles. We're going to be in Ephesians chapter 6. We're looking at verses 10 down to 24.
Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 down to 24. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God.
That ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith. with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the Evil One.
and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. which is the word of God, 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 and also for me. That words may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
For which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.
So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister of the Lord, will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are. and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers and love with faith. from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. with love. Incorruptible. Thanks be to the Lord for the reading. of His Word.
Yeah.
So, this morning, I want to zero in on this armor of God, and we're going to see the reason for the armor, why we need it. the function of the armor, how it works. and the source of the armor. Where it's from.
Okay? The reason, function, and source of the armor. In this passage.
So, first of all, the reason for the armor. Before we jump in, would you bow your heads? Let's pray. Let's give our time to the Lord. Father, we are vulnerable.
and weak. And we need more than anything to know that you fight for us. We need your strength. We need your protection. And so, Father, as we consider all that you have done for us in Jesus Christ, to arm us against the enemy.
Help us to rest in and stand firm. in what you've given us. We pray this in Christ's name. And all God's people said, Amen. Amen.
So the reason for the armor, why we need it, the reason for the armor, verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his Might.
So Paul's final charge here is be strong. Not in yourself, not in the strength of your own might, but in the. Lord, in the strength of His might. He's saying, I want you to get ready. Brace yourselves.
Courage. He's readying us for battle.
Now, you'll recall from our earlier studies in Ephesians chapter 2 that there are three deadly enemies that are coming against our souls: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world, the flesh, and the devil. And these three are conspiring always against us, against God's. People.
So the world is exerting pressure to make us go with the flow of ungodliness. In the culture. The flesh is our own sinful desires that are enslaving us, and the devil and his minions are supernatural powers hell-bent on destroying God's children. And in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul told us that when we were dead in our transgressions and sins, we were at the mercy of those three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. But now that we are alive in Christ, we've been set free, we're liberated.
Instead of the world, we're now part of the family of God, the church. We've been brought into a new shaping environment. Instead of the flesh, we now have the Spirit alive and dwelling within us, filling us. We have new inner desires, spiritual desires from Him. We're under the influence of the Spirit.
So that takes care of the world and the flesh, but what about the devil? What about the devil, Paul? How does Christ set us free? from the influence and oppression of the devil. Verse 11.
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the. Devil.
So here you have the devil, the evil one, Satan himself, who is scheming, who is prowling, who is menacing and plotting against us. And if you think the world you can see is full of peril, the dangers of the unseen world are legion. Verse 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. placements.
So, Satan and his minions are hell-bent on destroying all that God holds dear. And most of all, that means God's children. They wield their power in this present darkness, and it is against them. that we are wrestling. So the idea here is that we're actually under attack.
Did you know that? Did you know there's a war on? And Paul's call is to hold our ground. to stand firm. to defend our position.
Now, lest we think this is only a defensive stance, look down at 18b down to 20. Keep alert with all perseverance, Paul writes, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I might declare it boldly as I ought to. Speak. Paul concludes this paragraph. And he's on the offense.
You see this? He's on the offense. The gospel is going forth and it's taking ground. And Paul says, pray that I might be bold to proclaim the good news even while I'm in chains. I may be in chains, but Satan is in tremors because the gospel is going forth with power.
Christ will build his church as he promised, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
So, this is both defense and offense, but the bottom line here is that the reason for the armor. is that we are embroiled in a spiritual battle. We are embroiled in a spiritual battle. That's why we need it. That's why we need the armor.
We're embroiled in a spiritual battle.
Now, at this point, we ought to take some advice from our good friend C.S. Lewis in the screw tape letters. Listen to what he writes. It's a bit of a warning. There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race, humans, can fall about the devils.
One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased with both errors and hail a materialist. or a magician with the same delight. Do you see the wisdom in Lewis's warning?
There's real danger in seeing the demonic everywhere and being overwrought about it. And there's equal danger in seeing it nowhere. And being under prepared. For it. And the Bible tells us that supernatural evil does exist.
and its operations are far more subtle than sometimes we think. I mean, just look at the words that are used for Satan, the devil here. The devil, the devil comes, it's the word diabolos. It's the noun form of a verb which means to lie or to slander. Satan, another word for Satan, it means the accuser.
Jesus calls him the father of lies in John chapter 8. In Revelation 12, he's called the deceiver. Think back to when Satan took down Adam and Eve when the serpent tempted them in the garden. How did he do it? With lies.
He lied to them, you won't surely die. You'll be like God. God's withholding from you. Just give in to your desires. It's good for you.
Be happy. And all these years later, he really hasn't changed his tactics. He's a liar. He deals in lies. He attacks with lies, lies, and more lies.
Those are the flaming darts that he is hurling at us. He's hurling lies. As Tim Keller once said, Satan doesn't leave fang marks on the flesh, but lies in the heart. Satan doesn't leave fang marks on the flesh. He leaves lies in the heart.
And there's two basic lies that Satan attacks us with. The first one is he lies to us to over-inflate us. He strokes our pride and our ego. He tries to puff us up and make us arrogant and think the rules don't apply to us, to give in to sin. After all, we deserve to be happy, to live life on our own.
He's tempting us, you see. His lies of temptation. The other set of lies he comes at us with. our lies to deflate us. Not to over-inflate us, but to deflate us.
He stokes our fears. and our shame. He tells us we're worthless and trash.
So that we try to cope and soothe ourselves and fall into sin and addiction. And he accuses us. You see that. He accuses us. He tempts us.
He accuses us. He overinflates us and he deflates us. And both sets of lies are serving the same common purpose. They serve to drive us away from God. Because pride makes us feel like we don't need God.
And fear makes us feel like we have to hide. from God and either way we run away. And Satan's lies drive a wedge. between us and our Father. And that's what Satan's after.
He can't defeat God in a head-to-head combat, so he's a terrorist. He hijacks God's kids. holds them ransom. and torments his soul as he destroys us. And what could be more effective than destroying God's kids by turning them against God?
It's the ultimate play. Do you recognize Satan's tactics like in your own life as you feel the temptations, the slander, the accusations, the lies that berate you? Do you sense this? On the one hand, Satan's always trying to overinflate us, so we come crashing down. And on the other hand, he tries to deflate us so we can't get up off the floor.
And either way is driving a wedge between us. And God, that's his plan of attack. on your life.
So what defenses do we have? What do we have in Christ that would shield us and protect us and defend us against such effective lies, such penetrating lies? How can we be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might? How do we stand firm?
Well, that's the reason for the armor. That's the reason for the armor. We're embroiled in a spiritual battle.
That's why we need it. This is Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller. I'm Pastor Larry McCarthy, and we're glad you're with us today as we recognize our need for the armor of God. Pastor Philip, it's so good to be with you again, but we're talking about a really serious subject here: this business of spiritual battles, and every single believer is involved in it, whether they want to be or not. And sometimes I think our listeners are saying, I don't feel like I'm winning.
Are we winning?
Well, we do win in the end, right? Because Jesus wins in the end. And I think that's the important thing to remember in the midst of the battle that we all face is Satan is ultimately a defeated enemy. Amen.
On the cross, Jesus defeats sin and death and Satan. He conquered him.
Now, he's running around causing mischief, right? He's a terrorist. He's trying to ruin everything that God loves while he still has time. But he's a condemned foe. And I think it's important for us to remember that the devil, he has limits.
He's not omnipresent like God is. He can't be everywhere at once. He's not omniscient. He doesn't know everything. He's limited.
He's not omnipotent. He doesn't have all power available to him.
So when Jesus says, greater is he who's in you than he who is in the world, he means it. Like this. Is a defeated enemy.
So now we, in our flesh and our own strength, We are not stronger than Satan, but Jesus is. And so we have Christ in us, we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have all of the advocacy of God Himself on our behalf, and that's what ensures our victory. It's not something we trust in ourselves for, but it's ultimately Christ and Christ alone that is our protection. And so that's where our hope lies, and that's where Paul's going to be going in the rest of this passage as he talks about the armor of God. He's talking about the very character of Christ that is clothing us and protecting us and armoring us, gospel armor that is protecting us against the wiles of our enemy.
And that's where our hope lies. Oh, be encouraged today, beloved. Did you hear that? He's a defeated foe and he has limitations. Pastor Philip, let's talk about some tactics.
In the sermon, you talk about inflating and deflating. And give me some more of that. How do you tactics? Yeah, so you know. Satan is a liar.
He's the father of lies. He's our adversary. He accuses. He constantly lies. That's what his names mean.
And so his weapon primarily against us is to twist truth, it's to distort reality. It's to tell us things about ourselves and about our reality that don't. They're not real. They take us out of reality and they push us into. Really broken patterns of living.
And so the two big kind of trajectories that I outlined is: he's either trying to over-inflate us, trying to stroke our ego, saying, you know, you don't need God. You could be your own God. The rules don't apply to you. You do you. You go out and just live your life and like you don't need to listen to God.
Like that sort of pride, he stokes that pride in us all day long. That's what he does. He's a liar. And then the other way he comes at us is he tries to just flatten us and deflate us and say, you're no good, you're a nobody, you're irredeemable, you could never be loved. You know, just smash us down and deny the fact that we're made in the image of God and that God loves us and sent his son for us and that he's moving toward us in grace to redeem us.
Like Satan hates that. And so he lies and he tries to push us down.
So he wants to get us to live in fear. And so fear and pride, those are like his two big lies. And either way, he's driving a wedge between us and God. And so the answer, how do we deal with those lies? The answer is gospel truth.
Amen.
Because gospel truth comes in and it tells us we're far more sinful than we ever did realize. That shatters our pride, but it also tells us we're loved more than we ever dared hope. And that consoles us and lifts us off the floor so that we actually Can have courage.
So you have this beautiful gospel truth that actually defeats the lies of the enemy. And here's the war that's for all of us: what are we going to believe? Are we going to believe the lies of the devil? Are we going to believe the truth of Scripture? and what the Holy Spirit is bearing witness to in our spirit.
Are we going to believe what God says is true and trust him for life and reality, our identity, and all that the gospel tells us is true? That's where the war is. It's a war in our minds and it's a war for truth. And so that's where Paul's going to go. This armor that he is going to list out, it's all about reminding ourselves of gospel truth, and that's what protects us in the battle.
So good. Whether it's that subtle suggestion that God's sovereignty is superfluous or that we aren't worth it, the gospel is the answer, beloved. You know, the enemy loves to undermine our faith, especially through the disappointment of unanswered prayer. The devil's scheme is simply this. If God denies your request, He tells us the lie that prayer is pointless.
If God grants it, He lies that it would have happened anyway. Your prayer didn't have any effect. Satan likes to directly attack you and attack your prayer life. Pastor Lutzer's new book, Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers, exposes this demonic strategy and shows you why prayer? Far from being pointless, it is an invitation to join God in His work.
As the Moody Church Pastor Emeritus, Pastor Lutzer writes with compassion and insight in our daily life. Prayer does not seek to overcome God's reluctance, but to lay hold of His willingness as our Heavenly Father. God hears each and every prayer that we breathe, even when He seems to be silent. This is the last week we're offering Why doesn't God Answer My Prayers for a Donation of Any Amount. To request your copy, simply go to livinghopeoffer.com or call us 1-800-215-5001.
That's LivingHopeOffer.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. Thanks for joining us for Living Hope, where you'll always find gospel truth for the journey of a lifetime. Living Hope is a production of Moody Church Media and is sponsored by The Moody Church.
