Many people think prayer is something that's good to do, a means of communicating with God when we're facing trouble, or to thank Him for a meal, or to seek comfort at bedtime. But prayer is so much more than that. And today on Truth for Life weekend, we'll learn why the Bible describes prayer as an essential weapon. Alastair Begg is teaching from Ephesians chapter 6, and we're looking at verses 17 and 18. As you study the Bible for yourself, and some of you are taking notes this evening, let me remind you of three important principles in studying the Bible and in coming to grips with the Word of God.
These are principles of biblical interpretation. They are not unique to me. You'll find them everywhere. When you read the Bible, Read the Bible. In the awareness of its natural sense.
In other words, read the Bible. with simplicity. In light of its most natural sense, don't read the Bible like a mystery book. Don't read the Bible as if somehow or another somebody has hidden something somewhere. And what you have to do is you have to find the code which cracks the key and takes you to the place, and you open it up and go down, and eventually you come to it.
That is all the subtlety of the cults again. They've always got all this funny business and funny key. And when your pastor, if you have a pastor, he tells you, well, you'll never really understand it unless this and that, and take away the number you first thought of and multiply it by two, you know, and then divide it by six, and then you'll find the numerical system and then apply that to chapter nine and all that kind of stuff. Just leave, just go away. Go for a coffee or something if you're subjected to that.
It's facile. And it's dangerous stuff. The plain sense of Scripture, the purpose of God's revelation in the Bible is clarity, it is not confusion. The purpose of God in writing the Bible is that there would be a readily intelligible message. And not a series of dark and mysterious mysteries and riddles.
And as you are aware of one of my now great clichés, the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things. I'm not saying that there aren't things that are hard to understand in the Bible. Don't misunderstand me. What I'm saying is that when we come to the scriptures as a principle of interpretation, we come seeking the natural sense of what is being said. And in the things that are central and clear, It is essential that there is absolute unity.
In things that are peripheral. And we would not say that everything is of the same significance as something else. For example, some people get very, very concerned about whether ladies wear hats or whether they don't. I would say that that was peripheral, and therefore I would exercise liberty in relationship to that. It would not be imperative that we all agree the same thing.
So in the central things we should have absolute unity. In the peripheral things we should allow one another liberty. And in all things, we should approach one another with perfect charity. And that way we will be able to get along.
Now, the second principle is not the natural sense, but what we might refer to as the original sense. The first principle is the principle of simplicity. The second principle is the principle of history. the principle of history. And we've made much of this as we've studied various sections of the Bible.
I hope that it would be obvious to you. Namely, that the permanent message of Scripture may only be understood within the circumstances in which it was originally given. And the third sense is, if you like, the general sense or the principle of harmony. And all that simply means is that we set the verses in the context in which they're found. The reason they're there is because God has purposed to have them in that way.
So there is a harmony about the unfolding of Scripture. And therefore, we set the verses within the context of the letter, we set the letter within the context of history, we set the old in the light of the new, and the new in the light of the old.
So these three principles will be, I think, a help to you. Coming to the scriptures, understanding its natural sense, the matter of simplicity. Its original sense, the matter of history. And its general sense the principle of harmony.
Now When we begin to get to grips with the scripture in that way, then we will be able. To use it on the attack as well as on the defense. And let me conclude this weapon with just a verse from Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. For the word of God is living and active sharper than any double edged sword, It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes Of the heart.
That's why you see when we use our Bibles, we need to use them with great care. If you have a friend who does a lot of woodworking, They will always be very, very concerned if you're a novice or an amateur or a nuisance around the place to tell you now, don't be fiddling and fooling around with this stuff. A lot of this is sharp, you know. Or, if you've ever had the opportunity to be in the company of a surgeon as he engages in his work, he exercises extreme caution. In the way he makes the cut.
Because of the sharpness of the scalpel. And in the same way, since the Word of God has such amazing power to be able to divide even spirit and soul and marrow and joints, as it were, to get to the very heart of the issue. It is imperative that in the wielding of the sword we do so. Cautiously? And graciously, and purposefully And kindly.
Rather than that we become A sort of whirling dervish, you know. Swinging the thing around our heads everywhere we go. making people fearful and antagonizing them. And everyone who sits still long enough, we give him one of those. Try that for size.
This is the Bible, you know. You ought to read it sometime. You clothier knitwit, you. See, that doesn't endear people to the Bible. You understand that, don't you?
In the same way that many of our bumper stickers cause as much offense as the offense that we feel at some of the other people's bumper stickers. It's sort of in your face time. We need to take the sword of the Spirit and wield it with great care and great skill.
Now, that brings us finally to the second weapon, which is namely prayer. Because it is interesting and it is imperative that prayer and the word of God are put together always. Because it is in the sharing of the Word of God, backed up by prayer, that the Word of God has dramatic impact. That is why, for example, in Acts chapter 6, the apostles make this change in the developmental and organizational plans of the fledgling church. And in Acts chapter 6, They recognized that the predicament that they're facing and some of the practicalities of Christian experience, namely the food matters and the distribution of food for widows, that they were getting themselves all tied up in knots.
And so the twelve gathered all the disciples together in Acts 6, verse 2, and they said to them, It wouldn't be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.
So brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will turn this responsibility over to them. And notice this, we will give our attention to prayer and to the ministry of the Word of God. The devil is unafraid of prayerless. Proclamation. For preaching And what happens in a preaching event?
is merely the gathering up of results. of a battle Which has either been simultaneously or previously waged at the rival of prayer. That you see It's a great corrective to us when we think about all that's happening in such an event, or when we are beginning to make much of someone who is given the privilege of simply being a voice piece. Because when anything happens, it's the result of other unseen people. Engaging in believing prayer for the proclaiming of the Word of God, for the wielding of the sword of the Spirit.
Lord, you're going to have to do this. Prayer and the word of God. Going together. That's why Paul's letters are so full of these prayers for the church. For example, in Ephesians, from which we get our weaponry here in Ephesians chapter 1.
He is praying for these people. He says in Ephesians 1:15, For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you and remembering you in my prayers. And he asks That they may have an increase in their knowledge of God in verse 17. That they may have an understanding of the way that God has called them to a glorious inheritance in verse 18. That they may have a revelation of the power of God in verse 19.
The very power that raised Jesus. From the dead. Whenever the church in history has been in decline. There has been an absence. of believing prayer.
And there has been an absence. of the effective wielding of the sword of the Spirit. And whenever the Church of God in the course of history. has been lifted up in a period of usefulness. It can always be traced.
to faithful Unsung heroes. Laying hold of God's great and precious promises. in prayer. And then for others. Being lifted up, as it were.
And wafted on the wings. of the prayers of those. Who will stand at the head of the line. In the day of his coming. You see, From the perspective Of the history books of the final quarter of a century.
History will be explained. In terms of the political machinations of men, the strength and forcefulness of the combination of Reagan and Thatcher, in standing against They tide of communism. History will explain the fall of the Berlin Wall and those dramatic scenes as people scrambled for pieces of the wall and as the bulldozers brought them down. Secular history will not record what. Heaven will reveal.
Namely, that the Christians in Eastern Europe Had bled. and died. and agonized in prayer. For the downfall of the totalitarian regimes of atheistic communism. And as surely as that battle was fought.
And one on that level, as I believe eternity will reveal. saw the battles In times past, we're fought and won. And I want to turn you to one battle with which to conclude this evening. You can read it in Exodus chapter 17. And it's the battle between the people of God and the Amalekites.
Amalekites event g against Israelites. At Refidim. Exodus seventeen and verse eight. The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim, and Moses said to Joshua. Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites.
What are you going to do, Moses?
Well, tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill. with the staff of God in my hands. Oh, I see.
Okay. Uh-huh.
So me and the guys We are going to do the hard stuff. Down here. On the battle, right? And you get Did you s Stand on the top of a hill holding your walking stick. Joshua would never have said that.
Because the staff of Moses Had been symbolic of God's abiding presence with him. It was with that staff that he had parted the Red Sea. It was with that staff that the plagues had come upon Egypt. It was that staff which was a symbol of Moses' ultimate dependence upon God and God's abiding provision for his people. It was, if you like, that Moses in the symbolic gesture was going to take the part in prayer.
In verse 10, so Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered. And Moses, Aaron, and her, went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, The Israelites were winning. But whenever he lowered his hands, The Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, They took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.
Aaron and Hur held his hands up. One on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remain steady. Till sunset.
So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army. With the sword? And down on the battlefield It appeared That Effectiveness. Was directly related to the power. And influence and wisdom of Joshua and his colleagues.
But from the vantage point of heaven, a strange and unbelievable. Little scene was the key to it all. A strange man. With his hands held up. In dependence upon God, so much so that his brothers at the side of him would take turns in holding up his hands along with him.
That you see why Spurgeon would say regularly to his congregation. Your pastor may preach the same sermons. to far greater effect. If only some of you will determine in the unseen place. To hold up your hands.
Independence. upon Almighty God. William Cowper. One of my favorite hymn writers. With words that were then set to an arrangement from.
Um music from Beethoven. writes these words in somewhere between seventeen thirty one and eighteen hundred. What various hindrances we meet In coming to the mercy seat, yet he who knows the worth of prayer, but wishes to be often there. Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw. Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw Gives exercise to faith and love, brings every blessing from above.
Restraining prayer. We cease to fight. Prayer makes the Christian's armor bright, and Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint. Upon their knees. While Moses stood with arms spread wide, Success was found on Israel's side But when through weariness they failed, That moment Amalek prevailed Have you no words?
Ah Think again, words flow apace. When you complain and fill your fellow creatures' ear. With the sad tale of all your care, Where half the breath thus vainly spent, To heaven in supplication sent, Our cheerful song would oftener be Here What the Lord has done For me.
So we recognize That there's a water on. We discover our strength. to be in the Lord. We identify The enemy. We delineate Our responsibility.
We clothe ourselves With the armour. We take our weapons. From the hand of the commanding officer. And we hear him say, Quick March. Are you ready for battle?
Some of you tonight may not even be in the Army. And so you just heard a talk about something. that is irrelevant to you until you join. Sterling Castle About thirty miles from Glasgow was a scene of boyhood paradise for me. For there a battalion or regiment Was still in working order, as it were, when I was a small boy.
and at certain times in the day they would come out and march on the Castle Esplanade. And I would walk on the cobbled street beside them as they marched. Trying to keep step with the soldiers. And I loved it. And I admired them.
I had no uniform. I wasn't in the army. I would just Hanging around. On the side. If I'm speaking to someone this evening and that fits you, We'd like to give you a piece of literature.
That could tell you. How to enlist. To remove you from simply walking up and down on the sides. When the army marches.
So that we would be able to. to introduce you to your commanding officer. To give you your armor. To provide you with the weapons. And to encourage you to come and join us.
in the battle. We're listening to Truth for Life Weekend with Alastair Begg. Alistair returns in a moment to close today's program. Today's message wraps up our series titled Spiritual Warfare. And if you missed a message or would like to re-listen or share a message with a friend, you can stream a single message or the entire series for free at truthforlife.org/slash warfare.
While you're on our website, check out the book we're currently featuring. It's written by Alistair's very good friend and mentor, doctor Derek Prime. This book is titled A Good Old Age, an A to Z of Loving and Following the Lord Jesus in Later Years. Derek wrote this book several years before he passed away at the age of eighty nine, so he was very familiar with the topics he addressed. The book is an alphabetical guide to twenty six Christian priorities to hold to as you age.
The pages, which are in large print, by the way, are packed with both biblical wisdom and practical advice to help you navigate the joys and challenges of aging. This is a great book to meditate on and read prayerfully as you continue to serve the Lord in each passing year. Find out more about the book A Good Old Age when you visit our website at truthforlife.org.
Now here's Alastair to close with prayer. Eternal God and Loving Father. Look upon us in mercy tonight, we pray. As we have heard your word, Speak into the lives of those. who have come out of interest, but who know themselves to have no uniform, Never to have received your commission.
And simply to be walking. on the sidelines. There's something about the stirring of the drum. There's something about the forcefulness of the army. There's something about the strident nature of their boldness that attracts them.
Help them to hear your voice. bidding them lay down the arms of their rebellion. and be gathered up in the arms of your loving embrace. And for some of us, who in the midst of the warfare Have lost sight of where the real battle is found. I've wondered why it is that we've had so much time.
to skirmish internally. to criticize people within the army. To call in question this and that and the next thing. Where did we get all of this time that's on our hands? It's because we forgot what the battle really is.
And tonight, God is calling us to say no to resentment and to bitterness and self-pity. and selfish preoccupation and to lift our eyes and look out and to take our stand against the devil's schemes. Lord, we don't want to be just a bunch of chocolate soldiers that melt as soon as the heat is turned on. We want you to make a strong. and useful.
So that when we have done all, we've been able to stand. And so that one day when we stand before you in heaven, We might hear you say, Well done. Good. and faithful soldier. For we ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. Thanks for studying the Bible with us this weekend.
Now that we've learned about the Christians' greatest weapons, join us next weekend to hear an Old Testament story about those weapons being put to the test. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
