EPHESIANS 6:10-242006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 6:10-24

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. This morning we are exploring the subject, as Paul describes it here, the armor of God.

Spiritual warfare. And it's one of those subjects that's difficult to teach on, mostly because there's so much to teach, it's hard to condense it to one service. And so we're going to be doing a special series starting June 14th on Wednesday evenings. We'll probably do three or four sessions going more in depth through this portion of scripture. And this morning, we'll get an overview of spiritual warfare, the armor of God, and what that means to us.

Now, anytime you begin to talk about spiritual warfare, some people become a little bit wary. They become a little bit cautious because unfortunately, Christians can become quite weird when it comes to spiritual warfare. There's some extremes and I've heard them many times of, you know, wanting to cast demons out of their toilets and refrigerators and all the other things that might be going wrong in their house. But as we get into the word of God this morning and look at

The spiritual armor, the spiritual warfare that we are in, we need to remember where we are coming from. We need to put it in the context of the rest of this epistle that Paul has written because it definitely belongs and it will give us great perspective as we look at the armor of God.

If you remember back in chapters 1 through 3, we discussed all the wonderful things that God has done for us, all that he has accomplished, and all that he has given to us in the person of Christ Jesus. How he has predestined us, and he's foreordained us, and he's raised us from the dead and seated us in the heavenly places. How we've been...

grafted in and we're part of the family of God and we get to experience the presence of God. So many wonderful things as we study there in Ephesians chapter 1 through 3, all that God has done for us.

And now as we've been studying chapters 4 through 6, if you've been with us, you know very well, it's all been about walking. We've been learning to walk worthy of the calling with which we were called. We've been learning to walk in unity and to walk not as the rest of the Gentiles, to walk in the light and walk in love and walk circumspectly, which is what we've been studying for the past few weeks.

Ephesians chapters 4-6 is how we are to walk since God has done all of this for us. And believing in what God has done for us will affect our walk in all of the ways that Paul has been sharing with us. Now this is very important because spiritual warfare is discussed now in that context. The context of how we are to walk, how we are to live, how our life is to be impacted.

Spiritual war is very real. There's a real battle going on and we are all involved in it.

But it's not some mystical thing that cannot be understood, nor is it some, you know, the spiritual armor is not, you repeat these magic words and, you know, you're magically protected from the attacks of the enemy. No, it's very practical as God ministers to us His word, we'll see that it's very real things that we are called to do and commanded to put on that we would be protected against the schemes of the enemy.

In a spiritual war, you cannot be neutral. You cannot say, well, I leave the spiritual warfare and the battles like that to the pastors and the leaders and other kind of more mature Christians or those who want to fight those things. But, you know, when it comes to demonic things, I just leave them alone and they leave me alone and it's a nice arrangement.

Well, unfortunately, you cannot have that mentality or that thought. You cannot have that attitude when it comes to spiritual warfare. Because whether you are a Christian or not, you are in the middle of a spiritual battle. Whether you believe in God or not, you're in the middle of the spiritual battle. And even if you don't believe in demons...

You're in the middle of this spiritual battle. Whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not, there is the reality of a spiritual war that's going on, as Paul shares with us. And this war, this battle, is for your soul, the eternal state of your soul and the souls around you.

And so we need to understand it's a very real battle. If we do not take it seriously and prepare ourselves, we will soon become casualties of war and find ourselves defeated. The releasing of the Da Vinci Code is a spiritual attack, this movie that has come out. Satan is fighting against the authority and reliability of the Word of God. The liberal media...

terrorism, the degrading morals of society. All these things are as a result of a spiritual attack on this nation and the world. It's not by happenstance. It's not just coincidence. It's not just the way things go, but it's by design. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world. And he has orchestrated these things in order to bring down society when they don't even know what's going on.

But we experience spiritual warfare personally in our lives as well. You know, the distractions that take place during a church service or Bible study. Or have you ever sat down to try to read your Bible and spend time in prayer? And suddenly the phone begins to ring and you remember all of the things that you were supposed to do for the last 10 years that your wife has been asking you to do.

Those distractions and things that come against you, the reason it's so hard for you to do things for God and practice the things of God is evidence of the spiritual warfare that is taking place. All of the problems and the things that arise when you try to go to a retreat or try to go and accomplish something for God, it's all evidence of spiritual warfare that is taking place.

It affects us, this spiritual warfare does, at church, at home, at our workplace. Everywhere we go, we are affected by this spiritual warfare.

And that is why it's so important that we be equipped. We need to be equipped. And so in a couple of weeks, as I said, on June 14th, we'll go more in-depth on this as we give you an overview today, and we'll study it more in detail then. Also, in the back, actually, as you exit on the book table, there is these books. It's by Brian Broderson called Spiritual Warfare, and they're selling them out on the book table for five bucks. And so if you want to check that out and find out some more information, get more equipped, you are welcome to do that.

But this morning we will be looking at three specific things that will help us to fight this spiritual battle. Three things that Paul will tell us that we need to do, that we need to be involved in, we need to be active in. The first thing he tells us is found in verses 10 through 12.

And he tells us to be strong, and I add it on, because you are in a real spiritual battle. The first thing we need to know and remember, the first thing we need to do in spiritual war is be strong because you are in a very real spiritual battle. Verse 10, Paul says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Be strong in the Lord. Now he starts out with the word finally. He's closing out the book now as he is wrapping it up. And he's also closing out the thought of walking circumspectly or walking wisely that we have been looking at since chapter 5 verse 15. He's dealt with our walks within marriage and within family. He's dealt with our walk within our workplace.

And now he deals with our walk in spiritual things and spiritual warfare. And he starts out by telling us, commanding us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Now, how is it possible?

That we can be strong in the Lord. What do we do to be strong in the Lord? And I believe as we look at the armor of God, that is the answer to that question. That the armor of God is our strength and it's how we be strong in the Lord. But even just as we were singing just a few minutes ago, it's when I am weak.

that his strength, God's strength, is complete. It's from 2 Corinthians chapter 12, where God tells Paul, my strength is made perfect in weakness. And therefore, relying on the Lord is being strong in the Lord. Acknowledging our weakness and looking to him is how we learn to be strong in the Lord. And so we need to give a total dependence upon God

In spiritual battles, in spiritual things. Because we have nothing to offer. As God told Zechariah, it's not by might, nor is it by power, but it's by my spirit, says the Lord. We must learn to look to God and rely upon him. And then we will be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

But the more important question for us, not how do we be strong in the Lord, but why do we need to be strong in the Lord? Why do we need to be strong in the Lord? And of course the answer is, as I've been sharing, because we are in a very real spiritual battle. It's fierce and if you're not prepared, you will be defeated.

Every single one of us is called to be strong in the Lord. We're all called to be mature and strong believers. God has not called any one of us to immaturity. You know, we don't have that excuse. Well, God's just called me to be a baby Christian. No, God's called you to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, to develop your relationship with Him and draw yourself close to Him and rely upon Him.

because we are in a real spiritual battle. Now, in 1 Samuel chapter 30, David is there, and King David, he's not the king yet, and he finds himself in the camp of the Philistines. He's been on the wrong side for some time now, fighting with the Philistines, or fighting other nations, but he's been living among the Philistines. And it comes to a point where he begins to go with the Philistines to battle against Israel. And

And the Philistine rulers say, wait a minute, this is David. We can't allow him. What if he turns against us? And so they send him back to the city that he was living in. So David and his men, they come back to the city. And as they come back, they see the smoke ascending. And there they come upon their city. It's been attacked. And their goods, all of their material belongings, as well as their wives and their children have been taken.

And there we find David with some unpleasant men. His men are not too happy with him at that point. They were in a battle they weren't supposed to be in, and David led them there. And then while they were gone, all of their livelihood and everything they had, including their wives and children, were taken. And so they begin to come against David. And we see in 1 Samuel 30, verse 6, it says, Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him.

It does not say, as these men are gathering against David, upset at him, wanting to kill him, that he began to kind of stretch and warm up and practice his stone-dodging techniques.

Nor does it say that he pulled out his sword and began to warm up so that he'd be ready to fight as they came against him. And it doesn't say that he ran and found a good place to hide and to build a fort so that he could strengthen himself in that way and keep himself from being defeated. No, it says that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. To be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might is very practical. We simply rely upon him.

And since we are in this battle, this war, here's what I suggest for you to do this morning. Are you ready for this? Ask God for strength. Very simple. Be strong in the Lord. Ask Him for strength. Develop your relationship with Him. Bolster your faith and trust in Him. Remind yourself of who He is and the promises He has given to you.

You know, when you do this, when you ask God and look to God for strength, you will have all the strength you need for whatever may come. Philippians chapter 4 verse 13, Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me because it's his strength and his power. And therefore nothing can come my way that is too strong or too hard for me.

Because I am strengthened by God as I look to him and rely upon him. So Paul goes on in verse 11 and he says, Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Putting on the whole armor of God is what Paul is alluding to when he tells us to be strong in the Lord. Our strength stands.

Now Paul emphasizes, and it's very important, the whole armor. He emphasizes it here as well as also in verse 13. And it's important that we take these things seriously because there is, again, a very real battle that is going on. The devil is out to get us. And if we do not have a complete defense against him,

in standing with God and in the strength of the Lord, then we will be vulnerable and Satan will be able to exploit those weaknesses. He will find them very quickly. Now, our enemy is the devil. He says to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. He is our adversary. At one time, he was one of God's most excellent creatures.

The most magnificent angel. He's brilliant. He's smarter than any of us and all of us. He's very powerful and wise. And the only thing that he desires, he has a passion for this like you and I cannot even understand passion. And that is for you and everyone else to go to hell.

He desires to see your life destroyed. He hates you more intensely than you can imagine. His goal and his purpose is to condemn as many as possible so that they do not inherit the kingdom of God, that they do not inherit eternal life.

He is a powerful adversary, and therefore we cannot stand against Him on our own. That is why we must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and that is why we must stand equipped with the whole armor of God, because it's a real battle and it's in the spiritual realm. I have nothing to offer God in the spiritual battle, because all I can offer is my strength and things of this world,

But those things are of no value when it comes to spiritual war. We need the armor of God that we may fight this battle. Now he says that we should stand against the wiles of the devil. That word wiles, it means cunning arts or deceit or craft or trickery. You know, I'm sure that you've noticed...

Satan does not just show up on your doorstep one day, knock on the door, and as you answer it, say, Hello, I'm the devil. Wouldn't you like to follow me? He doesn't do that. He doesn't reveal himself in that way. He uses something way more powerful. It's called seduction. He seduces us, tricks us, and deceives us. And it's more powerful because he gets us to believe that we are right, that we're doing well,

And in reality, he's leading us farther and farther away from the truth, away from God. He tricks us into feeling okay and into rebelling against God. And so we need to stand against the enemy. And we need to know that he's out to get us, to deceive us, to trick us, and to lead us astray. Now, do not be alarmed. He is powerful and wise and smarter than we can imagine. Yet, his techniques are very simple. 2 Corinthians 2 says,

Verse 11, Paul talks about Satan taking advantage. But he says, we are not ignorant of his devices. Satan's seeking to take advantage of us, but you know, we're not ignorant. We know what his devices and techniques are. He tricks us and he deceives us, he seduces us, but he uses the same methods over and over and over again. And he does so because they continue to work.

1 John 2, verse 16 gives us the outline of these devices, the wiles of the devil. In 1 John 2, verse 16 it says, These three things, over and over and over again,

These are where we are weak. This is how the enemy attacks us and deceives us and leads us astray. You see it in the garden with Eve as the serpent came to her and used these same three things to seduce her into partaking of the fruit. We see these same three tactics when Satan comes to tempt Jesus Christ in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4 as well as Luke chapter 4.

These same three things over and over again are what we are susceptible to. We're aware of it. We're not ignorant of His devices. And so in order to fight against them, though, it's not about our determination or knowing about it. Knowing is part of the battle. As my childhood friend G.I. Joe would say, knowing is half the battle. Remember that? Knowing is half the battle. And we know His devices, but knowing.

It's not enough just to know about his schemes or to know about the Bible, but we must apply it. We must live it out. And specifically here, we must put on the whole armor of God. Going on in verse 12, Paul says,

Why should we be strong in the Lord? And why should we put on the armor of God, the whole armor of God? Again, because we are in a real spiritual battle. Paul says, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. And we need to get this through our head. It's very important. We need to understand it. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. When your boss is coming against you, when you are struggling within your marriage, when your family is fighting and having all kinds of problems,

When someone cuts you off on the freeway or takes your place in the grocery store line, it's not a spiritual battle. We're not wrestling against people and those people that do those things. Those people are not the enemy. Our struggle is against flesh and blood, but not against people. If you're wrestling with people and fighting with people, you're fighting the wrong battle.

If you are struggling with others around you, you're fighting the wrong battle. The real battle is taking place behind the scenes. And the enemy is at work to bring confusion, distraction, problems, whatever he can to keep you away from God. It's a spiritual battle. It's not against flesh and blood. Now, Paul uses the word, very interestingly, he uses the word wrestle.

Now there is a great battle that's taking place and we can see the grand scheme of things. It's Satan warring against God. He's no match for God. He is a created being. But he is doing his best, warring against God. And we see that great scene as we look at the book of Revelation. We see this battle, this epic battle that continues but will be defeated very soon. But that is not the only element or aspect of spiritual war.

Because, as I shared earlier, you and I, individually and personally, are involved in spiritual battle. Because it's a wrestling match as well as a war. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual things and spiritual beings. Our spiritual battle is a wrestling match. Again, which tells us we cannot sit on the sidelines because we are in the ring whether we like it or not. We are the one who is wrestling.

And we will win or we will lose. It's one or the other. And so we must take great care. Because each one of us is personally involved in this battle, we must be prepared. We have to fight our own spiritual battles. We can't fight someone else's. I can't fight your spiritual battles for you. Even if it were possible that I could do such a thing, understand that we all have our own spiritual battles. And the world and the flesh and everything.

The enemy is coming against us, and so we all have this wrestling match. It's not against flesh and blood and people around us, but Paul says it's against principalities, against powers, the rulers of darkness of this age, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Now this describes for us, we'll go in detail later in the series on Wednesday evenings, but it describes for us the different ranks of demonic beings.

We see the example in the book of Daniel of the demonic controls of specific geographical regions as the angel is dispatched to go and to give Daniel an answer to his prayer and to reveal to him the things that were to come. But the angel tells Daniel, well, I

I started 21 days ago, but what happened was the prince of Persia withstood me and I've been involved in this battle with him until Michael, the archangel, came and helped me and delivered me and I was able to come and to give you this message. The prince of Persia, the demonic entity or power over that region and there is such all over the world.

Those are principalities and powers, the demonic controls over people's lives. There's also demonic controls and influences over the nations and the leaders all over the world. We may look at Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and think of them as the enemy, but the reality is there's spiritual forces behind the scenes that are really at work.

As a nation, we are fighting those battles physically and militarily, and so we should. But as Christians, we are not to fight on that level in accomplishing the work for the kingdom of God. That's not the level that we fight on. We accomplish it through spiritual war. Two Wednesdays ago, it was so beautiful, Sammy Tanago came out and shared with us on ministering to Muslims. And he was sharing about Osama Bin Laden and

The United States coming against him and attacking this war on terrorism. And that's true and that's right. That's what God has ordained governments to do. But he said, as a Christian, I'm praying for him. God loves Osama Bin Laden and wants to spend eternity with him. And our hearts say, what? How could that be? But that is the love, the grace and the mercy of God. And our spiritual battle is not against these physical guys, but they're the battlefield.

They're the ones that God wants to reach. They're the ones that this battle is for. And so we need to be involved in this spiritual war that we may win victories in the name of Christ, that people might come to a saving knowledge and that we might stand firm in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4, Paul says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, or in other words, they're not of this world, they're not material weapons,

but they're mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. He's given us spiritual weapons, spiritual defenses as we look at the armor of God as well as spiritual weapons. They're not wimpy weapons. They're mighty weapons for pulling down strongholds. Very effective in spiritual battle. Now Jesus did say in Matthew 16, verse 18, that the church will ultimately be successful and victorious. And it will.

In Matthew 16, 18, he said, I also say this to you, Peter, or you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The church wins. The victory belongs to the church through Jesus Christ. But the question is, the church as a whole collectively will be victorious. But will you?

And will I be victorious as we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual enemies and entities? Will we be victorious in this spiritual battle and spiritual war? Will you stand your ground or will you become a casualty? So the first thing Paul tells us we need to do is be strong in the Lord because we are in a very real spiritual battle.

Personally, individually, we need to be strong and to look to the Lord for strength. Now he goes on to tell us in verses 13 through 17, the second thing we see is that we need to stand in the whole armor of God. Stand in the whole armor of God. Verse 13 says, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand.

He starts with the word, therefore, pointing us back to this wrestling match. Since we wrestle against forces of darkness, spiritual forces, make sure, Paul is saying, that you take up the whole armor of God, that you can stand. And he tells us over and over again, we're called to stand. In verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand.

Verse 13, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Verse 14, stand. Therefore, we are called to stand, not to run, not to hide, stand in the midst of this battle. God commands us to stand. Now, we are not to stand in our own strength.

And we cannot stand without the whole armor of God. The whole armor of God. All of it. Again, every part is essential. Otherwise, we will not be fully protected. We will be vulnerable for attack. Have you been under a lot of attack lately? Have you felt the pressures of spiritual things around you? Have you been vulnerable to the attacks of the enemies? He's been very successful in drawing you away from the things of God and keeping you from the heart of God.

Listen, you need to put on the whole armor of God and you need to stand. You need to stand in the strength of the Lord. Verse 14, Now, Paul is writing this at a time when he is imprisoned. And so he's there under Roman guard night and day and constantly before him,

is this great vision that God has given to him. This parallel between the equipment that the Roman soldier has and what God has given us and equipped us that we may fight the spiritual, the armor of God relating to the armor that has been given to Roman soldiers. Now as we begin to look at this, I need to ask this question. And we need to get this straight right off the bat. Whose armor is it? It's God's.

It says to put on the whole armor of God. As we look at these different pieces of the armor that God has given to us, we must realize that we are primarily speaking about what God has done for us and what he gives to us, his work and his accomplishments, and not what we do for God. It's his armor.

That protects us, that strengthens us, that enables us to stand. Now I do believe that there is many practical applications as well. And so as we look at each piece of the armor, we'll see the spiritual application as well as how that plays out practically within our lives. The belt of truth is the first thing that Paul begins to talk about. He says, having girded your waist with truth. We can only stand when we have girded our waist with

What does that mean? Well, he's referring to the Roman soldier's belt. If you're not familiar with a belt, you should know that it's centrally located on a person. It goes right around the waist, right in the middle of us. The Roman soldier would have this belt and it would be...

useful for many things. First of all, different pieces of the armor would be fastened to it like the breastplate would be attached to it as well as it would carry the sheath for the sword. But what Paul is specifically referring to when he says, having girded your waist with truth,

As they would have this belt around them, they would be wearing what we would call a tunic, or maybe we would call it a skirt, actually. And what they would do with this tunic, because it would be free-flowing around their legs and it would be difficult to run and to really battle with it, they would pull it through their legs from the back and tuck it into their belt. It was called girding their loins or girding themselves for battle so that they would be able to run and to fight freely without having to worry about falling over in their skirts.

Now, the Bible is our belt of truth. The soldiers would have this piece of the armor that was centrally located upon their body, that would hold the pieces of the armor together, that would prepare them for action,

The same way God's truth, it's the belt of truth. And whose truth is it? It's not our truth. This is God's armor. And God's truth must be the center of our spiritual life as well as our physical walk. His truth must govern our lives and thoughts. In John 17, 17, Jesus says to God that your word, the Bible, is truth.

And so if you and I want to put on the whole armor of God, the Bible must have that same central place in our life. And everything that you and I do should be within the boundaries of God's word. It should surround us on all sides, all that we do, the truth of God, his word, his outlook on life and this world. And let's not forget also what Jesus said in John 14, 6. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And so in order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, Jesus Christ and his word must be the central thing, the central point of our lives. And that's how we stand with the belt of truth. The next thing he says in the same verse, he says to put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now, a breastplate on a soldier, as you can imagine, it would protect people.

The upper torso here of the man. It would protect his chest as well as his stomach and the vital organs beneath, such as the lungs or the heart. The breastplate of righteousness as a part of the spiritual armor speaks to us about the relationship of righteousness and our hearts. The relationship. There's a relationship that takes place and we must protect ourselves within by the righteousness of God. Romans chapter 10 verse 10 says,

tells us that with the heart one believes unto righteousness. It's with our heart that we believe unto righteousness. Remember Abraham. It says that he believed God and it was accredited to him as righteousness. We are not righteous. Isaiah 64 tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. We have nothing to offer in the area of righteousness. But by believing...

And what God has done and what he has said, it's accounted to us and God gives us his righteousness and it protects us within. His righteousness is our breastplate, our defense. Now the problem is, it says that our heart, or with the heart, one believes unto righteousness.

And Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Our hearts are deceitful and the enemy knows that. He wants to use our hearts against us to condemn us and to make us doubt God's provision, his salvation, and his righteousness. 1 John chapter 3, John deals with this issue a little bit. He says in verse 20, if our hearts condemn us,

If our heart condemns us, you ever had your heart condemn you? Your heart's making you down, discouraging you, telling you how horrible you've been like that. You know what that's like? If our heart condemns us, John says, then God is greater than our heart and knows all things. And he goes on in verse 23 to say, this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he has loved

given us commandment. What John is saying there, in John chapter 3, is there will be times when our heart condemns us, but we must believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, because God is greater than our hearts. And even though our heart condemns us, God is greater. And by believing on Him, Romans 10.10 says, we have righteousness in Him. Jesus Christ became sin so that we can have the righteousness of God.

through receiving what Jesus did for us. Because we believe, we have confidence in God and His righteousness. We need to know that He is already pleased with us because of what Jesus did and us believing in that.

Knowing that he is already pleased with us, that we already have right standing with him, protects us from the attacks of the enemy. Because the enemy will come in and try to discourage us and say, you don't have right standing before God. You can't come before God. Look at how you are. Look at what you've done. Look at your righteousness. It's as filthy rags. And we need to put on the breastplate of righteousness and understand. So what?

I believe in the provision of God's righteousness. I believe in his son, Jesus Christ. In order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must believe in Jesus Christ and his righteousness. Verse 15, as we move on, he says, This next element of the spiritual armor, the shoes of peace, the boots of peace, the sandals of peace, whatever you want to call it,

He says,

you're going to be in trouble. Because the enemy is going to be able to knock you off balance, to knock you to the ground, to push you back. He'll be able to afflict you very easily. Or, if you're not able to stand firm and you can be pushed backwards, then the enemy is going to have a great advantage in the midst of a battle. In the same way, you and I, we need to make sure that we are not at a disadvantage.

And that we have our feet prepared, firmly planted in the gospel of peace. We need to take a firm stand in the gospel of peace. The word gospel means good news. The gospel of peace is the good news that you can have peace with God. And you do have peace with God through the work of Jesus Christ. It's the gospel message that we stand upon. And if the enemy can shake that,

If we're not confident and sure about the gospel of peace, if he can shake our belief in that, our confidence in that, then we're going to be in trouble. We're going to be in trouble. Without the gospel as our foundation, it will be very easy for us to fall down. It'll be very easy for the enemy to bring doubts and discouragement, to bring confusion.

If we don't firmly stand in the gospel message, we'll constantly be questioning our salvation and we will be defeated. We'll be knocked down time and time again. We need to believe the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the message that we can have peace with God through his son Jesus Christ. If we're not knocked down, we might be pushed back if we're not firmly planted in the gospel of peace. If our feet aren't there, firmly planted like those spikes going into the ground, we

if we're not planted there in the gospel, holding fast to it, believing it wholeheartedly, the enemy will be able to push us back and will begin to backslide. We will begin to justify our sin or we will let sin keep us from the presence of God.

We need to believe the gospel message. Don't let Satan push you around. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 and 2 says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Here in Romans 5, Paul says, listen, we've been justified by faith, made right standing before God by faith, and we have peace with God, access to God, the presence of God, relationship with God, by our faith in Jesus Christ. That's the gospel message, the gospel of peace, that we have peace with God. In order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must stand in the grace of Jesus Christ by believing wholeheartedly the gospel of peace. Verse 16 says,

He says,

would probably be about four to five feet tall and a foot and a half to maybe two feet wide. This shield would protect the Roman soldier against the flaming darts of the enemy, the arrows that would be shot as the soldiers engaged in battle. The soldier would be able to hide behind the shield while the enemy shot their arrows, their flaming darts. Now, it would also be made of wood and often it would be soaked in

or some other type of liquid, those fiery darts would be quenched. They would be doused as they land on the shield. The shield was an important element of defense for the soldier. And as Christians, faith is our defense. Faith. When the enemy shoots his fiery darts of doubt, discouragement, distrust, we must hide behind the shield of faith. Having complete confidence

in God that he will do what he promised. Now the enemy will come and say, it will never work. You're never going to get there. You always fail. God's not going to come through. He's not going to provide. God's not going to do what he said. And as the enemy shoots those fiery darts, we must hide behind the shield of faith. And we must not let those thoughts penetrate and continue to burn within our hearts. Trust in the promises of God. There's so many of them.

As you study the word, you'll learn more and more. Philippians 1.6 says that he will be faithful to complete the work that he began in you. Trust in that. Know that. Believe that. And the enemy comes and says, look, you always fail. You're not going to make it. You're not going to be a mature believer. You're not... Don't let that penetrate. Trust in God. Have faith in him.

As the enemy brings doubts and discouragements, hold on to the promises of God. Hide yourself completely behind your faith in Jesus Christ so that the fiery darts of the enemy cannot penetrate. In order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must hide ourselves from the enemy by having complete faith in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. Now just as the Roman shield would be soaked in water to quench the fire, our faith must be immersed in

In the word of God. As water is a picture for us. Of the word of God. Romans chapter 10 verse 17. Tells us that faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of God. You want to strengthen your faith. And immerse it in the word of God. That you will be able to hide behind that. And hold that confidently. Trust in Jesus Christ. Verse 17. And take the helmet of salvation. And the sword of the spirit. Which is the word of God.

He tells us now to take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the two last pieces of the armor that he will discuss at this time. The helmet of salvation, of course the helmet on a Roman soldier speaks to us just like a helmet does today, in protecting the head of the soldier. Now spiritually speaking, how is it that we protect our head or our mind?

And we find the answer in Colossians chapter 3. It's by setting our minds, our eyes on the things above. Setting it upon salvation, not the things of this world. Our immediate salvation is

Because we are saved now as we believe and trust in Jesus Christ. But also the ultimate salvation, the fulfillment of it all, as we get to spend eternal life with Jesus Christ. Colossians chapter 3, verse 1. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The way that we protect our minds in spiritual battle is to keep our minds set on eternity. So it is not corrupted by this world, caught up in materialism, caught up in all of the deception and things that the enemy has to offer and the world has to offer. If we do not keep our minds set on eternity, looking for God and eternity with God, we will be susceptible to the enemy's attacks.

And so in order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must set our minds on the salvation we have received and will receive. Don't let Satan play tricks with your mind. Set your mind. You place it on the things of God, specifically on salvation. And finally, the sword of the spirit, which he goes on to tell us is the word of God.

Now again, the word for sword here is maybe not what we would normally think. It's not the word that describes the big, broad, double-edged sword, but it describes a small sword that would be used for close combat, something you would be able to maneuver easily with and be able to quickly defend yourself and attack. Now this is significant because this sword that the soldier would have equates to, Paul says, the Word of God.

Now, when we talk about the word of God, we know Hebrews 4.12 says that the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. That sword there, the double-edged sword, describes a big sword. The sword that you would use using both hands to wipe out as much of the enemy as you could. But the sword that's used here in this passage, the word that's used for word of God, is not alluding to the entire contents of the Bible.

It's the Greek word rhema here in this text, which is an exact and spoken word. And the idea is, just like the soldier would have this smaller sword that he would be able to exact specific wounds or exact and strike specific places, he would have great control, much more control over this smaller sword than he would a broad sword. The sword of the Spirit is an exact spoken word of God.

Something specific and exact for the situation at hand and the circumstances that present themselves. Now this is our offensive weapon, our sword. It's the exact spoken word of God. It's not that we get into a situation and we quote the entire Bible to someone, nor is it that we take it and just beat them over the head with it. That's not the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is sharing what God would say from His Word in that situation.

And that is the best way to defuse the attacks of the enemy. It's what Jesus used when he was tempted by the devil in Matthew chapter 4 again. He used an exact spoken word.

Something specific from God's word that God would have to say in that situation. There's nothing that diffuses the enemy's work better or faster than the right word from God. And of course, the sword would be attached to the belt, which speaks to us, the belt of truth being the entirety of God's word, the exact word that comes for that situation, that rhema, will come from the contents of

of scripture. That's why it's so important that we study to show ourselves approved, as Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2.15. In order for us to stand our ground against the wiles of the devil, we must allow the Spirit to give us the right word from the Bible. We must allow the Spirit to minister and speak to our hearts and give us the right words for the situations that we're in. And that will defuse the attacks of the enemy.

Again, I ask, have you been under a lot of attack lately? Have you been vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy? You need to put on the full armor, the whole armor of God and stand.

Paul now goes on to tell us the final element in spiritual warfare. He's told us to be strong because we are in a real battle. He's told us to stand in the whole armor of God. And finally, he tells us to pray always in verses 18 through 20. He says,

Now, prayer is a huge part of spiritual warfare. It is very powerful. When we pray according to God's will, 1 John chapter 5 tells us that we will have our request. It's very powerful as we pray according to the will of God. And so Paul tells us to pray always and to be watchful to that end, that we make sure that we're always praying, that we keep ourselves fervently, intensely praying.

Unfortunately, prayer can easily become routine and mundane in our lives. But James 5.16 tells us that it's the effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man that avails much. We need to keep that fervency within our hearts. And Paul asks us to pray in two specific areas. Number one, he says at the end of verse 18, to pray for all the saints. We need to pray for all the saints, all believers. And then number two, he asks us to pray for

For himself, for boldness to share the gospel. In verses 19 and 20 it says, And for me that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. I find it interesting that Paul did not tell them to pray against Satan or against the Roman Empire.

which he was captive to. But instead, he says to pray for the saints and pray for me that I may have boldness. We see the same principle in Acts chapter 4. As the disciples are there, they're beaten by the Sanhedrin, the rulers of the Jews, and they're told not to share the gospel or talk about Jesus anymore. And the disciples go, they gather together with the brethren,

And they don't pray against the Sanhedrin. They don't pray against the Jews. But they pray for themselves that they would have boldness to speak the word of God. It's a good principle for us to learn. To pray for one another. Because those people that are in our lives that we see as the enemy, they're not the enemy. We should not pray against them. They're spiritual forces taking place behind the scenes. It's a spiritual battle.

And so we need to pray for all believers. And we need to pray that those who have opportunity will share boldly because it's then that God's word will go forth and people will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We need to share boldly the word of God. Paul closes in verses 21 through 24. He's sending them Tychicus to let them know how he is doing.

so that they may be encouraged and comforted. And he closes saying, Peace to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. Closing with grace and peace. It's what we need to have in spiritual warfare. We stand in the grace of God, not by our merit, not because we deserve it. And we stand in peace because it's God's armor, it's God's fight,

We're simply called to stand. We're not called to chase and to run after the enemy, but we're called to stand in spiritual battle. Paul's encouraged us, number one, to be strong because we're in a real spiritual battle. Number two, he's told us to stand in the whole armor of God. And finally, he told us to pray always. This is what we need to do. We need to be strong in the Lord. Again, it is the armor of God. And so we need to look to God constantly.

for His truth, for His righteousness, for His peace. We need to have faith in Him and His salvation. And we need to receive from Him His exact word for the situations that we face, that we may be victorious in spiritual battle. If you don't know you're in a spiritual war, if you're not prepared, you will quickly become a casualty. So stand. Be strong.

Rely upon the Lord. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word this morning. And we do thank you for your peace and your grace. Lord Jesus, that we can stand confidently in you in peace, knowing, Lord, that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church, will not prevail against you. And so, God, we ask that you would help us to stand in you, to depend completely and wholly upon you. Lord, that we would gird up ourselves with your truth.

That we would surround ourselves with it. Lord, and all that we do would be within the boundaries of what your word has to say because your word is truth. God, we pray that you would protect our hearts with your righteousness. That we would have complete confidence in the work that you've done for us and that we already have right standing with you. And Lord, may we be solid in that, knowing that we have peace with you. And so may we take our stand in the gospel of peace.

knowing that you've given us. We were once enemies. We once hated you and ran from you. But you've given us peace. And you've granted us access to your presence and to relationship with you. And so God, we ask that you would help us to stand in faith, believing your promises and your word, knowing that you are faithful, knowing that you will complete the work in us. And so Jesus, we set our minds not on this world, but we put on the helmet of salvation. And we set our mind on things above,

Help us to live for eternity, God. Help us to set our mind on the salvation that we have as we spend eternity with you. And God, as we do that, we anticipate and know that you will give us the exact word that you want to deliver to our own hearts and to those around us. Lord, we trust that you will defeat the enemy by your word. And so we ask that you would help us to be open and sensitive to your spirit. That as we study your word, you would give us

Those exact words that we may defeat the enemy by the word of truth. God, teach us to be fervent in prayer, that we would be prepared and ready, that we would be praying for all believers, and we do pray for all believers, God, that they would be strong in this battle, that they would look to you and rely upon you. And Lord, we pray for all of us that you would give us boldness as you give that exact spoken word, that we would pass it on and we would share it with all around us.

Give us strength in you and grant us victory as we trust in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.