EPHESIANS 6:10-24

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

EPHESIANS 6:10-24

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2413 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

EPHESIANS 6:10-2415 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2418 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

EPHESIANS 6:10-2420 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

EPHESIANS 6:10-2422 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

THREE THINGS YOU MUST KNOW IN

ORDER TO BECOME VICTORIOUS

(1)

KNOW THE ENEMY.

EPHESIANS 6:10-11

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

There’s a third variable that we absolutely have to factor into

everything, and that’s Satan and demons.

The truth is, we’re all soldiers. But it takes an army to win a war.

Jesus loves us; Satan hates us. Jesus has plans for us; Satan has

plans to oppose us. Jesus, in every way, will bless us; but Satan will, in every way, seek to undermine that

blessing. It’s a war!

EPHESIANS 6:12

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

People are not our enemy; Satan and demons are our enemy.

The Bible speaks of non-Christians as captives.

This is why Jesus says very early in his earthly ministry that he has come

to set captives free.

WHO IS SATAN?

WHO IS SATAN?

•Satan was created by God. •So, he’s not God; he’s not equal to God.•He doesn’t share all of God’s attributes. •God can be everywhere; Satan can’t. God knows everything; Satan doesn’t. God reads your mind and thoughts; Satan can’t.

WHO IS SATAN?

•He’s created; he’s also fallen. •He’s rebelled against God. •He’s turned his back on God. •He’s declared war on God. •He’s also very powerful as a spirit being, akin to an angel who has turned to the dark side.

WHO IS SATAN?

•He’s very powerful. •He’s also been observing human history for thousands of years, so he understands how to read people. •He can’t read your mind, but he can read your life and your body language.

WHO IS SATAN?

•And we’re not all dealing with Satan because he is limited, but he has demons at his disposal. •These are fallen angels, rebellious angels, who joined him in his war against God.

The root of demonic work is always sourced ultimately in pride.

Satan will, in every way, tempt and test your pride. He fell through pride.

The angels who fell with him and became demons fell through pride. And he will

tempt you ultimately through pride.

EPHESIANS 6:12

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The language here is like that. It’s hand-to-hand combat. It’s where they’ve got

their hands on you, you’ve got your hands on them. It’s exhausting. It is

absolutely exhausting.

Ministry is like that. Serving Jesus is like that. Preaching the gospel is like that. Growing our church is like that. Planting a new church is like that.

Some of you don’t give, you don’t pray, you don’t serve because you know it’s going to be a fight. So, you’ll just stand on the sidelines and cheer and criticize

those who are at war. Know your enemy.

(2)

KNOW YOUR KING.

Who do you fight for? You know what? If you don’t know whom you fight for, you’re probably not going to fight

well.

EPHESIANS 6:10

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

You need to know this: it’s his fight. This is His church. This is his book. The spiritual battle—

it’s his war. It’s not yours; it’s not mine. We’re not the King; it’s not our Kingdom.

We’re the servants; we’re the soldiers, we labor for a Great, Glorious, and Good King.

You’re not going to make it for a lifetime. You cannot make it for a lifetime. You can’t motivate

yourself for a lifetime of war. There’s no shortcut to a lifetime of war. You’re going to

need strength that is beyond you, strength that is apart from you.

Jesus is going to need to give you his strength, because yours won’t do. You can’t serve Jesus for a lifetime

without Jesus’ strength.

You can’t love your spouse for a lifetime without Jesus’ strength. You can’t raise your

children for a lifetime without Jesus’ strength. You can’t be a faithful Christian

leader for a lifetime without Jesus’ strength.

It’s his war fought by his strength, and this is ultimately the person, the presence, the power of the Holy Spirit—that Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who empowered the war

life of Jesus against temptation and exhaustion and sickness and opposition and criticism.

How Jesus persevered, how He was strong, was by the power of the Holy

Spirit, and He sends that same Holy Spirit to us to empower us.

All God is asking you to do is what you cannot do. That’s all

He’s asking you to do.

We need to factor all these variables in. It’s not just us and God. Satan and demons are

opposed to us, but then Jesus gives His strength to us. Once we know all of this, we know why it’s hard, but we know why we’ll win. Life starts to make a bit more sense.

(3)

KNOW YOUR WEAPONS.

EPHESIANS 6:13-2013 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

EPHESIANS 6:13-2015 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

EPHESIANS 6:13-2018 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

EPHESIANS 6:13-20

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

KNOW YOUR WEAPONS:

1) Belt of Truth2) Breastplate of Righteousness3) Shoes of the Gospel4) Shield of Faith5) Helmet of Salvation6) Sword of the Spirit (Word of God)

KNOW YOUR WEAPONS:

7) Praying in the Spirit8) Perseverance

(1) BELT OF TRUTH

JOHN 8:4444 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(2) BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Some of you have got excuses for your sin. You don’t need to excuse your sin; you

need to fight it. You don’t have to give in to temptation. You can instead, by the grace of

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, choose to walk in righteousness.

(3) SHOES OF THE GOSPEL

You never know when the enemy’s attacks are going to come, so you have to always be ready. People who make the transition into ministry struggle with

this.

He says these shoes are the gospel. This is the good news about our king. The reason you sleep with your shoes on is so that he

can bring the gospel whenever there’s an opportunity. That’s what he’s saying.

(4) SHIELD OF FAITH

This is vain regrets. Satan will haunt you for things that Jesus has forgiven you for. You’ll be

haunted. Accusations—you’re not loved, you’re not forgiven, you’ll never change, you’re a fraud. Any time you hear “you,” it’s your enemy. People think

they have negative self-talk; they often have demonic accusation.

So, what do you got to do? He says you’ve got to hold up the shield of faith. “No, I trust the Bible. I trust Jesus. I trust the gospel. I trust the truth. I

trust it.” And you’ve got to hold it in your own hand, and you’ve got to hold it over your own head.

(5) HELMET OF SALVATION

You’re going to get rattled, you’re going to get hit, you’re going to get attacked. What he’s talking

about is the helmet of salvation. False teaching is going to come. False teachers are everywhere.

The media today loves denying parts of the Bible, smiles and says the word “love”.

You’re going to be surrounded with false teaching and all kinds of lies and half-truths

and temptations and confusions. You’ve got to keep your head on straight.

Helmet of salvation.

(6) SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (WORD OF GOD)

Every time you pick up the Bible and say, “I’ve got to read it today, got to study it today. It’s the night to go to cell group. I’m going to go to FCC. Going to download a podcast and listen to it on the way to

work so I can learn the word of God.” You know what that means?

It’s an act of war. It’s an act of war.

You’re born on Satan’s team; you’re born again on Jesus’ team. There are really only

two kingdoms. There are really only two teams. And if you’re on Jesus’ team, you

better keep the sword in your hand.

(7) PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT

One of the most important things in the battle is communication. You need to talk to headquarters; you need to listen to

headquarters. We call that prayer.

How’s your prayer life? If you don’t know you’re in war, you don’t feel like you need

to listen to the commander in chief, and you don’t feel like you need to talk to him.

Listen to the Holy Spirit. Primarily, he will bring to mind the word of God which he has written. Prayer

is our communication plan. It’s how we talk to God; it’s how God talks to us. It’s how we tell him

what’s going on, though he already knows, and it is the way that he gives directives to us.

(8) PERSEVERANCE

He says, “Perseverance.” Perseverance. Four times in this section he uses the

language of “stand.” So it’s, “Stand, stand, stand, stand.” A soldier needs to hold his post—right, soldiers? You plant your feet.

You stand.

It’s not about your gifts. FCC does not exist as an opportunity for you to showcase your giftedness.

Your King gave you a job, and it’s about the victory for his kingdom. It’s not about you; it’s

about his kingdom. It’s not about you; it’s about our church. It’s not about you;

it’s about setting captives free.

Paul’s final words. He says to pray for the leadership.

PRAY FOR GRACE AND PEACE

Pray for grace on our church from Jesus.

Peace is peace in our church. There’s nothing worse than one soldier

shooting another soldier.

Don’t turn your guns on each other. Don’t gossip about one another. Don’t become embittered against one

another. Don’t despise one another. Don’t attack one another. Don’t criticize one another. Satan and

demons have already got that covered. The enemy role is filled. We don’t need you to join them. So

pray for peace in our church.

Who wins in the end, Satan or Jesus? Jesus. So, we know that our king wins, and we know

that his kingdom reigns, so we are able to persevere and endure—why? Because we know the end.

Soldiers never get this benefit. The end of the war is always up to the possibility of not a

victory but a loss. Our great king has defeated Satan and demons at the cross,

and he will disarm and destroy them at his second coming, and we’re living in the time

between the times.

CONCLUSION

• Know the Enemy.• Know your King.• Know your weapons.