Battle Ready: Prepared

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:10-13

Subject: Spiritual Warfare

Central Theme:  Prepared for Spiritual Warfare

Objective Statement: To be battle ready, we must follow through on 4 commands.

Keyword: Commands.

1. Be Strong. (v.10)
2. Put on. (v.11)
3. Fight the right enemy. (v.12)
4. Stand fully prepared. (v.13)

Introduction:

• There is a drastic difference between a peace-time mindset and a war time mindset.
• When there is battle raging outside, it affects everything we do- how we travel, how we survive, how we spend our time and our money.
• It effects everything.
• Paul has taken 3 chapters to give us our identity. We are in Christ.
• We have hope. We have a calling. We have an inheritance we have access to resurrection power.
• And God has called us to act like this is true. To live out this identity- this vocation wherewith we have been called.
• What is our identity? It’s how you can sum up the book of Ephesians in 2 words.  We are… (Audience)
• Today as we study this 20^th preaching passage in Ephesians Paul wants to make sure that we understand that we must not make the mistake that being in Christ is going to be easy.
• He wants us to know that we are in a battle.
• We must be battle ready.

To be battle ready, we must follow through on 4 commands.

1.    Be Strong. (v.10)

(10)  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

• Paul is bringing the letter to a conclusion.
• He has dealt with relationships.
• He has dealt with identity.
• He has been very practical in the last few sections in dealing with these identities.
• The whole letter has been about our vocation. We are called to “in Christ living”.
• Now this word “finally” comes up.
• It brings with it a level of importance.
• He is going to give us a last word as he ends the letter.
• He wants us to know something very important.
• This “in Christ” vocation is not just the farmer that plants the seed and waits for the harvest.
• This “in Christ” vocation is not just the athlete that runs a race to get a prize.
• This “in Christ” vocation means that we are soldiers in a battle. Because we are in Christ we have Christ’s victories, but we also have Christ’s enemies.
• And so Paul says, “Finally, my brethren…”
• Why does he refer to the reader as “brethren” at this point?
• Well, if I am in Christ, and you are in Christ, and I am a soldier, and you are a soldier, then we are an __________. (Army).
• So, it follows that the next imperative would be, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might”.
• Let’s pretend that tomorrow you do not go to work. The reason you do not is that starting tomorrow there is a battle coming to Findlay, Ohio.
• And you are being conscripted to fight. You believe in the cause.  You want to defend our city.
• And someone- a general, a captain- some kind of leader were to come to you and say, “We need you to be strong…” and you’ve got all week to work on it…what would you do?
• What would that mean to you? “Be strong…”
• You would train physically.
  • How many of you agree that an army must be involved in training?
  • There would be sit ups, pull ups, running, and weight lifting.
  • There would be a different nutrition.
  • There would be intention and purpose in this training.
• You would train mentally.
  • There is a different way of being strong in war time than in peace time.
  • To be strong as a soldier you have to think like a soldier.
  • You’ve got to know your role in the battle.
  • You’ve go to know the battle plan.
• We’re going to continue in the text with what it would look like to be strong. Paul lays it out for us very well.
• But here is the point: This is not a throw away phrase.
• If you are “in Christ” you need to be strong.
• You need to train spiritually. You are a soldier of Jesus Christ.  Act like it.
• Notice what he says about being strong:

(10)  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

• Do you remember what Paul has already told us about the Lord’s power in the book of Ephesians?

Ephesians 1:19-20

(19)  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

(20)  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

• These verses were in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 1 where he prays a prayer that asks God to enlighten the Ephesians.
• And in verse 19 He tells them that He is praying that they would know the greatness of God’s power to them. It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.
• What I want you to see though is that this power isn’t available to us to live according to the flesh. It’s not available to us to live and fight for ourselves.
• It is available to us as those who are in Christ because we are in a battle.
• We can be strong in the Lord, and the power of His might, the same power that raised Christ from the dead.
• You can grow in Spiritual strength because you have the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• He will produce fruit in your life as you submit to Him.
• So, what does being strong look like? It looks like a different mindset.  It looks like training.

To be battle ready, we must follow through on 4 commands.

• Be strong. (V.10)

2.    Put on. (v.11)

(11)  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

• Let’s continue with the same scenario I laid out before.
• We are starting training for you for tomorrow for this battle.
• If the battle was coming our way how would you want to be dressed?
  • Basketball shorts and a t-shirt?
  • Shirt and tie?
• How about weaponry?
  • Do you want a stick and a trash can lid?
  • Bike helmet and a golf club?
• If we were going to battle you’d want the right kind of equipment.
• You would want the right clothes, and the right weapons. You would want the right equipment.
• In Paul’s day he had the image of a Roman Soldier. Later on this passage he walks through what the armour of God is, and that will be next weeks message.
• The point is that there is a mindset of being equipped spiritually with both defensive and offensive weapons. Why?

To be battle ready, we must follow through on 4 commands.

• Be strong. (V.10)
• Put on. (v.11)

3.    Fight the right enemy. (v.12)

that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

(12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

• The word “that” gives us an insight into the idea that this is giving a reason for being strong and putting on the whole armor of God.
• The reason we must be strong, and be equipped is because we have a crafty and powerful enemy.
• The word translated “wiles” is the word “methodeia”. It’s a compound word that talks about evil or deceitful methods.
• The only other place it is found is in Ephesians 4:14.

Ephesians 4:14

(14)  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

• Here it is translated and combined with another word to be translated as “lie in wait to deceive”. It’s speaking of false teachers, and the work picture is like a hunter setting a trap and then waiting on the unsuspecting prey.
• In verse 11 it speaking of the battle strategies and deceptions of Satan who is trying to take the Christian out of his effectiveness for the Lord.
• Satan can not make someone who is “in Christ” to no longer be in Christ, but He sure can work to tempt someone who is “in Christ” not to act like they are.
• We have an enemy.
• You may ask, “Do you really believe in Satan? In Demons?”
• I do. The Bible teaches clearly that we have an adversary.
• He’s a deceiver.

John 8:42-44

(42)  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

(43)  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

(44)  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

• He is the accuser of the brethren.

Revelation 12:10

(10)  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

• He is not the opposite of God.
  • God is omnipotent. Satan is not.
  • God is omnipresent. Satan is not.
  • God is omniscient. Satan is not.
• But don’t miss this.
  • Satan has power.
  • Satan, as we will see, oversees a network of evil that is significant.
  • Satan is crafty.
• You can make 2 mistakes when it comes to Satan- To overestimate him and to underestimate him.
• This passage states that he oversees and leads a network, an army, of evil forces.

…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

• The idea here is that there is a hierarchy and an organization.
• They influence and oppress people of influence.
• In the book of Revelation, John is given insight into how Satan himself will work through a human ruler.

Revelation 13:1-6

(1)  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

• This beast that is described here is the Anti-Christ this described here, in 2 Thessalonians and in Daniel.
• In Revelation there is a dragon that is described, and it is made clear that the dragon is Satan himself.
• Look at the relationship between the beast and the dragon in verse 2-6.

(2)  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.  (3)  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

(4)  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (5)  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

(6)  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

• So, you have here a man being indwelt and filled with Satan himself. What does Satan do when he is in control?  He blasphemes God and destroys men.
• Satan cannot destroy or hurt God. What does he do? He goes after God’s creation.  Mankind, which is made in the image of God, becomes his target.
• We see this throughout the Scripture.
• Do you remember the man near Decapolis that lived near the tombs described in Mark 5?
• The Bible says he was possessed with an unclean Spirit. Jesus came to the shore and he came up to Jesus.
• Do you remember how he was described?
  • Naked
  • Not able to be bound by chains
  • Living among the tombs
  • Cutting himself
• You may think, we don’t see demon possession today. Not in our country.
  • I’m not saying everyone that cuts themselves is demon possessed. I’m saying that cutting yourself and self harm is associated with demon possession in the Bible.
  • Did you know that the word for withcraft in the Bible is the word “pharmacia”? Do we have a drug problem in our country today?
• Do you remember what happened in the story? As soon as Jesus sent the demons out of the man into the pigs, the pigs ran over the cliff and drowned.
• When Jesus did that did you notice what happened to the man? He was found then sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind.
• You know why? Jesus exemplified in that story what this verse says.  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…”
• Our mission field is not our enemy. Satan is our enemy.
• Did you know that the faith has propagated more quickly and more purely in times of persecution?
• There are many stories that could be told of those being used to persecute Christians having a front row seat to the faith of those Christians and then coming to faith in Christ. How does that happen?  Because Christians in those moments understood an important principle.  People are not the real enemy. Satan is.
• Don’t hate your mission field.
• There are certain communities- like the LGBTQIA- that think that what it means to be a Christian is to hate.
• I do not believe that this is entirely the fault of Christians. There is a sentiment that if you do not celebrate their behavior then you hate them.
• I believe to love people you have to be against sin.
• That being said, there have been many in the church who have bought into the lie of Satan that those people are to be hated. We do not hate them.  They are our mission field.  We must love them.
• What did Jesus say to us?

Matthew 5:43-45

(43)  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

(44)  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

(45)  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

• If in the middle of this service people were to come in and arrest us and throw us in jail for practicing our faith, would it be right for us to hate them? Would it be faithful to return evil for evil?  No way!
• Our calling would be to have a new mission field. We would have a new ministry.  It would be a prison ministry.
• And those people, though we would believe them to be wrong, would need to be seen by us as people for whom Christ died.
• We would have to believe that we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.
• We must understand our real enemy.
• By the way, this means that our brother or sister in Christ isn’t our enemy either.
• We are in a battle.
• There is an old saying that says, “When fisherment don’t fish, they fight.” We’re called to be fishers of men, and sometimes this can be the case.
• When we aren’t fighting Satan, we start fighting each other.
• Usually in the church I have found that the majority of disagreements are about stuff that does not matter.
• So many see the church as a cruise ship with entertainment and amenities. Our church ought not be a cruise ship to entertain, but a battleship.
• But we have to make sure we fight the right enemy. Not each other- Not our mission field- But Satan.

To be battle ready, we must follow through on 4 commands.

• Be strong. (V.10)
• Put on. (v.11)
• Fight the right enemy. (v.12)

4.    Stand fully prepared. (v.13)

(13)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

• “Wherefore” means for this reason…
• Because we are fighting Satan and his forces…
• Because he has a strategy…
• Because we are In battle…
• We must make a stand.
• We must fight.
• Sometimes we are not fighting.
• Sometimes we are retreating.
• When we have a chance to speak up for Jesus, and we don’t, we aren’t making a stand.
• When we have a chance to promote righteousness, and we don’t, we aren’t making a stand.
• When should we stand? “in the evil day”.  Paul has already told us that the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16

(15)  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

(16)  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

• Every preparation must be made.
• Every training should be done.
• Every weapon must be mastered.
• Why?
• We are at war!
• We are in a battle.
• We aren’t a cruise or a club. We are an army!
• We do not hate our mission field. They may be our ideological enemy, but not someone to be hated.  They are to be loved.  They are to be reached.
• We fight Satan.
• We must put on the armor of God.
• For that, we turn to the next set a verses next Sunday.

Conclusion:

• As we conclude I want to give you one last encouragement.
• Yes, we are in a battle.
• Yes, it is possible for their to be casualties in this battle.
• Yes, we are called to take a stand and fight.
• But I want you to know that though we can lose some battles, when we are on God’s side we can be assured that we will win the war.

Ephesians 1:15-23

(15)  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,  (16)  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

(17)  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  (18)  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,  (19)  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  (20)  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,  (21)  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

(22)  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (23)  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.