Sermon Tone Analysis

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 1 Ephesians 6:10-18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2004

Spiritual Warfare

 

A letter from a missionary out in the jungles of New Guinea writing to his friends at home caught the nature of spiritual warfare: Man, it is great to be in the thick of the fight, to draw the old devil’s heaviest guns, to have him at you with depression and discouragement, slander, disease.

He doesn’t waste time on a lukewarm bunch.

He hits good and hard when a fellow is hitting him.

You can always measure the weight of your blow by the one you get back.

When you’re on your back with fever and at your last ounce of strength, when some of your converts backslide, when you learn that your most promising inquirers are only fooling, when your mail gets held up, and some don’t bother to answer your letters, /is that the time to put on mourning?/

No sir! */That’s the time to pull out the stops and shout Hallelujah!/*

The old fellow’s getting it in the neck and hitting back.

Heaven is leaning over the battlements and watching.

*/Will he stick with it?/*

And as they see who is with us, as they see the unlimited reserves, the boundless resources, as they see the impossibility of failure, how disgusted and sad they must be when we run away.

*/Glory to God! We’re not going to run away.

We’re going to stand./*

Spiritual warfare was a part of the Christian life in the early church and it is just as relevant today.

Many of the Ephesians were saved out of the occult and would have experienced first hand the power of God in setting them free.

It was in Ephesus that the sons of Sceva a Jewish chief priest tried to exorcise a spirit from a possessed man.

They were overcome by the man, or should I say the spirit in the man.

So Paul instructs believers how to be victorious over Satan.

He answers the question, */Can Christians stand against the wiles of the devil?/ * */We will see: 1/**/.

Our Accessories, 2. Our Adversary, 3. Our Armor 4. Our Assistance /*

 

A wise soldier examines his enemy and his methods of attack before the battle.

He studies his own weapons and plans the warfare beforehand.

Likewise, Christians need to study their adversary and learn about him and his methods of attack.

They need to know about their armor and how to use it in the battle.

1.

Our Accessories/ //- Power, Protection & Purpose/

* *

*Ephesians 6:10-11:* /Finally, my brethren, *be strong* in the Lord and in the power of His might.

*Put on* the whole armor of God, that *you may be able to stand* against the wiles of the devil.//

/

 

/a.

*Power*/ ... / *Be strong* in the Lord and in the *power* of His *might.*/*

*

 

The Lord doesn’t */command/* us to be strong in ourselves, but in Him.

We must draw strength from God.

The words */be strong/* *ἐνδυναμόω* mean */to be empowered, enabled, made strong/*.

The word */power/* *κράτος* means the force needed to overcome resistance.

God empowers us through Christ in us.

The word */might/* *ἰσχύς* carries the idea of */inherent strength/*, or */an unlimited reserve of power./*

God has made available to us all the power we need.

We just have to draw on it by faith!

This */command/* is in the /present continuous tense/.

Paul */commands/* believers to be constantly strengthened by the Lord Jesus Christ.

*/Do you do this every day?/*/ *We should!*/

Illustration of a match tied to a nail.

We must resist in God's strength.

Submit to his rule.

*James 4:7:* /Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you/.

/b.

*Protection*/.... */Put on/*/ the whole *armor of God.

*/

 

The second */command /*Paul gives is to */put on/* the whole armor of God.

The words */put on/* *ἐνδύω* mean */to clothe yourself./*

It means /to get dressed/.

Paul */commands/* us to do this.

This is our responsibility, not God's.

The Lord provides the armor, but */commands/* us to put it on.

We do this by prayer and faith.

*/Some may feel that the armor spoken of here is only a metaphor and should not be considered as real./*

/But why then does Paul *command* us to do something that is impossible?/

He repeats the command in verse 13 and then describes the armor in detail.

/What does the armor look like?

Where does it go?

/It is described as the */Armor of God/* and is therefore of heavenly origin and design.

The warfare we are involved is of a spiritual nature.

*/Therefore we place this spiritual armor on our spirit to defeat a spiritual foe like the devil.

/*

 

A good example of this is found in*/ /1 Samuel 17:43-47.

*/So the Philistine [Goliath] said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!

Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a shield.

But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

/

/ /

Goliath cursed David by his gods or demons.

David's strength and protection came from the Lord.

He fought against Goliath by faith claiming God's power and victory.

He withstood Goliath in the Lord’s Name.

Make no mistake, this was spiritual warfare.

/c.

*Purpose*/....* /that/*/ you *may be able* *to stand against* the wiles of the devil./

Illustration of a Chess Game

 

I used to play chess at school.

To play well you need to be able to think and plan many moves ahead.

You would try to work out what your opponent would do and then counterattack.

A great deal of planning and strategy was involved before every move.

Satan plans his attack in a similar way.

Paul says the */purpose/* for the armor is to enable us to */stand/* /against the devil's wiles./

The word */wiles/* means */cunning or craftiness/*.

Satan plans and schemes to make us stumble.

He is an expert strategist, and without God's word, power and armor we will always lose.

Satan uses many weapons such as pride, lust, fear and deception.

*1 Peter 5:8-10:* /Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring *lion*, seeking whom he may devour./* 2 Corinthians 11:3:* /But I fear, lest somehow, as the *serpent* deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

/*2 Corinthians 11:14:* /And no wonder!

For Satan himself transforms himself into an *angel of light*.

He comes to us in many forms,/ */like a lion seeking to devour, like a serpent seeking to deceive, and like an angel of light seeking to distract us from Christ.

/*/Do you pray for God’s strength and protection every day?

You should!

Without the Lord’s provision for battle we will be defeated!/

2. Our Adversary  - /Principalities & Powers/

 

Illustration of Wrestling

 

/Have you ever watched world wrestling?/

I reckon that it’s rigged.

All the same the idea is to get the opponent pinned down so that he cannot move.

The word */wrestling,/* *πάλη**,* means /hand to hand combat/.