God's Purpose is Dangerous

Robert Frazier

The Plan (Ephesians 2022) • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Ephesians 6:10–24

Spiritual Warfare

0 ratings

· 10 views

There is a real battle in the heavenly realm that is opposed to God's Plan for making one people.

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Put Your Helmet On

Ephesians 6:10–24 (NLT)

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.

Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

About every two years I will rewatch Saving Private Ryan. For anyone who lived in the 20th century at all, understanding the second world war is vital to understanding the world it shaped.

D-day was a culmination of 6 years of war across Europe and around the world....but the Americans landing on the beaches of Normandy had only been a part of the war for 2 and a half years.

Our country was sitting on the sidelines, supporting the allies with the lend-lease act and pretending that our moat of oceans around us would protect us from the war raging across 3 continents.....but pretending that the battle wasn’t happening, didn’t change the reality on the ground. London was being bombed to smitherines.

France was no longer independent. Italy was lost to German threats.

As much as we wanted to pretend that the war would not effect us....the Japanese foolishly woke up what admiral Yamamoto called: The Sleeping Giant.....

and if that is not a great metaphor for spiritual warfare, I don’t know what is.

The 2 realms:

-Physical

-Spiritual

We live in a materialistic world built on our scientific method of experientialism

and this is a great tactic for post enlightenment western world

-keep us on the sideline.

-rationalism keeps us in our heads not our hearts

-we ignore our bodies, our emotions, our spirits and use our eyes and brain as the only way of knowing.

But there is this other reality that we walk through every day....but we don’t see it....like fish in water.

And it is not neutral

The battle is real.

And Satan often overplays his hand....reaping so much destruction that it awakes God’s people to the battle raging around us.

1 Peter 5:8 NLT

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

lion circles its prey and waits until it is weak, slow or not paying attention.

Cats are opportunistic....lazy

This is our enemy. But he springs into action when there is opportunity.

We don’t get many glimpses into the spiritual realm, when we do, we should pay attention:

Daniel, 21 day fast, waiting for God’s voice to come and explain this vision he had....and this is what was happening.

Daniel 10:12–11:1 NLT

Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. Then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.” Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.” He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince. I have been standing beside Michael to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)

There is this spiritual battle raging around us in the multiverse that we can’t see. Physics is giving us language to describe this parallel reality we swim through.

the stakes are high.

-lies keep us imprisoned

-you don’t matter

-you’re on your own

-This is natural

-There is no help coming

-God doesn’t care

-Confusion is normal

-You don’t deserve clarity.

There is an enemy that is silencing and blocking God’s messengers.

-today there is an enemy using our flesh against us

-distraction

-busyness

-pleasure

-fighting the wrong fights

-But we have a secret weapon

-The Holy Spirit’s presence with us (Paraclete)

-The armor is all about the Spirit (God’s Spirit’s) protection of HIs people

New Living Translation Chapter 6

14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.

Truth is our essential piece of protection:

-holds us together

-holds our weapons

-We must speak truth

-learning circle constantly

New Living Translation Chapter 6

15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

What gives us freedom? (movement is freedom)

-Shalom Eirene

-Serve the Good King

-Who will triumph

-Long arc of history bends toward Justice.

New Living Translation Chapter 6

16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

Faith is our defense: Where else can we turn but to God when we are under assault:

Ukraine has 2 options: resist or yield. There is no middle ground.

You can either put your faith in the words of the Father or succomb to the rule of evil in your life, in our world.

Christian Fatalism....not what we’re talking about.

Life or Death…this is the choice.

Lean into the author of life or embrace the enemy who seeks to kill steal and destroy.

Our faith is Rational.

-Ebenezers....markers in history

-remember God’s faithfulness....stack some rocks....this is our protection from discouragement.

-My own battles with discouragement.

New Living Translation Chapter 6

17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

These feel like throw aways at the end....like Paul was finishing the Ensemble....but they have something important to say:

Like first time in a Sumo suit, nothing can touch you.

Why helmets create more concussions in football than rugby without helmets?

-We can fight because we don’t have to fear. Salvation (God’s ultimate victory is assured, resurrection as our ultimate +1 life)

-The only offensive weapon available to us is Truth: God’s Word....its also how the ultimate battle will be won. (Jesus mouth sword)

-Truth is a threat to the rulers of this world because it exposes the weakness of their offers.

-temptation is a lie that if I exchange pleasure/relief for righteousness, I will be better off

-The systems of this world want to lie to us about:

-power

-sex

-money

-family

-The enemy is the accuser: uses lies to condemn

New Living Translation Chapter 10

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

But some of you are thinking about the important question: Why is it so hard? Why is it contested? Why did God make the world this way?

Its an old trope but important:

-Relationship requires choice (otherwise it is slavery)

-Choice in this context means the choice to walk away from life toward death and destruction.

-For God to set all things right means he has to vanquish or transform his enemies.

-The Prince of Darkness

-Human Flesh (battlefield and territory owned by the enemies)

-Systems of this world (captive to satan)

But you see in two of those, God’s creation itself is both the prize to win in the war and enemies of God.

That is why the Gospel is such good news....God was willing to die for his enemies rather than vanquish them....so that some might repent, believe and become martyrs for the cause

This is true because it is self-evident.

-we are watching demons at work, embodying Russian soldiers and committing heinous war crimes.

-we are watching the systems of this world dehumanize God’s beloved children and treating them like animals

-we see the destruction of our bodies through relenting to the temptations of the flesh in every area of life.

Enemy: It is the source of all suffering in the world.

This is why we must resist. Our work to come against the schemes of the enemy is the way that God alleviates suffering in our world. It is the way that families are restored and communities thrive.

When we do this work of spiritual warfare, to stand strong against the schemes of the evil one, we see the kingdom of God come in power…we become a literal outpost of Kingdom Rule living in exile in enemy territory. Undermining the ruling authorities: (Donbass right now)

and Paul gives us this vital last very practical way to fight:

New Living Translation Chapter 6

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

-Word (wash over our minds)

-Truth (repent of lies)

-Prayer (in the spirit)

-Wokeness (stay alert and persistent)

-Hope (Shalom)

Some of you have stopped fighting....and the enemy has gained a foothold in your life:

-addiction

-broken relationships

-discouragement

-Tired

The first act of resistance is speaking the truth:

-Repent---the kingdom of God is at hand

Some of you have Grown tired in the fight:

-Not on your own

-Spirit in you

-Comrades in arms right here to fight alongside each other.

-Talk to the elders or your Micro Church to share your battles and fight with the kingdom tools

Some of you have been walking through life as if there is no war at hand.

-You have succumb to this world

-Time to wake up and see the ways you have been taken hostage

-Read God’s word, pray, listen sit with a friend (start mining your life for lies that bring suffering to you and others)

and I covet your prayers like Paul did.

New Living Translation Chapter 6

19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.