“The Invisible War.”
Text: Ephesians 6:10-20
“The moment you turn to Christ, Hell has your name up on a big screen, and the more you serve your Savior, the bigger your name gets on that screen. The more like Christ you become, the harder it becomes to continue. The more help you need. The truth of the matter is that the devil will bother you and fight you and oppose everything you do for the rest of your life. Paul gives us the secret to success; ‘be strong in the Lord.’”
- Be strong in the Lord.
Ephesians 6:10 -12
Daniel 10:12-20
Daniel 10:12-13
Isaiah 14:12-15
- Put on the whole armor of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
- Praying at all times.
Ephesians 6:18-20
Ephesians 5:11
Text: Ephesians 6:10-20
INTRO: The Army staff was planning war games but did not want to use live ammunition. Instead, they informed the men: "In place of a rifle, you go, ’bang, bang.’ In place of a knife, you go, ’stab, stab.’ In place of a hand grenade, you go, ’lob, lob.’" The game was in progress when one of the soldiers saw one of the enemies. He went, "bang, bang," then nothing happened. He ran forward and went, "stab, stab," but nothing happened. He ran back and went, "Lob, lob," but still, nothing happened. Finally, he walked up to the enemy and said, "You are not playing fair. I went ’bang, bang,’ and ’stab, stab,’ and ’lob, lob,’ and you haven’t fallen dead yet!" The enemy responded, "RUMBLE, RUMBLE. I’M A TANK."
* Beloved, obviously, a rifle, knife, or hand grenade are no match for a tank. And we are no match for our enemy without the Lord’s help and strength.
Title: “The Invisible War.”
Theme: “The moment you turn to Christ, Hell has your name up on a big screen, and the more you serve your Savior, the bigger your name gets on that screen. The more like Christ you become, the harder it becomes to continue. The more help you need. The truth of the matter is that the devil will bother you and fight you and oppose everything you do for the rest of your life. Paul gives us the secret to success; ‘be strong in the Lord.’”
* This morning, I would like to share with you our marching orders!
- Be strong in the Lord.
Ephesians 6:10 -12; “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
* The word ‘finally’ reveals that this is Paul’s final section of his letter to the Ephesians. If you’re a new Christian or if you have just come off the street, and this is the first time you ever heard the lines of this passage, probably, at best, it struck you as rather quaint.
* The image of Christian soldiers dressed up in tin pot armor just doesn’t resonant with people today. There is no comparison with Roman armor and modern combat armor we have today.
* When we look at the Roman armor, we laugh at its simplicity. We are so use to the modern bullet prof vests, weapons and missiles we forget that in Paul’s day the Roman army conquered the world.
* Paul most likely was watching his Roman guards practice and train (verse 20; ‘for which I am an ambassador in chains…”). They were with him 24 hours a day. He would become very familiar with their uniforms and tools of war.
* The word “struggle” in verse 12 refers to a wrestling match. I like how The Message translated this verse: “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”
* Warren Wiersbe the great Biblical scholar coined the phrase: “The Christian life is a battleground, not a playground.” When a person becomes a Christian, the last thing they need to be thinking is that the battle is over. The truth of the matter is when a person gets saved, the battle is not over. You’ve merely switched sides.
* We need to wake up to the warfare that’s going on in the heavenly realm! We can get a glimpse of it in Daniel 10:12-20. There, we find that Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days, awaiting a word from the Lord. Then, an angel appeared to him 21 days later with the answer. What took him so long? He was fighting the enemy in the heavens.
Daniel 10:12-13; “Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,”
* Nearly two out of three adults—62%—agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” This response remained relatively consistent throughout the Nineties. Among the more surprising findings, however, are that most born-again Christians deny Satan’s existence (52%); nearly three-quarters of Catholics say the devil is non-existent (72%); and women are more likely than men to reject Satan’s existence (64% vs. 59%). Barna Research Group, Ltd., Oxnard, CA
* It all began when Satan wanted to become like the “most high God.” Isaiah records what took place with the Archangel, then called Lucifer (which means “Son of the Morning”).
Isaiah 14:12-15; “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.”
* Demons are like germs looking for someone to infect with their lies.
- Put on the whole armor of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17; “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”
* Beloved, we are called to take up the whole armor of God (verse 13). Notice that it is required for the success of withstanding the evil day and the schemes of the Devil. Now, I think we would all agree that ‘evil day’ is an appropriate description of America in 2024.
* The first thing we need is the belt of truth (verse 14). No other time in my life has the truth been so corrupted. Truth is whatever you think it is and if you tell a lie enough times it becomes the truth. Refusing to buy into the lies of this present age and its activities.
* Next, we are to wear righteousness as a breastplate to protect our core or upper body (verse 14). In verse 15, Paul says we are to wear the shoes of the gospel of peace. Peace sneakers! Wherever we go the gospel goes with us.
* There are two Greek names for shields used by soldiers at that time. One is a small round shield called an “aspis.” The second is called a “thureos” which is a full-length shield made of wood and covered with padding and leather. The “thureos” shield protected the whole body. Do you know which shield is used to describe our shield of faith? “Thureos!” The shield of faith protects you from head to toe. With this shield we can extinguish all the flaming darts of the enemy. (Turnip fights with Danny and Jimmy! Trash can lid. Like Oscar the grouch lived in. When you raise your shield to take the turnip you are momentarily blind. That’s why it’s called the shield of faith.)
* In verse 17, Paul says we are to take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. The sword is the only weapon that can be used for both defense and attack.
* Beloved the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Now there’s two things to be said about this sword. First, it’s a short sword. So, it was designed for hand-to-hand combat. But secondly it was also designed for use in a battle column, shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers.
Hebrews 4:12-13; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
- Praying at all times.
Ephesians 6:18-20; “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
* Word and prayer are linked together. Satan does not want you and I to be students of the Word or to practice prayer on a regular basis. Let me give you three reasons why this is so: (1) In His Word, God is speaking to us. In our prayers, we are speaking to God. Satan wants to disrupt these lines of communication between God and His children. (2) In God’s Word, He has promised the believer provisions for living a successful Christian life. By our prayers, those promised provisions are brought into our life to meet our daily needs. Satan wants to keep those provisions of God from becoming realities in our life by keeping us out of the prayer closet.
* In modern warfare prayer would be your communications equipment, a walkie-talkie or satellite phone. Through prayer we can receive direction from our great Commander and Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ. We can also call heaven and request an angelic fly over to drop “smart bombs” on the enemy to ensure our victory.
* Those who don’t fight the good fight of the faith end up fighting with one another! We are not to fight with one another. We are to fight against the enemy! Let’s not pick at one another. Let’s pick on the enemy!
Ephesians 5:11 “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Ben Wofford caught a bass worth $21, 786 on April 11, 1992, at the Texas Bass Championship Tournament on Lake Conroe. His 7.64-pound fish was the fourth largest fish overall but according to Rule Number 6, Ben’s fish didn’t qualify. The fish was fine, but Ben wasn’t. Rule 6 clearly stated that all contestants must wear the official tournament hat they were issued at check-in. Ben opted instead to wear his lucky cap and left the tournament headgear in his partner’s truck. Because of Ben’s small error, he was denied any prize money.
* The Bible is clear, Put on the whole armor of God! (McHenry’s Quips, Quotes & Other Notes, Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody, MA., 1998, pg. 220)