FORWARD!
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 3, 2024 under 2024 |
Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from March 3, 2024 from Ephesians 6:18-20
Theme: In spreading the good news of Jesus into the enemy’s territory, we’re to take up three powerful spiritual weapons.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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Over the past several weeks, we’ve been looking at the armor of the believer.
It all began with the apostle Paul reminding us—as Jesus’ followers—that we live the blessedness of the Christian life in the midst of an intense spiritual battlefield. As he affirmed at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, we have all of the rich spiritual blessings in the heavenly places as our present possession through faith in Jesus. But we’re called upon to hold on to those blessings and put them to use while under the threat of fierce spiritual opposition. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-13;
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. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 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 (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Dear brothers and sisters; I don’t believe we can remind ourselves too often of this. To not recognize that we’re in the midst of a great cosmic battle is to ignore the reality of our situation to our own loss. These are dark and difficult times; and many professing believers around us have already fallen by the wayside—and have become casualties in the battle for the faith—because they didn’t take our situation in this world seriously. And so; Paul’s urgent appeal to his Christian readers back in his day is even more relevant to us in our own:
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God … (vv. 14-17).
So then; there’s our situation. And there also are the provisions that God has given us for our situation. These things are the pieces of the defensive armor that God has provided for us—and that we’re urged to faithfully ‘take up’ so that we’ll ‘withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand’. Each piece of armor is absolutely necessary, and is worthy of our fullest consideration. We cannot leave a single piece out.
That’s why we’ve spent the past several weeks examining each piece of defensive armor, learning what its purpose is, and considering carefully the call to take it up and wear it faithfully. And as we now come to verses 18-20, we find that Paul is still writing to us on that same theme. But the focus has changed slightly. Whereas he had been writing about our provision in a defensive sense, he now takes up the whole matter of our provision in an offensive sense. He puts himself forward as a living example to his brothers and sisters; and writes that they’re to be
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (vv. 18-20).
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Now; imagine for a moment that a mighty king sent out his army into the battlefield to face an enemy. Imagine that he had provided every soldier with the necessary armor that would protect them from the spears, and flaming arrows, heavy stones that would be flung at them. Imagine that he ensured that when the enemy came upon them in hand-to-hand combat, every one of his soldiers was fully protected with shields and breastplates and helmets and other protective gear; so that none of the enemy’s blows could harm them.
And when the attack was finally over, imagine further that he then called them all back to himself, took inventory, and found that not a single one of them had been harmed or lost. Imagine that he told them how proud he was of them; that he had sent them out into danger, but that they faithfully wore the armor, that they withstood all the blows, and that they have now come home safe and sound.
Wouldn’t you have to wonder what the point of it all would have been? What good is an army, for which the only goal was to be sent out to be ‘protected’ and return home ‘unharmed’? Why even send them out in the first place? Wouldn’t the purpose of all those defensive measures have been to enable those soldiers to make advances? Wouldn’t a king only arm them, and provide protection for them, with the intention that they marched into the enemy’s territory and made a decisive conquest?
And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; that’s our situation. I use the analogy of an army in the midst of warfare to describe our situation carefully and selectively; because, as the apostle Paul has already told us, our battle is not against ‘flesh and blood’ people. Even when people make themselves out to be the enemies of our Lord, we don’t ‘war’ against them. Instead, we seek to love them and win them. They—if we would look at them as we should—are the prize in the battle; not the enemy to be attacked. Instead, our warfare is directed against those spiritual forces of the devil that have taken those people captive. And in that case, we don’t hesitate to call it ‘warfare’. But there’s a reason why the Lord didn’t simply take us all to heaven immediately after we believed. There’s a reason why He left us on earth and equipped us for the armor of battle. It’s so that we may then enter into the devil’s territory and do battle for Jesus’ kingdom; bringing the life-transforming, soul-delivering good news of the gospel right into the midst of this fallen world.
Think of our mighty King—the Lord Jesus. Think of how He Himself has taken up the offensive against the devil’s dominion. We’re told in Hebrews 2:14-15;
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Our Lord has marched into the devil’s territory on a great rescue mission! He Himself took captivity captive! He has entered the strong man’s house and plundered his goods. And now, He calls us to likewise go forward for Him into the battle—faithfully wearing the defensive armor He has provided—so that we can make advances for His kingdom’s cause. He gave us this command as His Great Commission to us:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
We’re on a campaign, in the midst of this hostile world, for the hearts and souls and minds of people who have been blinded by the devil and held prisoner by him to do his will. And the devil throws everything that he can at us in order to prevent us from making progress in that advance; because every rescued soul will have a part in his ultimate doom. Our goal in this world, then, is not merely a ‘defensive’ one, but rather ultimately an ‘offensive’ one. As the apostle Paul once put it in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4;
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ … (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
And that’s why this morning’s passage is so important. In it, we see what our offensive weapons are. It shows us that, in spreading the good news of Jesus into the enemy’s territory, we’re to take up three powerful spiritual weapons. In verse 18, we’re taught to take up ‘a dependency on prayer’. In verse 19, we’re taught to take up ‘a boldness in proclamation’. And in verse 20, we’re taught to take up something rather surprising; and that’s ‘a readiness to suffer’ for Jesus’ sake.
When we put on the full armor of God, and then take up these three powerful, God-blessed spiritual weapons in the authority of Jesus and march with them into the devil’s territory, it becomes the devil’s worst nightmare.
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So then; let’s look at each of these pieces of offensive weaponry one by one and learn about them—with the apostle Paul presenting himself as an example of their use.
The first weapon is one that we could easily spend the whole morning considering. It’s what we find in verse 18. Paul wrote, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints …” Our first great piece of offensive weaponry, then, is …
1. A DEPENDENCY ON PRAYER.
Prayer is the greatest weapon that has ever been entrusted to human beings in all of the created universe. That affirmation may sound like an exaggeration—especially when considering all of the fearsome earthly weapons that the nations of the world currently threaten to use upon one another. But all of those earthly weapons are—in the final analysis—destructive in nature; and the destruction they bring about can only, at the most, be temporal in duration. But prayer is a spiritual weapon, empowered by God, that is wondrously constructive in nature. And the effects that it brings about are eternal in nature, because by prayer, we frail human beings are permitted and enabled to actually move the hand of almighty God into action for the eternal purposes of His glory.
Think of what the Lord Jesus Himself told us about this mighty weapon called prayer. He said;
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12-13).
If those words from our Lord are true, then this makes prayer to the Father—offered up in the name of His Son—the most powerful force on earth that has ever been entrusted to human beings. One nation may become terrified whenever a neighboring nation begins to stockpile great weapons. But it’s even more terrifying to the enemy of our souls to see the church gather together in prayer.
Now; the particular focus of what the apostle Paul is telling us about prayer is with respect to our spiritual battle for the spread of the gospel. And so; with that in mind, consider the particulars of what the apostle Paul wrote about how this mighty weapon should be used. First, he says that we should be “praying always”. Literally, it’s “in all occasions” or “at all times”. And this teaches us that—in this battle that we’re in—we must be praying in every circumstance.
I think that one of the unfortunate things that we tend to do as believers is think of prayer as a ‘sacred’ thing that’s separate and distinct from ordinary life. But in reality, prayer ought to be an attitude of heart in which we continually keep the lines of communication open with the Lord—integrating prayer into all of our daily life – preserving an ongoing sense of dependency upon Him for every circumstance and every decision. As one preacher has put it, we should never have to begin a time of prayer by saying, “Dear Lord, we now come into Your presence …”; because we should never have left His presence in the first place.1 Just as a soldier in the midst of an active battlefield would want to keep in constant contact with his field commander, we too need to be “praying always”.
Second, Paul said we’re to pray “with all prayer and supplication”. The word “prayer” is a general term that speaks of an open attitude of reverent worship and dependency upon God. But the word “supplication” narrows the meaning of those prayers down to specific requests about specific needs. And this means that, in the midst of the battlefield for the faith, we need to be bringing our requests and concerns to God through all kinds of prayer.
God has given us all kinds of ways to pray in our various times of need. In Philippians 4:6-7, he wrote;
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
Or think of what he wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1;
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men … (1 Timothy 2:1).
Out in the field of battle—as we bring the gospel into the devil’s territory—we need to make use of the various ways God has given us to pray.
Third, Paul mentions the power source for our prayers. He said we should pray “in the Spirit”. Throughout this wonderful little letter, Paul has urged us as followers of Jesus to rely on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in all that we do; and this would certainly include our prayers. So; this teaches us to make sure to pray through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is our powerful resource in the battle for the faith. But so often, while in the heat of the battle, we don’t always know how best to pray. Some people’s hearts are hardened in this way, and others in that way. Sometimes the needs are in this area, and sometimes they’re in that area. But we have a wonderful Helper in our prayers—if we will turn to Him and trust Him. In Romans 8:26-27, Paul wrote;
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
A fourth thing Paul mentions with respect to our prayers is that—because we’re in the midst of a battlefield in which we strive to bring the good news to people—we should keep on “being watchful to this end”; or as it can be translated, “being watchful in all things”. This teaches us that we must pray with alertness. We shouldn’t let ourselves fall into the bad habit of praying in vague generalities; instead, we should keep our eyes open, keep vigilant, remain observant, and pray with strategic intelligence.
The apostle Peter put it to us very simply when he wrote;
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers … (1 Peter 4:7).
A fifth thing that Paul tells us is that we ought to pray “with all perseverance and supplication”. We’re to pray specifically about specific needs—as is implied by the word ‘supplication’. But often, when we apply our prayers to specific needs and situations in this way, it’s easy to give up and quit when we don’t see immediate answers. Therefore, he calls us to add ‘perseverance’ to our ‘supplications’. This teaches us to pray on the battlefield without giving up. As Paul puts it in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we’re to “pray without ceasing”—that is, without ‘calling it quits’; but rather, keeping at it until God gives the answer. As it says in Luke 18:1, we “ought always to pray and not lose heart”.
And finally, notice a sixth thing that Paul says should characterize our prayers out on the forward march together into the enemy’s territory. We ought to be praying “for all the saints …” This obviously means that we should be praying for each other, as fellow soldiers in the cause of Jesus’ kingdom. We ought to be checking on one another, and upholding one another with our prayers. But I’d like to suggest something even more. The word “saint” refers to anyone who has been “set apart” and “sanctified” unto the Lord Jesus Christ as belonging to Him. And that would even include those “saints” who—in the sovereign grace of God—have not yet believed because they have not yet heard. Wouldn’t it be right that we pray for them too?—and that God would protect them, and deliver them from the devil’s clutches, and—in due time—open their hearts to His gospel?
In Acts 13:48, I read something that has always intrigued and inspired me. We’re told how the missionaries Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in Pisidon Antioch. There were a lot of conflicts along the way. It was a very fierce spiritual battlefield. But in that verse, we’re told, “And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” God’s mighty gospel will never fail with regard to those whom He has appointed to hear and be saved. And as we go out into the battlefield to bring the gospel to them—praying for ‘all the saints’—shouldn’t we be praying confidently for those saints too?
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Now; as I said earlier, I think we could spend the whole morning just talking about that one weapon alone—the mighty weapon of prayer. But there’s another weapon that Paul mentions.
We can see that, in speaking of prayer, he asked his readers to be sure to pray for him too. In verse 19, he went on to say, “and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel …” And this leads us to another mighty weapon that, as we take the good news out into the enemy’s territory, we’re to use against him …
2. A BOLDNESS IN PROCLAMATION.
Paul, you see, had been given the glorious task of revealing a mystery—a truth that had been hidden in the plan and intention of God from eternity, but that had been revealed by Him in time. In Ephesians 3, the apostle wrote about his part in this mystery when he said;
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:1-19).
Paul counted it a great privilege to make this mystery known. But it was a costly privilege. It had already landed him in prison. And so, he asks that he be given boldness in opening his mouth in proclaiming it. In fact, he asks for boldness twice; asking in verse 20 “ that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
When we go out into this world, speaking faithfully and clearly the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it will bring trouble upon us. That trouble comes from our spiritual enemy; who seeks to intimidate us into silence. He tries to terrify us into making the gospel message unclear—making it into something that is less offensive to the world. And that’s why boldness in the proclamation of the gospel—speaking it forth clearly and plainly, in a way that is in accord with the testimony of the Bible and in the power of the Holy Spirit—is a mighty ‘offensive weapon’ in the battle for the faith.
May God help us to speak the good news in the devil’s territory with boldness and confidence—not being silenced—not watering down the message.
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And that leads us to one more weapon that’s mentioned in this passage. It’s one that I hadn’t really recognized as a weapon in the past; but that I now do. Paul mentions it in verse 20 when he wrote about the act of making known the mystery of the gospel, “for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
What a name! An ‘ambassador in chains’! As he already told us in Ephesians 4:1, he’s in prison as he’s writing this letter—calling himself “the prisoner of the Lord”. To preach the good news in the midst of the devil’s domain cost him his freedom … and it eventually would cost him his life. But this leads us to notice one more great weapon in the battle for the faith …
3. A READINESS TO SUFFER.
Have you ever thought of the idea that being ready to suffer for the cause of the gospel—being ready to suffer out of a love for the lost people of this world, and for the longing to bring them the good news that saves their souls—is a threat to the devil? He has already silenced many would-be ambassadors by threatening them with suffering if they preach. But when he encounters that man or woman who will not be silenced—who is actually, by God’s grace, willing and ready to suffer for the gospel if needs be—the devil doesn’t know what to do! Such a believer can’t be stopped. Their readiness to suffer is a powerful weapon in the battle for the faith.
Jesus once told His followers;
“You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (Matthew 10:18-20).
Paul had such a readiness to suffer for the gospel that at the end of his life—in 2 Timothy 4:17-19—he wrote;
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:17-19).
A faithful soldier in the battle for the faith—one who is ready to suffer with confidence in the ultimate victory of the gospel—is a mighty weapon in the hand of God that causes terror to the devil.
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Now; in closing, may I show you yet another picture of this battle that we’re in? It’s described to us in dreadful detail in Revelation 12.
We’re told there about the devil and his army of fallen angels, as they battle against the hosts of God in the heavens. He—along with his evil army—was cast down to the earth, and he’s described as turning all of his hatred and rage against those who follow Jesus Christ and believe His gospel. The devil, we’re told, accuses them before God day and night. That’s the battlefield we’re living in today. And in Revelation 12:11, we’re told this:
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death (Revelation 12:11).
Can you see the weapons by which the devil is defeated? Don’t they reflect something of the three things Paul told us in this passage: dependency on prayer, boldness in proclamation, and a readiness to suffer for Jesus’ sake?
Dear brothers and sisters; as we faithfully put on the armor for defense, let’s make sure that we also go forward in Jesus’ name bearing these three mighty weapons for conquest—and thus overcoming the devil and delivering souls for our Lord!
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1Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989), p. 60.
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