SERMON: THE LORD'S PRAYER: INTRODUCTION

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

 

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 6:9-13

 

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

 “‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from the evil one.’

 

-- this morning we're going to be starting a series on the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples -- the prayer that we know best as "The Lord's Prayer,” although this prayer was clearly not a prayer that He prayed, but a prayer that He gave to us as a model for us to use in our personal prayer lives

-- this prayer is found in two places in the Bible -- here in Matthew 6 and then we see a parallel passage in Luke 11-- we're going to be looking at the two passages together in order to learn as much as possible about this prayer and how we are supposed to apply and use this prayer in our lives today

-- while most of us know this prayer from the King James Version, we’ll be studying it here in the NIV, so that we can get a slightly different perspective and hopefully get a little deeper understanding from hearing it and looking at it from a more modern translation

 

-- as we begin this series, let me share with you a story about Charles Haddon Spurgeon and his thoughts on the power of prayer in the life of a Christian and in our churches

-- Spurgeon is known as the greatest preacher that England ever produced -- through his ministry, England experienced a great revival and thousands of people came to Christ and experienced God's hand working in a mighty way in their land and in their lives -- as such, people would travel from great distances to hear Spurgeon share from God’s word and speak on the Bible

-- one day, a group of American evangelists had occasion to visit Spurgeon in England and attend a worship service with him -- after the service, they met him at the door of the sanctuary as they were leaving and commented on what a great sermon he had preached and how much they had enjoyed the service

-- he asked them if they would like a tour of his church -- they were ecstatic and, of course, took Spurgeon up on his offer -- Spurgeon left another minister at the door to say goodbye to the parishioners and began to lead this group of evangelists from America through his church

-- Spurgeon showed them through the main sanctuary, pointing out the pulpit and choir areas, as well as some other features of the facility -- as they were finishing their tour, he asked them, "Before you go, would you like to see our power plant?" -- they weren't really interested in seeing the power plant, but it was Spurgeon, so they followed

-- he led them into the basement and opened a door -- the room was filled with people on their knees, praying and interceding before God for the ministry of the church and for their pastor -- Spurgeon turned to the American evangelists and said, "This is the powerhouse of our church -- if anything happened in the service today, it was not because of anything I did but because of what went on in this room this morning."

 

II.  The Decline of Prayer

-- there is an important lesson there that we have forgotten in our churches in America today -- by and large, the church in America is in decline -- all of the major mainline denominations have steadily lost members over the past 20-30 years -- we have seen major splits within denominations on social and cultural issues -- and concerning the pandemic and the other serious issues plaguing our society today, the church has been mostly silent

-- yes, there have been minor pockets of revival in some churches and in some denominations -- especially among the younger generations -- but by and large, we are not experiencing power in our churches and we are not seeing God moving through our land as He has in the past

-- there are a lot of reasons for why this is happening -- but I believe that the main reason for the decline in the church today is because we have forsaken prayer -- we have forsaken our communication and relationship with the Father -- and we’re seeing the results of a church that is missing its source of power -- it’s as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: our churches today have a form of godliness, but we lack the power to truly be witnesses of Christ in our world today -- all because we have eliminated prayer from our churches and our lives

-- and when we do pray, our prayers are brief and generic and void of true intimacy and power -- we have become too hurried in our lives to take time to pray as we are taught in the Bible -- we have become a people who are accustomed to getting what we want right now, and we do not want to wait for anything, including the hand of the Father in our lives -- our desire for instant news, instant weather, instant food, and instant entertainment has carried over into our spiritual lives

-- we might throw up a quick "McPrayer" or so, but we rarely take time and pour out our hearts before God asking for His blessings or His power to come upon our lives and our churches -- we may sing "Sweet Hour of Prayer" but there aren't many of us who are going to the Lord in prayer for more than just a few minutes a day or right before a meal

 

-- secondly, we have forgotten the power and the purpose of prayer -- we tend to treat prayer as an afterthought -- like a spiritual spare tire -- something that we throw in our trunk and don't think about, just pulling it out from time to time as a last-ditch effort when emergencies crop up

-- I once heard about a church administrative council meeting where a large argument came up -- the people were divided about an issue and both sides were getting angrier by the minute -- finally, someone spoke up and said, "I think we need to take a moment and pray." -- another member dropped his head in his hands and said, "Oh no, has it come to that?"

 

-- another indicator of how we have forgotten the power and the purpose of prayer is evident in the derision we see in our culture today concerning the phrase we often use when consoling someone in the aftermath of sickness or death or a disaster, “you are in our thoughts and prayers”

-- I’m sure you’ve seen the backlash and the mockery of our culture today for those of us who use such a phrase today -- after one of the recent school shootings, political cartoons and memes were published that showed what our culture thinks of prayer today -- one cartoon showed a trash truck with a sign on the side that said, “Thoughts and Prayers” -- another showed a van pulling up and opening its doors to show nothing inside -- the caption read, “Great, the first truckload of your thoughts and prayers just arrived”

-- and, honestly, this derision is warranted when all we offer are empty prayers and nothing more -- when the response of the church to school shootings or natural disasters or other events is simply a glib, “We’ll pray for you”

-- the point of the critics is that action is needed to prevent future shootings or disasters, and their point is well made -- but it dismisses the reality of the power and purpose of prayer in the world today -- true prayer touches the heart of the Creator -- true prayer moves the heart of God -- and while we may not see His hand moving in observable ways, we know that prayer changes things -- that prayer causes God to act and to move in our lives

-- how many school shootings have been averted because of “thoughts and prayers?” -- how many lives have been saved because God moved in response to the prayers of the faithful? -- we cannot know this side of heaven -- but we have to know that true prayer -- prayers offered in faith and from the heart -- changes things, regardless of what the culture might say

 

-- John Wesley once said, "Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergy or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven on earth -- God does nothing but in answer to prayer."

-- If we want to experience God's power in our lives and see God bring about a revival in our church and in our land like He did in so many cities and nations in the Bible and throughout history, then we need to get serious about prayer in our lives and in our churches today --we need to be on our face before God asking Him to once again work in our midst -- asking Him to restore us spiritually -- asking Him to grow His church and to reverse the membership declines that we are seeing in our country today

 

-- finally, I think we have forgotten the importance that Christ placed on prayer -- Jesus was a great man of prayer -- throughout the gospels, we see a picture of Him putting an emphasis on prayer -- before and after major events in His life and ministry, Jesus sought the Father through prayer -- when He got overwhelmed with the crowds, Luke tells us in 5:16, "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" -- it was normal for Jesus to go to a solitary place and spend the night in prayer -- seeking God's face -- seeking God's guidance -- seeking God's presence -- Jesus saw the necessity and power of prayer, even in His life

-- but we tend to look at prayer as a minor part of our spiritual lives and our worship services -- we might open our meetings in prayers and we might have prayers in our services, but rarely do we gather and pray for the programs and ministries going on in the church

-- just consider this -- how many of us spent time in prayer this morning prior to this service? -- how many of us spent time asking God to move in our service today -- to reach down and touch our lives -- to be present with us in our worship and our fellowship? -- how many of you are in prayer for this church -- this community of faith -- outside of our time together here on Sundays? -- probably not very many

-- if we're honest with ourselves, we'd have to admit that we are not putting the importance on prayer as we should -- prayer should surround and bathe everything that we do in our churches and in our lives

-- God commands us to pray  -- He expects us to pray -- in addition to the example of Christ, throughout the Bible God commands us to: "Pray without ceasing” --  “continue in prayer” --  “in everything by prayer, let your request be made known unto God” --  “pray always, pray and not faint”  -- “men should pray everywhere” -- “praying always, with all prayer and supplication." -- and of course, "humble yourselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from your wicked ways."

 

-- prayer should not be an afterthought or a minor part of our lives -- it should be the most important thing that we do -- just as Jesus demonstrated with His life -- just as Spurgeon showed the American evangelists -- prayer should be the powerhouse in our lives and in our churches

-- if we are going to see anything happen in this church and in this community, then we are going to have to get more serious about prayer -- prayer for our churches, our pastors, our communities, and our country

-- we spend so much more time on Facebook and social media than we do in prayer to the One who can actually change things for the better

-- so, we are going to spend the next several weeks talking about prayer, specifically the Lord's prayer, in the hopes that it might help us recognize the importance of prayer in our spiritual lives and that it might waken a desire in our life to become more dedicated in our prayer life

-- let's look now at some background information on the Lord's Prayer as we begin this study together

 

III.  The Lord’s Prayer: Background and Context

-- as I said, the Lord's Prayer is found in two places in our Bible -- Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4

-- the passage in Matthew 6 is the one that we traditionally recite in our Protestant churches -- Matthew places this prayer in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus taught His disciples on a variety of kingdom issues -- within the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer is found within a series of teachings by Christ on prayer and fasting

-- Luke places this prayer right after the episode with Mary and Martha -- when Jesus visited Martha's house and she came and complained because her sister Mary sat listening to Jesus teach rather than helping with the household chores -- immediately after this, Luke tells us that Jesus' disciples came to Him after He finished praying and asked Him to teach them to pray -- Jesus gave them this prayer in response to their request

-- if you think about it, who better to teach us to pray than Christ -- not only did He exemplify a life of prayer, but He is the One that we are praying to -- Jesus knew exactly what He wanted us to say -- He knew exactly how He wanted us to say it -- if for no other reason than that, we should study this prayer simply because God Himself gave us this model prayer and told us to pray to Him in this manner

 

-- Matthew's version of the prayer is longer than the version of the prayer recorded in Luke's gospel -- in Matthew, the prayer includes an invocation and seven petitions to God -- the first three petitions ask for God's glorification and the last four petitions request divine help and guidance 

-- depending on the translation that you use, Matthew's version may also include a doxology, a closing statement of praise to God, such as we find in the Lord’s Prayer from the familiar King James Version of it -- although most of the early New Testament manuscripts do not include this doxology

-- Luke's version of the prayer is more abbreviated -- it is shorter, with an invocation and only five petitions to God -- flip over to Luke 11 and let's read Luke's version together

 

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

 

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

 

“‘Father,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins,

    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.’”

 

-- a little different from what we normally pray, isn't it? -- when you read this version it just doesn't seem complete, does it?

 

-- so, why do we have two versions of this prayer in our Bibles? -- well, it appears, based on the context and background of the two passages, that Jesus gave this prayer to His disciples on two different occasions -- the first at the sermon on the mount and the second in a more private setting

-- but, more importantly, having these two different versions in the Bible shows that Jesus did not design this prayer to be prayed as a liturgical recitation -- in other words, Jesus did not give us this prayer to pray back to Him word for word as it is written -- if that had been the case, it would be exactly the same in both Matthew and Luke's gospels

-- instead, this prayer is a given to us as a model of how to pray -- a guide for us to use and modify for our own personal use and personal need

-- as Eduard Schweizer said, "the Lord's Prayer is an aid to prayer -- a guide to be followed without being bound to this or that precise wording"

-- the pattern is the same in both versions, and this is how we should approach using this prayer in our time with the Lord --first, we offer up our praise and thanksgiving to God and then we pray about our needs -- finally, we close by praising God again in recognition of His having heard this prayer and His desire to meet us at the point of our need

 

            -- this prayer model from Jesus teaches us that right prayer begins with worship -- it puts the interests of God and the Kingdom of God before our personal, human interests -- it accepts beforehand the Father's will and sovereignty -- His right as our Lord and Creator to either grant or withhold answers to our prayers -- and then it presents petitions for our present need only, leaving the future to the Father's care and love (Scofield)

 

-- if you would, look at Matthew 6:5 and let’s look at some additional teachings from Jesus about how to pray that come right before He gives us the model of the Lord’s Prayer

 

Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 

-- this prayer that Jesus gave us was different from the prayers traditionally prayed by the Jewish people -- their prayers were more liturgical -- they had specific prayers that they prayed every single day and prayers that were recited word for word during festivals and worship ceremonies -- their prayers were primarily restricted to praise and adoration and very seldom included petitions to God to work in their personal lives

-- prayers like these are great ways to commune with God -- but, a problem with liturgical prayers like this is that they tend to become rote repetitions -- they just become something that we say and that we don't really think about it -- and praying like this can cause us to forget what and why we are praying in the first place

 

-- in the sermon on the mount -- before Jesus gave us the Lord’s prayer -- He warned us about our attitude in prayer and what our prayer life should look like

-- Jesus condemned hypocrisy in prayer -- it was common for the Pharisees and other religious leaders to make a show of prayer -- to stop on the street and to pray loudly towards heaven so that those passing by would see them praying and would praise them for their holiness

-- Jesus told us not to pray like this -- He said to not pray in public with the goal of seeking to gain the approval of man and not God -- and He told us not to pray with rote repetition of words and lots of words like the Gentiles, because the quantity of words was not what was important

-- praying like this is more to draw praise from man than it is to commune with the Father -- praying like this is for show and nothing more

-- I see this a lot when prayers are given in public settings, whether as invocations or as a prayer before special occasions, like retirements or anniversaries or other gatherings

-- time and time again, I hear the person leading the prayer and it sounds like they are giving a speech to the audience rather than to God -- they are not praying to God as Jesus taught, but praying to the crowd

-- I’m sure you’ve heard prayers like this before, too

 

-- Jesus says here that this is not how we are to pray -- and immediately after saying this, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as a model for us to follow when we prayed with the Father -- in doing so, He reminded us of the underlying purpose in prayer, which is to commune with our God and Creator -- to talk with Him -- to work on our relationship with Him -- to recognize Him in our lives and in all that is going on in our lives

-- in our prayers, we should praise Him and thank Him for what He has done and then tell Him what we need, recognizing that He and He alone is able to meet those needs -- our prayers should be personal and not merely mouthed dogmatic repetitions that are simply recited without meaning or understanding -- and our prayers should be directed to God, and not to a human audience

 

-- that is why this prayer that Jesus gave us here was a radical shift in the understanding of prayer -- instead of giving His disciples another prayer that they were to pray word for word like the rest of the prayers they had learned, Jesus gave them a model for prayer that was personal and relationship-based

-- we are told to come before God and to speak with Him because we are in a relationship with Him -- He is not an impersonal power but a personal God -- a God who knows us and loves us and cares about us and who wants us to talk with Him on a daily basis

-- we’re not trying to say the right words like in a magic spell so that God does what we want -- we’re not trying to find the right formula to get God to serve us or give us our heart’s desire -- no, we pray because we should be desiring a close relationship with God -- we pray because we want God and not what He can give us -- we pray in recognition of God as our Father and our Lord and our Creator

-- We need to recognize that prayer like this puts us into a close relationship with God -- It results in us turning ourselves over to God -- body, mind, and soul -- Prayer not only moves God to work in our lives, but prayer results in changing us, changing our hearts, and conforming our will to that of God

-- prayer like this changes everything

 

IV.  Closing

-- if we want to see a fresh outpouring of God's power and presence in our lives and in our church and in our communities, then we have to change our thinking about prayer and our practice with prayer

-- we have to get serious about prayer -- we must bathe our ministries in prayer -- We must bathe our worship services in prayer -- We must bathe our daily lives in prayer

-- To borrow a phrase from Maxie Dunnam, we must be immersed in prayer to such a point that prayer seeps from our bodies like a spring of refreshing water. 

-- We need to ask God to revive us.  We need to ask God to revive our church.  We need to ask God to revive our community and to heal our nation -- and we need to expect Him to move in response to our prayers

-- as we go through this series on the Lord's prayer, I want to encourage you to commit to becoming more dedicated in your prayer life

-- don't be satisfied with sending up little McPrayers while you're driving to work -- but spend time with God over these next few weeks -- spend time with His Word and spend time talking to Him and praying to Him for the things going on in your life and in this church

-- my hope in this series is that you come to a fresh understanding of the Lord’s prayer and that you use this to grow your prayer life and to grow your relationship with the Father

-- prayer is our avenue to communicate with the Father -- and as we pray, God moves and works in our lives in response to our prayers

-- let's start right now in this refocusing of our prayer life by going to the Father in prayer together as we close this message

-- let’s pray

SERMON: WRESTLING WITH GOD

 NAYLOR COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32:22-32

 

Genesis 32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- a couple of years ago, we stumbled across an outstanding sleeper movie called “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” starring Shia LeBeouf and Dakota Johnson -- it’s the story of two people who are running away from their pasts in search of a better future

            -- Tyler, played by Shia LeBeouf, is running from his ex-partners in the fishing business who are trying to hurt him for burning their fishing equipment -- Zak is a young man with Downs Syndrome who lives in a residential home with mostly older residents -- he runs away from his home to live out his dream of becoming a professional wrestler

            -- Tyler and Zak meet and become unlikely friends and, along the way, Tyler helps Zak make his way to a wrestling school where he finally gets the chance to wrestle in the ring as the Peanut Butter Falcon

 

            -- I was thinking about that movie this week as I was studying this passage in the life of Jacob and couldn’t help but think of the similarities between Jacob and both Tyler and Zak -- not only did Jacob get into trouble on a regular basis in which he had to run away from -- but in the end, he found himself in the middle of a wrestling match that he was not wholly ready for

 

II.  Background on Jacob’s Life

            -- it all started when Jacob was born -- Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah -- the grandson of Abraham and Sarah

            -- now, Isaac and Rebekah had difficulty conceiving -- but after twenty years of marriage, God blessed them and Rebekah became pregnant with twins

            -- apparently it was not an easy pregnancy -- the Bible says that the babies jostled within her and she cried out to the Lord seeking answers as to why this was happening to her -- in response, God told her that the descendants of the two sons she was carrying would become two mighty nations -- that they would be separated from each other and that one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger

            -- her difficult pregnancy was the result of her sons struggling with each other in her womb -- and she was told this struggle would continue throughout their lives and be carried on by their descendants

            -- and, as God had prophesied, when the time came for the babies to be born, they came out of the womb in the midst of conflict -- Esau, Jacob’s older brother, came out first, the stronger of the two, with Jacob grasping his heel in a portrait of who he was to become

            -- from the very moment of his birth, Jacob tried to grasp that which was not his own -- and he used any means possible to do so, including lying, cheating, and deceiving -- in fact, that's what a literal translation of the name Jacob means -- "he deceives" -- and over and over again, we read in the Bible of how Jacob’s deceit and scheming led him into trouble

 

            -- when Jacob and Esau were young men, Jacob connived a way to get Esau’s birthright -- the birthright belonged to the older son -- it included the family name and titles and a chief portion of the inheritance, "but it was more than just a title to the physical assets of a family -- it was also a spiritual position" -- and in the case of the people of God, "the birthright was the one through whom the covenant promise" made to Abraham and Isaac would be realized [http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-genesis-25-29-34.htm]

            -- but Esau didn't care about all of that -- he considered himself a self-made man -- he didn’t want to be seen as needing anyone else’s help in life -- so, the Bible tells us that Esau "despised his birthright" -- he didn't want it -- he didn't care about the promise of God -- in fact, it appears that he didn't care about God at all -- in Hebrews 12:16 Esau is described as "godless"

            -- his only concern was in getting what he wanted the moment he wanted it -- and when Esau came back from a hunt famished and found Jacob cooking a stew, he let himself be deceived and tricked by Jacob and willingly gave up his birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew

 

            -- the struggle between the twins came to head when Isaac was dying and it was time for him to give his blessings to his son -- as the oldest son, Esau would receive that blessing, which was all he had left since he had been tricked out of his birthright by Jacob

            -- a blessing in the Bible was a tangible blessing -- it carried with it great power and changed the lives of those who were blessed -- the blessing was considered the most important thing a father could pass on to his children

            -- Esau should have been the one to receive the blessing from Isaac, but Jacob and Rebekah conspired against Esau and came up with an elaborate scheme that involved covering Jacob in goat hair and having him wear Esau's clothing so that Isaac thought Jacob was Esau -- in this disguise, Jacob ended up with the blessing from Isaac -- but he got a lot more in the bargain -- when Esau found out what Jacob had done, he swore to kill Jacob -- so Jacob fled the land of Canaan and went east to the land where his mother was from -- Jacob’s deceit and trickery caused him to run away from home in fear for his life

            -- Jacob ended up in the home of his uncle Laban -- Rebekah's brother -- where he fell head-over-heels in love with his cousin Rachel -- he ends up marrying both Rachel and her sister Leah as he continues his deceitful ways in Laban’s household -- over and over again, he gets into conflict with father-in-law Laban because of his deceit and scheming -- eventually, the conflict reached the point where Jacob realizes it’s time to run away again

            -- as he’s struggling with the question of where to go now, God speaks to Jacob and tells him it is time for him to return to the land of Canaan -- the only problem with returning to Canaan is that it means he’ll have to face Esau and the trouble he left behind

            -- in the first part of Chapter 32, Jacob does what God says and heads home with his wife and family and all his possessions -- but before he gets to Canaan, he learns that Esau is coming with 400 soldiers to meet him, presumably to make good on the promise from Esau to kill him

-- Jacob gets scared and separates his family and possessions into two separate camps, in the hope that at least one camp will survive if Esau attacks the other -- and he comes up with a plan to turn away Esau’s wrath by bribing him with a gift of livestock and other possessions

-- as this passage opens, Jacob is at the ford on the river Jabbock and is getting ready to enter the land of Canaan -- he sends his wives and family across the river with all his possessions and has them split into two camps, each heading in different directions, while he stays behind

 

III.  Jacob Wrestles with God

 

-- so, let’s pick up the story of Jacob in the first part of verse 24

 

Genesis 32:24a -- So Jacob was left alone

 

-- for the first time in a long time, Jacob was alone -- there was no one there with him -- no people -- no family -- no possessions -- nothing but him -- standing there on the bank of the Jabbok river

-- the Bible doesn’t tell us why Jacob chose to be alone that night -- perhaps he wanted to prepare himself for his meeting with Esau -- perhaps he wanted a moment of peace before conflict came -- perhaps he wanted to meditate or spend time with God -- we don’t know for sure, but we do know that being alone is sometimes the best thing to be

-- you see, when we are alone, then there is nothing between us and God -- and it is in these moments of aloneness that we can experience God and hear from Him in ways we simply cannot in our regular lives that are so filled with noise and busyness and chaos

-- being alone helps us find and hear God

-- Jesus modeled that for us in the gospels when we read that He left the crowds and the disciples behind and went up on the mountainside by Himself to spend time with the Father

-- and we see that same spiritual discipline of getting alone with God practiced by the early church fathers and spiritual leaders throughout history -- getting alone with God is something that is highly encouraged in the Bible if we are to be who He has called us to be

            -- this biblical truth still resonates with us today -- in order to fully engage with God -- in order to fully experience Him in the depth of your soul -- you must be alone with Him -- you must put yourself in a place where you are alone and quiet and still and there is nothing between you and Him -- a place where you can hear His small still voice -- a place where you can experience His presence and nothing else -- a place where there is nothing but you and God

-- that is the heart of the instruction in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”

 

-- when you are struggling in life -- when you are struggling with a decision or with spiritual issues or with anything else -- it can be helpful to follow the pattern of Jesus and Jacob -- find a place where you can get alone so you can seek answers and peace -- comfort and blessings -- from being in the presence of God without anyone or anything else to distract you

 

            -- look back at the second part of verse 24

 

            Genesis 24:b -- “and a man wrestled with him till daybreak”

 

            -- now who is this man that came to Jacob while he was alone? -- where did He come from? -- and why did he wrestle with him?

            -- as we’ll see later on in this passage, this man was no mere mortal -- this man was God Himself -- God appeared to Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River in human form

-- an appearance of God in human form in the Old Testament is what we call a theophany -- the physical presence of Jesus in the form of a man appearing before the incarnation and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament -- usually, when God appears before men in this way, the Bible writers refer to Him in the text as “the angel of the Lord” -- if you ever run across that phrase -- “The Angel of the Lord” -- in the Bible, that’s a reference to God Himself in human form

-- so, this Man appeared to Jacob -- God in human form -- and wrestled with him until dawn

 

            -- what does it mean to wrestle with God? -- when we say we’re wrestling with something, it means that we’re struggling with something in our life -- usually a decision or a direction or something else that we are going over in our mind and trying to figure out what we should do

-- to wrestle with God means the same thing, but in this case, it means that we are struggling with God about something spiritual

-- generally, we find ourselves wrestling with God in three main ways

            -- first, a lot of us have wrestled with God during a time of spiritual doubt or spiritual drought -- a time when you’re questioning your faith -- when you’re questioning the truth of what you believe -- when you’re just not sure anymore and you have to make a decision as to whether to continue to believe and trust in God or not -- we wrestle with the reality of God and of spiritual things in our minds

            -- next, we wrestle with God when you’re facing a difficult task or trial -- maybe things are going really bad -- maybe you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom and you just don’t know how you can continue -- you don't know what to do -- you don't know where to go -- you see no way out and the promises of God seem far away -- and in that moment of doubt and despair and brokenness, you’re wrestling with your faith and whether you trust that God is actually capable of seeing you through

-- finally, a major time we wrestle with God is when He is calling us to change direction in lives -- it might be a situation where He is leading you and telling you to go somewhere that you don’t want to go -- or maybe He’s telling you to do something or to quit some sin or habit or activity, and you don’t want to do it -- and, so, you’re struggling with the decision -- you’re struggling with accepting God’s will and Lordship in your life

-- ask any pastor what it felt like when they were called into the ministry -- and I guarantee you that most of them will tell you it was a time they felt they were wrestling with God -- it was a struggle whether they were going to follow God down that path or continue doing their own thing -- and that happens with a lot of spiritual decisions

-- that’s what we mean when we say someone is wrestling with God -- it’s those moments in life when our will comes against God’s will -- when we have to choose whether we’re going to submit to Him as our Lord and Savior or whether we’re going to do what we want to do regardless of God’s command

            -- that's where we find Jacob that night on the banks of the Jabbok River -- he was coming to grips with who he was and he was seeing that he was not who he should be -- all his life he had been a deceiver and a schemer and cheat -- and now he’s about to face the consequences of his past life when he meets Esau, who is coming to kill him -- he’s wrestling with his past and he’s wrestling with God as God calls him to fulfill his birthright -- to fulfill the promise given to Abraham -- to change into the type of person who God wants him to be

-- and that’s why we read that Jacob wrestled with God on the riverbank until daybreak --he was working out all his frustration -- all his character flaws -- all his deception and lying and cheating -- he was re-living what he had done to Esau and was having to make a decision as to how he was going to deal with the consequences of the past and live the rest of his life -- whether he was going to continue to be who he had been or whether he was going to allow God to change him for the better

 

            -- verse 25

 

25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

 

            -- what an interesting verse -- the Man -- God -- wrestled with Jacob but could not overcome him -- what is this verse saying? -- what are we supposed to get from this? -- that Jacob was stronger than God?

            -- no, what this is saying is that Jacob was fighting God with everything he had and was refusing to submit himself to the Lord -- God was telling Jacob what He wanted Jacob to do and showing him who He wanted Jacob to become and Jacob was saying, "No -- I don't want that -- I want something else"

            -- some people are tough cases, and it takes a lot to break them -- it takes a lot to get them to surrender their will to God’s

 

-- God was wrestling with Jacob to bring him to submission -- to bend his will into alignment with God’s will -- God was wrestling with Jacob to get him to quit trusting in his own strength and scheming and plans and to trust and obey God in all things

            -- as Jacob wrestled with the Man by the river that night, Jacob thought he was fighting for his physical life -- in reality, this was a fight about his spiritual life -- Jacob’s body and will were strong -- and he fought with God until daybreak -- he refused to give up

-- eventually, God touched his thigh and put it out of joint -- touching the thigh was to humble him and make him powerless and aware of his own weakness -- at any point during the fight, God could have done that -- God could have destroyed Jacob at any moment with just a touch -- He could have reached out and broken Jacob’s body and spirit and will -- but God didn’t want to overpower Jacob in that way -- He wanted Jacob to voluntarily submit and yield to Him in humbleness and faith, the same way He wants us to come to Him on our own free will

 

            -- but God did what He had to do to get Jacob to the point of decision -- you see, God had a plan for Jacob's life that was greater than Jacob’s plan -- He had a plan for Jacob's life that would affect the spiritual life of all creation for all eternity -- Jesus was to come from Jacob’s family, but to bring it to bear, Jacob had to change -- he had to submit -- he had to follow God and God’s will -- he had to change who he was -- so, finally, God reached out and touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of socket

            -- God will do what He has to do to reach us and to change us into the people He wants us to be -- and if that means we have to suffer pain in our lives -- if that means we have to go through trial and tribulation in order to turn to God like Jacob or grow more mature in our faith, then God will do it

            -- He will never force His will upon us, but He will lead us to the point where our choice becomes clear -- just as He did with Jacob here in this passage

 

            -- verse 26

 

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

 

            -- we read that the Man told Jacob to let Him go, because it was almost daybreak -- God will not contend with us forever -- He will wrestle with us and lead us to the point of decision, but eventually we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or not

            -- when God showed Jacob his true weakness by touching his hip, Jacob reached that point of decision -- he finally submitted to God and realized that true blessings don’t come through our own scheming and planning -- they don't come through deceit and cheating -- we can’t create lasting blessings in our life -- true blessings only come from God

-- when God broke Jacob’s reliance on self, his fear of failure in life gave way to faith -- by surrendering to God, Jacob realized that he had actually won -- by putting his faith and trust in God for his life and his future, Jacob would be okay -- things would work out -- and, so, Jacob clings to God and won’t let Him go

-- these verses reminded me of the way Mary Magdalene held onto Jesus after the resurrection and refused to let Him go -- she was so in love with Him and so happy to see Him again that she just could not bear to be parted from Him -- she grabbed Him and held Him close and refused to let Him go until Jesus finally had to see, “release Me, for I have yet to ascend to the Father”

 

-- when you come to know God in a real and personal way, you can’t help but hold onto to Him with all that you have and all that you are -- Jacob had known God for twenty years, but God had never reigned in his life until this moment -- and now Jacob is holding on to God for dear life

-- as Dave Guzik put it, “Jacob was reduced to the place where all he could do was to hold on to the LORD with everything he had. Jacob could not fight anymore, but he could hold on. That is not a bad place to be.”

 

            -- Jacob says he won’t let God go until He blesses him -- and God looks at Jacob and asks a curious question, "What is your name?"

            -- several years ago, we had a Major who was working temporarily in our squadron -- he came through the Environmental section one day and walked up to me and said, “Who are you?” -- I told him who I was and what I did -- and he turned from me to my coworker and said, “and who are you?”

            -- it was all rather strange -- but it was his way of getting to know us -- not just our names -- but who we were -- what we did -- how we contributed to the squadron and the military mission

            -- God looks at Jacob here and asks him that same question -- “Who are you? -- What is your name?” -- and Jacob is forced to reply, “My name is deceit -- my name is schemer -- my name is heel-grabber” -- it was God’s way of getting Jacob to confess who he had been -- it was God’s way of getting the truth into the open -- of leading Jacob to the point of true repentance so that forgiveness could flow

 

            -- and as soon as Jacob confessed his past sins by telling God his name, God poured out His grace into Jacob’s life -- God said, “that is who you were, but your name will no longer be Jacob -- instead you will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome”

            -- when Jacob wrestled with God and eventually submitted his will to God, Jacob began the process of repentance and forgiveness and sanctification -- he began to change into the person God had called him to become

-- and, as a result, God’s blessing was to change his name to reflect this spiritual change in Jacob’s life -- he goes from being "the deceiver" to becoming "Israel" -- one who struggles with God and who is on the way to righteousness

            -- with that blessing, Jacob was no more -- Israel had been born -- a new name -- a new life -- a new person -- a new future

 

-- in verse 29, Jacob asks God, “tell me your name” -- this is significant, because at this point, Jacob was desiring more of God, not more from God like he had in his earlier life -- he wants to know who God is

            -- but God doesn't give His name to Jacob -- the name by which we know God comes through experience -- and God didn't want Jacob to define Him only through this one event -- God wanted Jacob's walk with Him to be one of revelation and discovery, not one of tradition -- He didn't want Jacob to only know Him as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but to come to know Him as his own personal God

            -- in my own life I have known God as provider, protector, savior, king, lord, leader, creator, and many more -- it was up to Jacob to come to know God as God led him down the path of righteousness -- just as it is up to us to learn who God is as He leads us each down our own paths

 

            -- verse 30

 

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- Jacob recognized this site as a holy place -- as the place where he wrestled with God and saw Him face-to-face and lived -- and as the sun rose above him, Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and began a new life with God

            -- one thing to note here is that as Jacob left, he limped because of the hip that was stricken -- although Jewish scholars say God eventually healed him, we are not told this in the Bible, and we have to assume that Jacob limped the rest of his life -- a physical reminder of an inward and spiritual grace that changed him forever -- and a testimony to all who saw him

            -- we always bear the scars of our paths in life -- some are physical, like Jacob's, while others are hidden and emotional or spiritual scars -- but they serve as reminders to us of God's presence and of His grace that doesn't give up on us when we fall and fail

 

IV.  Closing

            -- although Jacob began as a deceiver -- although he cheated and lied and did whatever he could to get ahead -- still God did not give up on him -- and that's encouraging to me -- because if God can reach down and change a deceiver into an overcomer like Jacob -- if He can reach down and change a murderer into an evangelist like Paul -- if He can reach down and change a denier of the faith into an apostle and elder like Simon Peter -- then He can reach down and change me into the person He wants me to be, too -- He can do the same for you, too

            -- the path to blessings comes through repentance and forgiveness -- it comes with a searching of the soul and wrestling in the dark of the night -- it comes when we finally can say and mean the words Jesus spoke in prayer that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, “No my will, but thine be done”

 

            -- as we leave here this morning, I want you to take a moment and consider where you are with God -- are you where you need to be? -- are you the person God wants you to be? -- are you struggling and wrestling with Him about your faith or about a decision or direction He wants you to take?

            -- and let me encourage you to get alone -- to find a place where you can be quiet and alone with God -- whether that’s high on a mountainside or by the banks of a river or in your quiet place at home -- find that place and cry out to God -- wrestle with Him if you must -- but seek Him and find Him and come to know Him and obey Him as Jacob did

            -- let us pray

SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 2

 Naylor Community Christian Church, Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-18

 

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

 

            -- a few years ago, Paige Winter and her family were on vacation at the beach in North Carolina -- she was standing in waist deep water with her father -- just talking and enjoying the sunshine and the waves hitting their bodies -- when, all of a sudden, Paige disappeared

            -- at first, her father thought she was playing, but then he realized what had happened -- a shark had grabbed Paige and pulled her under the surface

            -- without pausing, her father immediately went on the offensive -- he dove under and attacked the shark -- punching it in the face over and over -- five times -- until it finally released Paige and swam off

            -- he helped his daughter to shore and got her to the hospital, where they unfortunately had to amputate her leg above the knee, along with several fingers because of her injuries

            -- in the media interviews that followed, the family praised the father’s efforts because the situation could have been much worse -- without his quick intervention, Paige would likely have been killed

            -- but thankfully, her father was there and ready to take action when something threatened his family¹

 

-- thinking about this story of Paige Winters and her attack by the shark, I couldn’t help but think about the dangers that surround all of us in our daily lives

-- just like her, we can be having the greatest time in our life -- standing there in peaceful, calm waters and enjoying life with family and friends -- when, all of a sudden, we are attacked and pulled under the water and left fighting for our lives -- maybe not against an attacking shark -- but against spiritual enemies who are even more dangerous to our eternal lives

 

-- this morning, we are continuing the message, “Walking with Jesus in Spiritual Warfare,” that we began last week -- this is the last message in the “Walking with Jesus” series from the Book of Ephesians that we have been going through

-- last week, we looked at what spiritual warfare is -- focusing on verse 12 from this passage, where the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are in a supernatural struggle with a spiritual enemy who is trying to do everything he can to keep us from growing in Christ and to keep others from coming to Christ for salvation

-- and Paul tells us that our situation is similar to Paige Winters’ situation -- we can’t see our spiritual enemies with our fleshly eyes -- we look around us and everything seems calm and peaceful -- but underneath, this enemy lurks, seeking to devour us and to lead us astray

-- we talked about the forms that spiritual warfare take -- from spiritual harassment and spiritual oppression against God’s people to include even physical and mental anguish and even sickness and disease, in some cases -- and we talked about how demon possession of unbelievers still occurred on occasion in our day, and how Christians are protected from possession because of the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling us

-- so, this morning, I want us to spend some time considering when spiritual attacks are most likely to occur and how we can counter them with God’s mighty power and in His strength

 

II.  Predicting Spiritual Attacks

            -- when our spiritual enemies attack us, it happens just like a shark attack -- sudden and immediate and deadly -- but unlike a shark attack, we can be aware that we are in imminent danger and take steps to avoid being attacked by our spiritual enemies and to be ready when such an attack occurs

 

            -- look back at verse 10-11

 

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

 

            -- so, Paul tells us here to get ready -- to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and to put on His full armor, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes -- it’s that idea of the devil’s schemes that I want you to think about

 

            -- the devil has a plan -- he schemes against us -- as Peter put it in 1 Peter 5:8, our enemy is like a roaring lion -- going about looking for someone to devour -- scheming and planning how he can take us down and keep us from our walk with Christ

            -- and while the spiritual attacks that come against us are individual in nature and are designed specifically against us to take us down, there is a method in the madness -- there is a pattern to the devil’s schemes -- he has been attacking humans since the garden of Eden, and his methods and his schemes follow a similar pattern -- like a shark in the ocean, he is looking for an opportune time and an opportune occasion in which to attack

 

            -- the first danger point occurs when we first come to Christ -- new Christians are especially susceptible to spiritual attacks -- as babes in Christ, they haven’t taken in enough of God’s word and haven’t learned enough about God’s strength and power made manifest to them through the Holy Spirit to stand up against an attack by the devil

            -- that’s why the attrition rate among new Christians is so high -- that’s why you hear of so many people who have an experience with Christ -- who come to the altar and lay their lives down and ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior -- who just a short time later turn away -- who give up and go back to their old lives -- because they weren’t ready to defend against the attacks of the devil

-- that's why we need to make sure and follow up with new Christians and to disciple them in their faith as soon as possible -- we can't leave them out there alone to face an enemy that they are not prepared to face -- we have to help them and make them aware of the reality of spiritual warfare early in their Christian life

-- we have to be like the buffalo -- when wolves attack a buffalo herd, the wolves seek out the weak and the sick and the injured -- they seek out the young and the vulnerable -- and concentrate their attack there -- and if they can scatter the herd, they can easily pick off those who are left behind

-- but if the buffalo are ready -- if they are led by older animals who have experience with predator attacks -- they know what to do when the wolves come -- rather than breaking and running and leaving the weaker individuals on their own, they form a phalanx against them -- they put the young and the weak and the vulnerable in the middle -- and they face out against the enemy with their heads down and their horns visible -- daring the wolves to attack -- and keeping the most vulnerable safe from danger

-- that is what we must do as the church -- that is what we see told to us throughout scripture -- Paul told Titus to have the older women teach the younger women and train them up in the way they should go -- in the same way, he said the older men should be examples to the younger -- and that Titus himself should set them an example by doing what is good -- by teaching them the way of Christ -- and showing them how to live lives of integrity and how to say “no” to ungodliness and spiritual temptations

-- all of us who have been Christians for some time should find someone new in the faith -- not necessarily someone younger than us, because older people may be new in their faith, as well -- we need to find them and disciple them and mentor them and stand with them, so we can help them stand against the devil’s schemes and his attacks

 

-- the second danger point -- the second moment when we are more vulnerable to spiritual attacks is when we are going through trials and troubles -- when we are afflicted with life

-- not everything that happens to us is a spiritual attack -- some things happen just because we live in a fallen world and some things happen as a consequence of our actions and our sins

-- but when we are weak and already down -- when we are struggling with life or with spiritual issues -- when there’s sickness or death in our family -- that's a time when Satan likes to step in to deliver the coup de grace -- what better time to attack than when we are already spiritually weak?

-- we need to know that those times are dangerous -- we need to be aware of that in the lives of those around us -- and we need to step in and take care of them when they are most in danger

 

-- the third time we are vulnerable to spiritual attack is when we have achieved some notable success in spiritual things -- maybe we're taking up a new spiritual discipline -- maybe we're really growing in our spiritual lives -- maybe we've helped lead someone to the Lord -- or maybe we've exercised our spiritual gifts

-- remember as a kid when we used to play “king of the mountain” on the playground? -- and how easy it was for someone to knock us from our lofty position?

-- when we're at the height of the mountain, that's a good time to expect Satan to step in and try to take us down -- that's why we see so many successful pastors and church leaders fall -- it's because they've had some spiritual success and Satan has targeted them for destruction

-- if you’ve really been growing in your spiritual walk -- if you’re experiencing spiritual highs in your life -- be careful -- pay attention -- and keep your eyes open for any spiritual attacks that may come your way

-- as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:12,” if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”

 

-- the final way we are vulnerable to spiritual attack is when we are idle in our faith and isolated from others who share our faith -- when we’re not staying in the Word and not praying on a regular basis -- when we miss church and miss our faith communities and find ourselves more in the world than in the Way

-- it’s so easy for Satan to get to us during these times -- just a little push -- a little distraction -- a little temptation -- and we’ll reach for the trap like a kid reaching for a sucker -- we’ll give in and turn away from Christ and fall back in our faith

-- when you don’t feel like reading the Bible -- when you don’t feel like praying or being around God’s people -- watch out -- because you’re treading on thin ice and the bottom may soon give way

-- if you were Satan, who would you rather come against? -- the church of God, united together and standing firm against his attack -- or a lone person standing out there by themselves -- it just makes sense that someone who isn't coming to church or meeting with other Christians is vulnerable to attack

-- we need to be on the lookout for our brothers and sisters who haven’t been joining together with other believers for worship and life -- it is our responsibility to watch out for them and to protect them by standing alongside them -- if they won't come to church, then we need to be the church for them

 

            -- so, those are the four times when we have to be careful about spiritual attacks -- these are the times when it is likely for Satan to attack us and to try to bring us down and divert us from our Christian walk -- watch yourself and those around you in times like these, and be ready to stand against the devil’s schemes when they occur

            -- pay attention to your own personal lives and try to identify the times when you experience spiritual attacks -- is it when you are alone? -- with a crowd? -- on vacation? -- in a motel? -- certain times of the day or certain seasons? -- think about when you are most tempted -- when you are most distracted or diverted from your faith -- and know that that is when the devil has determined it is the best time to personally attack you -- and stand firm and get ready before those times occur

 

III.  Spiritual Defense

            -- so, we know what spiritual warfare is -- we know when it is likely to occur -- now, what do we do about it?

 

            -- the first thing to keep in mind is what Paul tells us in verse 12 -- look back at that verse

 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

            -- our struggle is never against flesh and blood -- it is never against another person -- they are not our enemy, although they may be used by our enemy -- remember that that rude person that is attacking you -- that person who is hostile to your faith -- that person who is under your skin -- they’re pawns in a spiritual battle -- they’re not your enemy -- so, don’t take the battle to them -- take the battle to the real enemy behind them

-- and since our enemy is not flesh and blood, our weapons and our defenses against them cannot be physical, either -- hold your place here and turn over to 2 Corinthians 10 with me or listen as I read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

-- Paul tells us here that we are not to wage war as the world wages war -- the weapons that we fight with are the weapons of Christ -- the Word of Christ -- the Love of Christ -- the Peace of Christ -- the Forgiveness of Christ -- against these, the enemy cannot stand -- against these, the enemy is powerless

-- Paul says here that these weapons have divine power -- the very power of God -- to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God -- you can think of strongholds as Satan’s castles -- as his forts -- as the places where his power and influence stand greatest -- but even these are no match to the power of God

-- Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against us, referring to these strongholds and places of satanic power in this world

-- notice that this battle is fought in the mind -- that it is a battle of thoughts that come against us -- those whispers of temptation that cause us to doubt -- that lead us astray -- that cause us to sin -- to defeat these spiritual attacks from Satan, we take these thoughts captive -- we make them obedient to Christ -- that means that we counter these false thoughts and temptations by wielding the sword of the Spirit -- the word of God against it -- by letting the Holy Spirit call to mind God’s scriptures to counter what the devil is saying

-- think of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness -- every time the devil tried to tempt Him, Jesus countered by saying, “It is written” and then He would quote scripture -- this is how we take every thought captive, by defeating it with the word of God -- but that means that we must know the word of God and have it hidden within us, ready to be used when the battle comes

 

-- go back now to Ephesians 6 and let’s finish up -- Ephesians 6:13

 

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

 

-- the key to success in spiritual warfare is to not depend on yourself but on the power of God -- on our own, we will fail -- on our own, we have no chance against the devil and his schemes -- but when we stand in the mighty power of God -- when we are arrayed against the devil in God’s full armor -- the victory is certain

 

            -- the first piece of armor that he mentions here is the belt of truth -- the belt was the foundation of a Roman soldier's armor -- the belt secured the other armor and held it in place -- it was used to cinch down the armor -- it was where the sword was carried -- without the belt you could not fight -- it is foundational -- so the first piece of armor that we are told to take up is the belt of truth

            -- remember who our enemy is -- remember how he is described in scripture -- in John 8:44, Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of lies

            -- there is nothing more insidious than someone who lies -- someone who uses just enough truth to hide their deception and who want people to believe something that is not true so they will do what they want them to do

            -- how do you fight a lie? -- how do you come against false teaching and false beliefs? -- you combat lies with the truth

 

-- the next piece of armor that we are told to take up is the breastplate of righteousness -- the breastplate for a Roman soldier was analogous to the Kevlar vest worn by police officers -- the breastplate covered the heart and the vital organs

-- this is symbolically putting on the righteousness of Christ to protect our spiritual hearts -- one thing that we always need to keep in mind is that apart from Christ, we have no righteousness -- when He died on the cross, the very righteousness of Christ -- the right relationship He had with the Father -- the right lifestyle and holiness that He possessed -- His right way of living -- was transferred to us

-- by taking up the breastplate of righteousness, we are taking up Christ -- we are putting Him on -- we are standing firm in a righteousness and a holiness that is not our own -- but that was given to us to protect us from evil

 

-- here we're told to fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace -- what Paul was envisioning here was the footwear that the Roman soldiers wore when they headed into battle -- more like boots than sandals, with cleats to help the soldiers maintain their position on slippery ground and they laced all the way up the shins to protect the lower legs of the soldiers from the enemy’s weapons

-- we all need to put on shoes -- we all need to protect our feet -- our Christian walk -- our Christian witness -- but we need to wear shoes that fit us and us alone -- relying on our personal spiritual gifts and talents and abilities to stand against the devil

 

-- in verse 16, Paul writes: "in addition to all this" -- King James says "above all" -- take up the shield of faith

-- it all comes down to faith -- that’s the great principle that Paul gives us in this letter -- Ephesians 2:8-9:  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- faith leads to salvation -- faith leads to walking with Christ -- faith leads to believing the truth -- faith informs our Christian lives

-- Paul likens our faith to the shield that the Roman soldiers used to protect them during battle -- the Roman shields were large -- a soldier could hide behind them and keep all parts of his body protected -- the Romans would also link shield together -- forming what they called a phalanx -- an impenetrable wall of protection -- that would keep the entire army from being overrun

 

-- the next piece in our armor is the helmet of salvation -- the helmet of salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy and enables us to get back up when we fall -- the helmet of salvation makes us sure of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins

-- it protects our minds from the thoughts and the temptations that demons whisper to us -- and it helps us to take those thoughts captive in the power of Christ when they come

 

-- this next piece of armor -- the sword of the Spirit -- is both defensive and offensive -- it not only protects us from the devil's schemes, but it can be wielded with great power to regain the ground that the enemy has taken

-- the sword of the Spirit is the word of God -- there is no doubt about this -- you need to know this Bible -- like I said earlier, you need to learn the word of God and make it a part of you in order to protect yourself and to do what God has called you to do    

-- The Greek word that we translate as "word" here is "Rhema" -- a Rhema refers to a specific word or "saying" -- In this case, it means a specific portion of God's written revelation -- John 3:16 is an example of a rhema

-- when Paul says we are to take up the rhema of God, he is saying that we should use Scripture to defend ourselves and to resist the devil in our spiritual battles

 

-- and, finally, we are told to pray -- and while this is not comparable to a physical piece of armor, it is the glue that holds it all together -- because through prayer, we engage the very person of Jesus Christ -- in prayer, we call on the power of Heaven and the power of God in our lives and in the lives around us -- in prayer, we stand with a strength and a power that we do not possess on our own and that enables us to defend against all the devil’s schemes and against any way he might try to attack us

 

IV.  Closing

-- A few years ago at a Willow Creek Summit, Jack Groppel, who works with leaders to hone optimum performance, showed two video clips from a recent training event.

-- The first video was of a group of NFL linebackers. When they showed up for some leadership and team training at Groppel's center in south Florida, Groppel had an assignment for them: all the linebackers were to run through the woods on a forest trail to the fence which surrounded the camp -- once they were there, they were to grab a ribbon from the post at the center and come back to the facility

-- Groppel then added one final, important detail -- he told them that a wild boar had been spotted in the forest that morning. He explained how dangerous wild boars can be and how they all needed to be on high alert and ready for danger -- with that warning, these professional athletes -- all men trained and in the best physical shape possible -- took off on a run to get the ribbon off the post

-- Now, in preparation for the activity, Groppel had a cameraman hiding in the bushes along the trail -- and if you watch the video from that training event, you’ll see these massive linebackers come around the bend in the trail, but they’re not looking as confident as before -- they’re shaky -- they’re jumping at every noise -- the fear of the boar had them shaken

-- when the cameraman saw them come around the bend, he began to snort and rustle the bushes -- and immediately, all the football players turned tail and ran, squealing and screaming like schoolgirls

-- Then Groppel showed another video clip -- It was of the same training scenario, only this time it's with CIA operatives -- he gives them the same direction -- warns them about the dangerous boar in the bushes -- and sends them off

-- the CIA members take off, just like the football players did -- but when they come around the bend and hear the cameraman making noises and rustling the bushes, they didn’t turn tail and run -- each of them got into a combat position and held their ground against the potential attack²

            -- what made the difference? -- the CIA operatives were trained -- they were ready -- they were looking for danger -- they expected the attack -- and when they heard the noise in the bushes, they stood their ground

            -- that is exactly the attitude and the character that we need in our lives and in our churches when it comes to spiritual warfare

 

            -- spiritual warfare is real -- our enemies are real -- but that doesn’t mean that we fade away in terror or jump at every noise in the night -- no, we stand firm in faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- we stand firm because we know God stands with us

            -- to sum up how we should approach spiritual warfare in our lives, let me leave you with these four steps:

 

1.  Be aware of your enemy:  Know your enemy is real -- be aware of his schemes -- study the Bible and see how others have been attacked by Satan and his demons and how they either succeeded or failed -- the first step in succeeding in spiritual warfare is to know your enemy and be ready for his attack

 

2.  Be dressed for success:  Make sure the first thing you do in the morning before you face your day is to suit up -- to put on the full armor of God -- to envision yourself putting on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and all the other pieces as you pray and as you get ready to go out -- we succeed in spiritual warfare when we’re covered in the armor of God

 

3.  Be wary in vulnerable moments:  Learn when you are at your most weakest point -- whether that’s when you’re alone in the valley or on a spiritual high -- recognize the times in your life when you have fallen in the past, and guard yourself in the future when those times occur again -- prepare yourself before the battle

 

4.  Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power:  Remember that success only comes when we rely on God and His mighty power -- alone, we can do nothing -- but with God, we can do all things -- we can stand against the devil and his schemes -- we can turn away from temptation and sin in our lives -- and we can grow in grace and become more like Jesus everyday -- but we only do this through faith and trust in His power and not ours

 

-- with that, we’ll close this message and this sermon series -- so, if you would, let’s join in prayer for strength and protection and grace, as we go forward onto the battlefield

-- let’s pray

 

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1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/04/paramedic-dad-punched-shark-five-times-save-his-daughter-who-lost-leg-attack/

2 Source: Mark Buchanan, in the sermon "Courage," PreachingToday.com