THE ARMOR OF GOD - EPHESIANS 6:10-12

Welcome all especially our visitors today and I just want to take a minute to share with you how blessed that we feel we are at 12

Five Church. I mean we feel that God's face is shining upon us and it's not because of anything that 12

Five Church has done. It's because of the grace and the mercy of our

Lord and Savior. In the three years in the life of this church we felt like we've had several high -water marks that we've gotten to experience and we feel we're going through one of those right now in the presence of our church.

And you may ask me, well why do you feel this way? Well it's because of all the guests we've been experiencing.

It's all the guests that the Lord has been bringing to this church each week. It's been almost dizzying to the leadership and the membership of the church to see this many new people coming and it's sure a blessing.

I mean there's been weeks when we've run close to 40 % visitors and that's amazing.

That's amazing to us what the Lord is doing. But you know we look at numbers, we have to, but we never want to get caught up in looking at numbers, counts, percentages and stuff because they don't always represent the whole story.

You know recently we completed a new members class where we had 22 adults attend and one of the most frequent comments that we've heard from them is that we take becoming a member of this church so seriously and we do.

We do that. We believe that is what the Lord prescribes for us is to take it seriously, to guard the door and that's what we do.

But in like manner the membership of the church feels that those who have attended the membership class also take becoming a member of a church very seriously and for that we say amen.

Praise the Lord for that. We believe a church member should be certain things.

One is to be led here by the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe a church member should be active.

We believe that a church member should be a Berean. If you remember in Acts Paul speaks of this.

He says the Bereans examined the scripture daily to see if these things were so.

And it's a desire for you as our guest when you're looking for a home church that you would examine each church that you go to or you find yourself in and you would make sure that it is so.

That it is a healthy church. That it puts the glory of Jesus Christ and his word first and foremost in everything that it does.

Second is that the body of the church should be active in the application of his word into their lives.

They should be living the word. And then third, as I've already said, that it's the

Lord's will for you to join that church. If you do these things and the decision you make is for you to join our church, to join

Twelve Five Church, then we are confident that you will fulfill the Lord's desire in being an active, participating member of his bride.

And that's what we pray every week for the visitors of our church. Well speaking about new members, today we have four individuals that have been attending the church that's going to join today.

So if Greg and Elizabeth Harden would come up here. And then

Don and Brandy Crittenden also. So I'm introducing, if you haven't met them,

I'm most of you had. Greg and Elizabeth Harden and Don and Brandy Crittenden, they've gone through the new member class.

They've been visiting. And you know, talking to both of them, they are good brilliants.

I can tell you, they have looked into it. In fact, one thing, I remember Don tell me that he's a detective.

And he said, I have researched. And what he told me was true. And that's what the brilliants do, is they research.

And y 'all have too. Y 'all have talked to all of the elders and many people. And you have learned what is going on at 12

Five Church. And I know you've been praying along with us, what the Lord is desiring for you to do in finding a home church.

And so as a body, we want to be that home for you.

Where we care for you, where we love you, where we're praying for you, where we're discipling you, and where we're holding you up to the

Lord. So for each of y 'all, we have this Bible. Don, this is a

ESV Bible study Bible. I love mine. Mine's all marked up, underlined, dog -eared, and everything.

So what we're doing is we're giving you this as a sign of your love for God's Word and for our

Savior. And this is commissioning you as a member of 12 Five Church.

Now I know y 'all are going to stand and sit again, but all of the members that wish to affirm them as a member of 12

Five Church, please stand up. Okay, y 'all can be seated.

I looked around and all the people that were standing were members. There were no members sitting. Just a lot of guests.

I was talking about when Hunter and his wife came up for a membership and they asked everybody to stand.

This whole section was sitting because that's where all the guests were. And I said, boy, if there's a guest, they may think that half the people aren't voting for them.

Greg and Elizabeth Hart, we're so glad that you've come and made the decision to join us. And as I told

Don and Brandy, we are commissioning you with this Word of God, with this study

Bible. It is our prayer that you would wield this as a sword of the

Spirit, which we'll be talking about in several weeks. And so this is commissioning you as members of our church.

And everybody that's in favor, please stand up. Amen. Let's go.

Let's give a hand for both of them, but the hand of the Lord for what he has done. Thank y 'all. Amen.

Praise him for what he's doing. So next, we're going to be praying for a not so local church, but it's still within Arkansas.

It's First Baptist Church of Huttick, Arkansas. And that's where Rebecca Cartwright's father is the pastor.

So if y 'all would pray with me. Father, we lift up the

Baptist Church of Huttick to you, asking that you would reveal to them your attributes and your will.

We pray that not only would they know your love, but experience it daily as they walk in Christ.

We ask that they have a closer abiding in Jesus Christ, your Son, so that the body would bring forth more fruit, have a deeper sense of the living, of their living, to bring you glory and serve you more completely.

Bear witness to their spirit so they can confidently say, I know that my

Redeemer lives. Amen. So if y 'all would please stand with me, we'll be doing the call to worship.

It's a responsive reading where I will read and then y 'all will reply. It should be up on the screen here, and it's going to be out of Psalm 91, verses 1 through 10.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, I will say to the

Lord, my refuge and my fortress. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand.

You will only look with your eyes, because you have made the

Lord your dwelling place. No evil shall be allowed to befall you.

Now please pray with me as I pray a prayer of adoration. Lord God, we declare of your works to one another.

Speak of your mighty acts. You preserve all who love you, but of the wicked you vanquish.

Help us to rejoice in your ways and your promises. Teach us to live by the power of your

Holy Spirit that you have so graciously given us. Help us to have a conviction in our deepest hearts that your

Word is the truth and active in us. Help us to be confident that we are free from condemnation, that we are free of any charges our enemy rails against us.

Help us to know that we cannot be separated from your love, and that the good work that you have begun in us will be perfected.

Help us to know that we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power.

Lord God, together we stand flat -footed on your promises that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and that because we are born of God, as you have adopted us, the evil one cannot touch us, and at your bidding will flee from all that are in you.

This we know, we will see the enemy run.

This we know, we will see the victory come.

We hold on to every promise you ever made.

Jesus, you are unfailing. Sing it with us.

You are who you say you are. You do what you say you'll do.

You're real and you've always been to us. Jesus, you are.

Our hope is in you alone. Our strength in your mighty park is there with us.

Jesus. This we know, we will see the enemy run.

This we know, we will see the victory come.

We hold on to every promise you ever made.

Jesus, you are unfailing. You are our way when it seems there is no way.

Jesus. This we know, we will see the enemy run.

This we know, we will see the victory come.

We hold on to every promise you ever made.

Jesus, you are unfailing. We trust you.

We trust you. Your ways are higher than us.

We trust you. We trust you.

Your ways are higher than us. We trust you.

We trust you. Your ways are higher than us.

We trust you. We trust you.

Your ways are higher than us. This we know, we will see the enemy run.

This we know, we will see the victory come.

We hold on to every promise you ever made.

Jesus, you are unfailing. Jesus, you are unfailing.

Jesus, you are unfailing. Who wonders, who wonders what love is this?

That Christ would die for me. His goodness, His merit,

His righteousness. A sinner's only plea.

Though foolish, tried, crucified. The work is finished.

All my hope is in Jesus. All my hope is in God.

In my victory forever. In what the cross

I'm bound. Now fully forgiven, my life is filled.

With graces undeserved. For mercy that fulfilled, that saved me.

That grace is now returned. My tongue, my soul, and rest of all.

Rest is worthy. All my hope is in Jesus.

All my hope is in God. In my victory forever.

In what the cross I'm bound. Praise the one forever blessed.

Him alone my heart adores.

His eye will close in nothing less.

And the love of Christ my hope's filter.

Praise the one forever blessed.

Him alone my heart adores.

His eye will close in nothing less.

And the love of Christ my hope's filter.

Praise the one forever blessed.

Him alone my heart adores.

All my hope is in Jesus. All my hope is in God. In my victory forever.

In what the cross I'm bound. Now I stand in this freedom.

And I'm so defeated inside. Oh I cannot be ashamed.

For my hope's in Jesus Christ. My hope's in Jesus Christ.

Forever my hope's in Jesus Christ. So today's scripture reading is out of 2

Corinthians. Chapter 10 verses 1 through 6. I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

I who am humble when face to face with you. But bold toward you when

I am away. I beg of you that when I am present. I may not have to show boldness with such confidence.

As I count on showing against some. Who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.

For though we walk in the flesh. We are not waging war according to the flesh. But the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh.

But have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.

And take every thought captive to obey Christ. Being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

Please bow your head in prayer. It's a prayer of confession and assurance. Lord God we recognize that we often attempt to live our lives in our own power.

Not recognizing you as the perfecter of our faith. We often seek the opinions of others instead of living our lives.

In a manner that brings praise and glory to your name. We are prone to focus on the temporary material physical things of the world.

Instead of seeking daily those things which are eternal. Father give us grace to embrace the words of your

Holy Spirit. That the Apostle Paul wrote. For I know whom

I have believed. And I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day.

What has been entrusted in me. Amen. My deep and boundless peace.

To this I hold. My hope is only

Jesus. For my life is wholly bound to him.

Oh how strange and divine. I can't sing all this mine.

Yet not I. But through Christ in me.

It is done.

But I am not forsaken. For by my side.

The Savior he will stay. I labor on.

In weakness and rejoicing. For in my need.

His power is sustained. To this

I look. My shepherd will defend me.

Through the deepest valley he will lead.

Oh the night has been won. And I shall overcome.

Yet not I. But through Christ in me. The future sure.

The price it has been paid. For Jesus bled.

And suffered for my glory. As he was raised.

To overcome the grave. To this

I hold. My sin has been defeated. Jesus now and ever is my

King. Oh the chains are released.

I can sing. I am free. Yet not I. But through Christ in me.

I long to follow

Jesus. For he has said. That he will bring me home.

And day by day. I know he will recover me.

Until I stand. With joy before the God.

To this I hold. My hope is only Jesus.

Oh the glory evermore to be.

This is complete. Till my lips shall repeat. Yet not

I. But through Christ in me. To this

I hold. My hope is only Jesus.

Oh the glory evermore to be. When the race is complete.

Till my lips shall repeat. Yet not I. When the race is complete.

Till my lips shall repeat. Yet not

I. But through Christ in me. But through Christ in me.

Yet not I. In easy grace.

How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch.

Like me. I once was lost.

But now was blind.

But now I see. Twas grace that taught.

My heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved.

How precious did. That grace appear.

The hour I first believed. My chains are gone.

I've been set free. My God, my

Savior. Has ransomed me.

And like a flood. His mercy reigns.

Amazing love. Amazing love.

The Lord has promised. His promise.

My hope secures. He will my shield.

And portion me. As long as my.

Chains are gone. I've been set free.

My God, my Savior. Has ransomed me.

And like a flood. His mercy reigns.

Unending love. Amazing grace.

My chains are gone. I've been set free.

My God, my Savior. Has ransomed me.

His mercy reigns. Unending love.

Amazing grace. The earth shall soon.

Dissolve like snow. The sun forbid to shine.

But God who calls me here below.

Will be forever. Will be forever.

Praise you so much this morning,

Father. Lord, we thank you for your amazing grace, Lord. Lord, forever you will be mine,

Lord. So grateful for that this morning, Lord. I just want to thank you for blessing us,

Lord. Enabling us to come and gather here. And worship your name in one accord,

Lord. As a church family, Lord. Lord, I want to thank you for the new members.

The two families we had joined this family this morning, Lord. So grateful for them,

Lord. Lord, I just pray that you would be with the remainder of our service this morning, Lord. I pray that you would bless the word as it's preached this morning,

Lord. Lord, bless each heart in here, Lord. As we said and we listened,

Lord. And just bless Pastor Nathan, Lord. And give him the words to speak. Lord, I pray you would bless this offering this morning as we take it,

Lord. Lord, we love you, we praise you. Lord, we ask all these things in your son

Jesus' precious and holy name. In Jesus' name, amen. Go ahead and open up your copy of God's word to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians chapter 6. We begin the next seven weeks through verses 10 through 20 of chapter 6.

Seeing how Paul identifies the armor of God. And as he prepares to wrap up this letter to the church in Ephesus.

That we've been diving into over the past year. All of last year and then into this year. And before I jump into reading the text.

I was thinking as we were singing these great truths. We're getting ready to talk about spiritual war.

We're getting ready to talk about the battle that the Christian is in. And I heard a quote from,

I believe it was J .I. Packer. That he was asked the question. What is the difference between preaching and teaching?

And this has resonated with me. Because as my family can attest. I can teach three lessons a day all week long on the

Bible. But on Sunday mornings when I'm done with you and I go home.

I feel as though I've just dug ditches for 16 hours straight. I have fought a war and J .I.

Packer points to the fact. He says because when you stand up on the Lord's day. And you open the word of God and say thus saith the

Lord. You are not merely declaring to those physically in the room. The truth of the gospel.

You're actually fighting a spiritual battle. Against the spiritual realm.

And you're making a declaration to them Christ has won. And we live in light of that.

And so I appreciate. I covet your prayers. As me or Pastor Keith or Pastor Jeremiah.

Or anyone that stands in this pulpit on the Lord's day gathering. There is something unique going on.

And we will see that as we dive into the text today. Let's read God's word Ephesians chapter 6. If you have a copy of it with you.

Please turn there. I want your eyes on it. Starting in verse 10. We're going to read the whole all the way down into verse 20.

To get the whole of Paul's thought here. He says finally. Be strong in the

Lord. And in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God.

That you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

But against the rulers. Against the authorities. Against the cosmic powers over the present darkness.

Against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.

Stand therefore. Having fastened on the belt of truth. And having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

And as shoes for your feet. Having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith.

With which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation.

And the sword of the spirit. Which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the spirit.

With all prayer and supplication. That to that end keep alert.

With all perseverance. Making supplications for all the saints. And also for me.

That words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly. To proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

For which I am an ambassador in chains. That I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.

This is the reading of God's holy, perfect, inspired, true. The only truth that we can possibly know.

Word. Right? Let's stop for a moment. Let's go and ask the Holy Spirit. Would it help our frail, fleshly minds comprehend it.

Lord we bow before you once again. We thank you. And as we do every week.

As I prepare to come up to this pulpit. And open up your word. May we not be so bold to think that we in and of ourselves can comprehend these truths.

These truths are lofty and spiritual. Unbelievers can't even comprehend them.

They make no sense to the unbelieving mind. And sometimes when our minds have not been renewed.

And we are not walking in the spirit as Christians. We have difficulty understanding them. Oh but we need your help.

We need to be in the spirit today. We pray that everything that I might say would be truth from your word.

And I beg of you that if there is anything in my notes or in my head. That I am going to speak for to this people that is not true about your word.

Please stop me. Even if it means you have to kill me on the spot. Please do so. Guard the ears of the hearers.

You are holy. You are good. And your word is holy and good.

Help us to tread cautiously as we evaluate and examine it. In Christ's name.

Well our proclivity to imbalance within the church and as Christians.

I believe is rarely as pervasive as it is on the topic of grace and works.

We have sometimes these contrasting ideas. Some are drawn to the first three chapters of Paul's letter here to Ephesians.

To the church in Ephesus. As we looked at for months and months. Seeing how we are all at one point dead in our trespasses and in our sins.

Unwilling and unable to be made right with God. That's what Paul laid out didn't he?

Unwilling and unable to be made right with God. Yet. What did

Paul tell us? He lays it out in great detail. That God the Father had loved those of us with whom he had chosen.

Before the foundations of the world. Before he even created everything. Before the garden was there.

Before Adam and Eve. Before there was light. Before there was anything. He had set his love and affection upon those with whom he had chosen.

And. That God the Son. The second person of the Godhead. Had planned to and accomplished coming and representing us.

Right? This is what he laid out. That he may purchase us for the Father.

Because of the Father's great love for us. To buy us back from the deserved wrath of that God.

Is this not what Paul's been laying out? And furthermore. Where the Holy Spirit breathed new life into us.

Remember? We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Unable and unwilling to come to God. And the Holy Spirit breathes new life into us.

He awakens us from that spiritual deadness. So that we could receive faith in what

Christ had come to accomplish. And now. What does the Holy Spirit do?

As Paul says. He seals us. For that day of redemption.

Or that day of glory. He seals us as a. And dwells us as a guarantee of that future inheritance.

That is for certain. Ours. In Christ. This basically summarizes the first three chapters of Ephesians.

Doesn't it? This is what Paul has been saying. It's a modern gistic act of the triune

God alone. You and I brought absolutely nothing to the table.

Except for the sin that made it all necessary. We didn't pray a prayer.

We didn't walk an aisle. We didn't get in the waters. We didn't do any of it.

God had already done it before we even did any of those things. It was a singular act of God.

And we. Who see this truth. We love it. We cling to it tightly. Because it's the words of God.

It's true. And we sing songs like Amazing Grace that we just sang. Because this is all of grace.

We have been unequivocally. Irrevocably. Saved. By grace alone.

Through faith alone. In Christ alone. To the glory of God. Alone. Right?

That's what the word of God says. Without such we would all be without hope. However.

As I said there is a tendency to fixate on one element of truth.

To the neglect of others. Some have the propensity to stop there. To stop at that great truth.

And fall prey to what's known as hyper grace. Believing that the whole of the

Christian life is a modernistic act of the triune God. And God alone.

Leading them to ignore scriptures such as the last three chapters of this letter.

Wherein Paul calls for holy living. Walking in the spirit. To be being filled with the spirit.

As Paul had alluded to back in chapter 2 of Ephesians. When he said for we.

Those of us that have been saved by that great truth. Are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus.

For what? Good works. Which God had prepared beforehand. That we should walk in them.

Now the other extreme to this. Is seen in those who have little to no understanding of what

Paul had said in those first three chapters. They have no concept that salvation is of God and God alone. They think well it's

I guess I just accept Jesus into my heart. I pray the sinner's prayer and that's how I get saved. That's just how it works.

They have no concept of actual biblical salvation. While putting the wrong emphasis.

With a poor interpretation of the scriptures called holiness and good works.

Not being grounded in a biblical understanding of grace. By faith alone in Christ alone.

Thinking that their obedience. The obedience from them is somehow adding to their justification before God.

They read the last three chapters. They see well there's a lot of things I am supposed to do here. So I must be adding to my standing with God.

My obedience to this makes God happy with me. My disobedience to this makes God upset with me.

And this is why we must be careful to cling tightly to this tension in scripture.

So that we do not fall prey to the laziness of hyper grace. Or to the burdensomeness of self -righteous works.

You feel that tension? We always want to fall to one ditch or the other.

We either want to just slide over here. Let's just focus on orthodoxy.

All the information and man I'm good. I can live however I want to live. People can't say

I'm not saved. Because once saved always saved. I'm in it. It's good. I'm good to go. Or you fall to the other side and you try and work for it yourself.

You see it? The church is riddled with this distortion on both sides. And this

I believe is at the core of Paul's final instructions to the church here in Ephesus.

As a matter of fact we see it summarized in this first statement. Look at verse 10. He says finally.

Some of your translations might say as for the rest. What's Paul saying here? Paul's saying this letter is not yet complete.

This last bit, this is vital for you to even begin to understand all of this.

This is a key element to everything that I've been saying in the whole of this letter.

As for the rest. As for the final information that you Christians have to have. Listen here.

And as a matter of fact it's not in your translation of the ESV. Most of you have the ESV in here. But in the original language

Paul actually uses the word following this for brethren. I love that he does that and I hate that we don't have it in our translation.

I hate it's not there because we see the heart and passion of Paul in addressing the saints.

It's a given. He's writing the letter to saints so it doesn't have to be there. But I think what Paul is doing, he says as for the rest, brethren.

This is a term of endearment, right? In scripture when Paul or any writer or any

Christian calls someone brethren, this is enduring. This is love.

This is from a heart of acknowledgement of the unity that we have together.

And he says as for the rest or finally, brethren. And he pleaded with them.

And what does he say there? He says be strong in the

Lord. The word that he uses for strong here, it's the same word that Paul uses in every athlete's favorite verse.

You know what I'm talking about. Philippians 4 .13. Every athlete uses this thinking he's going to be able to throw the ball farther or whatever.

Whatever it is that athletes do. Taking it out of context. Somebody's got the shirt on.

Joe, I can do all things through a verse taken out of context. He's got the shirt on. He says I thank him who has given me strength.

Oh, that's 1 Timothy. I can do all things, and here's the word, through him who strengthens me.

So it's the same idea here. And I just read 1 Timothy briefly. He tells Timothy, he says

I thank him who has given me, and it's the same word, strength, Christ Jesus our

Lord. He's been given strength. The strength comes from him, through him.

Notice something about these passages. The one in Ephesians and these two.

Paul never calls for or attests strength that is grounded in or native to ourselves.

Or any other outside source of strength. Other than be strong in the

Lord. Now, don't make the mistake of reading this wrong.

Again, we have a tendency to fall one way or another. Piper Grace would read this as something along the lines,

Lord, be strong in us. You see the distinction?

As if we have no participation in this. Lord, you do it all. You be strong.

And I'm just going to be completely and thoroughly and totally passive. After all, it's your strength.

You do your strength thing. Paul calls for us, the saints, the brethren, to actively pursue strength.

To actively endure. Which, by the way, that word that he uses, that we have translated strength, can also mean endure.

Or reminding us of the only strength we have. There in verse 10, look at the next part of it.

And in the strength of his might. We're called to actively endure.

To actively be strong. But it's not a native strength to us.

It's a foreign strength to us. It's his strength. It's the strength of his might.

He is in us. He is for us. And he works through us.

Right? Because he began a good work in us and we'll see it to completion.

He's the one. And that's where that tension is. He began a good work.

And he will see it through. And in that process, saints hear me.

Look at me when I tell you this. In that process, you and I are called to actively participate in that work.

Do not fall prey to some hyper -grace idea that God's just gonna do all the things in and through you while you sit passively on your behind.

You see the temptation there, don't you? This is important. What does that look like?

If we are called to endure, if we're called to be strong in his strength, what does that look like?

You say, Pastor, every time I try to be strong, I fall flat. I fail.

I try to mortify sin in my life. I try to live the right way and do the right thing and I always fail.

Every single time I'm just not strong enough. You know what?

You're right. You're not. You are not strong enough.

Period. But that's precisely Paul's point here. Be strong in the

Lord. And in the strength of his might. However, our experience is often not of strength but of weakness, as we just mentioned.

We often don't even tap into that strength. We lose sight of the spiritual realities and begin to see only the physical around us.

And start relying on our own ingenuity. We say, okay,

I got it, Pastor. I gotta endure. I gotta be strong. I gotta do the things, right?

I see all these three chapters in Ephesians. Do this. Don't do that. Be filled with the Spirit. Do this. Do that.

Okay, I get it. I understand. And you try and come up with a game plan for yourself as to how to fulfill all of those to -dos.

Don't look at me with a holy look. You know all of you have done that. I've done it. And I continue to do it time and time again so often.

And in doing so, of course we're failing. You know, we treat the

Christian life as less of a war and more of a job. I'm guilty of this.

We wake up. We clock in to the battlefield like we're going to work dressed in our

Sunday best instead of the armor of God. And then we wonder why we're being cut down every day. Because we're doing it in our own strength.

We're doing it in our own wisdom. We're doing it in our own ability to endure. This is why

Paul reminds the brethren in verse 11. What does he say? He says, hey, put on the whole armor of God.

Notice he doesn't say God has already put it on you. Now there's an element of that.

God has already given it to you. But we must participate in this.

This is a call to action. You must actively put this on. However, this is not just any armor.

Remember, we don't come up with the armor. We don't pick the armor. We don't create the armor. It's his armor. He's the one that's created it.

He's the one that's prescribed it. He's the one that has commissioned us with it. You don't pick up and choose which pieces of it you put on that day.

The whole of it is absolutely essential. Put on the whole armor of God.

Why? Look at what he says next. That you, okay?

Circle that in your Bible or underline it if you write it in there. The you. You. That you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

This reminds me of what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5 .8. He says, saints, hey, be sober -minded.

Be sober -minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

And I know the theological -minded in here that say, okay, I know total depravity.

I understand. I don't really need the devil's help. My flesh fights against me enough as it is.

And you'd be right. Your flesh is wicked. Paul says that I do the things

I don't want to do. I don't do the things I want to do. Who will deliver me from this wretched flesh? However, that is the very purpose of this armor.

That's the whole point of why Paul's pointing this out. If you are not actively putting on that armor, then you are not even in the battle.

And if you're not in the battle, the enemy is just leaving you alone anyways. You're right where he wants you.

Your flesh is already keeping you unfaithful. You've already lost.

You've already taken the hit for the day. You might as well throw in the towel at that point, because he's not going to attack you, and so your flesh would be that.

And why is that? Because you're merely warring against flesh and blood whenever you are trying to do it in your own strength and or not pursuing putting on the armor of God.

You are doing it on your own and in your own might. But Paul says, look at verse 12.

Four. He said, put on the whole armor of God, Saint. Brothers, put this armor on, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We're often fighting the wrong battle on the completely wrong battlefield.

We're trying to fight what we can see. But Paul tells us we're fighting a battle that's being waged in the heavenly places with a real, substantial, potent enemy.

And if we try to fight that enemy in our own strength, his schemes will outmaneuver us every single time.

You go out on that battlefield in your khakis and your polo shirt, thinking you're going to fight this battle as if it's some kind of job.

You're not even in the battle. And that is why we must be equipped with his armor, standing firm in his strength.

We are both on the defensive and the offensive. As we'll see over the next six weeks, as we talk about each piece of this armor, you will begin to see some of this armor is on the offensive.

Some of it is on the defensive. We are in a war against an enemy that we ourselves cannot even see.

Paul tells us four things about this enemy that we are called to wrestle against.

Now I want to say this before we talk about these four things. Notice that he says wrestle. He uses this word not to ignore or passively avoid.

He says in verse 12, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but, in implied, we do wrestle against.

And he speaks of these spiritual forces. This is the only place where Paul used that particular word, and it's referring to hand -to -hand combat.

Just like wrestling today, the word carries this idea that one opponent is seeking to pin down the other opponent.

So I want to say that because that means that this is in no way passive on your part.

You are not just trying to defend yourself from an attacking enemy. You are seeking to pin the enemy.

You are seeking to win a war. That's the purpose. And he tells us four things about this enemy that we are called to wrestle against.

They are rulers, they are authorities, they are cosmic powers, and they are spiritual forces of evil.

Back in chapter 2 and verse 2, Paul had said, speaking of us before we were

Christians, right? And in the state of all man that is not in Christ. He says, in which you once walked, right?

Following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience.

There is no passivity. Remember, there's no passivity between the lost and the saved.

For those of us that are saved, we are no longer part of this world. We are part of the kingdom of God.

And we are slaves to Christ. Every other person that is not in Christ is not free.

We were not taken from freedom to be a slave to Christ and freed to righteousness.

We were slaves. And everyone out there is a slave. They are sons of disobedience.

They are completely and thoroughly entrapped by sin.

They are chained to it, and they can do nothing but obey it. They think they're free. They are pretty sure they're free.

They look at religious stuff and go, that is restricting. I've got total freedom.

That's the crazy part about how sin and the evil one is working out. They actually think they're free. They think they can choose what they want to do, but they are completely enslaved, as Scripture says.

Enslaved to what? Who's controlling this? These rulers and authorities.

And these rulers and authorities that Paul is speaking of are obviously not referring to physical human rulers and authorities, because he says we're not wrestling against flesh and blood.

You see, even though we see human flesh and blood rulers and authorities, who they themselves are doing wicked, godless things, we see it time and time again, where those that are in control within this world, in the physical realm, do wicked, vile things.

And when we see that, our natural instinct is to combat them. We want to go after them.

Overturn their wickedness. Remove them from power. That's our whole goal. Forgetting that all we're doing there is attacking the puppet and never even affecting the puppet masters.

You realize that, right? The war, the cultural war that we've been fighting as the moral majority

Christianity, when we're fighting in flesh and blood and trying to overturn politicians and all the leaders and all that craziness that we're trying to do, all we're doing is fighting puppets while the puppet masters are just laughing.

They haven't even put a dent in our forces. Because they're just attacking the means that we're using for carrying out this wickedness.

The world is under the sway of the wicked one. Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 4, he says the god of this world has blinded their minds.

The rulers and authorities of this world have blinded them. They are the gods of this world.

Those presidents, those congressmen, those kings and leaders are merely doing the bidding of their father, the real ruler and authority within their realm.

You see how distracted we've become as a church? I've said it before, but it's almost as if the church has been bringing a knife to a nuclear war, thinking that we're actually combating something.

It's absurd. Look at verse 12, he says, or the next part of verse 12, he says, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness.

This is why we need this armor. We are left here in a present darkness. We're left here, even though as Paul said in Colossians 1, he says that he has delivered us, saints from the dominion of darkness, and he's transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son.

We are left here in this physical world, in the midst of this darkness, for a season.

Why? To be salt and light.

That's what Jesus said, right? We are left in a dark present age to be the light, to represent him.

We see this translated cosmic powers here.

This comes from a compound word in the Greek, cosmos, which you're probably familiar with, which is referring to the universe, the physical realm.

And I believe I'm pronouncing it right, kreta, which refers to having power over.

So the Greek combines these two words, and we get this idea. You can see why in the

SV it translates it cosmic powers, helping us to understand just how powerful their rule and authority is in the physical realm here of the universe, while they are functioning within the spiritual realm.

Yes, Christ has defeated them. We know that, don't we? If you've come to Christ, you've come to Christ as the victorious

Lord and King over all, so you know he's defeated them. He reigns supreme as the ultimate authority over even them.

You realize that, right? Christ is the ultimate authority even over them. They have to obey him.

If Christ tells Satan himself or any of the demons or his minions or whoever it is, whatever

Christ says they have to do, they must obey. They have no choice. He's king, right? He reigns over them.

Yet we don't see the outworking of that in its fruition yet, do we? Why? Christ has defeated him.

Christ has defeated all. And he reigns supreme. Why are we still in a present darkness?

Because we're still in this present age. We're in this age.

There's an age to come. But we are in this age. There is an age to come where the final enemy, as Paul says in 1

Corinthians 15, death is going to be put under his feet. Death has already been defeated by him.

He already conquered it. But it's going to be brought into total submission to him, and he will destroy it completely.

He will do away with it. And all will be made new. That's our blessed hope, right, as Christians?

In the meantime, in this present darkness, he still has sheep that are lost in that darkness.

You ever thought about it that way? Blinded by these cosmic powers, he still has sheep.

He still has sheep possibly that haven't even been born yet. And he's waiting for every last one of them because he says, all that the

Father has given me, I have not lost one. And make no mistake, somebody a thousand years from now who is one of his elect has already been given to Christ.

He's not going to lose them. And so we wait in the process of all of his people to be redeemed.

And he, like the patient good king that he is, is waiting until all are found.

And we, as his representatives here in this present darkness, are his body, we're his bride, we're the church, right?

We are being used to combat that darkness. We're being used to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of that present darkness.

The enemy knows his fate. The enemy knows he's on a time clock.

He knows good and well he's been defeated. And he's seeking to pull as many of God's creatures into destruction as he possibly can.

He hates God's creation, he hates God. And so Christ has left us here as the church to be that light in the midst of that darkness to find the last of his children.

Look at the next part of verse 12. It says, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, not the government, not the media, not your neighbor, not your coworkers, not your family members, but the spiritual forces that control them.

Do you see what I mean when I say we've been distracted? We're fighting on the wrong battlefield with the wrong tools, with the wrong armor.

No wonder we've not been making an impact. We've not been fighting an actual spiritual war.

The enemy has been so, so good at distracting us and making us think that we're fighting a cultural war when

Paul has already told us you're not fighting flesh and blood. You're fighting cosmic powers.

You're fighting this spiritual force of evil in the heavenly places that is the

God of this physical world at the moment. When we do this, as only

God has prescribed by putting on his armor, I pray that we as a church would be one that would be able to quit trying to see with our eyes and trust the work and what

Christ has prescribed for us here and how to fight this battle while we rely on his strength, not on our own wisdom, not on our own might.

I got to be honest with you. I'm making a confession to you here, guys. I don't have any wisdom. I'm a fool.

Every time I read Proverbs, I go, I'm the quintessential fool. Was he writing about me? And you are too.

Don't fool yourself. Anybody that thinks he's wise is already a fool. We are the fool.

We try and do things in our own insight, in our own wisdom. Paul's saying, no, no, no.

No, stay strong, endure in his strength. And how do you do that?

The armor of God. That's it. That's how you walk in it. And so over the next six weeks, guys, you'll have to be here.

Those of you that are visiting, I'm sorry. You got to come for six more weeks. So you're going to have to hear it all, right? We're going to take a deeper dive into each piece of that armor.

And so as we do this, we must maintain the tension that I am speaking about. This sermon's really an introduction.

I wanted to address those three verses to lay the groundwork and set this up. Pastor Jeremiah is going to be preaching next week on one of these pieces of this armor.

And what we need to hold the tension as we do so, this is all of God, right?

All of God. He started it. He will see it to completion. And one of the means that he, in his sovereign plan, has chosen to use is the active obedience of us to walk in the works and the precepts that were prepared beforehand, as Paul had said.

Again, not in our own power, not by physical means. How? Through resting.

You'll begin to see, as we walk through each piece of this armor, you'll begin to see that this is so different than what my understanding or wisdom is.

Because we're fighting a war through rest with armor?

We can't comprehend that, can we? That doesn't make any sense. But that's what it means to rest in him.

And the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, as Paul said, right? That very same power that is within us, the spirit that dwells in us, that we are to be filled with.

And he has defeated death. And he's purchased our victory. We are not declaring a works righteousness as we walk through this.

Trust me. We are not saying that this is a works righteousness. We are clinging to a righteousness that works.

As James said, faith without works is dead. You show me your faith without works, I'll show you my faith by my works.

We're walking in it, and those works are works of rest. As Jesus said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

It's the imputed righteousness of our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ, isn't it? Not yours, it's not mine.

It's when we have come to faith in Jesus Christ, when the Holy Spirit awakened us, what happened? We come to the realization that Jesus, that Jesus, that great exchange, he took my sin, put it on himself on the cross.

The Father poured his wrath out on him that I deserve, that punishment that was coming to me.

And then at faith, when the Holy Spirit awakens me and God grants me faith and repentance, guess what?

In that very moment, Jesus then goes, hey, I became sin for you.

I took your sin, and guess what I'm giving you in exchange? My righteousness.

My perfect life, my perfect obedience, my perfect everything is actually accounted to you, so that when

God sees you, he sees his son. That is the very power and the strength that we are going to be resting in and walking in and enduring in.

And as we fight this spiritual war, we are continually reminded that it's a triune

God, that he is our mighty fortress, right? The triune

God is our mighty fortress. He is the one that will take care of us. He's the one that's created the armor, and that armor is impenetrable because he created it, because he is mighty, and he has guarded us with it.

Oftentimes, churches will sing a song of reflection after the sermon. I wanted to do that today.

This is a song the church has been singing for over 500 years now. It's a song we don't often sing here.

Most churches nowadays don't often sing this, but Martin Luther wrote this song as he ministered himself to hurting people during the plague of his time.

While all the other Christians were running from the cities to get away from the plague,

Martin Luther was running headlong into it. Why? To care for the broken and the weak, those who could not care for themselves.

As a matter of fact, he lost his own son to that very plague even, and he penned these words, this song.

And the church has been singing them now for 500 years. This song is to be sung as a chant, as a declaration.

I've got the lyrics up on the screen. Some of you may know it. Some of you may have grown up with it. But as we sing this song together,

I want you to think of the fact that we are marching into a war, a spiritual war, one that you can't see, utilizing an armor that you yourself did not construct or pick out.

But God, God is our fortress. God is our armor.

God is our strength. And he has prepared this battle for us. I pray that this would resonate with your hearts before we go to the

Lord's Supper, that we sing this song of reflection together. Please stand with me.