I invite you to pray with me: O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servants for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of thy mercy (Gaby P, Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Stevie A, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Margarita G, Fega G, Rosy Ch, Patricia L. Lina J. Manuel D. C, Yuya N. Mercedes L.) Comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the residue of their life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally they may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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God the Father, we thank you for your answer to our prayers with
The good news, with the recovery of health for some
Strengthen them so that they may regain their faith in you
And that they may be witnesses that you love them and
that you respond when we trust and believe in you
Thank you Father God in the name
of Jesus our Lord of Lords and King of Kings
Praise be to your name
always and forever, AMEN.
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PASTOR ROB INRIG IS CONTINUING WITH THE STUDY OF BOOK OF EPHESIANS AFTER A LITTLE BREAK WITH OUR WEEK OF PRAYER WHICH I POSTED ALSO IN THE BLOG WITH A GUIDE FOR PRAY
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As we began our study in Ephesians, we started in an unusual place – the first two weeks looking at Chapter 6 then turning our attention to the beginning of what Paul wrote.
I did so believing that we needed a better understanding of our times and that as followers of Jesus, we haven’t been invited along on a Christian cruise rather we’ve been enlisted into a war. This war is not like any war – the battleground unmarked, the weaponry not identified, the enemy dressed no different than you or I. This war declared the moment you gave your life to Jesus. At the very same time, you were rejoicing in your new life, the enemy taking up his weaponry to put an end to your joy – more than that, wanting to destroy the new life you entered into.
So with that in mind, let’s take a moment or two to remember where we’ve been. In chapters 1-3 Paul roots us in who we are in Christ – first relationally, where we are told we are Chosen, Loved, Adopted and Sealed – then, and this is just as critical – positionally, where we are in Christ, that we are – IN Christ, IN the heavenliness. This to say that Jesus secures the identity He has given us. We don’t stay chosen dependent on what we do, we stay chosen dependent on what Jesus never fails to do. Our actions may impact our experience of what we’ve been given but it has no bearing of the security of what we’ve been given.
So IN Christ – relational and positional victory; a relational and positional future. All that you have hoped for is yours. Those things not fully experienced in the here and now BUT guaranteed in the here and now with assurance for the there and then.
Then in 4 & 5, we are given instruction how we are walk out our new life communally – in humility, in love, in unity, in a mindset that is ‘other’ not me – preferring one another as we are called to live out our life, imitating Jesus. This Christ-reflecting life is only possible with the Holy Spirit’s power.
In these chapters of Ephesians, Paul speaks into the nitty gritty where demonic injury is often inflicted - in relationships of: spouse to spouse, parent to child, employer to employee, child to parent. Evidenced first in attitudes where we want to hold onto control, where our ‘me’-cantered orientation dominates, then seen in actions that cause strife and anger. Bitterness held onto, judgments held; lies told, things said. Not missed are also behaviours that hurt and destroy – where stealing, corrupt behaviour and offensive speech reveal the heart. These are what Paul addresses making it clear that it’s for these realities in life’s 365, we need to be dressed in spiritual armour. Too often we don’t often think of these as our spiritual combat zone but as Paul would have us understand, these are the very places spiritual battle is being waged.
So one more look, bookending where we began, my prayer is that what we are returning to will be far more than a refresher.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmed of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. :10-18.
Before digging into specifics, some essential reminders. First, that as Christians, you and I are in a spiritual battle. Though what we face may have human appearance, its strategy and power are devised and empowered in the realm of the unseen spiritual. Without a true understanding of this, we dress up in t-shirt and shorts vacation dress, totally ill equipped for what comes at us. That’s why Evan Kraft’s song, I Fight on my Knees that our pre-service began with this morning is far more than just a nice song. He expressing what God tells us, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. This, not just a good verse to quote but a very real truth it's imperative we live in.
From there, a second imperative, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Notice how these 3 are phrased.
These 3 are what we have and are to be ALWAYS with us as we stand, firmly planted and fully assured in what we have been given - our waist cinched tight on truth, our righteousness tailor fitted by Jesus, and our feet standing firmly in His positional and experiential peace – peace with God and the peace of God. These three areas where the enemy wages his strongest and most consistent attacks – on the TRUTH we believe, on the RIGHTEOUSNESS in which we stand, on the experience of PEACE we’re told is ours.
So the first 3 as Christians, what we have; the second 3 what we are to take up, Taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and (take) the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
These 3 we are to TAKE UP to use strategically as fits the occasion. It’s not that these are secondary, it’s that they are what are to be used, specific against the attack. Not God is love but as John tells us, how great and personal His love is, How very much our Father loves us for He calls us His children and that is who we are 1 Jn 3:1. What this means is that we need to be far more familiar than we often are, of this armour that we are to take up. That God’s Word is something we know and are spending time in. In the same way, whether in electronic form or paper form, our Bibles are with us as we meet on Sunday mornings. With us to underline, to study, to dig into. Don’t take my word for what the Scriptures say but test what is said against what the Bible says.
Okay with this in mind, let’s do a quick review of the armour then with a focus on what we haven’t yet spoken to.
First, the belt of truth :14 beginning in Ephesians 1, the most important truth knowing who we are IN Christ – incomprehensibly, chosen – yes but One we also must choose. When we repent and ask Jesus into our lives, He forgives our sins and make us His child. At that moment, He places us into Him, forever holding us, securing us and insuring us. What He holds, He will not lose, cannot lose. Our salvation is guaranteed by Him not me. My life held by the Saving One, the Grace Giving One, the Empowering One, the Transforming One, the Victorious One. This is to say this – regardless what comes into our life – tragedy, failures, heartbreaks, as devastating as those things might be – what we have been given on which our hope is secured, will never be lost. Sometimes in the moment, this truth can be hard to hold onto, sometimes excruciatingly hard, but what it says, is nonetheless true. Though I have said this before, it needs to be repeated, open your Bible to Ephesians 1 and underline every time you see the phrase: IN Christ, IN the Beloved, IN Him. That is the reality for every believer who, in repentance, has come to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin. These truths are what we need to tightly cinch around us – to hold us, re-orient us, to calm us.
Because of what Jesus has done and what He has put on us, we wear His breastplate of righteousness :14. The breastplate covers our vital organs - our heart, our lungs, our abdomen. In Greek, Roman and Jewish thinking, the heart was the center of the mind – As a man thinks in his heart, so is he Prov 23:7. Where you feel all your feelings was in your gut. In Colossians Paul speaks of, the bowels of mercy Col 3:12- ‘splánchnon’. The bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions such as anger and love; but by the Hebrews it was the place of kinder affections like benevolence and compassion.
The breastplate of righteousness then to cover as well as dispel the feelings that can arise when the enemy tries to hijack our thoughts as he levels his attacks.
Attacks that accuse, You’ll never be better than who you’ve been, You’ll never be better than what you’ve done; attacks that condemn, Your past is bound by unforgivable wrongs; attacks that remind, Hope is gone, you’ll never get up; attacks of failure and insecurities that repeat, You’ll never be enough.
Jesus’ breastplate of righteousness telling us something entirely different that you have been covered in His blood, you are forgiven. Valued. Transformed. Made new. Made right. The old gone, the new given. The accusations, whether accurate or not in what they point to, have been taken on and quenched by Jesus so they no longer fall on us.
It’s also significant that this shield also covers feelings that bring unrest – the anxiety that paralyzes, the depression that weighs down, the worthlessness that incapacitates. The Holy Spirit calling us to trust in the strength of what we are wearing, God‘s affirming emphasis of His love, His value, His care. That’s why the Scriptures will say, Cast all your anxieties, your cares on Him, because He cares for you or It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed or Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved 1 Pet 5:7, Ps 55:22, Deut 31:8.
Christ’s righteousness as Romans tells us, is imputed, placed upon us Rom 3:22,5:9, 2 Cor 5:21. Our worth, our hope and all that means, placed upon us by Jesus. All meaning that in Jesus we have:
Positional righteousness - made right with God - when we repented of our sin, Jesus’ shed blood paying the debt for our sin. Then, we’re to live out that righteous not as those who are sinless but as those who sin less as we live to please Jesus.
The next piece of armour is Our feet ‘shod’ with the preparation of peace. The soldier’s footwear was embedded with metal spikes to stabilize the soldier in the fight. While the enemy was knocked askew, his feet were firmly planted. Paul saying, stand planted for Whom you fight and with that, in who you are; being assured in the protection placed on you and in whom you’ve been made to be.
Standing firm in that, Take up your shield of faith that will quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. There were two shields the Roman soldier used. For hand to hand combat, there was the buckler, a small shield attached to his arm. With this he would deflect an opponent’s sword coming at him.
Then there was a much larger shield. This shield was carried into battle as soldiers marched in formation presenting a protecting canopy against arrows raining down from the sky. Often these shields were soaked in water to extinguish arrows as soldiers advanced under their shield linked wall. Those same shields are what we have been provided with not in the battle we are marching toward but in the battle we are already in.
As believers, we need the protection we bring each other so that when attacks come, we aren’t splintering off to fight the battle alone. These shields protecting from the attacks we often don’t see but those around us do. Times when we are called to run under the protection offered to us by others. Christians not called to interdependence but to interdependence. One another living, functioning in the strength of the Lord. Held, surrounded and supported by others - my doubts and hurts expressed to others who hear them, understand them and lovingly, bring God’s truth to them. People who walk with us.
To bring this closer to home. One another support won’t happen by coming together on a Sunday morning, saying hi and then heading our separate ways. It won’t happen by casual acquaintance. It happens mid-week as you regularly gather with others in your neighbourhoods to study God’s Word together, who share your struggles with one another, who pray for one another, who develop meaningful relationships with one another. Young families who in a disconnected world, take the time to connect. Singles and couples, old and young, different backgrounds, different nationalities – together in house groups, a ‘church within a church’. Learning, growing, enjoying, connecting, – shield to shield – the body of Christ as Jesus intended. Praying for one another as you raise kids, face difficulties, carry burdens, navigate relationships.
I know, I know we’re too busy, the kids are too young, the sports too many, the workday’s too tough, the television programs too good, our downtime too important. And what we are buying into with all of that? - the enemy’s deception, the shield you have to offer is too small, too insignificant, too unimportant, too unneeded. Yet with your shield missing, there is a strategic break in God’s line of protection spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable :18-22.
So the call to us this morning – make a decision and commit to get connected. Join a house group. Together to grow, learn, laugh, enjoy, give and pray. Praying together as many have been doing this past week. Together.
Why? because you and I – we - wear The helmet of salvation. 1 Thess 5:8 tells us this helmet is the hope of our salvation. This helmet protecting the decision we have made. Paul’s reminder? never forget the salvation we stand in, our salvation helmet reminding of the victory assured.
Understand the hope of our salvation isn’t just something we are saved FROM, it’s a salvation we are saved INTO. That is to say, when we are surrounded, seemingly overwhelmed by opposing values, opposing beliefs, opposing attacks, it is easy to picture our salvation as being airlifted out of the fray. There is a sense of that – as Romans 8 reminds, we have been rescued from the power of sin and death. But if this is all it is, our hope is too easily relegated to a grateful, but ‘life-not-substantially changed’, sigh of relief, satisfied with what we just stepped out of. But the hope of our salvation we’ve been given is to characterize how we are to live. It is to be defined by the transformational victory we just stepped into – an ongoing celebration unlike anything we have ever known. Our entrance into that place assured by the custom fitted helmet we wear.
Nothing so definitively identified the country served as the helmet. The hope of salvation is what we live for not as a hope as in what may be but hope in the certainty of what’s awaiting.
An unimaginable hope. A hope that will far exceed anything we have ever known. This hope isn’t the existence of what we currently know only somewhat better, but a hope that will usher us into an incomprehensible glory.
The basis for our hope is this – when we asked Jesus to forgive our sins, we were immediately set free from the penalty of our sin – past, present and future, There is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Rom 8:1. Christ’s payment for my sin also gave me His Spirit, enabling me to have victory over sin’s power. Which brings me into God’s forever hope - sin’s presence forever gone. The penalty paid, the power given, sin’s presence gone. These are all the elements of the REDEEMING HOPE we wear in the hope of His salvation and they are of incomparable and unchanging value. No weapon the enemy may bring can eliminate what the helmet provides.
But the greater hope is our COMING HOPE we will be ushered into – And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” .... To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children. Rev 21:1-7.
As we close, one last thought for the battle you may be presently in. While in the immediate you may get knocked around, life not always going as might have hoped. Sometimes storms coming in that have threatened to overwhelm and at times have taken you under – what you have been truly living for, what your hope has been entrusted to – is absolutely guaranteed
So as we are reminded in 2 Corinthians Paul tells us we are to, Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ 10:5. These thoughts that have worked so hard to take you captive – that have shouted defeat, that have spoken fear, that have whispered unworthiness, that have declared unqualified – now by the power of God’s truth, defeated and taken into captivity as God’s covered and armed warrior, you decisively act in the victory Jesus has already won.
YOUR GUARANTEE? THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST.
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