Once again, seeking the Lord's
help to grant me the ability to speak to you, I'd like to
draw your attention to the chapter that we have been looking at,
Ephesians chapter 6, and the text you'll find in verse 13. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all, to stand Those of you who have been with
us over the past weeks will remember that we have been going through
the last part of Ephesians 6, which is the armour of God. and
how he begins with, finally, my brethren be strong in the
Lord. And as he has laid bare the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ to the Ephesians, and as he has told them of the great
blessings and benefits that are found for those who are in Christ
Jesus, He now warns them of the difficult pathway in which those
who have gone from the darkness to the light are to walk in.
As we have said, the narrow way that leads to life is no picnic. It is not an easy road. It is a road of much trouble
and much difficulty, but it's a road that leads to a final
destination which is in heaven. And as Abraham and the old saints
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, seeking for a city
that is out of sight, whose builder and maker is God. And so the
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ continues on in that pathway. They are strangers in a foreign
land. They are walking on the narrow
way that leads to life. The strength their own they don't
have but the strength of the Lord is their strength and the
power, his power. They go forth with his power.
They are given an armor to put on. This armor ultimately is
Christ. He is their strength. He is their
ability. He is their salvation. But they
put on a spiritual armor because they are fighting against a spiritual
enemy, the enemies of the Lord, which are Satan and his hosts. They fight against their own
selves, they fight against the world system and so there is
much opposition to the people of God as they walk the narrow
way that leads to life and so they are given an armour to enable
them to persevere and to go forward, to resist the opposition and
to fight the opposition. Last week we looked at who the
enemy was And it's very important for a believer to understand
who they are fighting against. It is not a physical enemy in
which they can see but it's the the forces of darkness those
who came due to the casting out of heaven satan and his hosts
satan who tempted eve in the garden of eden who caused the
whole of mankind to fall under sin and now his kingdom he's
the prince of the rulers of this the darkness of this earth and
he is opposed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and so
there were those legions of angels, fallen angels, which do the bidding
of Satan and they seek to infiltrate into society And we saw how we
noticed that even in the the Olympic Games and there was that
full frontal attack on the Lord Jesus Christ and wokeism. Then there is that we saw even
with the the slaughter of those little children on Monday. There is a stirring up of hatred
and anger. And so we wrestle not against
flesh and blood but behind this world system is the forces of
darkness. We saw that even in the entertainment
industry there is that promotion of sin, there is that promotion
of satanic worship and it is rife in our day and in our generation
but it's always been there. Satan has always sought to pull
down the people of God and to attract them, to lure them back
to himself. We saw of the man who was raised
up in Hastings, who was described as the most evil man that ever
there was and who sought to purify satanic worship and he
became the founder or the one who worked out the slogan in his
book the whole law is do whatever thou wilt. Do whatever thou wilt. And we saw that even in many
of the pop songs it is promoted. Do whatever you want. Go wherever
you want to do. There is no God. Reject the existence. You are your own God. Do whatever
you want and you will be happy. But we saw that is the agenda
of Satan. to bring people, to reject the
existence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that is
the enemy in which the people of God, those who are born again
of the Spirit, who have been moved from the kingdom of darkness
to the kingdom of light, this is the enemy that they face. Today, verse 13, he begins with wherefore and really verse 13
is a reputation of verse 11 wherefore he says because of this because
of what I have just been telling you about the enemy of your souls
about the forces of darkness wherefore now listen to me again
because of this taken to you the whole armour of God. As I
was looking at this I was thinking why is he repeating himself? Why is he stressing the point
that he's already made in verse 11 that he's telling them put
on the whole armour of God that you might be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. Why does he say again take unto
you the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand
in this evil day and he elaborates on verse 11. We know that as
Paul writes to the Ephesians he is an apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ under the influence of the Holy Spirit and so behind
him is God. God is writing to the Ephesians. God is writing to us and he is
stressing the point that the believer needs to wear an armour. The believer is such is the enemy
of their soul that they need to take him extremely seriously
and they need to take themselves and the armour that they have
got extremely seriously. So he stresses at the point. You could say that he magnifies
the truth to grab the attention of the reader. Sometimes when
we're reading over the scripture we just read through and we pass
by verses and they don't really take hold of our minds but if
something is written twice you think well I've just read that.
Why is he saying it again? It's because it's he wants to
grab the attention. It's something that is very serious
that he wants us to learn about and to take hold of and to be
warned about. And it's something that we do
with our own children. We tell them once and we look
at their face and we think well they haven't actually taken it
in. And so we tell them again. We stress the point because it's
important. We don't want them to mess up.
We want them to be obedient. We don't want them to fail at
what we have given them to do. And so we say it once and we
say look at me again and we say it again. We stress the point. And so God stresses the point
that you believers You need to be fully aware of the enemy that
you have but in the armour that God has given you. Wherefore, because of your enemy,
take the whole armour of God. We are to know our enemy. If any of you have been looking
at the Olympics or know anything of sport, You will know that
athletes spend a lot of time examining their opponents. Especially
those in boxing they watch rounds and rounds of fights to work
out how their opponent works. What are his moves? How does
he move his feet? What is his strengths? What are
his weaknesses? How does he hold his hands? What
are his guards? Where is he weak? And so it's
very important for an athlete to know their enemy or to know
their opponent so you can work out things about them. The same
happens in war. They spend a lot of time examining
the enemy. How many tanks does he have?
How many aeroplanes does he have? How many boats does he have?
How many people does he have? Where is he strong? Where is
he weak? Where is the best place for me
to attack? Where should I leave him alone?
And so it's very important to examine the enemy, to know how
he operates, where his strengths are, and where his weaknesses
are. And we have an enemy. The believer
has an enemy. And we're to know him. We're
to know how he operates, what his strengths are, what his weaknesses
are, what his tricks are. Jesus says he is Beelzebub. He is the liar and the father
of lies. He's a deceiver. And so a lot
of the work of Satan is done through lies and through deception
to trick people into following after him and to go away from
the true and the living God. And so we have to know as a believer
the tactics of Satan and the strategies that Satan will use. So as the athlete knows his opponents,
as those who go to war know the enemy, so the believer has to
know their opponent. and their opponent is Satan and
the enemy of their souls. You can be very sure that he
knows you. You see as the army seeks to
examine his enemy to find for weaknesses so the enemy is looking
to their enemy for weaknesses and for strategies. As the boxer
looks at his opponents for how he boxes so that opponent is
also watching videos of him seeking to know his weakness, his strengths,
his abilities. And so as we read about Satan
and as we read about the strategies of Satan he knows us very well. He knows the tricks that will
trip up a Christian. He knows the temptations which
to lay in the pathway of a believer. He knows very well where we are
weak and if we are strong he knows. And so we've been given the behavioral pattern of Satan
and his enemies so that we can study and know him but also to
know that he is a defeated foe in the life of the believer,
Christ has got the victory, sin has been cancelled out he can never pull the believer
down into the pit of hell but he can cause us to trip and to
bring shame upon the name of Christ to make us into a lukewarm
and useless condition. So Satan he knows us. But also we are to know ourselves. Every one of us has, every believer
knows that they have Christ as their saviour but they also know
that they are saved yet housed in a body of sin, that they still
have temptation and weakness, they still have besetting sins,
they still have oppositions within and we know where we are weak. And so it's very important to
as a believer to examine ourselves to see where we are weak and
where we are weak to put up like blocks or preserving measures
to stop us from being attacked by Satan in that specific way. And so we are to know ourselves. But also we're to know our armour. in the army. The soldiers spend
a lot of time cleaning their gun, taking it apart, putting
it back together again, cleaning their uniform, ironing it, making
sure it is suitable and knowing their helmet and their body guard,
their body vests, bulletproof vests. And so they know their
armour and they know their weaponry. And so the believer also has
to know the armour of God that has been given to him and to
know the weaponry that has been given. And so we're to know ourselves
and we're to know our armour. As Paul was writing this letter
to the Ephesians he was in jail. He had been arrested for preaching
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He'd been accused of
being someone who incited hatred by causing a disruption to the
peace and so the Roman armies had put him into jail. In Ephesians
chapter 3 and verse 1 he says, for this cause I pull the prisoner
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. And also in verse 20 of chapter
6 it says, for which I am an ambassador in bonds that therein
I may speak boldly as I ought to speak to you. As I was thinking
of this you know the Apostle Paul is in jail. He shows great courage as he
is in jail and he's enabled by the help of God to write many
letters to the churches to encourage them in their difficult pathway
of much opposition. And in jail he is ultimately
protected, he is provided for, he's given everything that he
needs and he's enabled to write these letters. But outside of
his jail and round about him there are the Roman soldiers.
And as we look at the armour of God we can see that the picture
in his mind is that of a soldier. He says, as I am here in jail,
as I am chained up or as I am just here under arrest, I don't
feel much like a soldier. But I am a soldier of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Outside of my jail is a real
soldier. And this is the type of imagery
that he says that the Christian is going to need. a helmet, a
shield, a breastplate, special shoes and a sword. But I think that as he viewed
this soldier and as he felt no doubt his need of God in this
great difficult situation, as he was a scholar of the Old Testament
being a Pharisee, no doubt his mind went to God. God in the
Old Testament is revealed to us as a warrior, a fighter, a
king, a man great in battle. If you remember when The children of Israel came out
of the land of Egypt and they were led, as we looked at recently,
as they were led through the Red Sea. And in Exodus 15, Moses,
he sings a song praising God for the great deliverance that
has taken place. And they sang, Moses and the
children of Israel, this song unto the Lord. And Spake, saying,
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he overthrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation. He is my God and I will prepare
him a habitation. My father's God and I will exalt
him. Verse three, the Lord is a man
of war. The Lord is his name. And then he goes on to explain
the victory that he has had. And in the chapter that we read
in Psalm 24, there the psalmist takes up the theme that God is
a warrior. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory
shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the
King of Glory. And so throughout the Old Testament,
the children of Israel viewed God as their king, the king of
glory, mighty in battle. He's a man of war. He went before
them to give them victories over their enemies. as we looked at
before last week that in the Old Testament it was almost like
the opposition of Satan and the kingdom of light warred against
each other in a physical way. But when Joshua was coming to
defeat Jericho there was there a man who met him and the man reveals himself as
the captain of the Lord's host. in the chapter that we read together,
Joshua 5. And it came to pass when Joshua
was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold
there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his
hand. And Joshua went up to him and
said unto him, Art thou for us or for our adversaries? He said,
No, but as captain of the host of the Lord. And I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to
the earth and did worship and said unto him, What saith my
Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's
host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy feet, for
the place whereon thou stand is holy. And Joshua did so. And so just as God appeared to
Moses in the flaming fiery bush, so the Lord appears to Joshua. And he doesn't come as a fiery
bush, but he comes as a man of war. Joshua is surprised. Are you with us or are you against
us? Are you one of the enemy or are you one of ours? Because
his sword is drawn. But he says, no, you are with
me. I am the captain of the Lord's
host. And he falls down and he worships
him. we believe that that is a revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, a pre-incarnate visitation of the Lord Jesus
Christ before he is born of the Virgin Mary and so he appears
as a warrior and so as the Apostle Paul is in his prison cell not
feeling much like a warrior he is looking and meditating upon
the great attributes of God and the warrior-like attributes that
he portrays himself in the Old Testament. a man of war, a man
who is able to deliver his people from a mighty enemy. The Lord
Jesus Christ, mighty in battle, he is the captain of the Lord's
host who brought a great victory to the people of Israel as they
walked round the walls of Jericho. But in Isaiah We also have a prophecy regarding
the Lord Jesus. As the Prophet Isaiah was being
instructed by God, he says, I saw somebody. He says, I saw that
there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor.
Therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him and his righteousness. It sustained him. for he put
on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon
his head and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and
was clad with zeal as a cloak. And so as Isaiah sees this coming
one, the Lord Jesus Christ, he sees him as a man dressed for
battle, a man with a helmet of salvation and the garments of
righteousness who brings salvation. And in chapter 63, he sees the
Lord Jesus Christ returning from the battle. is this that comes
from Edom with dried garments of Bosra, this that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save, Wherefore, or
why art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth wine? For I have trodden the wine-press
alone, and of the people there was none with me. For I will
tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
strain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in
mine heart, and the year of my Redeemer. And so the Lord Jesus
Christ is pictured as a man ready for a battle, wearing the same
armour of God that the Apostle Paul describes as he looks back
at Old Testament theology and he sees the greatness of God. And he sees Christ in Isaiah,
dressed in a helmet of salvation. He sees him then come, having
gained a great victory. and he is encouraged and he says
this is the armour that the believer needs to take as Christ wore
the armour and obtained a great victory so as the Roman army
wears an armour and obtains a great victory so the believer needs
to wear an armour and obtain a great victory through much
opposition of Satan. That's why he says wherefore
take unto yourself the whole armour of God that you may be
able to withstand in the evil day. And so as Christ came to
gain a victory for his people he stood in that evil day and
he was enabled to bring about a salvation for his people. In Colossians chapter 2 we read
there of the work that this great victor did. The great work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. How he was able to defeat Satan
being the seed of the woman he was able to bruise the serpent's
head by his finished work on the cross. Colossians 2. says buried with him in baptism
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God who has raised him from the dead and you being
dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened
together with him having forgiven all your trespasses or all of
your sin blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way by nailing
it to the cross and having spoiled principalities and powers he
made a show of them openly triumphing over them. And so the work of
Christ as he gained a victory for his people was done at the
cross. We know that Satan rose up against
the Lord Jesus Christ, used Judas Iscariot to betray the Lord Jesus
Christ and he believed that his work was done, that he was able
to get rid of the Lord Jesus. But we know that God orchestrated
the events to bring about the salvation of his people. Satan
in other words shot himself in the foot when he betrayed Christ
because in betraying Christ and handing him over into the hands
of wicked men he brought about the salvation of his people which
took away any accusation that Satan had against them because
Christ paid in full their debt. He removed their sin and therefore
is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He took
that condemnation out of the way. He nailed it to the cross
and he paid the debt of their sin. Therefore, Satan has no
more ammunition against the people of God. because their sin has
been dealt with. And he spoiled principalities
and powers and he made an open show of them and he triumphed
over them. He gained a victory upon the
cross and then rose again the third day. so Satan has no more authority
over the people of God. Satan has had his head crushed
by the Lord Jesus Christ because the sin of the people of God
has been removed and paid for in full by the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He may be the accuser of the
brethren but He has nothing to accuse us because no one can
lay anything at the charge of God's elected. It is God who
justifies. God has justified the people
of God, his people, through the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Satan,
by the great warrior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was defeated upon
the cross. But people of God still have
to walk through Satan's territory to get to their heavenly home
and so he says because of this enemy take unto you the whole
armor of God that you may be able to withstand in this evil
day. He says take it Before he says
put it on but now he says take it. There's more urgency. I've
told you about the enemy and now there's an urgency. Don't
just put it on. I mean take it. This is something
serious. I'm repeating myself. It is something
that without this armour you will never be able to stand any
opposition. of Satan. In other words, without
this armour, you are part of the satanic kingdom. You are
still in the kingdom of darkness. It says, take all of it. One part cannot be left out.
You can't say, well, I'm saved and not have a breastplate of
righteousness. You can't say, I've got my own righteousness.
I want to wear my own righteousness and I'm going to win this battle
by myself. I don't need the sword of the
word of God. I don't need prayer. No. take the whole armour of
God that you may be able to hold your ground. He says withstand. If you read verse 11 he uses
the word stand against the wiles or the deceits of the devil.
Verse 13 withstand and at the end of verse 13 it says to stand
verse 14 it says, stand therefore. Hold your ground. It is a giving us a picture of
someone who is ready, someone who is disciplined for battle. If you look at the Roman armies
and the way in which they achieved great success it was through
great discipline. They were obedient to those who
had rule over them and if they were told to stand and to resist
the opposition they would stand and resist. Those of you who
saw the news the other day when the people were attacked in Manchester
airport and there were some riots I doubt you saw the police running
away. And they were unable to stand. They were afraid for their
safety. They didn't have any right gear
on. And so even if they were told to stand, they would have
seen that it's foolish for us to stay here. It's very dangerous.
And so they ran away. But the believer is able to stand
and to withstand the opposition because of the armor that they
have been given. It is a suitable armor, an armor
to protect them, that they can combat the advances of Satan. And so they are disciplined.
to withstand they must also be unafraid, have total confidence
in what they have been given, in total confidence of their
victor the Lord Jesus Christ. They must be trusting, they must
trust that this armour that has been given to them is suitable
for the battle and that what the Lord Jesus Christ is telling
them to do is of a benefit to them. They must trust him Jesus
says, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. It
is that trusting obedience to withstand the opposition of Satan. In Matthew, when the Lord Jesus
Christ was praying, Matthew 26, I'm sorry it was just in the
Garden of Gethsemane after he had been arrested. It says, but
all this was done that the scripture of the prophets might be fulfilled
and then all the disciples forsook him and fled. They were filled
with fear and they ran away. They were yet to be fully equipped
with the power of the Holy Spirit and on the day of Pentecost and
through the book of Acts we see a completely different group
of people. They were able to withstand in
the evil day. They had a complete confidence
in the gift of the Spirit that had been given to them that enabled
them to persevere in much opposition. and they were to stand in the
evil day and having done all to stand. So having put on the
armour and listened to the advice given they are to stand. And throughout the New Testament
there is this illustration given, this analogy given by the apostle
of standing. the believer is to stand and
to be ready to fight. Remember we looked at where the
children of Israel came to the Red Sea they were told stand
still and see the salvation of the Lord that the Egyptians that
they saw today they would see them no longer for the Lord will
fight for you and they were to stand in that confidence of the
promise of God that God was going to fight and that he was going
to to look after them and throughout the New Testament we see that
standing in the confidence of God in Christ Jesus in 1 Corinthians
chapter 16 says in verse 13 it says watch
ye or you watch stand fast in the faith quit yourselves like
men be strong watch he says like a lookout and stand fast stand
firm in the faith the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ the faith
that has been given to us and be strong like men as men should
be. Soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ,
warriors of the Lord Jesus Christ and be strong. Those of you who
have ever been to Drusilla's will know that the meerkat section
there are certain meerkats that stand on top of the hill and
look out. they look out for prey. They look up into the sky, they
look for eagles and buzzards that would come and get them
and as they see them they make a sound and all of the other
ones run into their burrows for safety and so the apostle says
you are to watch are to be like watchmen upon the housetop looking
for any advancement of the kingdom of darkness, any trick or trap
of Satan that may undermine your faith and discourage you to persevere
on the narrow way that leads to life and you're to watch as
a lookout, as the as the boxer studies his opponent, as the
military study their enemy, as they put lookouts, so the believer
also is to watch. Remember when the Lord Jesus
Christ was praying and he says, as he returns to his apostles,
he says, could you not watch with me one hour? watch and pray
lest you enter into a temptation and so the believer is to watch and pray. In Philippians chapter
1 and verse 27 it says, only let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ whether I come and see you or
else be absent I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast
in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel and in nothing terrified by your adversaries which is
to them an evident token of perdition but to you of salvation and that
of God. And so there is that standing
fast in one spirit that the Church of God is to stand together united
as a army and not to be terrified by the enemy. The enemy we have
seen is a fearful enemy yet in Christ Jesus we are more than
conquerors. The victory has been done. All
we are walking through now is enemy territory. Our ultimate
destiny is heaven at last. And so the Apostle says stand
fast in one spirit, one mind and do not be terrified by your
enemies in the evil day in which we are living. To stand or to withstand is to
face the opponent. we go through the armour of God
we will see that there is no back protection. The believer
is always to press on looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is always facing the enemy unafraid with complete confidence in the
armour that God has given to him and the strength of God and
the might of God that goes with him and he is always facing forward
resisting As soon as we turn aside, we're exposed to opposition. As soon as we turn back, we're
exposed to the dangers that are aimed at us. The scripture tells
us, doesn't it? No man, after putting his hand
to the plough, turns back his fit for the kingdom of God. And
so the people of God go forward. looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we see in the Olympics we have those Olympians running
their race. Where are they looking? Not to
the left, not to the right, but they're pressing on to the finish
line. If you saw the Englishman, I
think it was 400 meters or 200 meters, he was winning by a long
way. Yet he was filled with confidence
or for some reason he decided to look to the left and slow
down. He was overtaken. And so it will
be with you and me, if we look to the left, look to the right,
lose our sight from Christ and be distracted by temptation,
Satan, he will get us. So I spoke to you before of the
yellow line on the railway line, on the platform. It says keep
away from the edge of the platform because it's dangerous. And yet
many people want to stand as close or even step over the other
side and put themselves in danger. But the scripture tells us we're
to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, keep away from the danger, keep
as far back as we can from the yellow line. Remember Satan is
a deceiver, he wants to lure you and me away from Christ and
we're to know our enemy and the tricks and the traps that he
sets draw us away from our beloved good shepherd the Lord Jesus
and so wherefore because of the enemy I'm going to repeat myself
take the whole armour of God that you might be able to withstand
the opposition in this evil day and above all having done all
having put it on then stand. wherefore take unto you the whole
armour of God. We may be enabled if we don't
have this armour there is no hope. But put on the armour,
put on Christ, and there is hope. Christ has gained the victory
over Satan and sin and the grave. There's only safety found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture says, believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. May the Lord give us that ability
to believe, that faith to lay hold at our sins, which are so
many. might be enabled to be forgiven. Amen. Our final hymn this morning is
from Gatsby 926. to the tune 369, 926. When all overwhelmed with doubts
and fear, great God, do thou my spirit cheer. Let not my eyes
with tears be fed, but to the rock of ages led, 926. Let not my eyes with tears be
led, But to the Rock of Ages let. ? Of His temptation roam ? ? I
to this rock for shelter flee ? ? And make my refuge hold in
Thee ? ? As the sick or faint or sore
display ? And let my arms on Thee be strength, Like summit
rising to the skies, That shield my head when dangers come. No fear to cross that gloomy
sea, Since Thou hast extended Thy hand. Almighty God and Heavenly Father,
we bow before Thee again, thanking Thee for Thy Word. We thank Thee
for the benefits of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and
for that full salvation and for that armour that is given to
Thy people. We pray that we may be enabled
to put on the whole armour of God that we will not be distracted
to look to the left hand or to the right hand or to turn back,
but enable us to persevere, that we may run this race, we may
reach the finish line, that we may receive the crown of glory
and to be with Christ forever and ever. We pray, Lord, that
we may be dismissed with thy blessing and do bless each and
every one this afternoon, we pray. Now by the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, the fellowship
and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with us each now and
for evermore. Amen.