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Spiritual Warfare

One of the first things to address when considering the piece of spiritual armor of “the Helmet of Salvation”, one must first see the severity of the battle that they are in. It is so easy for Christians today to not take Spiritual Warfare seriously and to think it is not a threat for them.

But the thing is, this is exactly what the enemy wants Christians to think. If the enemy can get Christians to think that Spiritual Warfare is not serious or is not real then he has already won.

1 Peter 5:8 says this about the enemy, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8, English Standard Version). Do you see how serious and real of a threat that the enemy is? He is not some weak villain who is irrelevant. Rather, he is a serious threat who is active, who is evil, and who is seeking someone to devour.

But, do you know who his target is? His target is you, his target is anyone who has been reborn as a child of God. So, Spiritual Warfare is real, it is a threat, and we must take it seriously as Christians.

 

The Helmet of Salvation

But what exactly is this Helmet that will protect us against the enemy? Well, the Helmet is our salvation and that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. And do you remember what that salvation is? There are three parts that make up your salvation and that is your justification, your sanctification, and your glorification.

First, your justification. God the Father sent down his only Son Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, and then willingly went to the cross to die in our place and for our sins. After this Jesus was buried, and then on the third day he arose from the dead so that whoever would repent and believe on Him for their salvation would receive eternal life and be adopted into the family of God.

Second, your sanctification. God continues to work your salvation each and every day as he sanctifies you. You, as a Christian, have the Holy Spirit living within you and it is this Spirit that empowers you and strengthens you to live out your Christian life and to be made more and more like Christ.

Third, your glorification. There will come a day when Jesus comes back to the earth to bring us to be with him for eternity. And it is this hope that we hold onto as Christians. That a day is awaiting us when there will be no more evil, suffering, death, nor tears. In this day, there will be eternal joy, peace, and love as we spend eternity with Jesus Christ our savior and our redeemer.

 

Putting the Helmet On

But, at this point, we still haven’t talked about how to put the helmet on. Because with a physical helmet it is simple, you merely pick up the helmet, put it on your head, and tighten the strap. But, how do you put on a spiritual helmet? How do you put on a helmet that you can’t see?

Well, the Apostle Paul offers these words in 2 Timothy 4:7 where he says this, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7, English Standard Version).

Do you see what the Apostle Paul says here? He says he kept the faith. That is how he “fought the good fight”. Not by trying harder. Not by doing this or doing that. But, by keeping the faith. And so, this is how we are to put on our Helmet of Salvation. By keeping the faith. Faith in our God. Faith in Jesus. Faith in his promises. Faith in the salvation that he so graciously purchased for us on the cross.

May you remember this week to put your helmet on. Because this helmet will protect you. No matter what attack the enemy may throw your way, you can know that you will be protected because your helmet is the salvation that you have received through Jesus Christ and his death and his resurrection.

 

_{I am writing this to you all before I left for my sabbatical to touch on the importance and necessity of forgiveness.}

 

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

                                                       – C.S. Lewis

 

We have all been wronged and we have all had relationships that disintegrated because of hurt feelings. The amazing thing is how we believe the lie that when wronged, we are entitled to payback. We feel free to go talk with anyone and everyone about this travesty and we exercise our right to stay mad at them as long as we want, because after all, it really hurt.

This is vastly different than what Jesus teaches us about forgiveness. Forgiveness is a foundational expectation for a Christ follower and until we really understand this and begin the hard work of rooting out the unforgiveness and bitterness from our lives, we will never experience the abundant life Jesus offers.

Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiveness in Matthew 18, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” and Jesus answers him “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Not knowing if Peter was up to speed with his multiplication tables and was able to determine the answer was 490, the number is not important. The idea Jesus communicates is that we should continually forgive and he expounds on his answer to Peter by sharing a parable that clearly communicates God’s heart towards forgiveness.

 

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me, he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You WICKED servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.

(Matt 18:23-35 NIV)

 

In this parable, the master is God. We are the servant who has had a huge debt forgiven and refused to forgive the much smaller debt of his fellow servant. Verse 33 captures the heart of God, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”

This is not an obscure passage, many Christians know it, but for some reason it is often removed from memory when faced with an opportunity to forgive. Our hope is that you consider this passage in a fresh way as a lens through which you see the relationships around you. 

 

Appropriating Grace

1 Peter 4:10 says we are to be “faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” One of the various forms of God’s grace comes in the form of people. Everyone needs grace from God, but we also need to regularly give grace to other people. They need grace from someone with real skin.

Most Christians are clear about the grace of God as it relates to their initial salvation. We understand this as a one-time event. We were lost, but now are found. We were shown grace when he forgave our sins and offered us eternal life with Him when we did nothing to deserve it. But what we are more resistant to see is the fact that God shows us grace on a daily basis. When we realize how He shows us grace moment by moment we will be able to engage others in a gracious manner moment by moment as well.

As we become clearer about the grace God gives us several things happen. First, we find that things that once offended us, no longer do, or at least we are offended to a much lesser degree. For example, losing sight of God’s grace, I may get frustrated and annoyed when a friend doesn’t call me back within 24 hours of my call. I may start thinking about how I always call people back right away and I start to wonder if he is even my friend because of this great offense. However, if I am appropriating God’s grace in my life, I would realize that I also sometimes neglect to call my friends back right away and see this as an opportunity to be more intentional about my own friendships. Then, I would give him the benefit of the doubt, not thinking of myself first. I would even wonder what happened to my friend which will soon turn to concern as to whether everything is OK with him. That is appropriating grace. 

When we understand about God’s grace, there will still be times people hurt us, but our response will be vastly different. For example, if someone wrongs you or hurts you, your response might be anger and frustration, which creates a “me versus you” situation in which nobody wins. But, if God’s grace in your life is clear to you, it’s not retribution that you seek when wronged or hurt, instead it is reconciliation. You are able to talk about how what they did impacted you rather than tell them what they did was wrong, thus opening up a conversation that will lead to understanding. Understanding is absolutely necessary in order to have reconciliation.

We can also learn to appropriate grace when we are the one who has done the hurting. Before, if someone confronted you about being hurtful, you might be tempted to get defensive because you don’t want to be wrong. This also creates a “me versus you situation” in which nobody wins. But now, if you are appropriating grace, being “wrong” is not such a threatening concept.

There have been many times where we, the authors of this book, have missed each other or broken a promise or failed in one way or another. We may forget to call the other person when we said we would, break an implied promise, or fall through on some other commitment. In those times, there is no substitute for bringing those failures out into the light through confession. Then we offer and receive forgiveness to one another out loud. This goes a long way in terms of our relational health. The point is people need grace from people too. They need to know that you accept them, even while imperfect, and that you understand where they are coming from. You need to appropriate grace, it is the most powerful force in holding your relationships together.

 

Our Jail of Bitterness 

The end of the parable cited above is very clear about the consequences of unforgiveness. In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. In the first century they had professional torturers which would physically rip the criminals apart in agony. But what is this jail Jesus is talking about in which we will be tortured? Is He just trying to scare us into forgiving others? Jesus finishes with this is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. There is a prison awaiting us where we will be tortured when we choose not to forgive and it is called bitterness.

There is a great lie perpetuated in our culture which says we have no control over bitterness. “Of course I am bitter, look at what they did to me.” Even looking at the passage above, we may misinterpret God’s punishment in verse 34 by thinking that He makes us bitter. The truth is that we have control over bitterness. We have the antidote, and it is forgiveness. It is not the offense that causes bitterness, it is not God that gives us bitterness, it is a sentence we impose on ourselves when we choose not to forgive.

 

Steps to Forgiveness

Some Christians are clear that they need to forgive, but are unclear as to how to go about it. Robert McGee outlines a practical process for choosing forgiveness using the acronym CROP shown below.[12]

 

CONFESSION – of your unforgiveness to God about that person. Agree with God and ask God to show you His perspective on your unforgiveness (that it’s wicked). This takes time, but the sooner we begin to see that unforgiveness is evil, the closer we are to forgiving.

REPENTANCE – After God reveals to us His perspective, we are to change our mind to what God thinks.

OBEDIENCE – This is an opportunity to obey and trust God as we offer forgiveness to the other person from our heart.

PRAISE – We finish by praising God not only for forgiving us but also for allowing us to live a life without bitterness.

 

Prayerfully walking through this process will assist you in fulfilling God’s command to forgive. We encourage you to use this as a tool.

 

_Bibliography

[1] Kevin DeYoung. The Hole in our Holiness. (Minneapolis: Crossway, 2014), 87.

[2] The classic text on this topic is written by John Owen. Mortification of Sin, The: Puritan Paperbacks. Edinburgh: Banner Of Truth Trust, 2016. Paperback.

[3] The Hebrew concept of meditation (HGH = “Hagah,” Strong’s # 32, Ps 1:2, Josh 1:8) means to tax one’s own mind by repetitive mumbling and deep contemplation of God’s Word in a sincere pursuit of knowing what God is saying, in such a restless way that you chew on it day and night until understanding arises. Baker’s theological dictionary defines biblical meditation as “That silent and secret musing in which the children of God are to exercise themselves.” Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960) 347.

[4] This quotation was taken from John Piper’s sermon, “If My Words Abide in You.” January 4, 2009.  https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/if-my-words-abide-in-you–2 Accessed June 12, 2021.

[5] 1 Jn 4:20, Matt 25:40 et al.

[6] Ed Stetzer and Michael Dodson. Comeback Churches. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2007. 130.

[7] C.S. Lewis. The Four Loves. 169.

[8] Daniel Goleman. Social Intelligence. Bantam Dell, NY, 2006. 4.

[9] ibid. 4.

[10] Brene Brown. Speaker session at TEDx Houston 2010, “The Power of Vulnerability.”

[11] Brene Brown. ibid.

[12] This is found on the Search for Peace video series. http://www.mcgeepublishing.com/video/peace/Broadband/Peace.html (accessed February 10, 2011). 

Faith … or Fear?

What exactly is faith? The writer of Hebrews defines it this way: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, ESV).” This is the definition offered at the beginning of the great faith chapter in Hebrews 11. Faith is assurance of what is hoped for—something that is not yet seen. Faith often looks into the future to something that is yet to come. But faith is based on the character and promises of God himself. This faith is not passive … it is ACTIVE! The Greek word us here and in Ephesians 6 is Pistis. It refers to an active faith as we trust God.

Where is God calling you to live by faith? The tension of the Christian faith is this: we know, in our heads, we should live by faith but often we are paralyzed by fear. So many of us, right now, are sitting, waiting, closing our eyes hoping whatever trial we are facing will end. I want to invite you to ask: what if God has you in your current situation to learn how to truly trust him with everything? What if he wants to show you what it really means to live BY FAITH?!

 Take Up The Shield

We read this in Ephesians 6 v 16: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (Ephesians 6:16, ESV)” The shield of faith is a crucial weapon against our enemy. Paul gives us three, very clear, implications of the shield. First, WHEN do we use it? Look at the phrase, “In all circumstances …” We are to use this weapon all the time. There should never be a day when we wake up and leave the shield of faith at our bedside. Too many of us go about our day forgetting to bring the shield with us. Use it all the time. Second, HOW do we use it? Notice the phrase “Take Up …” You may remember in the opening section of Ephesians 6:10-14, Paul urges us to “put on” the armor of God—like clothes. “Take up” is in the active voice. This not armor to be put on it is a weapon to be grasped. When you get out of bed in the morning—immediately grab the shield of faith! Before you talk to your spouse—grab the shield of faith! The enemy is always lurking. Third, what is the RESULT of using it? You will have the ability to “extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one.” When you take up the Shield of Faith, you have the ability to stop Satan in his tracks. That is power!

 Expect The Darts

You need the Shield of Faith for this reason: Allegiance to Jesus breeds opposition. You have to expect the flaming darts of the evil one in your life. However, some of us thought that once we became a Christian all our problems would go away. We thought: “I won’t have problems with money—all my needs will be met exactly when I think I need them.” Or, “My family will never get in a fight!” Regarding our identity, we thought, “I will be confident all the time.” The reality is this: once you decide to really live for Jesus, your life will get harder because you are now a threat to Satan. Remember, he doesn’t want you advancing towards the walls of his city with the Shield of Faith raised. Satan is going to fight back harder! How? He’ll attack your reputation. He’ll attack your relationships. He’ll attack your resilience to follow Jesus. We need to be prepared for these fiery darts with the Shield of Faith.

Oddly, though, sometimes we don’t use the shield. Why? We don’t use the shield because we don’t expect the darts. They will come when we least expect it – and they sting. Let me give an illustration. A few weeks ago I was in my yard trimming a bush. I have this new battery powered trimmer, which I think is awesome. I trimmed the top. I trimmed the sides. Then I attempted to trim the bottom of the bush. I cut further into the bush when all of a sudden I saw a flash of yellow, heard a buzz, and felt a pain on my arm. In an unexpected moment, I received my first bee sting in quite some time. Why? I hadn’t noticed until after that there was a nest in the ground. I didn’t see the bees even though they were there all along!

Some of us know what it is like to be stung in life. A bee sting is painful an itchy at best. For some of us it can be deadly. So are the darts—they sting! If we are susceptible, they might kill us. Satan is attempting to sting us with his fiery darts. Some of us have been stung so bad it is disorienting. You walked through a divorce. You lost a job you loved. You experienced a painful break up. You kids walked away from the faith and will not talk to you anymore. You know what it feels like to be stung! And if the venom goes in deep enough you may even blame God and walk away from the faith. That’s why you need the shield! You need to expect the darts.

Look Up In Faith

When you expect the darts, you start to look up in faith. What is faith? Faith is all about looking; it is about where you fix your gaze. When trouble comes, when the storms of life rage, where do you look for help and hope? The thing you look to reveals where you truly place your trust. Review back at the definition of faith in Hebrews 11: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, ESV).”

Faith is the “conviction of things not seen.” You have to keep looking even if you cannot see it! We receive assurance when we look in the right place. Where are you looking? Often, looking up is not our first inclination. Rather, we look DOWN. In other words, we look to ourselves for help. “I have faith in my own abilities.” Others don’t look down, they look OUT. Some of us do not trust ourselves for help—we place our faith in those around us. However, as many have experienced, our friends and our family fail us. They make lousy saviors. Where are you looking? Hebrews 11:1 teaches us not to look DOWN, or to look OUT, but to look UP! We need to look up to the OBJECT of our hope—God himself and our true savior Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ comes from a personal experience with him, which forces our eyes to look UP to find our help. Christian, this is a threat to our enemy.

Satan wants to get you looking in the wrong place for assurance, which will lead to doubt. Satan doesn’t want you to look UP. He wants you to look down and out. Satan wants you down and out. You will not find assurance, help and hope when you look to yourself or others—it is only found in Jesus Christ! Too many of us are looking in the wrong place for assurance. We are placing our faith in the wrong god. Where are you looking?

By: Chris Ottenstroer

Stand Firm – Ephesians 6:15 – 7/16 Sermon Summary

Ephesians 6:15, “¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”  (ESV) OR “¹⁵And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (KJV)

In this verse Paul encourages us to ‘put on’ or to ‘shod’ our feet with the preparation or the readiness of the gospel of peace.

Another way to say that would be to say:

The gospel GIVES US or the gospel of peace IS that which prepares and enables us to STAND and WITHSTAND in this evil day.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

There is no doubt that the Apostle is talking about a roman soldier. He would have been chained to a soldier, usually one on each side of him. These soldiers would have been wearing all of their armor or equipment. All of what would have been required to be a good soldier and to be ready for battle.

And specifically on his feet he would have worn a certain type of sandal.

The sole of these sandals would have been covered with stubs or small metal nubs that stuck out of the bottom of the sandal. This provided the solider with traction or firmness of footing.

It prevented the solider from slipping or sliding or falling when performing his duties or when in battle. (See image)

The spiritual application for us is that the Gospel of peace is our equipment. It’s what we are to ‘put on’… It’s what we are to KNOW and UNDERSTAND and CHERISH and RECALL to our mind, it’s the gospel of peace that gives us our firm footing, our stability, our steadfastness, and  enables us to STAND and to Withstand the schemes of the devil.

 

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL OF PEACE?

Paul labors in the early parts of this letter to open for us the glories of the gospel of peace. Take some time and read through the first few chapters SLOWLY. Write down everything that Paul reveals as true about the Christian. This is what is true about YOU!

Here are some to get you started:

Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. He chose us before he made the world. He predetermined to adopt you into his family. He redeemed you. He has forgiven you. He has lavished us with the riches of his grace. He’s given you an inheritance in Christ. He sealed your union with Christ by sending the Holy Spirit into your hearts. The Holy Spirit is your guarantee of the inheritance! GLORIOUS!!

And all of this while, ‘You were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

This friends, IS THE GOSPEL OF PEACE! This is the Gospel of God.

Because of Christ… “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace…”

 

HOW DO WE PUT THIS ON OR SHOD OUR FEET WITH THIS?

Paul prays in the first chapter, “that the ¹⁸ eyes of your hearts be enlightened… that you may KNOW what is the hope to which he has called you, (that you may know) what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and (that you may know) what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…

This is a knowledge that goes beyond simple intellectual ascent… He wants the roots of what you know to grow down deep in your heart… deep roots keep the tree standing in the storm!

He wants you to “¹⁸ have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

It must first enter the mind before it takes root in the heart and enables us to Stand and Withstand when the attack of the enemy is upon us.

Today’s war is fought in the heart. That is where the deep fake happens. Satan confuses our minds, he makes us doubt the truth, and then he gets us talking to ourselves so that we create an emotional narrative. We stop thinking logically. Emotions drive our words, our beliefs, and our actions if we are not careful.

I’ll give you an example: dating relationships. Some of us are dating right now, it’s hard! Maybe you’ve even tried online dating. That’s a prime opportunity for a Deep Fake! Did you ever go on a date and someone misrepresented themselves? Others of us, we’ve dated in the past. I’ll wager nearly all of us, at some point, were in a bad dating relationship. And yet, many of us probably stayed in the relationship longer than we should have. We didn’t want to break up. Why? Because it is emotional!

Have you ever  heard of someone who tried to break up with someone logically, “I’ll send you a meeting invite with the subject—break up conversation.” Imagine you did that. And then imagine the person showed up and you said, “Ok, let’s look at this logically … I have 5 reasons why we shouldn’t see each other anymore.” And then imagine the other person says, “That makes good logical sense. Best wishes!” You shake hands and leave.

NOOO! Emotions are so powerful most of us opt for the “it’s not you … it’s me routine!” My point is we make bad decisions because emotions capture our hearts. And Satan knows this—spiritual warfare is not just a battle for minds, it is battle for our hearts. And here is the truth: if we don’t stop Satan’s lies in our MINDS, by the time they get to our hearts they are harder to dislodge. The narrative is emotionally wedged in there and it is hard to let go. Here is the great lie Satan tells and we believe:

LIE: It doesn’t matter if it is true, it feels good.

If you lived during the modern era, your key question was this: Is it true? In our post-modern world, the key question we are asking is this: will it make me happy? Happiness is the goal, it doesn’t matter if it is true. Satan uses the world’s message to entice our flesh and pull us away from God. That’s the goal. What device does he use?

SATAN’S DEVICE = “Arrows”

What are his arrows? In their book, Sacred Romance, John Eldredge and Brent Curtis introduce the idea that our lives are a grant story, with an enemy. The way this enemy, Satan, attacks us is by lodging arrows in our hearts. This is manifested in the “sentences that we live by …” What are the sentences that you live by? We all have them:

• “No one respects me.” During your early years, perhaps your parents never listened to you and you started to believe you were not worthy of respect.
• “I’m not beautiful.” No one affirmed you when you were younger, so you started to believe you were ugly and no one would ever want to be with you.
• “If you want it done right you have to do it yourself.” Somewhere along the way you learned the you can’t trust anyone. So you’ve closed yourself off from everyone in a deep way.

What is your sentence? We all have them. Somewhere along the way, someone spoke to us and their words placed a thought in our minds and it made it’s way to our hearts. Without the breastplate of righteousness, we were unprotected and our heart was wounded. And if the devils attacks reach the core of our being, our hearts, he can influence to live with guilt, fear, anxiety, depression and discouragement. Is anyone living there today? What wounds are you carrying today? I imagine, at some level, Satan has used those wounds to cause confusion and chaos in your life. And he loves it!

If that is you today, I want to encourage you to get up and fight back. I want to invite you to focus on the breastplate of righteous right now, put it on! It is the protection and healing that your heart needs today. Because I want to remind you that the battle has already been won.

Dangers of the “Deep Fake”

In 2018, a new technology emerged on the scene. This technology started as a hobby but now poses a threat to the very nature of truth in our society. A person using this technology has the ability to create confusion, spread false information, tarnish reputations and even start wars if we are not careful. This new technology has a name: Deep Fake.

If this term is new to you, “deep fakes” use a form of artificial intelligence called “deep learning” (Hence the DEEP fake) to make images or videos of fake events. All you need is a picture to change someone’s face in a video or manufacture a fake speech! The deep fake is dangerous. However, it is not as dangerous as the spiritual deep fake. Satan is the originator and master of the spiritual deep fake. How do we combat his methods?

The Battlefield of the Mind

In week one of our series we learned that we are in a spiritual battle, not against flesh and blood, but against unseen spiritual forces. Picture them as evil computer programmers of the spiritual world—they are the ones working the spiritual deep fakes behind the scenes. They are trying to imitate God in a way that will deceive us. How does Paul tell us to respond?

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God […]” (Ephesians 6:13, ESV)

Don’t just put on the Armor of God look in the mirror and say, “Man, that armor look good on me! I am rockin’ that armor!” No! The phrase, “take up,” means we are to use the armor in battle. We have to STAND TOGETHER in this battle against Satan and his DEEP FAKE spiritual programmers! That brings us to the first battlefield: THE MIND. That is where our first weapon comes in …

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth […] (Ephesians 6:14a, ESV)

Truth begins with the mind. It begins with our fundamental understanding of reality and truth in this world. The Greek word for truth is, “Aletheia.” It has two senses. First, the objective truth of the Gospel and Christian Doctrine. Second, it has a subjective sense of living honestly and with moral integrity. Satan attacks both senses. He wants us to believe the Gospel is untrue and he wants to us believe that moral integrity doesn’t matter. Both attacks begin in the mind. This is why we need the Belt of Truth. How do we use the Belt of Truth?

First, recognize Satan’s device: chaos and confusion. Satan sows this at an individual level, primarily through “self-talk.” He loves to get us alone and talking to ourselves. He also attempts to sow collective chaos and confusion. The battlefield of the mind is a battlefield of ideas. Where do you see chaos and confusion in society today?

Second, you have to lean into God’s remedy: order and truth. God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33). So if there is confusion and chaos in your life—be on the lookout for the enemy. You might be getting deep faked!

The Battlefield of the Heart

So, the first battlefield begins in the mind. It is battle over truth, which is why we need the belt. However, it does not stay here—it becomes a narrative in the HEART. I really think this is how Satan attack us. He starts with truth; he seeks to confuse our minds and thinking. Once he sows seeds of intellectual doubt, he then moves to the heart where he sows seeds of emotional doubt. Those are far, far more powerful. That is why we need the next piece of the armor …

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness […]” (Ephesians 6:14, ESV)

In Paul’s day, a soldier’s breastplate was a layer of metal or tough leather, which covered the soldier from his neck to his naval, front and back. It was a key defensive piece of the armor. Rob Ventura describes it this way: “The breastplate was a chief piece of defensive armor for a soldier because it protected his vital organs during battle, and it serves the same function for us spiritually in our battle with Satan.”

To understand how important the breastplate was both physically and metaphorically, you need to understand the Biblical idea of the heart. In Paul’s day, people thought the heart and liver were the center of our affections (It is crazy they thought the liver had emotions—it is a filtration system!). Ancient people thought emotions like joy and anger came from these organs. While that understanding may be unscientific, it is important to understand the spiritual lesson he is teaching us: GUARD YOUR HEART! (And you liver!)

This brings us to our modern battlefield. Today’s war is fought in the heart. That is where the deep fake happens. Satan confuses our minds, he makes us doubt the truth, and then he gets us talking to ourselves so that we create an emotional narrative. We stop thinking logically. Emotions drive our words, our beliefs, and our actions if we are not careful.

The Gospel Turn

We need the breastplate on the battlefield of the heart. Satan will shoot his arrows in an attempt to lodge them in our lives. He is an accuser (Rev. 12:10). We fight back by making the Gospel Turn. We trust in the imputed righteousness of Christ. That is, the righteousness of Christ that has been transferred to us through his sacrifice. In that security, we live out imparted righteousness through holy living, which does not leave room for Satan to accuse us (Eph. 4:25-28).

How do we do this? By constantly making the Gospel turn. We get our eyes off ourselves and look up to Jesus every day. When you are tempted to focus on your sin and selfishness—ask yourself three questions this week: What did Jesus do? He died on the cross for you. What does Jesus say? There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Where is Jesus? He is with you always and he is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for you.

Trust his righteousness as you wear his breastplate. When you do that—you will easily see Satan’s attempt to deep fake you in life.

This is Pastor Dave writing to you before taking my Sabbatical this Summer. Before I left I wanted to leave you with some words to help you better understand the armor of God during the SWAT summer sermon series.

Paul teaches us about the armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6 in a spiritual call to arms. This is imagery taken from the soldiers in the Roman army. They were responsible to wage war on behalf of the empire. Paul describes different pieces of the spiritual armor one by one. Take a moment to digest each piece of armor, some pieces are defensive and some pieces are offensive.

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests”
(Eph 6:14-18, NIV)

The “Belt of Truth”

The military belt connected everything else together. The “truth” here refers to the truth of the Gospel. Satan is called “the father of lies” (Jn 8:44) and we must gird ourselves with truth. Kevin DeYoung notes, “That’s essentially what spiritual warfare is: believing the truth from God instead of the lies from the devil.”[1]

The “Breastplate of Righteousness”

This piece was the heart-protector. Spiritually, since we have been given the righteousness of Christ, nothing can penetrate this piece of armor. Our hearts belong to God and He offers us His divine protection. (1 Jn 3:20)

The “Boots of the Gospel of Peace”

Ready feet were an important part of being a good soldier. Everywhere the soldiers went they would carry the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome. This was a peace through strength. We must remember the message we are always ready to carry is that we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:1)

The “Shield of Faith”

There were two types of shields in Roman times; there was the hand shield and the shield being referred to here. This shield was 2 ½ feet wide by about 4 feet high and was very large. (The word here is the same Greek word for “door.”) Typically, this was two layers of wood glued together, covered with hide, and bound with iron. The soldier would look up, and though he would see hundreds of arrows coming at him, he would be protected by this mighty shield. Sometimes soldiers fought behind a solid wall of shields. We have a record of a battle warrior who had 220 darts sticking to his shield. Why do we need this shield? To protect us against the flaming darts of the enemy. Arrows were often dipped in pitch and propelled toward a person with deadly speed. Your enemy loves to throw arrows at you; arrows of doubt, fear, bitterness, accusation, or any sinful temptation. In those moments, our shield of faith, our faith in God is the most powerful advantage we have. We have to have an active dependence on God. “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn” (Isa 54:17, NKJV).

The “Helmet of Salvation”

All the other armor was laid out to be put on, but the helmet was personally handed to the soldier by his armor-bearer. Notice it says “take” or really “receive or accept” the helmet. The imagery here is that we receive our salvation as a gift from God. In those days, the helmet protected the cranium and skull. One hit with a sword or mace might be the end of you. This is why we need a helmet – even today, when biking, it’s an essential piece of armor. In Christ, we now have mental confidence and a sound surety of the mind.

Satan will attack your thinking, but we must take “every thought captive” (2 Cor 10:5). The helmet of salvation will deliver you from wrong thinking about God.

The “Sword of the Spirit”

This was a short, two-edged, cut and thrust sword wielded by the soldier. No man would go into battle without his sword – it was his first line of offense. A soldier would go through intense swordsman training to learn how to use it. One cannot just “swordfight” by flailing the blade around and hoping it sticks – there was a strategy involved. One had to be a learned swordsman to defeat the enemy. The same is true when using the sword “of the Spirit,” the Word of God, the Spirit inspired Scriptures. The word used here for “word” denotes the “spoken word,” which we give with our own lips. Remember in His temptation, even Jesus defended Himself against the devil with Scripture (Matt 4:1-11). We, too, need a good steady artillery of Scriptures to be meditating on at all times. I hope you are so in love with the Word of God that you bring it everywhere. It is the most powerful weapon you have.

One of the key concepts in the Christian life is called “mortification.” This word means “to kill or to put to death,” referring to the flesh or the sin nature. If we do not mortify the flesh, this will weaken or darken our souls and stunt the process of spiritual formation.[2] The apostle Paul writes, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:12–13 ESV). One of the ways we put to death the deeds of the flesh by means of the Spirit is by using the sword of the Spirit.

“Praying in the Spirit”

This is the most necessary element to resisting the devil, but it is often the most neglected. Satan hates people who pray. He’ll keep you busy so you won’t pray. We are too busy to talk to the all-knowing God, who knows our every circumstance. We even see Jesus using this piece of armor in Gethsemane. How much more should we be praying without ceasing? (1 Thess 5:17) Friends, be prayed up every day!

Finally, notice how much each piece of the armor is connected back directly to the gospel. In some ways, this armor is akin to putting on Christ. Our helmet refers directly to our salvation in Christ. Our breastplate is the imputed righteousness of Christ. We believe this gospel as our shield of faith. We embrace the “truth” of the gospel around our waist. Our feet are to be ready to share this gospel message. The resources of the gospel are the resources of heaven and they are at your fingertips – and yet many don’t take advantage of them. The Christian life is a war. Be on guard. Stand firm. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Js 4:7, ESV). Know that greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Trust Him and use the means He has provided to defeat the enemy of your soul, all for His glory. One day, God will crush your enemy (Satan) underneath your feet. (Rom 16:20)

 

A World at War

This past Sunday we began a series on Spiritual Warfare. Given what’s happening in our culture and persona lives, the need is great. Yet, teaching on this topic has been lean in recent years. Why is this? Many people do not believe we are in a spiritual battle. The Apostle Peter paints a stark contrast in his letter: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8, NLT).”

Stay Alert! Watch Out! You have an enemy waiting to devour you. I think Peter, and Paul in Ephesians 6, are shouting the same message: PREPARE FOR BATTLE! We live in a world at war. The Christian life is a BATTLEGROUND!

However, we are NOT prepared. Most Christians do not think they are in danger spiritually. It reminds me of a movie I watched many years ago called, “Pleasantville.” This is how many of us treat the Christian life. In fact, we think it is the goal of the Christian life! Pleasantville is a place where there are no problems, everything is in black and white, and everyone is safe. How many out there would like to live in Pleasantville?

But that is not reality—we are at war! In the words of Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings: “Open war is upon you … whether you would risk it or not.” That is why spiritual warfare is important. It is not optional—it is an essential element of the Christian life. Here is my question for you today: Are you prepared for battle? We need to be ready to fight. Preparation requires two things: (1) Recognition of the war. (2) Skill in combat.

Recognition of the War

Look how Paul begins his famous section on Spiritual Warfare in Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10, ESV).” What is Paul saying? We must know where to run for help! I want you to noticed three words: First, “Finally.” Remember this verses comes at the end of a letter where Paul taught about our identity is Christ. The first half of the letter taught us who we are. The second half shows us how to live out our identity as a Christ follower. This expression in the Greek does not mean that this is the end—rather, it is the beginning of the Christian life. It means, “from now on” live this way. How should they live? Second, “Be strong.” A prepared Christian is strong. How are you strong? Third, you are strong, “In the Lord … in his strength.” This is foundational for our growth in spiritual warfare. The phrase, “be strong,” is a passive voice. The whole idea of this phrase is that we are receiving strength, not from ourselves, but from an outside force. When you recognize you are in a spiritual war, you also recognize you need help from our Savior King.

Skill in Combat

Once we recognize the war, we also need skill in combat. We must know the enemy’s tactics. Look at Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” This verse focuses on our chief enemy: the Devil. Satan. He is described in Scripture as the “Father of Lies (John 8:44).” He was once an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. Now, he is intent on attacking the people of God. How does he does this? Through his “schemes.” The Greek word for schemes is methodia where we get our English word, “Methods.” The devil has his methods to take us down. Why do they look like?

We have three enemies: (1) The World (2) The Flesh and (3) The Devil. First, we live in a fallen world and its sinful messages often run contrary to God and His Word. Second, we have a sin nature, our flesh, which is enticed to rebel against God like our ancestors Adam and Eve. The devil uses that to his advantage. He entices our flesh with the world’s messages in an attempt to take us away from God. What are his tactics? Let me offer three categories.

First, Deception. The devil and his armies are deceivers. Their native tongue is the language of lies. Paul tells the Corinthians that Satan “disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).” Where are you being deceived? This is where warfare starts to get personal. Some of us right now are believing lies about who we are. Satan wants to make you forget who you are and what you have in Christ. That’s what the whole book of Ephesians is about. This can also occur at a societal level. Our society, every day, believes lies about what is true and real. The angel of light entices us and he does so with a purpose.

Second, Defiance. What was the original tactic Satan used in the Garden of Eden? He made Adam and Eve question God’s goodness. “Did God really say you cannot eat that fruit? Is he trying to keep all the power for himself?” Then Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Sin entered the world. Now, there are many people walking around as enemies of God—openly rejecting him! Even some Christians are living in defiance of God because we have allowed our sin nature to rule us. As John Owen once said, “we must be killing sin or sin will be killing us.”

Third, Discouragement. This is Satan’s favorite tactic with Christians. I have felt it in my own life. You think your life is going a certain direction but then you lose a job. Your marriage falls apart. You get a medical diagnosis and discouragement sets in. Those are big issues but it can also be daily issues. Some of us are living in a constant state of discouragement and depression. We start to believe the lies: “Nothing goes my way,” “I will never achieve God’s plans for my life …”

Deception, defiance, discouragement. Those are tangible tactics the enemy uses to keep us from being effective for the kingdom of God. Can we combat them?

The Countermeasure

Yes! I would like to propose a countermeasure equation. When the enemy tempts you this week, fight back like this:  (1) First, meditate on God’s word … DAILY! Find a time and place to read it. You will not recognize the lies if you do not know the truth.  (2) Second, rely on the Holy Spirit to apply it. When you feel attacked, pray like this, “Holy Spirit, show me the truths of God’s word I need to hear right now.” If you meditate on God’s Word, if you rely on the Holy Spirit, do you know what that equals? DISCERNMENT. We combat deception, defiance and discouragement with DISCERNMENT based on the truth of God’s word. That is a WINNING strategy.

 

By: Clint Watkins

Philippians 4:10-23

Giving to missions is our joyful privilege as believers—but it can often feel like a burden, obligation, or impossibility. Philippians 4:10-23 reorients us to the joy of missional generosity. This passage is all about giving and receiving—the Philippians gave to Paul’s ministry, and Paul received their much-needed support with joy and gratitude. It reminds us of what we’ve been given in Christ and how we can steward our resources for the sake of gospel advancement. We are supplied by God’s means in order to give to God’s mission.

We are supplied by God’s means…

And in order to understand our call to give, we first need to realize what we’ve been given. In verse 19, Paul acknowledges that the Lord is the supplier of all our needs. And God is not operating on a tight budget. Paul says that God supplies us out of his riches. He owns everything—so anything we have is a generous gift from above, blessings to be grateful for and stewarded well.

But this provision from God is just a blank check from the Lord. As Paul explains in his own life, financial security is not guaranteed. There will be seasons of plenty and hunger, abundance and need (v11-12). That’s why he expresses his need to rely on God’s strength for contentment, no matter our financial circumstance (v13). This God-dependent contentment is crucial to a life of generosity. If I don’t think I have enough, I won’t be willing to give up what I have for the sake of the mission. Or if I am willing to be generous, but I’m discontent with God’s provision, my giving will tend to be joyless, or even begrudging. But when we rely on the Lord for contentment in what he’s given us, we can give freely and joyfully.

And our recognition of and contentment in God’s provision is fueled by the grace we have in Christ. In verse 19 Paul reminds us that God will supply all our needs “in Christ Jesus.” Paul is reminding believers of the incredible news of the gospel. Jesus gave up his riches, he became poor for our sake, so that we might become rich. In Jesus, we have been given an eternal inheritance.

This, the grace of God, is a powerful motivator for our generosity. Your standing before the throne of God does not depend on your performance, your obedience, or your generosity. If you are in Christ, you possess a treasure that will never fade away. You serve a king who gave up everything to bring you in. We’re not generous because we want to be better people or we want to please others or earn our way to heaven—we’re generous because we have a generous God who didn’t merely open up his wallet, he opened up his arms on the cross for our sake. Our giving is a response to his grace.

…to give to God’s mission.

God’s provision is not meant to terminate on our needs—it’s meant to overflow into missional generosity. And Paul points to several ways that our giving makes an impact.

Your giving provides for missionaries. It first provides for missionaries’ practical needs. In verses 16 and 18 Paul mentions that the Philippians repeatedly provided his needs, to the point

that he had more than enough and was well supplied. When we give to missions, we take care of those who have devoted their careers to the advancement of the gospel. Paul also mentions the provision for personal needs. In verse 15, he says that no one else entered into partnership other than the Philippians. He expresses his heartfelt gratitude as he shares, “it was kind of you to share my trouble” (v14). Ministry can be lonely and difficult. But when we give to missions, we express our solidarity with the ministers we support. We’re not just helping to finance the operation—we’re fellowshipping with missionaries in their struggles.

Your giving produces kingdom fruit. Paul says in verse 17 that he doesn’t “seek the gift.” In other words, he’s not ultimately concerned about his own provision. What is he after, then? He’s looking for the “fruit that increases to your credit.” Paul may be out on the frontlines—but the fruit that’s happening on the mission field is getting credited to their account. They are getting credit for the ways that the gospel is advancing. Here’s the beautiful economy of God’s kingdom—the return on investment is an eternal revenue. Lives are being changed and souls being saved. When you give, you participate in what God is doing all over the world.

Your giving pleases the Lord. Paul mentions that the Philippian’s gift is “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and please to God” (v18). Paul has in mind the priestly service of the Old Testament, recognizing missional generosity as a profound ministry of its own. He also acknowledges that giving is a sacrifice. Giving to missions is costly—we’re expected to give in a way that we feel it in our pockets. But this sacrificial ministry of generosity pleases the Lord. Many people will never know how much we give. Most of the world would not applaud us for giving the mission of the gospel. But there is a heavenly audience paying attention with attentiveness and applause, cheering with joy when you give to the work of God. The Lord is watching—and it pleases him to see you sacrificially give.

Application

Here are three practical suggestions to cultivate the joy of missional generosity:

Remember your missionaries. Because missional giving is not just about the finances, but fellowship, find ways to keep your missionaries on your mind. Read their newsletters. Reach out to them and ask how they’re doing. Pray for them often and let them know you’re thinking of them.

Share their burdens. Seek ways to understand their difficulties and see if there are specific ways you can help. Sometimes that might mean additional practical and financial help. Other times, it may just be a listening ear. It might be a phone call, a visit if possible, or a hand-written note to communicate your care.

Celebrate God’s work. When you hear of what God is doing, whether through newsletters or personally hearing from someone you support, rejoice in the work that’s happening. Praise God and celebrate with your missionary. These stories are beautiful reminders that our God is powerfully at work all over the world. Just as he has pursued and purchased you, he is seeking and saving men and women all around the world. Through your investment, the work of missionaries, and the power of his Spirit, God is reaching the nations and making all things new.

 

Five Kinds of Fathers

Let’s do a diagnosis test. In his book, The Intentional Father, Jon Tyson lays out five different kinds of Fathers. I’m going to describe each, and then ask where you, or your father, falls on the spectrum.

1. The Irresponsible Father: This father has zero responsibility with his kids. This father takes no responsibility for raising his children which means he gives them no time, no money, no involvement. He is selfish.
2. The Ignorant Father: This kind of dad has no idea what he is doing. He brings chaos and hurt into his child’s life without even realizing it. He doesn’t know what it means to be a dad and he has no interest in learning how. As a result, his own brokenness is projected into the life of his kids.
3. The Inconsistent Father: He is just that, inconsistent. He is torn by personal ambition. He has the ability to be a better father, but he prioritizes his career and hobbies. After his binges of selfishness, he attempts to fix everything, but it leaves his kids with no stable sense of identity or security in the life of the kids.
4. The Involved Father: This is where many of us are and strive to be. This dad shows up to events, he teaches his kids about moral purity, he gets a lot of things right. But what he doesn’t do, because of the busyness of life, he doesn’t seek to understand who each of his children are and why God made each of them unique. He is a noble father, but he misses an important layer. That leads us to the fifth kind of dad.
5. The Intentional Father: This, Tyson says, is the dad we should strive to be. He is deeply invested in his children’s lives, he wants to help them reach their redemptive potential. He seeks to understand each child and form them into young people who can fulfill God’s purpose for them. Listen to this: “He sees parenting as central to his call before God and does it with all of his might.” That is the mark of an intentional father.

Which one are you? Which one did you have? The Barna Group recently did a study asking men if they felt prepared for fatherhood and here is what they found: 52% of all U.S. Dads, and 44% of practicing Christians felt “Somewhat prepared,” or “Not prepared at all” to become a father. Let me just state, that is a lot of men who don’t feel prepared to become fathers. If the intentional father is where we should aim then what does it mean to become a good dad? How do we get there? Paul has been giving us clues in this letter to the Philippians. It’s the way Paul has been speaking to the Philippian Church as an intentional, spiritual father figure. He wants them to grow in their love of Christ Jesus. Then we get to Philippians 4:8-9, some of my favorite verses and they are verses we should commit to memory:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9, ESV

These words, offered to the church of Philippi are instructive for all Christians, and especially fathers or future fathers. As a spiritual father, Paul writes to his spiritual children and says, “Let this thought pattern dominate your life then put it into practice. Become a 489 Christian, become a 489 Father, then the church and the world will be blessed!”