When Wrestling is Real

When commenting on Ephesians 6:12 Matthew Henry wrote:

Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings, and to obstruct our communion with heaven.

We find that this is true. Our enemies would do all within their power to distract us from "setting our minds on things above" so that we are overwhelmed with the things of this earth. If we are going to fight the good fight then we must be prepared to engage the enemy in combat and we must know how to overcome them and their tactics.

The first step in preparing is found in Ephesians 6:12 where we are told that we are locked in hand to hand combat with the enemies of the Kingdom of God. We "wrestle" against them, and here, unlike on the television, the wrestling is real! But we need to be sure that we know who we are fighting. Understanding who the real enemy is will help us stand against them and overcome them in the course of this lifelong battle.

This week's sermon, taken from this text, explores the truth about our enemy and explains how it is that we successfully combat their plans and schemes in this fallen world.

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The Rulers of Darkness
Ephesians 6:12

III. The Rulers of Darkness – Eph 6:12

A. Wrestling is Real

1. We wrestle...not (we do wrestle) – we are at war
2. Combat, hand to hand
3. “To throw a man down by deceit and craft, to supplant and trip” (Calvin)
4. Today, wrestling is often fake or theatrical. In NT times it was often a matter of life and death.

B. Know Your Enemy

1. Not Flesh and Blood

a. An enemy not human, not physical, not of this world
b. An Enemy not threatened by any mere human power or ability
c. Who the enemy is not:

How often do we forget that God says in His Word, "Vengeance is Mine. I will repay."? And so when we are persecuted or attacked verbally, emotionally, or physically for our faith we have as a first response the desire to fight back - to strike out against the person who has hurt us. That is another point of confusion brought on by the true enemy of our souls. We fall for the lie that we are fighting against lost men and women!

As a result then we use our words and actions to hurt them and drive them back - and then we wonder why the reject Christ so openly!! Have we forgotten that those who would engage us in this warfare and attack us are themselves in bondage to sin, slaves of unrighteousness, and children of their father the devil? This is what Jesus said to the Pharisees. In calling them a "brood of vipers" He was saying that they are the offspring of Satan - they are, as it were baby snakes, children of their father, the Devil.

But these people are not the enemy we are to engage in warfare. We should seek to rescue them - to preach and witness and love and encourage them. The Bible is so clear. Bless those who curse, pray for those who spitefully use, do good to those who hate. And yet our natural response is to fight. Then we see we are at war but we are fighting the wrong enemy! We think that those in bondage should be hated and reviled just as they hate and revile. But these are the very people we should be loving with an unconditional self sacrificing love.

2. Principalities

a. Gk: arxas
b. ruler, office of authority, denotes organization and domain, sphere of influence
c. Rom 8:38; Col 1:16; 2:15 – a created thing under God’s authority

3. Powers

a. Gk: edzousias
b. ruling power, the right to act, domain in which power is exercised
c. 1 Peter 3:22 – subject to Christ

4. Rulers of Darkness

a. Gk: kosmokratoras skoutas
b. world rulers over darkness
c. Eph 5:8; Luke 22:53; 1 John 5:19

5. Spiritual Hosts of Wickedness

a. Gk: pneumatika ponarias
b. wicked (sick, virulent, evil) spirits (in the spiritual realm)
c. 1 John 3:10; James 1:21

C. Our Defeated Foe – Rev 12:11

1. Prophesied - Gen 3:15
2. Temptation Resisted – Luke 4:1-13
3. Demons Cast Out – Luke 4:33-36; 11:20; Matt 10:1
4. His Works Destroyed – 1 John 3:8
5. Fulfilled at Christ’s Death – Col 2:15; Heb 2:14

D. Dealing with Demons – 2 Cor 10:1-6

A Message about Methods

Ephesians 6:11 says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The word "wiles" is the Greek word methodia, which we might also translate "methods". Have you ever given much thought to the methods that the devil uses to trap us and tempt us?

This Sunday's message was taken from this text and we spent some time looking at the methods the devil uses against us and ways in which we have been equipped to stand against the devil and resist his schemes.

Here is the outline and a link for the audio for this sermon online available to listen or download for FREE.

The Wiles of the Devil
Ephesians 6:11

A. The Necessity of Strength – 1 Samuel 17

1. Be Strong
2. Be Brave

B. The Reality of War

1. Gal 5:17
2. Rom 8

C. Strategy and Tactics

1. The Big Picture
2. The Daily Grind

a. Put On – Rom 13:14; Eph 4:24; Col 3:12-14
b. Stand – the theme

D. The Methods of the Enemy - ABCD

1. Accuser of the Brethren
2. Bait - Gen 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17

a. Doubt God’s Word
b. Deny God’s Word
c. Disobey God’s Word
d. Appealing to Our Fallen Flesh – James 1:14-15

3. Confuse
4. Deceive

E. Application – We have been given the Armor of God. Are we using it?

Back in the Saddle Again

Finally! After only preaching once so far this year God has made it possible for me to resume preaching His Word and I preached today from Ephesians 6:10 a message titled The Power of His Might. Here is the outline:

I. The Power of His Might – Ephesians 6:10

A. Finally, My Brethren

1. The Worthy Walk (Eph 4)
2. Walking in Love (Eph 5:1-7) be imitators
3. Walking in Light (Eph 5:8-14) you were darkness
4. Walking in Wisdom (Eph 5:15-21) be filled with the Spirit
5. Walking in Family Life (Eph 5:25-6:4)
6. Walking at Work (Eph 6:5-9)

B. Be Strong

1. In the Lord (through Christ)

a. I can do all things (Phil 4:13)
b. Our consolation abounds through Christ (2 Cor 1:5)
c. We are heirs through Christ (Gal 4:7)
d. We come to the Father only through Christ (John 14:6)
e. Without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5)

2. In the Power of His Might

a. He is all powerful (Luke 18:27)
b. He is called Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)
c. Not Will Power, but the Surrender of our Will (Luke 9:23)

1) Gal 2:20 – we have been crucified with Christ
2) 2 Cor 5:17 – we are a new creation in Christ
3) Eph 4:24 – we are a new man, created in righteousness and holiness

C. Examples

1. The Presence of God’s Power

a. The Plagues in Egypt and the Exodus
b. The Conquest of Canaan (Jericho)
c. The Fire on Mt. Carmel

2. The Absence of God’s Power

a. The Golden Calf
b. The Defeat at Ai
c. The Flight from Jezebel

D. Application – More Than Conquerors (Rom 8:37)

Iniquity and the Sacred Meeting

Here is the audio and a few notes from the message I preached at Grace Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida, this last Sunday.

Iniquity and the Sacred Meeting - Isaiah 1:10-20

This text teaches us about the purpose of worship, the practice of worship, the preparation for worship, and the provision for worship. We also learn to evaluate our motivation for worship, whether we worship for what we can get from God or what we can give to God. In summary we learn that with the right heart attitude, church is not something we do, church is not somewhere we go, but church is what WE ARE, and we must never confuse the physical building for the spiritual body.

Faced with Certain Death

Today we have paused to remember the Oklahoma City Bombing and the death of 168 people including dozens of children. Another anniversary this week finds us remembering the Columbine shooting. These anniversaries are compounded this week as we have seen a college student go on a killing spree in Virginia, killing 32 or more people and then himself.

In the past few years we have seen hurricanes that have killed hundreds, earthquakes that have killed thousands, and tsunamis that have taken innumerable multitudes of people from this earth. If we continue to think back we can all remember exactly where we were when we heard the news about the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

Think about it - our lives are defined by death! It is these events, these "acts of God", these terrorist murders, these "natural disasters" that burn themselves into our memory and mark the passing of time.

So how are we supposed to respond? How are we to think about these things? How do we cope with death, whether natural or unnatural? How do we deal with the truth that we are all faced with certain death?

The only hope we have when facing the certainty of death is knowing the certainty of our salvation as we trust Jesus Christ to save and keep us! Is He able to save? Is He in control? If so, then how should we view the certainty of death?

I preached a message relevent to these thoughts in October of 2005 following the devastating earthquakes in Kashmir. Listen to this timely message to learn more about our view of death, and our only hope for life:

Faced with Certain Death (from 2 Samuel 22 and 1 Cor 15:50-58).

~pastorway

Myth Busters

Are you familiar with the show on TV called Myth Busters? A team of special effects coordinators and computer geeks test and try various urban legends and myths to see if they are true or not. Myths that are tested are either found to be confirmed, plausible, or busted. It is a fascinating show. But then I am not talking about that today, I just thought the title would get your attention!

To the point though, I love debunking myths and urban legends within the realm of Christian theology. Let's examine a few that we all have come across in the church these days.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

As an example, how often do we hear it said that we are to pray as if it depends upon God and work like it depends upon us? Usually this is accompanied by the statement, "Remember, God helps those who help themselves."

But this is a woefully erroneous statement. The Bible does not ever say anything close to this and cannot be used to defend the logic or the conclusions that might be reached from embracing this philosophy.

God gives grace to those who do not deserve it - that is why it is grace. He helps those who depend upon Him in humble submission. He resists the proud and tells us that our own righteousness amounts to a stinking filthy rag when compared to His holiness and righteousness. So no, God does not ever say that He will help those who make the effort to help themselves. God would have us depend upon Him, for without Christ we can do nothing anyway. The truth is that God helps those who DIE to themselves.

So where does this phrase come from? It originated in one of Aesop's Fables titled "Hercules and the Wagoner." In that fable we read:

A Wagoner was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. He came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Wagoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. 'O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress." But Hercules appeared to him, and said: 'Man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help them that help themselves.

So from a fabled prayer to a half god/half man in Greek mythology we come around to believing that the Bible actually teaches self help.

But don't let the secret out. If we tell the church that her members must be KILLING self instead of helping self, the "Christian" bookstore might have to close up shop!

Permission or Forgiveness

Another myth is found in the statement, "It is easier to get forgiven than to get permission." Often this is used to premeditate sin, all the while believing that since God would say "No!" if we asked then we should not ask and should "just do it" and then ask God to forgive us later. This idea though proves a wrong view of God, self, sin, forgiveness, and truth. Yes, it is that serious!

The Word of God establishes the truth that in order to be forgiven we must repent of our sin. That means that if we flippantly think that if we tell God we are sorry after the fact then He will forgive us. But sorrow does not equal repentance!

We are told that Esau was sorry to the point of tears, but he never was repentant (Heb 12:16-17). And if we do not repent, we cannot be forgiven. If we brazenly think that we can sin and just say we are sorry and that is all God requires then we simply do not understand the holiness of God or the heinousness of sin.

Carnal Christians

Another myth is found in those who think that there is such a thing as carnal Christians. These people excuse sin or backsliding by saying that they, or the one they know and love who is sinning, is just being carnal. They are just "in the flesh."

The Bible uses the term carnal very specifically to refer to those who are lost. These are people who do not know Christ. They are unsaved. They are described as being fleshly, natural, corrupt, and depraved.

Christians on the other hand are said to be "in the Spirit". We are alive in Christ and dead to sin. We are not carnal, nor are we ever "in the flesh." In fact, Paul in Romans 6-8 never uses the term "in the flesh" to refer to believes. He does though speak about the flesh that is in us!

You see, in Christ we are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Our old nature has been replaced. We are a new man, created by God in righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24). And we are not ever "in the flesh", but this fallen body, this part of us that is yet to be remade and is waiting glorification, this flesh fights the spirit. The war that we fight is not about us being in the spirit or in the flesh, for we are already in the spirit, and are fighting the flesh that is in us!

A simple reading of Romans 6 through 8 will prove what I am saying here.

Too Heavenly Minded

Finally, have you ever heard someone say, "He is too heavenly minded to be any earthly good"? Is there any truth to this? Can a person indeed be so heavenly minded as to be no earthly good? I would suggest that the truth is that if we are not heavenly minded enough then we can be no earthly good! In fact, Colossians 3:1-2 tells us:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

So we see from the pages of Scripture that we are commanded to set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. That means we are indeed to be heavenly minded. To take it a step further, we are told by Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We are to set our minds on things above and lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. This means that we are to have an eternal perspective, to see life as God sees it. So how is it that we can do this? How can we think this way?

Think on These Things

I think we need to admit that too often we think about things and dwell on things that the Scriptures specifically tell us to ignore! We think about things on the earth, we allow our minds to be filled with images and thoughts that lead to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We think about things that make us discontent. Things that discourage us. Things that take our eyes off of Jesus.

And most often we allow these thoughts entrance to our minds through our eyes and ears by the things that "entertain" us. Movies, music, television, books and magazines. No wonder these are the areas where we see the fiercest fighting about our liberty in Christ. No wonder people get defensive about these things. But the truth is that too often these are secret areas where we go to feed our flesh! Whatever excuse we offer, we are simply yielding ourselves to sin to be its slave.

When we think about it, entertainment often is just a sleazy counterfeit for joy. And while we amuse ourselves to death, we think we are allowed this liberty in Christ. But Christian liberty is never to be used as an occasion for the flesh. Never. (Gal 5:13). Instead, Christian liberty is given to us to use for the glorification of God and service to our fellow Christians!

How then are we to think? What defines the things we are to put in our minds and meditate upon? There are several lists given in the Scriptures that tell us how to think and what to think about. Verses that tell us to meditate in the Word of God and verses that tell us "think on these things" giving us specific things to think about.

The key verses for us today are those in Colossians 3:1-2 and Philippians 4:8. There we are told to set our mind on things above and to think on things that are "true, noble, just, pure, lovely." Things that are of good report, with virtue and praiseworthiness. To understand then how we are to think and how we are to believe, and how we are discern what to put in our minds and what to shun, we must learn to live these verses. How do we do that?

That is why I preached a sermon a few years ago titled "Think on These Things" from a series through Colossians 3. By clicking on the title you can download or listen to this message for free. There is a battle being waged for our minds - do we even know how to fight the fight? If not, we have already lost.

Think about it! Have we believed a lie or fallen for a myth? In the world of special effects and urban legends it makes for good entertainment to see myths busted. In the church, if we leave the myths alone the spiritual consequences are devastating. Theological lies and false doctrines are spiritual poison. And they are myths that we must confront, that we must bust, as if lives depended upon it!

Being Like Minded

The second message in the series Set Your Mind on Things Above is taken from Philippians 2:1-5. This message, titled Being Like Minded, shows us from the text that true unity comes from being like minded.

Many today are making appeals for unity but not many are calling for agreement about the Word of God and agreement in the way we live! We see though that there cannot be true unity unless we are like minded in the church - and being like minded must come from mutual submission to the Word of God. Unity comes from obedience. In order to have one mind, to be like minded, we must think alike. This works its way out in our being comassionate, loving, caring, merciful, and being willing to serve one another.

Are you striving to be like minded? If not, you are hindering unity within the Body of Christ.

Nehemiah's Single-Mindedness

This series was preached for the new year in 2005 but is applicable to us today. We start in the book of Nehemiah where we learn about his single-minded desire that God be glorified through His people and the rebuilding of the City of Jerusalem, it's walls, and the Temple. Chapter 9 especially teaches us valuable lessons for the New Year. Whether we are hoping that the new year is better than the old, or whether we face new trials and tribulations, this we know - in trying times we must remember our God.

Often in troubles and trials we forget about God, except to think of Him as a way of escape. But in truth, as we study His character and His attributes we see that no matter what we face He will always be with us. The difficulty for us is found in that we need to learn to look past the winds, waves, and uncertainty and focus our attention on Him and His name. He must be our focus. He must be the center of our attention. He must be the priority and He must have the preimminence in our thinking.

Nehemiah sets an example for us by being single-minded when it comes to seeing the glory of God, even in trying times.

Here then, introducing a series titled Set Your Mind on Things Above, is the first message taken from Nehemiah 9 titled Nehemiah's Single-Mindedness.

Sermon Guide - Phillip M. Way

Click Here for a Sermon Index of Messages Preached by Pastor Phillip M. Way