Ephesians 6:10-24

Walking in Victory ~ part 3

Open your Bible to…

2Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

2Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

Pray

Intro

√ Walking in victory ~ part 3

We’ve spent the last two weeks studying spiritual warfare, so far we’ve learned…

Who our enemy is, what his strengths and weaknesses are and his methods of attack.

We have also learned that God has equipped us to not only endure the attacks of Satan, but also to gain victory over him and his attacks!

This morning we complete our training for spiritual battle by looking at the method by which we both engage the enemy and by which we obtain the energy necessary for the battle.

Ex. Warfare

An army is only as powerful as the men and machines that make up that army.

Deny that army the food needed for the soldiers to fight or the fuel required to power the machines even the best equipped and trained military will fall.

The same is true in the spiritual war in which we are engaged.

God has given us the best equipment available to stand against the devil…

…but without the energy necessary to engage him we won’t enjoy the success that God intends for us to experience.

The energy to use the equipment that God has given us to fight spiritual battles is imparted to us through prayer!

Ap. Prayer ~ the most neglected weapon given to the Church

The Energy (vs. 18-20)

Eph. 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Eph. 6:19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Eph. 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

√ The Energy

The reality is that even with the armor and sword that God has given us there are times when we simply don’t have the strength to face the enemy!

Ex. Jesus in the garden

Jesus was nearing the completion of His mission, the last 24 hours at the end of three years of public ministry.

All through His ministry we find Jesus mopping the floor with demons and even the devil himself!

From the temptation in the wilderness to the casting out of demons to the calming of the sea Jesus had faced down every enemy with an awesome display of power!

But now, at the very end of His earthly ministry we find Him weakened, physically, emotionally and spiritually as He faces His last battle.

Matt. 26:36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”

Matt. 26:37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Matt. 26:38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

Matt. 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

The Gospel records tell us that Jesus prayed three separate times for the same thing!

Luke tells us that He was in such agony and torment that his sweat was like great drops of blood!

Luke also tells us that in response to His prayer an Angel was sent to strengthen Him.

After He had finished praying He was once more able to stand against the enemy and complete the mission that His Father gave Him.

Ap. We need to pray

It goes without saying that if Jesus felt the need to pray for strength then we all the more need to pray!

√ Praying always

The question we might ask then is…

“When should we pray and how should we pray?”

Paul’s answer is found in vs. 18…

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit”

That is, we should pray all the time and with every kind of prayer we can think of…

Group prayer

Individual prayer

Silent prayer

Shouting prayer

Walking prayer

Kneeling prayer

Eloquent prayer

Pleading prayer

Constant prayer

Fervent prayer

Spiritual prayer

Just pray!!

Why?

Because it is through prayer that God imparts His energy to us.

May be the physical energy we need to complete a task.

May be the emotional strength we need to face the enemy.

May be the spiritual power we need to place our trust in God and His promise to meet us in our weakness.

It’s through prayer that our spiritual armor and weapons are activated to effectively engage the enemy.

√ Pray for

So, now that we understand that we need to pray so as to effectively engage the enemy the next question is…

“Who and what should we pray for?”

Note Paul’s answer…

1) All the saints…

“…being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” ~ vs. 18b

Paul’s first request is that his friends in Ephesus pray for all the saints.

He doesn’t mean that we’re to literally pray for each and every believer in the world.

Rather, that we’re to be concerned for and praying for those saints with whom we serve and know.

Ex. Remember the context ~ Roman legionnaires

Upon enlistment men were sorted by Centurions into groups of eight called a squad.

Recruits didn’t get to chose the members of their squad, they were chosen for them.

Yet, for the next 20 years of their enlistment they would live together, eat together, train together, fight together, and if necessary die together serving Rome.

It was each man’s duty and responsibility to look out for the well being of the other men in the squad.

The reason? Because a strong well trained squad committed to protecting one another was a soldier’s best hope to survive combat.

So, Roman legionnaires understood that their own survival depended on covering one another in and out of battle.

Ap. Pray for the saints in your squad!

I hope the spiritual application is clear!

We don’t get to choose the people that God places in our “squad”!

Without exception in every church and ministry that you’ll ever be involved in you’re going to find someone you don’t get along with.

Our church is no exception!

However, by God’s design He has chosen to put together a group of people with very different personalities, stories, gifts and varying levels of spiritual maturity to serve together for the Kingdom of God.

Just like the Roman soldiers of old we need to recognize that our spiritual survival is dependant on one another!

Thus, Paul reminds us that we’re to be praying for all the saints!

Pray for people in the different ministries here at Calvary.

Pray that God would protect and empower us to accomplish His will.

Pray for the soldiers on our Psalm 91 bulletin board.

Pray for GFA missionaries.

Pray for our Compassion kids.

Pray for our New Tribes missionaries.

Because a praying church is a church that Satan fears and as we pray for one another we’ll find strength to successfully engage our enemy.

Ap. Please pray!

Take the monthly bulletin insert that lists prayer needs and pray for them, by yourself, in your small group, when you’re at work, when you’re walking…

…just pray!

2) Pray for Me….

After Paul has requested prayer for others he then asks his friends to pray for him!

“and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” ~ vs. 19

First of all I think it’s important that we note that Paul wasn’t ashamed to ask for prayer, nor did he see it as unspiritual to ask that others pray for him!

Paul recognized that even though he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, anointed with powerful spiritual gifts of healing, miracles, and the ability to cast out demons…

…he still needed and asked for the prayers of others!

Remember that even our Lord asked His disciples to pray for Him!

Ap. Please, don’t ever try and play Lone Ranger Christian! Let your needs be known so that others can pray for you!

After every service we have people up front who are available to pray with you and for you.

Most weeks we have very few people come forward.

I know there are many people every week who need prayer but aren’t taking advantage of this great resource.

Don’t be shy, don’t be ashamed ~ just come up and get prayer!

Second, note Paul’s personal prayer request in vs. 19…

“…that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

I find it interesting that he doesn’t ask them to pray that he be set free from his imprisonment, nor for any other comforts.

Rather, he requests that they pray that he might be given the right words and the courage to accurately present the Gospel so that when he is called to make his defense before Caesar he can proclaim the Good News to Emperor himself!

His request reveals his heart!

Paul’s passion was to reach the lost with the saving message of the Gospel!

From the slave sharing the cell with him to the Emperor himself, Paul’s focus was to win the lost to Christ.

Reminds us that while it is good to ask for the things we need and even for the desires or our heart…

…let’s not neglect prayer for the lost.

Ap. Pray for passion to reach the lost!

Ask God to give you the desire and the right words to share the Gospel with others…

…time is short!

The Encouragement (vs. 21-22)

Eph. 6:21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

Eph. 6:22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

√ The Encouragement

Perhaps you remember back to our first study in the book of Ephesians that I told you it had been at least 10 years since Paul’s friends in Ephesus had seen or heard from him!

So, receiving his letter would have brought great joy to their hearts to discover that he was alive…

…yet, sorrow to hear that he was in jail in Rome where perhaps he would be executed!

So, Paul doesn’t send his letter to them via some Roman post courier, rather, he sends his letter with a brother and friend who can comfort and encourage the folks in the church at Ephesus.

That friend was a faithful brother by the name of Tychicus.

He’s mentioned in a number of other places in the New Testament as part of Paul’s missionary team and later as a courier for Paul while he was in prison.

His mission was simply to get Paul’s letter safely to the church in Ephesus and then to provide details to the congregation about Paul’s condition so that they wouldn’t stress out.

That was really important because as we all know the written word can’t communicate tone!

Without knowing the tone behind Paul’s written words it would have been really easy to read all sorts of wrong perceptions into Paul’s letter.

So, Tychicus would be able to assure Paul’s friends that despite how bad things looked for him…

…that he was in good spirits, he was healthy and well cared for and most importantly he was confident in the Lord.

√ The significance

Let me make one more point that is easy to miss here…

That is, what may seem like a fairly insignificant role, that is acting as postman…

…turned out to be very significant to millions of people!

Think about what Tychicus did.

He simply carried Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, may have read it to them, then spoken words of encouragement to them.

He didn’t, nor do we have any record that he ever did any of the cool and exciting stuff that Paul did like…

Raise the dead!

Cast out demons!

Heal the sick!

Preach to Caesar!

He simply and faithfully made sure that Paul’s letter got safely to Ephesus.

Oh yeah ~ that letter!

The letter that God inspired Paul to write that was intended to become part of God’s word to Mankind!

A letter that would eventually be read by millions of people the world over.

The letter that has set millions free from the bondage of legalism and brought them into a saving knowledge of Christ through the revelation of God’s Grace!

The letter that tells us…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” ~ Eph. 2:8-9

The letter that tells us…

That we are now in Christ the children of God to whom has been granted all of the riches of heaven!

Oh yeah, that letter!

Ap. Be faithful to do whatever God has given you to do!

Do you think that Tychicus had any idea at all that what he carried in his hands was the original God-breathed life-giving Word of God?

Probably not.

He just knew that the letter was important to Paul.

That Paul wanted to communicate with his friends things he couldn’t say to them because he was in jail.

But that was all he needed to know to do his job faithfully even though it may have looked small and insignificant.

Probably laughing now that he knows just how important this letter has proven to be to millions of believers over the last 2,000 years!

So, may I encourage you to serve the Lord faithfully no matter how common or insignificant your task may seem…

…because you have no idea just how important it is in the big picture of God’s plan!

The Exhortation (vs. 23-24)

Eph. 6:23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph. 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

√ The Exhortation

Paul closes his letter with same words that he began it with…

“Peace” & “Grace”

Reminding us that we cannot have peace without God’s grace.

These are two of the cornerstones of the Christian experience upon which we build our faith and enjoy God’s riches.

But note that peace and grace are only available to those who love Jesus…

“Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” ~ vs. 24

That is, the blessings of God’s grace and peace are only experienced by those who truly know Jesus as Savior and King.

The word “sincerity” speaks of an uncorrupted love.

Not a phony love, nor a hypocritical love.

A real love born of a thankful heart.

As we close out our study of Ephesians let me invite you to look at your life and ask…

“Are you experiencing God’s peace and grace?”

If you are not it may very well be that you’ve never truly given your hear to Jesus.

Why not do that today and let God’s grace wash over you and then let Him fill you with His peace.

Paul experienced all the riches of Christ while chained in a Roman jail…

…think how marvelous your experience can be as a free man or woman in Christ!

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