Ephesians chapter number 6. We're going to start in verse 10 tonight and try to get through verse number 12. Those three long verses there. Ephesians 6. verse number 10 down through verse number 12. We finished last time on Sunday as Paul is giving this direction concerning these relationships and how we are to operate in those. Husband and wife, wife to husband, children to parents, parents to children, masters to servants, servants to masters, and so on. As he gives this direction, concerning how we are to, in these domestic relationships, how we are to live in those. He's already addressed in chapter 4, how we are to do so within the body of the church. Within the church body, how we are to love one another, how we care for one another. He kind of takes it up here in chapter 5 as well, when he talks about submitting ourselves one to another. In verse number 21, submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God. And then he takes up with these other relationships that are intertwined in the church body, but specifically within the family and within the master-servant relationship as he mentions there. And we saw all of that direction that Paul was giving for those. And then he takes up in verse number 10, with this reality. And it's very important as he seemingly, when you're looking at it from, when you categorize these chapters, it seemingly seems like this is a little out of place, but it's not. It's very much in place. Because what Paul is bringing up next is the reality of spiritual warfare. And it's the reason, because we are in spiritual warfare, it is the reason it is so important that He addresses these issues with the husband, the wife, the children, the parents to the children, the servant, the master relationship, that these relationships be on a rock steady footing. Because in the reality, in an everyday reality, we are being attacked. And we are in a warfare. And so our relationships between husbands and wives, our relationships between parents and children, our relationships between master and servant, employer and employee, all of those things are grounds, those are places, those are the battlefield that those spiritual forces will be attacking first and foremost. to tear those down. Because when they tear these relationships down, when these are strained, when these are hurt, when these relationships are straggled and pulled apart because of the warfare that we are against, it's brought over then into the body of the church. And then the church is injured. Then the expert. And so this is the reason this goes hand in hand here with what Paul is teaching in regards to the family and what he's teaching here concerning these particular domestic relationships that he brings about here in chapter 5 and chapter 6. Because this directly, this warfare that we are in directly affects these things. And so it is the chief battleground for them. And so this is what he comes into next. This is what he is reminding us of, preparing us or teaching us how we are to be prepared in the midst of these battles that are coming our way or that we are already engaged in. And so he says here, verse 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So as Paul tells us here, He tells us to put on this armor of God and reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle and it is against, this battle that we are engaged against is against a very seasoned enemy. This is a battle-hardened enemy that we are coming against. And it is only in the strength and power of Christ Jesus that we are able to wage war. And it is the reason that His armor must be on us. Because this is a battle that we cannot fight alone. We don't have the strength, we don't have the ability, we don't have the fortitude. We have to be engaged with Christ Jesus our Lord to face this battle. And this battle, whether we like it or not, it is a never-ending battle. It is a constant battle. And it doesn't take us long, being in this world that we are in, to recognize that it is a battle that's going on, as we see it all around us. We see it on a macro level when we're looking out in our community around us, when we're looking out from a world perspective, we see that this battle is truly ongoing and is in engaged right now, but then on a macro level, the thing that we, because it's so overwhelming for us to see it on the macro, because it's so overwhelming for us to see it all around us, We want to disengage ourselves, and we want to pull off to the side. We want to say, well, you know what, I just need to rest today. I don't need to be... And what we've got to realize is even when It seems overwhelming out there around us when we see all the fighting and the warring that's going on and realizing the power that Satan has, that the Lord has given him for this time in this world, the influence that he has over the kingdoms of this world. When we see that outwardly, we see that on this scale that's in our society and worldwide as we see it, we cannot take our eyes of the reality that he's involved against us as well. That we can't pull ourselves out. That we have to be mindful of the reality that not only is that battle going on out there, that battle is going on in here as well. And so we have to be a people that are engaged constantly with our Lord, holding fast to Him, armored up, facing this enemy that we face every day. And it is when we see our problems Most, when our attitudes are the worst, when things are rising against us the most, it seems like everything is just falling apart, that's most often when we are not holding to our Lord like we ought to. When we are too engaged in self, instead of holding fast to Him. And so we need to be mindful of this. And this is what Paul is warning us to hear in this passage of Scripture. He says in verse 10, he says, Be strong in the Lord. Be strong. That word be strong there is the Greek word endunomo or endunomou there, and it means to be empowered or enabled. empowered or enabled. So I understand what Paul is saying when he says, be strong in the Lord. Our strength, he's saying, comes from the Lord. He's the one that gives us that strength. He is the one that empowers us to face this battle. We don't have it in ourselves. We don't have it in our own strength. We're not able to do it without Him. And it is the reason that we need to be a people that is in constant... That's the reason He says in 1 Thessalonians, pray without ceasing. In chapter 5, verse 7 and 8, pray without ceasing. We need to be a people that is constantly on the line with our Lord, expecting and looking for His empowerment in us each day. Because we cannot fight this battle that we are engaged in. Now, again, whether we're empowered by Him or not, we're still in the battle. We're still fighting. And we may not want to be. And we may say, well, I'm not wanting to fight today. I just want to lay around today. I want to watch Oprah, and that's enough. I don't want to do nothing. I don't even know if Oprah's still on TV or not. But I just want to watch TV, and I want to disengage. I don't want to be involved in anything going on. And it don't matter whether you want to or not. You are. You are engaged in a battle. And so we cannot be so flippant with that reality. We need to be constantly holding fast to our Lord. We need to be in constant prayer with Him, knowing that we are in a battle. We are in a battle. And so it says, be strong in the Lord. It is only by His power that we are able to fight this battle. Verse 11, he says, put on, put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now these words suggests a putting on that is permanent. In other words, once you put it on, you ain't supposed to take it off. It's supposed to remain on you. And so we, this, this, that word armor is the panoply is what that word means. And it is, it's to be put on and to remain on us. Once it is put on, it is to remain on us. And we are to put it on to help us to stand. In other words, if you ain't got it on, you ain't standing. If you don't have that armor on, you're not able to engage in the fight. The armor does not take us out of the battle. It's not for our protection that we can somehow be removed, but rather the armor is to make us fit for the battle. The armor is to arm us up that we are able not only to go in and fight, but that we are given the victory as we fight, you see. But we have to have that armor, that armor of our Lord on us. And so it is to help us to stand, as he says here in verse number 11, against the wiles of the devil. stand against the wilds, that He uses many devices to deceive us, to tear us down, and even destroy God's people if He can. He uses all sorts of things. And he's been around long enough, he knows all the weak points. He knows all the things that are most appealing to us. He knows all the things that have that effect to us today. And so his fight against us is always about deception. It is always about tearing down. But when we don this armor, we're then able to stand, Paul says. We're able to stand against those wiles of the devil. He goes on to describe in verse 12, he says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Our warfare, that this armor is to protect us in, that this armor is to help us to fight, the warfare we fight is a spiritual warfare. And it's hard for us to remember that because it often comes against us in a physical form. Or that's how we recognize. That's how we see it. It's most often those physically that are those being used as the pawns of our enemy or even we ourselves being used as the pawn of the enemy that we don't even recognize ourselves being strewn about and carried along with the wind that that warfare is made so real to us. And so it's easy for us, because it is physical that we see it in, it is easy for us to become engaged with the physical. It's easy for us to be made so aware of the physical that we can't remember, that we can't even see the spiritual aspect of it. We become focused on the individual. We become focused on the physical. We become focused on their attitudes and what they're saying and what they're doing without stepping back long enough for us to say, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. This is a spiritual thing. And so this is what Paul reminds us of. We don't wrestle against the flesh. against flesh and blood. But Radler, he says, our fight is against principalities, it's against powers, it's against the rulers of the darkness of this world, it's against the spiritual wickedness in the high places. That's where the fight lies. And yet it's going to be displayed physically by those other folks that are in this world around us. But it's not them that we are against. It is our prayer. It is our hope that they would find grace. It is our prayer and our hope that they would see the light of Christ. Recognizing that it is a spiritual thing, it is a spiritual working through them that's bringing this battle to the forefront in us and in our lives. So the warfare we fight is a spiritual battle, but it is, as Paul tells us here, it is a very organized enemy that we face. This is not just random attacks. It's not an unorganized thing. It's not guerrilla warfare. It is an organized enemy that comes against us in the steady barrage that it comes against us. Our Lord, in His grace, protects us from so much. We don't even realize how much He keeps from us in this battlefield. How much we are protected, that we are not able to see, that we don't even know is out there. And then what we do face, what He does allow to come our way often overwhelms us. And you can imagine what it would be if all of it, if we could see all of it that is coming against us, how overwhelming that would be. How much a state of panic that we would be in if we were able to see truly what is against us in this world. But our Lord in His grace protects us from so much of it. Elisha gives us an example kind of in reverse of that. He is on the hill with his servant. And his servant, the king, sends his army to kill Elisha. And this army is coming against him there. And Elisha's servant says, oh no, master, here they come. They're going to wipe us out. They're going to kill us. They're coming to get us. And Elisha tells him that the ones that are with us are a lot more than the ones that are with them. And he said, what are you talking about? It's just me and you up here. We ain't going to be able to stand against that army. And Elisha prays, Lord open his eyes that he would see. And the servant's eyes were open and it said all around them, gathered on the heels of the angels of the Lord. that were gathered around them there. And the angels unleashed and came down upon that army there in the field that was coming, wiped out the army that was coming against Lysa and his servant. We see there just kind of the reverse of it. There's so much that our Lord protects us from each and every day. We find that even in the model prayer as the Lord says, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the power and the glory. And so we realize our Lord protects us from so much each and every day that we don't even see all of the battle that is against us. But it didn't take us long to realize with just daily living that we're engaged in a battle. We're engaged in a battle. And it is, again, an organized army that comes against us. The principalities are those generals that are coming forth. The powers are those demonic foot soldiers, if you will, that go out and carry out those orders. The rulers of the darkness of this world are those demons that are in charge of Satan's spiritual business on this earth. And we see that given to us in the Scripture on several occasions. Go over to the book of Ezekiel and you'll see several of those examples as Ezekiel is writing this prophecy against the kingdoms there around Israel. He says there in chapter 21, he gives an example of this, chapter 21, verse number 25, Chapter 21, verse number 25, he says, And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end. He speaks of the wicked prince of Israel. We read in chapter 28 and verse number 2, he makes a similar statement here concerning the king of Tyre, the prince of Tyre. It says in chapter 28 verse 2, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God, because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seeds, yet thou art a man and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God. Then in chapter 30 and verse 13, Chapter 30 and verse 13, he says here, Thus saith the Lord God, I will also destroy the idols and will cause their images to cease out of Noth, and there shall be no more a prince in the land of Egypt, and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And then he says in chapter 38 of these things yet future, Here in Ezekiel 38 verse 2 and 3, it says, "'Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.'" And these examples here is that Those demons, if you will, that are put in charge of those kingdoms that he's bringing up there, that he's making mention of. We see also in our text the spiritual wickedness in high places. That's those demons in the heavenlies that many believe have charge of religion. Whether it's religion or kingdoms or whatever the case may be, these are those that we are fighting against. This is a spiritual warfare. But again, it is flesh. that often stands against us, it makes us aware of the battle that we are engaged in. The truth is we face men empowered by these spirits spoken of, and they are of their father the devil, and they are set out to do his will, but we must remember our battle is not with them. That's not who we're fighting against. And it's hard for us to separate that reality when it's coming at us in our face. It's hard to separate that out. They are empowered by their master and it is They will come to do His will, but it is our desire, at least it should be, to see God's grace worked on their behalf, to see salvation come to them. And so we must stand against them, as we read here in Jude chapter number 3, or Jude verse 3, whichever way you want to look at it, Jude 3, He said, "'Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you the common salvation, it is needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.'" In the contending for the faith, we have to stand, and that stand is often against flesh. When we are saying, oh, this is what the Scripture teaches, this is what the Word of God declares, this is the truth that is given, we have to contend for the Word of God. We have to stand on the truth. But we are commanded that when we do so, we are to do so in love. We are to do so in love. So we stand on the truth, we contend for that, but we do so in love. Jesus gives us the example over here in Luke chapter 23. Luke 23 and verse number 34. This is at His crucifixion. This is flesh coming against our Lord. And what does He say? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It's hard for us to be mindful that those that come against us are not who we fight against. But it is against those demonic forces. It is against that spiritual wickedness that we are to stand against. It is these demonic forces that we fight against. We don't fight pagan religion. We stand against it. We contend for the truth. Islam is children of the devil. Hindu is children of the devil. Taoist and Buddhist are the children of the devil. Mormonism, Judaism, those are children of the devil. We don't fight against the devotees to these religions. Sadly, much of Christendom today is children of the devil. We don't fight against those devotees. We don't fight against those that hold to those religions. We stand for the truth. We declare the truth to them. But we do fight against their father. We do fight against him. And how can we do that? Well, first we must have on this armor. We have to have on that armor of God. We have to be holding fast to our Lord. We are to keep ourselves pure, the Scripture tells us. We are to stand for the truth. We are to be faithful in our service to the Lord, but we cannot do that without holding fast to Him. We have to, as the Lord says there in John chapter 15, we have to be a people that are abiding in our Lord. We have to be abiding in Him. That means we need to be going to Him every single day, throughout our day. Lord, I need your help. Lord, I need your strength now. I need your power. Lord, help me. Help me to serve you as you'd have me to do. Help me to stand as you'd have me. Lord, help me to stand against this weakness that's in my world. Lord, help me to have the right attitudes. We've got to be constantly praying, constantly in that mind of prayer, that God would give us grace to stand faithfully for Him, as we stand for the truth. The word wiles that he uses there in verse number 11. The word wiles means traveling over or trickery. Traveling over. We see that example given to us in the book of Job. In Job chapter number 1, as Satan is described for us here, Job chapter number 1, we see it not only in chapter 1, we also see it in chapter number 2. It says in chapter 1 in verse 7, let me read verse 60 as well, it says, Now there was a day when the sons of God, that term there simply means those that are in the presence of the Lord, that's the angels, that's what's being represented there. It doesn't mean that there's more than Jesus as the begotten Son of God. It's simply describing the angels there. It says, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them. Notice he's already separated from them. He's not, in other words, he's not one of them any longer. And so the angels come before the Lord and resent themselves before the Lord and Satan came also. And he came among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. That's his traveling over. And it is his wiles that Paul has mitched him there. From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Then notice also chapter 2. It says in verse 2. Let's read verse 1 there as well. It says, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Now go back over to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter number 5. And we see as Peter tells us what Satan is doing in his walking to and fro. 1 Peter chapter number 5 and verse number 8. In his traveling over, in his traveling over, what is it that Satan is doing? 1 Peter 5 and verse 8. Be sober. be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. That is his wiles. That's what Satan sets to do. That is what his trickery is involved with. It is seeking whom he may devour. That's what He wants to do to us. That's what He wants to do to you. Jesus told Peter, Satan desires to have you, that he'd sift you like wheat, the Lord told him. Satan wants to operate against God's people. He desires to deceive us. He desires to tear us down. And the reason He desires so to do this is because He is trying to bring out wickedness in us. Because Satan is a lawman. He's a lawman. Something for something. That's what he's after. Something for something. Satan demands of God that punishment be made for sin. That is the reason he is called the accuser of the brethren. What's he accusing them of? He's not accusing them of following the Lord. He's not accusing them of doing right. He's not accusing them of preaching the gospel. What is He accusing us of? What does Satan accuse us of before the throne of God? He accuses us for our sin. For our fails. For our shortcomings. Constantly pointing out, ah, there's another. Look what he did there! We've got reports, we've seen him sin, we've seen him fail. He's constantly accusing, demanding payment for sin. Job chapter 2 again, and verse number 4. Job 2 and verse 4. We read that He's going to and fro, verse 2, in the earth and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said, verse 3, said unto Satan, Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth? a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and is sheweth evil, and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movest me against him to destroy him without cause." That's what happened in chapter 1. Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin, something for something. Yea, all that a man hath, Will he give for his life? He said, you've not taken enough from him. That's the reason he's still standing. You take more from him, he'll curse you. If you come against him, if you come against his flesh, he'll curse you then. See, what Job's wife was telling him to do, curse God and die. Just go ahead and let God take you out. She hated to see him suffer. We often times get angry at her. I've got a new perspective on that lady. She was sorrowing just like her husband was. Maybe she was upset that she didn't see him sorrowing the same way that she was. She'd probably given up on everything. She lost everything that Job lost. She lost the same things. And Job's still holding fast to his faith. Satan says, skin for skin. You attack him directly. You attack his flesh. He'll curse you then. Revelation chapter 12 is where we find he is the accuser of the brethren. The accuser of the brethren. But in order to accuse us, He uses temptation. He uses trickery to entrap God's people to have something to accuse them of. And we're already... There's enough battle, as Paul describes to us in Romans chapter 7, there's enough battle fighting ourselves. But then to have Satan coming against us with his army on top of that, to use that trickery to cause us to bring that temptation before us to try to cause us to sin against our Lord. We need our Lord's strength constantly. Constantly. Satan uses trickery to trap this world in following his devices. And we see that how successful that has been in our world because spirituality itself is lauded in our society. It's a cool thing to be spiritual. It's a cool thing to be spiritual. It's awful to be biblical, but it's a cool thing to be spiritual. Something to be honored, something to be praised even. And so they lift up stuff like Ouija boards and seances, diviners and psychics to look into the spiritual realm. They're used as contacts. to these demonic forces, and they think they're just speaking to good spirits that are out there in our world. And all they're doing is contacting the enemy that is against them. To many, this is just a spooky, ghostly language, a silly idea that's just to scare people, just superstition or fairytale stuff. But it's exactly how Satan wants us to consider it. There's even conjuring games that kids play. There's one a few years ago, I don't know if it's still going on or not, called Charlie Charlie, where they are taught how to contact a demon. And they're used as party games, opening themselves up to oppression and even possession to these demonic forces. Demons are warring constantly. Go back to Daniel chapter 10 and look with me here. Daniel chapter 10. Daniel is in a time of prayer, seeking God's direction. Daniel said he was in mourning and he was praying for three full weeks. Twenty-one days Daniel was waiting on an answer to his prayer. Let me just start reading in verse 2, and we'll go down and read the whole story here. Since those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither tame flesh, nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. Daniel chapter number 10. Verse 4, it says, "'In the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hydalcol, then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man, clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Euphaz, his body also was like the barrel, and his face excuse me, his appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like the color to polished brass, and the voice of the words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for my cuddliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words, And then I heard the voice of His words, when then was I in a deep sleep on my face and my face toward the ground. And behold, a hand touched me which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And He said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright. For unto thee am I now sent, and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. So Daniel had been praying these 21 days. He had been, as he called it, mourning. He had set himself apart, fastening before the Lord, because he needed an answer from the Lord. And the angel here tells him, I came the first day that you prayed, I was on my way to you to bring you an answer. Since the first day you started praying, I came to bring you an answer. But the prince, he says there in verse 13, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days. So the prince of Persia fought him for twenty-one days, this angel. Fought against him twenty-one days. Now that was not That was not Darius that was fighting the angel here. This was the demon over that kingdom that was fighting against him. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one in twenty days, but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days." And so the angel brings him the answer. But what forms him up is he left the first day Daniel started praying on his way to bring Daniel answer. And the demons tried to stop him, were fighting against him, trying to stop him from getting there with the answer. And so Daniel prayed those 21 days waiting for that answer. And it took Michael to come and to relieve him that he might come on and bring Daniel the answer. Now understand, it got there exactly when God wanted it to get there. It got there exactly when God wanted it to get there. The battle that was fought was not a surprise to the Lord. If He wanted it there the first day, He would have got it to Daniel the first day. Sometimes, and this is the reality, it goes back to what we were talking about Sunday, concerning the sovereignty of our Lord, and what we will be looking at this Sunday, concerning His sovereignty. The reality is, even though we are engaged in a battle, even though our enemy is strong, even though our enemy is constantly coming against us, our God reigns. He is on His throne. And our God already has the victory. And quite frankly, He's already given us the victory in Christ Jesus our Lord. But we have to go through this. This is what we are engaged in while we are here. And while we are yet in this flesh, we are still in this battle. But we have the victory. And so we must hold fast to our Lord that we continue faithful as we go forth in this battle. Satan's chief means against the children of God. is to keep us focused on this world. If He can keep us worldly, then He keeps us off the battlefield. Therefore, He desires to entangle us with this world. What of this world has us entangled? Are we focused on eternity? Or are we focused on this day, these things, this stuff? What is it? What is it that has our attention? Where does our heart lie each day? We must have the power of our Lord. We must have the power of our Lord constantly in order for us to stand, in order for us to fight. Next time we'll look specifically at this armor that we are to don and what it requires of us to put this armor on. We need that armor. We need our Lord's strength every day. We must be engaged with Him constantly. as we go forth to battle. Let's all stand. We'll be dismissed.