We're back to Ephesians chapter six this morning. Verse 13 is going to be the focus of our study today. As we actually finish the first major subsection in a text that we've been working on now for some nine or 10 weeks, a text that is all about the important subject of spiritual warfare. Turn in your Bibles please to Ephesians chapter six. And I'm going to have you pick up with me here in a minute in verse 10. After teaching us all about our rich spiritual heritage in chapters one, two, and three, and then giving us a instruction and all the previous aspects or the various aspects rather of how to walk the worthy Christian walk in chapters four, five, and six, Paul closes his letter now at the end of chapter six with one last critical subject. And so we understand this. If you're going to make it all work, all that we've learned about before, If you're going to make it all work, if you're going to live for the glory of God, if you're going to obediently walk the worthy Christian walk, then you're going to have to know how to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. We're in a vicious war, people. We have been learning that for some weeks now. And so that critical instruction comes as Paul's last major theme in this book of Ephesians. If you're there now, pick up with me as I read the text. I'm going to begin reading in verse 10 and I will stop reading. at the end of verse 13 for this morning. Here's what it says. Finally, this is Paul's last subject. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. And here now is the verse we want to pick up on today. Therefore, take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm. There's some beautiful thoughts for us to see there as Paul sort of wraps up this first section, his call to battle. And we will look at those things in a minute. Would you bow with me first as we ask the Lord to teach us and to guide us. Father, we love you. We thank you. We've had a wonderful time singing, gathering around the Lord's table. And now we come to the precious truth of your word. This is our time to gather around the word of God. as we open it and study its truths, Father. And we know as always that we are dependent upon your spirit. I ask you this every time because we need this every time, Father. We need that illumination that only comes from you and your spirit. And so we ask for that now. And we also know, Father, especially as we embark upon this particular subject, that we are in desperate need of protection from the enemy of our souls who wants to hinder even our understanding of the truth that we study. And so father guard us and protect us from him and his schemes and his strategies, his plots of attacks. Even now, even during this hour this morning as we're gathered here around the word of God, teach us, guide us, protect us. And through it all father, we pray that we would be edified and built up and that you would be glorified by everything that is said here today. We commit our time to you praying all of these things, in the precious and matchless name of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, in this call to battle so far, we've covered quite a bit of territory. We've worked down through it all. Let me review a little bit, and then we're going to land on verse 13. As I said a minute ago, by way of review, we've discussed in weeks past the preparation for battle. That's the first thing we saw in verse 10, And so let me just remind you of a couple of things real quick. What did Paul say there? He said, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Uh, let me land on just a couple of things by way of review. Number one, you need to be in the Lord, uh, as a first prerequisite for the battles in this war. Um, you need to be a Christian is what that means to be in the Lord. Ephesians is a synonymous with what being a Christian, being a true believer in Jesus Christ. You need to be a Christian. Paul says, Um, so that his power is there working toward you. But then secondly, once that power is there, uh, you need to be relying on his power and not your own. Uh, can I remind you very quickly of what Paul said in, uh, second Corinthians 12, 10, when I am weak, then I am strong. Um, when I am weak, then I am strong. Um, Paul said in the context of that little trip to heaven that he got there in 2 Corinthians 12. And so we have the preparation for battle. Moving on to verse 11 in this text, we were first introduced to the provision that God has made for us in the battles of this war. And that's something, of course, that we're going to talk about much more, a little bit more today, and then a whole lot more in the weeks to come. What is God's provision for us in the battles of this war? It is something that Paul refers to, quote unquote, as the full armor of God, right? We were introduced to it there in verse 11. We're going to see it again mentioned today in verse 13. And then, as I said, beginning in verse 14, Paul's going to not just mention the full armor of God, excuse me, he is going to take it all apart. and explain it to us piece by piece by piece. There's six pieces by the way, and we're going to get into that coming up real soon and look at all of the details of those pieces, what they are, how they work and how you put them on. And we'll talk about all of that stuff as we work down through there. And hopefully the spirit of God will do a great work in each one of our hearts and lives as he makes that application. And so we have God's provision. mentioned just in general terms so far for quite a number of weeks in our study of this call to battle. As you recall, we talked about the enemy in this war. Paul introduced us to the enemy at the end of verse 11, an enemy by the name of an enemy that Paul referred to there as the devil. And so we talked about the devil. And then we sort of launched off that and began to search around all over the place and the scriptures to gather various things, a whole bunch of information that we had there to glean about the devil. And so we talked about, let me just give you some subtopics. We talked about his origin, we talked about his names, we talked about his strength, we talked about his activities, and we talked finally about his schemes, how he works in the minds and build strongholds in the minds and so forth and so on. We spent, really quite a number of weeks talking about this enemy as his name came up at the universe 11. And then last time now in this study, which was two weeks ago, we took a little break for Thanksgiving. But two weeks ago, if you recall, we talked about the struggle itself in terms of the devil's forces. That was in verse 12. Paul described the struggle for us there. and he's described it first negatively. And then he went on to describe it positively. But if you recall, before we even got to those descriptions we landed on a first lesson in verse 12. And that first lesson was simply to understand our ownership of this thing. That's, that's important. Paul stressed that. Whose struggle is this? Whose wrestling match is this describing this text that we're studying? This struggle is, remember what Paul said? He referred to it as our, struggle. And so we just stopped right there and landed on that for a few minutes. And I think that's what Paul would have us to do. As a believer in Jesus Christ, when you read those words, our struggle, you realize quickly that you as a believer in Jesus Christ are the proud owner of a struggle. Come to grips with that. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been enlisted as a soldier in a vicious war for which there will be no discharge. Get that part of it too. you've been enlisted as a soldier in a vicious war, um, for which there will be no discharge this side of glory. And so verse 12 begins with a subtle call for you to accept that reality. Get your mind around that reality. If you're a believer, you are a soldier. It's not, it's not an optional thing. It is. You are a soldier. And, um, Part of getting your mind around that is also understanding, listen, understanding that there could be no greater privilege for you. There could be no higher honor. There could be no greater, if you have a grip, you know, we just gathered around Laura's table a few minutes ago. And I think I said this when we were here, if you can get a grip, at least a part of a grip, even around the significance of what those elements mean, what they stand for, in terms of who you are and what you have as a believer of Jesus Christ, then accepting this reality and understanding that there could be no greater privilege ought to be easy for you than to serve as a soldier for Jesus Christ, the one who loved you. And remember how Paul put it in Ephesians five, two, he loved you and gave himself up for you. He has not called you to serve him. I think of what Paul said to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.3, suffer hardship with me, Timothy, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. That's what we've been called to do. You are a soldier. If you're a believer, you're a soldier. And from that reminder then about our ownership of the struggle, Paul went on in verse 12 to describe that struggle for us. First negatively, and this was another important point, that we spent quite a bit of time developing. Our struggle, Paul said, is not, remember? Our struggle is not what? Not against flesh and blood. Oh, that's so easy for us to forget. We can so easily get sidetracked. Our struggle, folks, is not against, get it, burn it in there. Our struggle, if that person is not the enemy, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Listen, Satan and demons will often use men and women their attacks against you. And tragically, we kind of even went down this trail a little ways that day. Tragically, they will even sometimes use believing men and women in their attacks against you. But it's very important for you to know And I say that with all the authority of the word of God, Ephesians chapter six and verse 12, it's very important for you to know as a soldier in this war and always remember as you wage this war, that those people are never the enemy. People are never, never, never the real enemies. And here's what's going to happen. If you miss that and you start retaliating against those people, then you have played right in the devil's hand and you have completely missed the bullseye. In fact, I'll even take it a step further and say more than just missing the bullseye. You at that point, you've missed the whole target. Your arrow went off somewhere. I'm not even, not even in the, in the range of the target. You've missed the whole target at that point. Mark this as you see this phrase again here, and I know this is review, but mark it again. no matter how it seems, no matter what it looks like, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Literally in the Greek, that's the other way around blood and flesh. And Paul's just saying your, our struggle is not, has nothing to do with people, nothing ever. Okay. And here now, and I'll stop with that. And here now is what our struggle is against. He went on with the positive explanation. four more times in verse 12 Paul uses this word against to introduce now four divisions. We looked at them for divisions, four categories, if you will. of demons that are one of the points to be made about that was the fact that they're highly organized, okay? Highly organized into ranks and that have also been assigned to various roles and various responsibilities. Probably assume some of the same order they had when they were holy angels. We see that carried over, but they're highly organized into ranks. We talked about them all a couple of weeks ago when we were there this morning. I'm just going to read that verse again to remind you briefly, of what those categories of demons are. And really, by the way, we don't know much more about it than what it says right here. We know that they're organized. We know that there are categories. We know all of that stuff, but speculating beyond that can get us into trouble. But let me read again what it says here in verse 12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, archaic, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the heavenly places, their world forces and their spiritual forces. Some that work in the realm of this world, some that work in the heavenly realm and so forth and so on. That much we do know. And as you look at verse 12 again, realize that this enemy is a formidable enemy, nothing to mess around with. This is serious business. That's what we're up against. And with that review now, let's move on. We're going to move on this morning to verse 13. And what we're going to do, as I said, we're going to finish this call to battle section of our text by looking at, um, uh, what I'm going to call, I've given verse 13 a label. I'm going to call verse 13 this morning, the formula for victory, the formula for victory. And as I explained it, I think you'll see where I'm coming from on that. That's what I believe verse 13 is all about. In verse 13, we get now as Paul wraps up his call to battle, we're going to get the formula for victory. Um, Paul starts out in verse 13. You'll notice with that word, therefore, and you know the drill on that, right? We always ask a question when we see that word. Therefore, we ask the question, what is the therefore? Therefore, that's always good for you to keep in mind as you study and read the scriptures. It will that asking that question about that word will always bear fruit for you. in your study of the scriptures. What is the therefore therefore it's a word that usually points us back and then also points us forward. And that's exactly what it does here. The therefore in verse 13 first points us back and sort of wraps its arms around and summarizes everything that Paul has just said in this call to battle. And then once it's done that, it also then thrusts us forward, points us forward to a reiteration of that call. that we're going to see again here now in verse 13. Now, if you picked up a sermon outline or notes on your way in, you can see that by way of outline, I want to zero in on three things this morning as we study this verse. Three things that are all built around the three main verbs in this verse. Let me just quickly run them down for you so you'll know where we're going and then we'll get to work on the first one. three main verbs. And that's going to, that's going to form our outline of this verse this morning. Take up is the first one. The first element of this formula for victory has to do with something that you must do as a spiritual soldier in this war. And what you must do is what? Take up the full armor of God. And let me just stop here long enough to have you note something right here before we go any further. We're only four verses into this text, right? only four verses into this text. And would you notice now that this is the second time Paul has mentioned the full armor of God. We saw it already in verse 11, right? Second time. And what do we always understand? Let me ask the followup question. Now, what do we always understand about things that get repeated in the word of God? We've talked about it before. What do we, especially when they get repeated within the span of two or three verses like this, When things get repeated in the word of God that was breathed out of his mouth for us, it is never, never, never redundant. Never. There's never redundant. Never even consider that as an option because it is not. These words, literal words were breathed out of God's mouth and recorded by the inspired writers for us in this book. It is never, never, never redundancy. Whenever you see God repeating something in his word, you ought to immediately, Mark that thing as a critically important thing, right? Always. Insofar as the subject of spiritual warfare is concerned, where do we rank now the full armor of God? Way up there on the top shelf, right? This is very, very important concerning our subject. Critically important. You've seen it twice now in the span of four verses. In verse 11, Paul said, put on the full armor of God. Here in verse 13 he says, take up the full armor of God. And then as I've already mentioned to you, when we get to verse 14, what's he going to do? He's going to spend the next four verses unpacking and explaining and expounding upon every single piece of armor that makes up the full armor of God. And so we understand the full armor of God to be a critically important focal point and major theme in the spiritual warfare context. And we also understand the full armor of God to be having to do with the first element here and what I'm calling the formula for victory that Paul is outlining for us today in verse 13. Well, let's go on to the next verb. From there in verse 13, Paul is going to go on this morning to a second element in this formula for victory with another main verb. Let me put it to you this way. If you do what you must do, at the beginning of verse 13, this next verb now is going to tell you what you will then be able to do, um, with the armor taken up. And by the way, only with the armor taken up, you will be able to, what is the next verb? You'll be able to resist in the evil day. Um, that's kind of an interesting phrase. There's several important things there that will, uh, and that phrase that we'll need to talk about yet this morning. Uh, and then we'll finish our study today. Well, the final phrase that I think paints a beautiful picture that we'll talk about at the end of our time today, a final phrase, final verb in verse 13, and this is the one that actually defines victory for us in this war. If you've taken up the armor and if you've resisted in the evil day, if you've done all of that, having done everything, Paul says to what? To stand firm. Here we have our third main verb in verse 13, the full armor of God has been mentioned twice now. I've already mentioned that to you in the span of three verses. Would you notice also that this is the second occurrence of this verb, stand firm in the span of those same three verses. And so what else do we have here now? Something else that Paul wants to emphasize for us. Actually, you know what? We could actually say that this is the third occurrence of this verb in the span of those verses, because resist that we just talked about in verse 13 is actually just another form of that same verb. And so this verb now has been mentioned for the third time in this span. So we have another repeated thing here that God is emphasizing for you. What does he want you to know and have a clear understanding of here? He wants you to have a clear understanding of what constitutes victory for you in this war. We've said it before, but it bears repeating. Victory for you in this war, people, according to the word of God, has nothing to do with binding up the devil. Mark that victory for you in this war has nothing to do with binding up the devil and his demons, nor does it have anything to do with maiming or destroying the devil and his demons victory for you in this war. According to the word of God is all about what standing firm. It doesn't seem very heroic. I know, but that's your goal in this war. And by the way, those are two major themes that I'm going to just really land on next week. as we make the transition into the next section here. But mark it right now and never forget that standing firm is your goal as a spiritual warrior in these battles. And with that overview now of where we're going today, let's jump in, take a closer look at that first phrase. As the first phrase, first element in this formula for victory, there is something that you absolutely must do. Therefore, Paul says, take up, the full armor of God. Let's go back to that first main verb. Now take up the full armor of God. Now I'm quite sure that's not a difficult verb to understand. I'm quite sure that all of you know what that simple verb means, but because it is so important in the flow of this verse, what Paul is saying here, I'm going to go ahead and tell you what the lexicons say. It means anyway, take up translates a Greek verb. that means to pick something up in order to use it. It's pretty hard, right? It means to pick something up in order to use it. It paints a very, very simple picture. There's a kitchen knife on the cutting board. You pick it up to chop an onion. There's a pair of scissors there laying on the table and you pick them up to cut a piece of paper. You got it? Simple picture. That's the simple verb that Paul uses here to describe the first element, essential element for spiritual soldiers in this formula for victory. You need to pick something up in order to use it. In Acts one, two, this verb is used to speak of Jesus being taken up to heaven. In Acts 20 and verse 13, it's used to speak of taking Paul on board a ship. And in a second Timothy four 11, it's used in an interesting way. Paul used this verb. This is kind of a precious thought really. Paul used the same verb to tell Timothy to pick up Mark. Remember how that went? Remember early on in Paul's life when he was making those missionary trips with Barnabas and Mark had defected on them and Barnabas wanted to take Mark and Paul said, no, no, no. Mark ain't going with me. He deserted us. I'm not going, I'm not taking Mark. He's not going. At the end of his life, however, what does Paul tell Timothy? before you come to see me, would you pick up Mark? I want you to bring him with me. He's useful to me for ministry. And, uh, that's a beautiful, beautiful thought. But Paul, uh, uses this verb to tell Timothy to pick up Mark, bring him with you when you come. And of course, at that point, Paul was very near the end of his life. He wanted to see Mark again. Um, if you want to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, as Paul wraps up this call to battle, He begins by saying that it's absolutely essential for you to take up the full armor of God. Now let me point something out to you about that. I've already mentioned to you and pointed out to you that this is a reiteration now of the same command that was already given back in verse 11. We've already seen this command, right? But did you notice as we moved into verse 13 today, did you notice that it's worded a little bit differently here than it was there. We need to talk about that just for a minute. And I think it's pretty easy to understand in verse 11. If you recall, Paul said, what put on the full armor of God here. He says it differently here. He says, take up the full armor of God. And so we have to ask the question, why the difference? Why does he say it one way there and then turn around and say it a different way here. Whenever you see stuff like that, you know, you ought to take note of it and try to figure it out because there's usually a reason for it. Is there any significance for us to note in that? I think there is, and that significance is this. Again, it's not difficult, but it's noteworthy. Among the various pieces of armor that we're going to study here coming up in the weeks ahead, the six pieces of armor that make up the full armor of God, Here's the deal. There are some pieces that you wear like clothing and other pieces that you pick up like a tool only when you need to use it. Some pieces you wear like clothing. Some pieces are more like a tool that you pick up to use when you need it. And I've just given you the meaning of the verb, take up. Let me remind you now of the meaning of that other verb, put on the verb, put on that we saw in verse 11, If you recall from our study, there is a verb that means to get dressed. It's a verb that means to put on clothing. That's what it means. And so let's understand now how these two verbs fit together within the context of this full armor of God and the reason why Paul mentions it both ways. It's not hard to understand at all. Some pieces of the armor are ones that you put on and wear like clothing. Examples of this would be the girdle of truth that we're going to begin talking about soon. the breastplate of righteousness. That's like an article of clothing that you put on verse 14, the gospel shoes and verse 15, another article of clothing. But then there are other pieces of this armor of God that are not like garments that you wear. They're more like tools that you would pick up and use. You don't wear these items, but you do need to have them pretty close by. You do need to have them. ready, always near, always ready to be taken up quickly at a second's notice when the battle rages. And what would be examples here? Of course, the shield of faith is like that verse 16, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit in verse 17. And so we understand that's pretty easy, isn't it? And so we understand this formula for victory. Um, a first element that we, something that we must do, all spiritual soldiers must do, you must put on and you must take up the full armor of God. And let's go on now to the second, the next phrase and the next verb in verse 13, which is the second element in this formula for victory. Once you have done what you must do, once you've taken up the full armor of God, the next verb now goes on to describe what you will then be able to do. With the armor on, and taken up, you will be able to, Paul says, resist. That's our next verb. Take up the full armor of God, Paul says, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day. Now I said earlier, there were a number of things that we need, interesting things that we need to look at here. And so what I'm going to do on this one is break it down. I'm going to break that phrase down very quickly here into four smaller phrases and just take them one at a time so we won't miss anything that's here for us to see. in this phrase. The second phrase now begins with the word. So that let's start there. What is so that, so that as a purpose clause, which means that Paul is about to explain in this phrase, why you need to take up the full armor of God. It's so that you will be able to do something. And even those next four words are significant here. You will be able, translates just one word in the Greek. It's the word, the Greek word dunamai. Perhaps you're familiar with that word. It's a word that refers to energy or power. Here, of course, it's referring to what kind of power? God's power. It's referring to the surpassing greatness of God's power. Remember Paul's prayer from chapter one, Ephesians one, It's referring to the greatness, the surpassing greatness of God's power that is working toward you who believe. That's what will enable you to resist in the context of verse 13. Now I mentioned that this is the Greek verb dunamai. Let me also mention that that verb is a very close form of the other well-known Greek word dunamis that is translated power, over in Romans one 16 perhaps you're familiar with it there more than you would be here. The gospel Paul says there is the power of God for salvation, the dunamis of God. And what do we know about those Greek words? Those Greek words are the words from which we get our word dynamite. And so just sort of plant that there. Whenever we think of that, we know what that is, right? As you think about this now, please understand, here's the point. you are not, you are not just a helpless victim. When this prowling lion roars in your direction, you are not just a helpless victim. The full armor of God will enable you with the power of God, the dynamite of God, if you will, to do what Paul says you need to be able to do as a soldier in the spiritual war. When you take up the full armor of God, you will be able to, resist, Paul says. And so we come to that word now, and that's the next main verb that we're talking about. And as we come to that next main verb, let's understand once again, what your responsibility is in this war and what constitutes victory for you. Again, this needs to be emphasized over and over again. You have never been called on people to defeat the enemy in this war, but you have been called upon to resist the enemy in this war. And let me tell you now a little bit about the meaning of that word. Resist here in verse 13 translates a very interesting compound word in the Greek, the Greek word anthistomai. The first part of that word means against the second part means to stand. And so here we are again, once again, what does it mean? Your responsibility in this war and what the full armor of God will enable you to do is to stand against the schemes and attacks of the devil. Another interesting, a little bit of information about this Greek word. Anthistomai is the word from which we get our word anihistamine, which is kind of interesting. If you suffer with allergies, which many people do here in Northwest Pennsylvania, if you suffer with allergies, perhaps you have taken one of those to block histamine. It helps you understand the meaning of this word. That's the meaning of this word resist. And that's what you will be able to do when you have taken up the full armor of God. You will be able to block and fight off and resist the enemy's attacks. That's what the word means. You're not to go out looking for the enemy. You're not to hunt the enemy, but when the enemy comes to you, which by the way, he will, if you are living a faithful and obedient life, he will find, you don't have to look for him. He will find you. And when he does, The point here is to say that you can resist him. Um, that's Paul's point here. The armor will enable you with the power of God, the dynamite of God to resist the block or resist him to stand against him. Now, in recent studies, I've taken the time to emphasize for you the enemy's great strength. And, uh, that is an important emphasis that needs to be made in our own strength I'll say it again in our own strength and without the armor, we are no match for this enemy at all. He will, he will chew you up and spit you out. Believe me, he is way, way, way more powerful than you and I or all of us together. And that's Peter's point. Be of sober spirit. Peter says in first Peter five, eight, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. I've read that verse for you several times. to emphasize the devil's great strength. But listen now to what Peter goes on to say in the very next verse. Yes, the devil does prowl around like a roaring lion and he is seeking someone to devour. But Peter goes on in verse nine to say, but resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. Now that you, now that we all have, a healthy and proper respect for the devil's strength, it's time for us to see the other side of that story. People often think of the devil as that scary red creature with horns and a pitchfork, right? And again, I say that if you're trying to face him in your own strength, you ought to see him that way. If you're trying to face him without the armor on, you ought to see him that way as that scary red creature. But listen now, and here's the point, as we pull together this call to battle in verse 13, when you have the armor on, when you get the armor on the Paul is talking about twice now in this text, when you get the armor on, when you were strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, you were going to realize something. You're going to realize what Peter goes on to point out in verse nine, you're going to realize that that scary red devil is really yellow. He is. You are going to realize that you can resist that roaring lion firm, In your faith, Peter says, see this whole standing firm picture. You know, the Roman soldier, when we get to his shoes, we're going to find that they had spikes on the bottom. And it was for that reason to dig in. They would dig in with those things. Uh, they were immovable. Um, you can resist that roaring lion firm in your faith, Peter says in verse nine. And if we want to add James to that, you know, James said, James four, seven, I know I've read this verse for you before, probably more than once resist the devil and he will what? He will flee from you. There's nothing in this text that says you ought to be doing any fleeing or running. You're to stand firm. But when you do, James says, the devil will be the one who will flee from you. And on that thought, before we leave it, can I give you just one quick lesson from our Lord on how to resist the devil? And then we need to talk a little bit about another word, another little phrase within that phrase, the evil day. When is the evil day? But first let me give you a quick lesson from our Lord on how to resist the devil. When Jesus, and this is familiar to all of you, when Jesus, this is early in his, in his public ministry, when Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, do you remember what he said three times when the devil came to him? Three times. It is written. There is a great lesson for us to learn. We're talking about resisting the devil. There is a great lesson for us to learn from our Lord in that. And that lesson is this. Resisting the devil people involves the scriptures. Resisting the devil involves the scriptures. In order to be a victorious soldier in the spiritual war, you will need to know the word of God. And by the way, I'm getting ahead of myself, but that's something that we are going to see. That's a point that's going to be made very clear as we move on into the armor piece by piece. In fact, something I'm already working ahead, of course, in the girdle is the first piece. It's a girdle of what? It's a girdle of truth, right? And then you get all the way through to the last piece. And that last piece is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And so something that dawned on me just the other day is that the armor, the full armor of God begins and ends with the word of God. It begins and ends with the scriptures. It's bracketed in, the truth of the word of God. And so let me say this again, in order to be a victorious spiritual soldier in the spiritual war, you will need to know the word of God. Who better to teach us that by example than Jesus, right? You will need to know the word of God. You will need to know what the word of God says, and you will need to know what it means by what it says so that you can effectively use it as Jesus did against the enemy's attacks. And don't even turn there. Just listen. I'm going to read that for you. What it says in the first 11 verses of Matthew chapter four, and maybe just mark those verses as ones, good ones for you. Maybe if, if you'd like to go back and reread and think about this week, but this is, this is a wonderful example of how to resist the devil and how that includes the word of God. Listen to how Jesus so masterfully did this. And of course you will never do it quite like he did, right? Because he's got, but listen, listen to how he did this. Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he then became hungry. And keep in mind, some people miss that sometimes, right? When did the, when did the devil hit him with this thing with this first one after he had fasted for 40 days, right? He was hungry. I mean, he was really hungry. And the tempter, we, we sometimes can't make it until lunchtime, right? I mean, he had fasted for 40 days. That's the context here. And the tempter came and said to him, he knows where you're weak, by the way, right? He knows, he knows where you're vulnerable at any given moment. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread. I don't know about you, But I'm really glad that he asked him that question because we got a great answer as a result of that, didn't we? But he answered and said, here it is. It is written. That's the key folks. It is written. Man shall not live on bread alone, but on what? Every word, every word. Why do we believe every word? And this book was breathed out of the mouth of God because Jesus said so. Every word, but on every word, not every thought, not every concept, not every paragraph, not even every sentence on every word. Remember I told you a while ago that nothing is ever redundant in the scriptures. That's one of the reasons why I said that. Jesus said, man should not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Well, the scripture successfully countered that first attack. And so what did the devil do? He moves on to another one. Verse five, then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down for it is written. He will command his angels concerning you and on their hands, they will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Another reminder here, would you please note, that the devil also knows the scriptures probably knows them better than you and I do. He knows the scriptures and he will use them against you by misquoting them, taking them out of context. Yet another reason why as a warrior, as a soldier in this war, you need to know the scriptures. You need to know them. Well, Jesus of course did. He is the word, right? He is the truth. Jesus of course did it. He corrected the devil in verse seven. Jesus said to him, on the other hand, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Okay. Two down, one yet to go. Verse eight. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, go Satan, four and here it is now for the third time for it is written for it is written. Now let me ask you a question. How are you ever going to say it is written? If you don't know what is written, how are you going to say that it is written? You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only and watch this now. Verse 11 this is so good. Then the devil left him. And behold, angels came and began to minister to him." It's a pretty good lesson for our subject today, don't you think? Please note that even Jesus here, a couple of things, please note that even Jesus here didn't set out to destroy the devil, did he? And that's because he knew that in the sovereign plan of God, the time for that was not now. He didn't try to beat up the devil or bind him up or tie him up or put him in the closet or any of those kinds of things or destroy him. Any of the foolish kinds of things that we see on TBN, he didn't do any of that. He knew that, The time for that was not now, but he did do what we are to do. And that is our second verb for today, which is what he resisted him, right? And what was the, what was the primary means by which he did that primary means by which he did that was the word of God. Listen, people, why do we study the word of God every Lord's day morning? It's because the word of God is critical in your life as a believer. It's critical in this war. It's critical for so many other things, but it's critical. in this war, in this battle and something else. Don't miss this. Don't miss this. He resisted the devil. The primary means by which he did it was the word of God. At which point, at which point, what happened? Exactly what James said would happen. What happened? Devil took off. The devil fled. He left him. It says the devil, then the devil left him and behold, angels came. minister to him. Great lesson. And with that, now let's move on. We have one more. We're still in the second verb, but we have one more little phrase at the end of the second phrase that I want to point out to you and talk about. Um, it's a little phrase that tells us when we're to do this resisting. Did you see it there? You're to take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day. It says, okay, we need to talk about that for a minute. Uh, when we read that little phrase, that were to resist in the evil day. It begs of course the question, when is the evil day? What in the world is Paul talking about here? What day is he talking about? Is Paul talking about a literal day here that we're going to do this resisting in? Is he talking about a 24 hour period of time? Um, or is he talking maybe about the day as opposed to the night or when he uses this word day, is he talking perhaps about, some sort of an era or a span of time. What in the world does Paul mean here when he says that you are to resist in the evil day? As you might imagine, the commentators go any direction you want to go in. Any direction you want to go in on that, you can find one who will accommodate you. And they're all over the place. Believe me, they're all over the place. Let me try to boil it down for you. by answering that question in a way that I think makes the most sense. All right. When we, when we come across stuff like this, what do we do? You don't need to get frustrated. Uh, just sort of, uh, you know, put it in your mind, think about it, walk away from it, take it with you. Think about it for a while. And most importantly, ask the spirit of God, who is your teacher, your in, uh, indwelling truth teacher to help you figure it out. And it'll all come together. Let me boil this down for you by answering that question. What I think, in a way that I think makes the most sense in the context of what Paul is saying in his verse and in this passage. When is the evil day that he's talking about? Well, I think we need to understand the answer to that question in two parts, and this will make perfect sense. First of all, it must be said that ever since the fall, every day has been an evil day. Would you agree? Every day since the fall has been an evil day. And every day since the fall will be an evil day until that future day when the devil and his forces are forever thrown into the lake of fire. That's coming. But in the meantime, every day is an evil day. Perhaps you remember an extradition that Paul gave us back in chapter five, verses 15 and 16. Here's what it says. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise making the most of your time because the days are evil. Okay. So Paul already understands that right there. He used the plural form of the word day to tell us that there is more than just one of them. No one could seriously argue. Listen, no one could seriously argue the fact that the days in which we're living today, even our evil days, right? We're living in evil days and we have been ever since the fall. And so we begin to understand this phrase now in our text today by understanding that ever since the fall, every day has been an evil day. It's clear from Ephesians 5 16 that Paul understood that every day is an evil day. And so why does he now switch it up? Why does he now just one chapter later use the singular form of that word instead of the plural form of that word day? Um, he does that, because there is now a second way to answer the question, when is the evil day? And let me explain it to you like this. The second way to answer that question has to do with the context of what Paul is now saying in Ephesians chapter six and verse 13. You see in chapter five, he made it clear that every day is an evil day. Every day in this fallen world is an evil day. But in chapter six and verse 13, now the point he's trying to make is a different one. Here, his point is to say that, and get this now, very simple here. His point is to say that among those days that are all evil, there are some. days, there are going to be some days that are more evil than other days. And those exceptionally evil days that he's referring to now very specifically are going to be the days when this enemy of your soul launches an attack on you. That's the evil day that Paul is referring to. Now, thankfully that doesn't happen with the same amount of severity every day. It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen on some days we're living in The era that is characterized by evil days, and within that era, there are always going to be some days when the battle rages fiercely. That, I believe, is the evil day that Paul speaks of here in our text. That is the evil day that you need to be ready for always. Therefore, take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day when that day comes, and it will. You need to be ready. That's Paul's point here. And let's go on and finish our study now this morning by looking at the last phrase, the last verb in verse 13. And this now is the one in this formula for victory that is actually going to define our victory. Take up, resist. The last verb is, last main verb is stand firm. And having done everything Paul says to stand firm. Having done translates a Greek word that means to work something out fully. It means to work it out completely all the way to the end. It means to finish something. It means to carry that thing out or to bring that thing all the way to its ultimate conclusion. This final phrase in verse 13 now, here's the way we need to see it. This final phrase in verse 13 is a phrase that takes us beyond the battle. It's a phrase that goes beyond, goes beyond and then turns around and looks back on the battle. To see the picture of something, you go beyond the battle and turn around to look back to see the picture now of the victorious spiritual warrior. And listen, if you see that picture, you'll realize that it's a beautiful picture. And having done everything, Paul says to stand firm. What is the picture? Here's the picture. The battle is over. The smoke is all cleared. And there he is standing firm. The battle is over. The smoke is all cleared. And there he is unscathed and standing firm. That people is how the Bible defines a victory for us in the battles of this war. And that's also by the way, how the Bible defines a life that brings glory to God. As we begin to wrap this up for today, can we take this a step further? Can we sort of, you know, fast forward this picture all the way to the other end of your life? I think that's a valid thing for us to do here. Let's go ahead and see the vantage point of this verse now as being beyond not just one or two battles, but let's see it now. The vantage point is being beyond all the battles, at which point I think the picture gets even more beautiful. You see, it's great to be, still standing after a battle is over. But wars are made up of more than just one battle, aren't they? And that's what I think this phrase is hinting at. I think it's looking toward that day when your work here is done. As a believer, you are a spiritual soldier in a war that is going to involve not just one or two battles, but an endless string of battles that will run you all the way out to the finish line. When is the finish line for you? Well, two options. either death or the rapture for us, right? That's the finish line for us. How many battles there are in between now and then, how frequent the battles are between now and then, in large part, I think will have to do with how faithful and obedient you are in your Christian life and ministry. The greater the threat, the greater threat you are to this enemy, the more frequently, perhaps, and the more fiercely he will attack you. But the question now is this, as you look, all the way to that other end of your life, all the way to the other end of all the battles, not just one battle or two battles, but all of the battles, the question is this, and it's a serious question for you to think about. Will you still be standing firm? Will you still be that one in that picture that I just painted for you? Will you still be standing firm all the way at the other end of this life? Will you still be standing firm after all the battles have been fought? I posed that question this morning with trembling knees because if it goes like I think it might, I probably have at least a few more years of service yet to go before I get my discharge notice. I don't know that of course, but if it goes like I think it might, I probably have a few more years of service yet to go. I'm counting on that. And I also asked that question with trembling knees because of what I have observed and the lives of other soldiers throughout the course of my Christian life. Think about this. As we look at this verse, this last phrase of this verse, how many, how many Christian leaders have we seen fall over the past 20 or 30 years? Would you agree with me that that number is staggering? How many of them who were going strong at one time, how many of them that we thought that could never happen to, are now on the sidelines. Think about all of those well-known TV preachers that have fallen by the dozens. Literally. I mean, I'm thinking back going back 20 and 30 years, but you know what? They're not the only ones. I know about some other preachers that have fallen some less well known ones. And on top of that, I also know about some other Christians who have fallen who were not preachers. It happens to believers all the time who are no different than you. and no different than me, this is something that can happen in this war. And it's something that can happen in this war, especially if you think it can't. There are lots and lots of believers out there, and I'm talking about the real ones now, who win a few battles, go a ways down the road, they win a few battles, but they lose the war. and they find themselves on the sidelines before they make it to the finish line. They do pretty good for a while until the devil hits them that one last time and down they go. Down they go. That troubles me. Not a trouble you as well. That troubles me. That concerns me because I know it could happen to me. and I know it could happen to you. In fact, let me just stop long enough to say this. That one thing that I'm talking about right now, folks, is a very important reason why we need to pray for one another, why we need to intercede for one another. We are in a war. The devil wants to shoot you down and the devil wants to shoot me down. We need to pray. We need to pray. for that protection from him that we all desperately need. Mark that and do that, please. And let's talk just a little bit. I know I'm, I'm almost done, but let's talk just a little bit about what the problem is here. When that happens, what exactly is it that goes wrong when one of these Christians go down? And again, we're talking about the ones, many times we're talking about the ones that we thought were pretty strong, that we thought were pretty mature, the ones that we thought this could never happen to. And yet it does. What happened? Did the armor somehow lose its effectiveness? Is that what happened? No. Mark this. There is never any problem. There is no problem with the armor. I can confidently say to you that there will never, that the problem will never be the armor. There's never going to be any problem with the armor. The problem is always going to be that the armor wasn't in place. See, we're getting ready to roll into that. The problem is always going to be that the armor wasn't in place. It was only understood perhaps at a superficial level. They never really knew how to put it on. Never, never really knew how it worked. Maybe, but the problem is never going to be with the armor. The problem is always going to be that the armor wasn't in place. And to put it in the terms of our study today, we can say that the problem will always be that they didn't follow this formula that we're studying today. This formula for victory, the armor wasn't in place. And let me take it a step further and say this, And the armor wasn't in place, folks. Listen, probably, I'm guessing, speculating, but the armor wasn't in place probably eight or nine times out of 10 because of that ugly human sin called pride. P-R-I-D-E. You know what happened? When these guys found themselves still standing after a few dozen battles, maybe even after a few hundred battles, they started getting a little cocky. ugly human pride kicked in and they got overconfident and when they got overconfident, they put the armor down and when they put the armor down, they got shot down. That's what happened. That's a tragic story that gets multiplied far too many times over. You know, a few weeks ago, maybe you remember, I read the account for you in Luke 22. I don't remember how many weeks ago it was, but I read the account for you in Luke 22 where Jesus told Peter, remember when Jesus said to Peter, Peter, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat, right? And what did Peter say? Remember Peter's rather overconfident response to that. Verse 33, Peter said, Lord, I'm with you. I'm ready to go both to prison and to death. What are you talking about? Satan has demanded to sift me. Tell Satan to bring it. Lord, I'm ready for Satan. I'm not afraid of Satan. That's basically what Peter was saying. And as far as you're concerned, Lord, I want you to know that I'm the guy that's going to be with you all the way to the end. Jesus said, no, you're not. No, you're not. Before the rooster crows today, you will have denied three times that you even know me. And that's exactly what happened, right? You know what happened? Peter got that sifting and he didn't do very well. Would you please hear the word of God this morning? This is a formidable enemy. Yes, we can stand against him. Yes, we can do all of these things, but only the way that God says we can only with the armor on his strength. You get rid of all of that self stuff. You get rid of all of that. I'm tough stuff. You get rid of all of that pride stuff, or you are going to be defeated. You're going to be defeated. Peter was defeated. Please hear the word of God today. And don't get overconfident just because you're still standing after that battle you won yesterday. You know what? There, there are lots of other battles yet to go. Lots of other battles yet to go. There's another one coming tomorrow or the next day or the next day. And that one that's coming next, listen, it might not be as easy as the one you just won today. And in fact, if you won this one today, I can almost assure you of the fact that the next one that comes will be a harder one. That's how this enemy works. That's how he works. Paul was the greatest example of a spiritual warrior that I can think of. And let me tell you now about one of his greatest fears as he lived this through this earthly portion of his Christian life. Can you think of a greater spiritual warrior among men than the apostle Paul? I can't. Um, let me tell you now about one of his greatest fears or better yet, I'll let him tell you. Paul's greatest fear was that of getting shot down somewhere along his way to the finish line. Paul's greatest fear was that of falling on the battlefield because of a careless move, because of dropping his armor, because of yielding to some temptation. Paul's greatest fear to put it into his own words was that of getting disqualified. Don't turn there, but just listen to what he said to the Corinthians in first Corinthians nine, 24 to 27 great lessons in this as well. He said, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air, but I buffet my body and make it my slave. Less possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. That's a word. That'll be a terrifying word. Disqualified. Paul was worried about being disqualified. That ought to be a terrifying word and a terrifying thought for every true Christian. If Paul could be disqualified and you better believe that you could be, and I better believe that I could be, and please understand little disclaimer here. Please understand that Paul, when he uses this word, Paul was not talking about his salvation. He not talking about it. If you are truly saved, you can never lose your salvation. Please mark that and never forget it. You can never lose yourself. You can never, ever, once again, once you have true salvation, you can never again become disqualified for heaven. That's not what Paul is talking about here. Losing your salvation is a theological impossibility in a case that we have built here time and time and time again. And I'm sure we'll build it here again as, as we continue to study the word of God. But what you can be disqualified for not salvation, what you can be disqualified for as a believer in Jesus Christ, are rewards at the beam of judgment. And that's pretty serious stuff. Okay. If you get shot down on the battlefield, two things are going to happen. Number one, you won't be gaining any more rewards from the sidelines over there. You're out of the race. You won't be gaining any more rewards. And the tragic part, number two of this deal, the real tragic part is that you could actually lose rewards that you've already gained. John told us that in second John chapter eight, watch yourself. Watch yourselves. He said that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. What's the implication of that? The implication of that is that it's obviously possible for you to receive something less than a full reward. It's a terrifying thought. Something you could be sure the devil would love to accomplish in your life. Paul knew he knows that he's lost you eternally, but he would love now to, to rob, those rewards from you and the glory that goes to God as a result of them. Paul knew that God had accomplished some great things through his life in ministry. Paul knew that he was on the victorious side of lots and lots of battles, but he also knew this. He knew that he could lose it all. He knew that after having done everything, after winning all the battles and gaining all the rewards, he could lose it all in one careless moment by dropping his armor and underestimating the schemes, power and attacks of the devil. That was his greatest fear as he lived out the days of his Christian life here in this earth. And I submit to you, therefore, that that, that ought to be your greatest fear as well. And how did it all come out for Paul? You say, well, I think he did. Okay. I think he did. Okay. Listen, as I read in closing for you, what he said to Timothy, his young protege, when his life was almost over. For I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, 6 to 8. And the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. I think Paul did okay. We're going to meet him someday. We'll be able to talk to the great apostle Paul. Well, that finishes. the call to battle first major section in this text. And so if you would begin reading and rereading and thinking through the next four verses, we'll jump in there next time. Um, we won't actually begin with the first piece of armor next time, but I want to actually begin that next section by landing on a couple of, of major themes that are sort of recurring themes that transcend, uh, both of these sections of our text. And so we'll take a look at those things as we, uh, next time, as we make the transition into this next major section where Paul is going to unfold all the details of the full armor of God. Bow with me in prayer. Father, we pray that you would help us by your spirit to sort of pull this all together. Now, as we come to the end of this section and that you would make it all work in our lives while they're in very real and practical ways, we've understood the formula for victory today. Father, we've seen the big picture now of what you have for us as soldiers in the spiritual war. And we ask now God for the days ahead that you would give us the illumination we need to understand and apply Paul's more detailed description of the full armor of God. Thank you, Father, for every one of these dear people and for this opportunity that we've had to gather around the precious truth of your word today. Accept our worship. We love you and we thank you and we praise you for who you are and for what you've done for us. In Jesus name. Amen.