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Voddie Baucham - Dr. Voddie Baucham's Sermon at Berean Bible Church · Voddie Baucham Sermons

0:03
Speaker 1: Good morning, church.
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Speaker 2: The New Testament reading today will be from the book
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Speaker 2: of Ephesians, and we'll be reading through all of chapter 6.
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Speaker 2: Ephesians chapter 6, starting in verse 1 for the rest
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Speaker 2: of the chapter. Children, obey your parents and the Lord,
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Speaker 2: for this is right. Honor your father and mother.
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Speaker 1: This is the first.
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Speaker 2: Commandment with a promise, that it may go well with
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Speaker 2: you and that you may live long in the land. Fathers,
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Speaker 2: do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them
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Speaker 2: up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Bond servants,
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Speaker 2: obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a
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Speaker 2: sincere heart as you would Christ, not by the way
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Speaker 2: of eye service as people pleasers, but as bond servants
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Speaker 2: of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
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Speaker 2: rendering service with a good will as to the Lord
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Speaker 2: and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does,
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Speaker 2: he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is
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Speaker 2: a bond servant or is free. Masters, do the same
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Speaker 2: to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who
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Speaker 2: is both their master and yours in heaven, and that
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Speaker 2: there is no partiality with him. Finally, be strong in
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Speaker 2: the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put
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Speaker 2: on the whole armor of God that you may be
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Speaker 2: able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For
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Speaker 2: we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
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Speaker 2: the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
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Speaker 2: this present darkness. against the spiritual forces of evil in
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Speaker 2: the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God,
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Speaker 2: that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
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Speaker 2: and having done all to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having
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Speaker 2: fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on
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Speaker 2: the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet,
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Speaker 2: having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
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Speaker 2: In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with
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Speaker 2: which you can extinguish all of the flaming darts of
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Speaker 2: the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and
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Speaker 2: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
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Speaker 2: praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer
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Speaker 2: and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance,
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Speaker 2: making supplication for all the saints and also for me,
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Speaker 2: that words may be given to me in opening my
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Speaker 2: mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. for
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Speaker 2: which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may
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Speaker 2: declare it boldly.
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Speaker 1: As I ought to speak.
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Speaker 2: So that you also may know how I am and
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Speaker 2: what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful
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Speaker 2: minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. I have
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Speaker 2: sent him to you for this very purpose, that you
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Speaker 2: may know how we are and that.
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Speaker 1: He may encourage your hearts.
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Speaker 2: Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from
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Speaker 2: God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be
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Speaker 2: with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, with love incorruptible.
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Speaker 3: I want to introduce our speaker this morning. Some of
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Speaker 3: you were here for the conference yesterday, but for those
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Speaker 3: who weren't, Votie Bauckham is our speaker. He has been
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Speaker 3: for the last 10 years in Zambia.
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Speaker 1: Right, is it African Christian University?
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Speaker 3: Helping them there his family is just moving back from
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Speaker 3: Zambia to mystery.
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Speaker 1: But apparently Hawaii.
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Speaker 3: Is on the way so that's good but more so
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Speaker 3: than all of that he's a man as many of
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Speaker 3: you have noted to me even that is just absolutely
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Speaker 3: skilled in the word and who it's obvious loves our
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Speaker 3: Lord and is qualified to bring the word before God's people.
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Speaker 3: And we ask, Vody, will you come and preach to
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Speaker 3: us now?
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Speaker 1: Well, good morning. It is indeed a delight to be
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Speaker 1: with you. It's been a delight to be with you.
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Speaker 1: This weekend, we had a wonderful day on yesterday. How
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Speaker 1: many of you were here on yesterday? Okay, excellent. A
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Speaker 1: good number of you. The rest of you just sit
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Speaker 1: there and look guilty. But no, we had a wonderful
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Speaker 1: experience yesterday. And we were in the book of Ephesians
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Speaker 1: on yesterday, and we'll be back in the book of
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Speaker 1: Ephesians today. But before we do that, I would be
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Speaker 1: remiss if I didn't thank you on behalf of myself
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Speaker 1: and my family for your incredible hospitality. Bridget and I
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Speaker 1: have been to Hawaii a number of times somebody asked
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Speaker 1: me how many times we've been to Hawaii and it's
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Speaker 1: got to be five six times or so that we've
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Speaker 1: been for most of the children who come with us
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Speaker 1: we have nine children seven of them came with us
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Speaker 1: we have a couple who are already out of the
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Speaker 1: house and some grandkids and things but of the seven
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Speaker 1: who came with us all but one of them I
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Speaker 1: think had never been to Hawaii before So this was
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Speaker 1: a great trip for us. And we've been here for
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Speaker 1: three weeks. We started out on Oahu and then to
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Speaker 1: Kauai and now here. And it's been wonderful. And one
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Speaker 1: of the things that I've always so appreciated, and there's
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Speaker 1: just a tangible difference. You guys call it that aloha spirit, right?
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Speaker 1: There's just a tangible difference in the warmth and hospitality
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Speaker 1: of the people here, and I'm grateful for it. And
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Speaker 1: I say that as a Texan, right? I always say,
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Speaker 1: my wife says I'm not truly a Texan. She was
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Speaker 1: born in Dallas. I was born in Los Angeles. But
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Speaker 1: I wasn't born in Texas. I just got there as
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Speaker 1: quick as I could, right? But as someone who really
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Speaker 1: has lived in and enjoyed Texas hospitality, there's something else
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Speaker 1: going on here, and we're grateful for it. We leave today, actually,
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Speaker 1: heading to Dallas to spend Christmas with family there. So
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Speaker 1: please pray for us as we journey in that direction.
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Speaker 1: And then please continue to pray for us as we
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Speaker 1: always intended for this to be our furlough from December
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Speaker 1: through February. and now that this has become our transition back,
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Speaker 1: that means that after February, we'll be making some decisions
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Speaker 1: about where we will finally end up. So pray for
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Speaker 1: us as we continue to walk through that as well.
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Speaker 1: All right, if you have your Bibles with you, open
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Speaker 1: them to the book of Ephesians. Very quickly, for those
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Speaker 1: who weren't here on yesterday, we.
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Speaker 1: Talked about the fact that the book of Ephesians is
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Speaker 1: unique in that it's divided right in half. There's a
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Speaker 1: dividing point right there at the end of chapter 3,
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Speaker 1: the beginning of chapter 4. And if you look there
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Speaker 1: with me, look at Ephesians 3, 21. Ephesians 3, 21.
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Speaker 1: And you'll see that divide clear as day. To him
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Speaker 1: be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
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Speaker 1: all generations forever and ever. Amen. That is a doxology
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Speaker 1: and an amen. Right? That says I'm done. I'm finished.
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Speaker 1: And then chapter 4 verse 1 starts with I therefore.
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Speaker 1: That's a new beginning. Just a clear division between the
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Speaker 1: first three chapters and the last three chapters of the
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Speaker 1: book of Ephesians. There's also a clear division between in
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Speaker 1: what Paul is doing biblically, theologically, in the first half
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Speaker 1: and in the second half. The first half of the
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Speaker 1: book is all about our calling. It's all about who
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Speaker 1: we are in Christ. It's all about what Christ has
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Speaker 1: done on our behalf to the Father's glory through the cross.
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Speaker 1: The second half... is about our conduct. It's all about
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Speaker 1: the way that we live in light of what Christ
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Speaker 1: has accomplished on our behalf. One of the ways that
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Speaker 1: it's divided is through what's called indicatives and imperatives. It's
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Speaker 1: just grammar, right? An indicative indicates what something is. This
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Speaker 1: is a microphone. That's an indicative statement, right? I indicated
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Speaker 1: what this is. An imperative tells you to do something.
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Speaker 1: Speak into the microphone. That's an imperative statement. In the
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Speaker 1: book of Ephesians, there are no imperatives in the first
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Speaker 1: half of the book. We're not told to do anything
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Speaker 1: in the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians.
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Speaker 1: All the imperatives are in the second half of the book.
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Speaker 1: And not only do we have imperatives in the second half,
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Speaker 1: we also have more indicatives in the second half. Why
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Speaker 1: is this important? This is important because all the things
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Speaker 1: that we're called to do, and by the way, this
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Speaker 1: is not just Ephesians. right? This is the way that
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Speaker 1: we read the New Testament in general. When we see commands,
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Speaker 1: when we see imperatives, they're always rooted in indicatives. They
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Speaker 1: have to be because of the difference between what the
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Speaker 1: gospel produces and what the gospel requires. Now, what does
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Speaker 1: the gospel require? All the gospel requires is repentance and faith.
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Speaker 1: Nothing else. Let me say that again. All the gospel
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Speaker 1: requires is repentance and faith. Now, unfortunately, that makes us
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Speaker 1: uncomfortable because we're kind of going, yeah, but, you know,
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Speaker 1: you've got to obey. There's holiness and there's got to be.
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Speaker 1: You're absolutely right. But that's what the gospel produces. That's
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Speaker 1: not what the gospel requires. It's what the gospel produces.
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Speaker 1: And we must not mix those two things up because
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Speaker 1: if we do, then we get mired in works righteousness, right?
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Speaker 1: And we are trying to achieve in and of ourselves
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Speaker 1: that which only the gospel can produce in us. And
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Speaker 1: there are many who get caught up and mired in that.
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Speaker 1: There is no liberty in that. There is no freedom
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Speaker 1: in that. There is no true salvation in that. We
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Speaker 1: have to understand the difference between what the gospel requires...
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Speaker 1: repentance and faith, and what the gospel produces. There's another
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Speaker 1: reason for this. If we confuse what the gospel produces
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Speaker 1: and what the gospel requires, and if we say that
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Speaker 1: the message of the gospel requires obedience of us, well,
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Speaker 1: then we have to also say that we are capable
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Speaker 1: in and of ourselves, apart from the work of Christ,
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Speaker 1: of true obedience. Folks, that just ain't so. Amen? Amen.
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Speaker 1: If it is, Jesus died for nothing. If it is,
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Speaker 1: the father crushed and killed his son when there was
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Speaker 1: another way. But there wasn't. So we have to keep
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Speaker 1: those two things separate. And when we do that and
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Speaker 1: we go back and we look at these imperatives in
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Speaker 1: the second half, we see them in a different light.
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Speaker 1: The other thing is when we look at what Paul
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Speaker 1: is saying in these first three chapters. There are three
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Speaker 1: overarching ideas, and you see these when you look at
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Speaker 1: the end of each of the first three chapters. For
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Speaker 1: the sake of time, I'll just give them to you.
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Speaker 1: The first one is Christ's headship over his body. The
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Speaker 1: second is unity in Christ's body. And the third one
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Speaker 1: is the glory that the body brings to its head. Okay? Okay?
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Speaker 1: These are the three big ideas. And on yesterday, we
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Speaker 1: looked at the letter as a whole in the first session.
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Speaker 1: In the second session, we went to the household codes
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Speaker 1: and just saw how even in the instructions to wives
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Speaker 1: and husbands, those instructions were parallels to those first three chapters, right? Wives,
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Speaker 1: submit to your own husbands. Ask, you know, the church
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Speaker 1: to Christ because Christ is the head of the church.
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Speaker 1: because the husband is the head of the wife as
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Speaker 1: Christ is the head of the church, excuse me. What
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Speaker 1: was that? That's about Christ's headship over his body. And
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Speaker 1: then the instructions to the husband about treating his wife
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Speaker 1: in such a way because she is a member of
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Speaker 1: his body, right? What does that have to do with
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Speaker 1: unity in Christ's body? Washing her with the water of
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Speaker 1: the word so that he could present her to himself
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Speaker 1: without spot or wrinkle, or any blemish, what does that
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Speaker 1: have to do with? The glory that the body brings
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Speaker 1: to its head. All of that, all of that centered
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Speaker 1: in the first three chapters of the letter. So we
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Speaker 1: have a better grasp and understanding on these imperatives when
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Speaker 1: they're rooted in the indicatives that come alongside them, but
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Speaker 1: also the indicatives that we find in the first half
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Speaker 1: of the book. Now, we spent our time there in
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Speaker 1: the household codes, the teachings to wives and to husbands
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Speaker 1: and to children. It is the most complete expression of
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Speaker 1: the household codes in all of the New Testament. But
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Speaker 1: right after the household codes comes Paul's instructions on spiritual warfare.
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Speaker 1: And we have here the most comprehensive instruction related to
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Speaker 1: spiritual warfare, I would argue, in the New Testament. So
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Speaker 1: that's what we're going to look at. It comes right
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Speaker 1: after the household code. Remember, the second half is all
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Speaker 1: about practical Christian living, right, in light of and as
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Speaker 1: a direct result of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf.
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Speaker 1: When we understand who we are in Christ and what
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Speaker 1: we have in Christ, then we understand that we are
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Speaker 1: enabled and empowered to do that which is required of us. Amen?
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Speaker 1: It is God who works in us both to will
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Speaker 1: us and to work for his good pleasure. That's what
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Speaker 1: God is doing in us. He changes that which delights us, even. Well,
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Speaker 1: at the end of all of this, about practical Christian living,
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Speaker 1: Paul reminds us that we are not just like a
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Speaker 1: team practicing against the air, but we actually have an adversary.
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Speaker 1: There's a game on. Amen? And when we talk about
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Speaker 1: spiritual warfare, it's very important that we address it from
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Speaker 1: a biblical perspective. What do I mean by that? So
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Speaker 1: many of us, when we talk about spiritual warfare, we
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Speaker 1: don't think about spiritual warfare biblically. What we do is
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Speaker 1: we bring our presuppositions and worldview to bear, and then
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Speaker 1: we take whatever the scripture says about spiritual warfare and
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Speaker 1: And we just kind of put that on top of
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Speaker 1: whatever our worldview is, and we've got this crazy commingling
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Speaker 1: of things as it relates to spiritual warfare. There are
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Speaker 1: two mistakes that we make with spiritual warfare, depending on
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Speaker 1: our worldview and our presuppositions. One is to overestimate the
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Speaker 1: significance of spiritual warfare. Everything becomes spiritual warfare. Not everything, everything, right?
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Speaker 1: That's more than everything, okay? It's just all spiritual. All
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Speaker 1: of it, all of it, all of it is spiritual warfare.
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Speaker 1: I remember my family, this is many years ago. We
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Speaker 1: were visiting a church in Houston where we used to live.
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Speaker 1: And I don't remember why we were visiting this particular church,
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Speaker 1: particular church in our neighborhood. And we came in, and
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Speaker 1: I guess we were a bit late. Plus, you know,
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Speaker 1: we had a bunch of kids. At that time, we
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Speaker 1: had a bunch of little kids. We sat in the
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Speaker 1: back just in case we had to, you know, deal
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Speaker 1: with anything. And we're sitting there in the back, and
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Speaker 1: they were having problems with the sound. And they were
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Speaker 1: having significant problems with the sound. And then, you know,
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Speaker 1: they started, you know, to pray. And then they started
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Speaker 1: to cast out demons from the sound equipment and all
17:29
Speaker 1: this other kind of stuff. And we're just kind of
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Speaker 1: looking at each other, you know. And then, you know,
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Speaker 1: they would go on. And then this stuff would happen again.
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Speaker 1: And Then they would get more agitated and they're casting
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Speaker 1: out more demons. And then the guy up front told
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Speaker 1: somebody to open the back doors. They were basically going
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Speaker 1: to chase these demons out of there. And so I
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Speaker 1: look at Bridget and I said, babe, let's go. She's like,
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Speaker 1: where are we going? I'm like, we're going with the demons.
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Speaker 1: Like we're out of here. We're not staying in this place, right?
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Speaker 1: That was not a healthy situation, okay? Okay. But that's
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Speaker 1: one mistake that we make is we overestimate everything that happens, right,
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Speaker 1: is spiritual warfare. The other mistake that we make, the
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Speaker 1: ditch on the other side of the road, is that
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Speaker 1: we underestimate spiritual warfare. We live as though there is
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Speaker 1: no spiritual realm. So that's the problem on the other side.
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Speaker 1: We act as though we don't live in the midst
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Speaker 1: of a world that was created By God. Who is spirit?
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Speaker 1: We act like us being made in the image of
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Speaker 1: God does not include the fact that we are spiritual beings.
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Speaker 1: Our salvation is a spiritual reality. Our sinfulness is a
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Speaker 1: spiritual reality. Okay? And so we don't want to be
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Speaker 1: on either side of that. We also want to make
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Speaker 1: sure that we're not overly influenced by the culture at large.
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Speaker 1: For the last 10 years, as you've heard, we've lived
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Speaker 1: and served in Zambia. And in Zambia and much of
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Speaker 1: sub-Saharan Africa, very similarly to parts of Hawaii, animism is
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Speaker 1: the sort of underlying worldview. Animism comes in many different forms,
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Speaker 1: but generally speaking, the animistic worldview views reality as these
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Speaker 1: intertwined realms. There is the realm that we occupy. And
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Speaker 1: then there is, in many animistic cultures, the realm of
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Speaker 1: the ancestors. Now, the ancestors are occupying another realm but
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Speaker 1: influencing our realm. And so we have a relationship with
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Speaker 1: the ancestors and we have to appease the ancestors. If
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Speaker 1: we don't appease the ancestors, bad things can happen. So
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Speaker 1: we have to make sure that we're keeping the ancestors
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Speaker 1: happy because they are interacting with and influencing the realm
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Speaker 1: in which we live. Then there's the realm of spirits. Now,
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Speaker 1: depending on the type of animism you have, whether it's pantheism, panentheism, whatever,
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Speaker 1: the realm of the spirits can just mean that there
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Speaker 1: are spiritual beings around us that are involved with us
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Speaker 1: and influencing us, or in a more panentheistic sense, it
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Speaker 1: can be the Pocahontas idea, right? You know, the Disney
20:45
Speaker 1: movie Pocahontas, right? When you see every creature has a spirit,
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Speaker 1: has a name, right? The animals have a spirit, so
20:55
Speaker 1: when we kill the animals, we must acknowledge their spirit, right?
20:59
Speaker 1: And their sacrifice so that we can eat and The
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Speaker 1: trees have spirits and everything else has a spirit. In
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Speaker 1: some forms of animism, it's more that kind of thing.
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Speaker 1: In other forms of animism, it's not necessarily that all
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Speaker 1: of these things have spirits, but there is a spiritual realm.
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Speaker 1: And then there's the realm of the gods or the
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Speaker 1: realm of God. By the way, just as a quick aside,
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Speaker 1: this is one of the reasons that both Catholicism And
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Speaker 1: word of faith theology are very popular in the animistic
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Speaker 1: parts of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, places that
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Speaker 1: are more animistic. And think about it, because in these
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Speaker 1: animistic cultures, you have the ancestors and the spirits who
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Speaker 1: are doing things, right? And we need to learn how
21:55
Speaker 1: to appease them. Sometimes we don't know how to appease them.
21:58
Speaker 1: When we don't know how to appease them, what do
21:59
Speaker 1: we do? You have to find a medicine man, a
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Speaker 1: witch doctor, a strong man. How do you know who
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Speaker 1: he is? He dresses funny. And he has charms that
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Speaker 1: he can give you, incantations that he can give you,
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Speaker 1: so that you can go and fix things. Now, the
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Speaker 1: Roman Catholic Church comes and the priest dresses funny. He
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Speaker 1: has charms that he gives you, incantations that he gives you.
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Speaker 1: He can tell you the name of particular ancestors for
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Speaker 1: you to reach out to in certain circumstances. This ancestor
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Speaker 1: is the patron saint of. So in animistic cultures in
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Speaker 1: Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, people see Catholicism and they go,
22:44
Speaker 1: I can relate to that. And they run to it.
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Speaker 1: Same with word of faith theology. Word of faith theology,
22:54
Speaker 1: you know, whatever. What is it that's going on in
22:56
Speaker 1: your life? Well, there's a spirit of this. There's a
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Speaker 1: spirit of that. And you need the mind of God
23:01
Speaker 1: to be able to tell you what spirit that you're
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Speaker 1: dealing with and what incantation you need in order to
23:08
Speaker 1: deal with that spirit. Sometimes what you need is a breakthrough.
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Speaker 1: What is that? Well, if you live in an animistic culture,
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Speaker 1: you understand that. I need to get not just to
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Speaker 1: the realm of the ancestors or the realm of the spirits.
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Speaker 1: I need to break through to the realm of the gods.
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Speaker 1: And I need the medicine man who can help me
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Speaker 1: do that. Here comes word of faith theology and an
23:30
Speaker 1: animistic worldview says, I get that. Now stop me if
23:40
Speaker 1: none of this is relevant to your setting, right? I
23:45
Speaker 1: know it is. I absolutely know it is. So now
23:49
Speaker 1: people come to faith in Christ. They come out of animism,
23:54
Speaker 1: and they hear the term spiritual warfare, and they go, oh, yeah.
24:01
Speaker 1: I absolutely know about that. But the assumption is that
24:06
Speaker 1: what we're talking about here is the same thing that
24:12
Speaker 1: whatever version of animism we come from is talking about. Right?
24:21
Speaker 1: And it's not. So, with all that, let's look at
24:26
Speaker 1: our text here in Ephesians chapter 6, beginning verse 10.
24:30
Speaker 1: It's already been read for you. And what you're going
24:34
Speaker 1: to see here is there's seven things that Paul is
24:37
Speaker 1: going to present for us. I divide them up into
24:40
Speaker 1: two areas. The first one is our field, and the
24:44
Speaker 1: second one is our fight. In our field, he's going
24:47
Speaker 1: to tell us what our resources are. who our adversary is,
24:51
Speaker 1: and what our goal is. Okay? And then in the fight,
24:55
Speaker 1: he's going to tell us about our uniform, our weapons,
24:58
Speaker 1: our partners, and our victory. Let's look at these in turn. First,
25:04
Speaker 1: let's look at our resources. And as we look at this,
25:09
Speaker 1: here's what we're going to do, just what we did yesterday, right?
25:14
Speaker 1: Instead of us reading this and reading our worldview into it,
25:19
Speaker 1: or reading our presuppositions into it. We're going to read
25:22
Speaker 1: this and let Scripture interpret Scripture. We're going to let Paul,
25:27
Speaker 1: based on what he has written in this same letter,
25:32
Speaker 1: explain to us what he means by these things. Amen? Okay.
25:39
Speaker 1: Don't get mad at me. I don't write the mail.
25:42
Speaker 1: I just deliver it, right? Look at... Verses 10 and 11. Finally, again,
25:54
Speaker 1: when he says finally here, remember at the end of
25:57
Speaker 1: chapter 3, you get a doxology and an amen. I'm
26:05
Speaker 1: done with something. The beginning of chapter 4, you get
26:09
Speaker 1: I therefore. I'm beginning something new. I start with the indicatives.
26:13
Speaker 1: I get to the imperatives. I start with our calling.
26:17
Speaker 1: I get to our conduct. I start with right believing,
26:21
Speaker 1: I get to right behaving. Now, at the end here,
26:25
Speaker 1: he says, finally. This is his summation, right? He's wrapping
26:33
Speaker 1: all of it up. So this undergirds everything that he said. Finally,
26:39
Speaker 1: be strong in the Lord and in the strength of
26:42
Speaker 1: his might. Put on the whole armor of God. that
26:46
Speaker 1: you may be able to stand against the schemes of
26:49
Speaker 1: the devil. Our resources, twofold. One, the Lord's power. Two,
26:56
Speaker 1: the Lord's armor. That's it. Those are our resources in
27:02
Speaker 1: spiritual warfare. One, the Lord's power. Be strong in the
27:09
Speaker 1: Lord and the strength of his might. Two, the Lord's armor.
27:16
Speaker 1: Put on the armor of God. Spiritual warfare is not
27:23
Speaker 1: about you being mighty. Spiritual warfare is not about you
27:31
Speaker 1: taking on the adversary. Listen to me carefully. The adversary...
27:37
Speaker 1: will chew you up and spit you out. He's seen
27:41
Speaker 1: you a thousand times. In fact, the adversary's not worried
27:44
Speaker 1: about you at all. Zero zip zilch. Not worried about you. Why?
27:50
Speaker 1: Because we're already introduced in chapter 2 to the idea
27:54
Speaker 1: that we're dealing not just with the devil, but the
27:57
Speaker 1: world and the flesh. And can I just burst your
28:00
Speaker 1: little bubble for a moment here? Satan doesn't have to assign...
28:05
Speaker 1: spiritual adversaries to you or to me. Why? Because the
28:13
Speaker 1: world and the flesh do such a job on us
28:18
Speaker 1: that he doesn't have to dispatch special forces. If you
28:22
Speaker 1: can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. Not worry
28:27
Speaker 1: about you. He's just not. He's just not. So, no,
28:38
Speaker 1: this is not about your power, your might. You don't
28:43
Speaker 1: have it. This is not about, you know, your tools.
28:49
Speaker 1: It's not. It's about the Lord's power and the Lord's armor.
28:55
Speaker 1: The minute we begin to think that this is about us,
29:00
Speaker 1: about us becoming strong enough, significant enough, the minute we do,
29:05
Speaker 1: the minute we do, Let him who thinks he stands
29:10
Speaker 1: take heed lest he fall. That's the kind of pride
29:16
Speaker 1: that will get you eaten alive. Secondly, our adversary. Verse 12.
29:27
Speaker 2: Four.
29:28
Speaker 1: By the way, this is why we need the Lord's
29:32
Speaker 1: might and the Lord's armor. Four. we do not wrestle
29:37
Speaker 1: against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
29:43
Speaker 1: against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
29:46
Speaker 1: spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. That's where
29:54
Speaker 1: this battle is. It's a spiritual battle. That's why you
29:58
Speaker 1: need The Lord's power and the Lord's armor. Because it's
30:04
Speaker 1: a spiritual battle. You don't win a spiritual battle by
30:12
Speaker 1: temporal means. Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. You were
30:17
Speaker 1: dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
30:21
Speaker 1: following the course of this world, following the prince of
30:25
Speaker 1: the power of the air, the spirit that is now
30:27
Speaker 1: at work. in the sons of disobedience. That was your
30:33
Speaker 1: dark spiritual reality. But this idea of the heavenly places
30:40
Speaker 1: is not new in Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3.
30:46
Speaker 1: Because oftentimes when we hear this, right, there are these
30:51
Speaker 1: forces and they're in the heavenly places. We think that
30:54
Speaker 1: Paul is telling us this so that we can be afraid, right?
30:59
Speaker 1: Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and
31:03
Speaker 1: Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us
31:06
Speaker 1: in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Where? In the same
31:12
Speaker 1: place where our adversary is. So my adversary is in
31:17
Speaker 1: the same place where I've already been blessed with every
31:20
Speaker 1: spiritual blessing. Is Paul telling me that my adversary is
31:24
Speaker 1: there so that I can be fearful? I don't Let's
31:30
Speaker 1: look at more. Chapter 2, verses 4 through 7. But God,
31:36
Speaker 1: being rich in mercy, because of the great love with
31:38
Speaker 1: which he loved us, even when we were dead in
31:42
Speaker 1: our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace
31:46
Speaker 1: you have been saved. And raised us up with him
31:50
Speaker 1: and seated us with him. Where? In the heavenly places
31:55
Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus. So now... I'm seated there. I'm blessed there,
31:59
Speaker 1: and I'm seated there. So whoever my adversaries are, they
32:04
Speaker 1: are in the place where I'm blessed with every spiritual
32:07
Speaker 1: blessing and where I'm seated, not by myself, but with Christ.
32:13
Speaker 1: So that in the coming ages, he might show the
32:16
Speaker 1: immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in
32:21
Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. Look at chapter 3, verses 8 through 12.
32:28
Speaker 1: So you notice, he mentions it in chapter 1, he
32:31
Speaker 1: mentions it in chapter 2. Chapter 3, verse 8. To me,
32:37
Speaker 1: though I am the very least of all the saints,
32:40
Speaker 1: this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the
32:44
Speaker 1: unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for
32:47
Speaker 1: everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for
32:51
Speaker 1: ages in God who created all things, so that through
32:56
Speaker 1: the church... the manifold wisdom of God might now be
33:00
Speaker 1: made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. So,
33:16
Speaker 1: here's what's happening. Our adversaries are in the heavenly places. I, however,
33:26
Speaker 1: am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
33:32
Speaker 1: seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and in part
33:38
Speaker 1: of the church through which the manifold wisdom of God
33:43
Speaker 1: is being made known to those same rulers and those
33:47
Speaker 1: same authorities in those same heavenly places. No, Paul did
33:54
Speaker 1: not tell us That our adversaries are in the heavenly
33:58
Speaker 1: places so that we can be fearful that they're going
34:01
Speaker 1: to fall down on us. He has already shown us
34:06
Speaker 1: in chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3 that Christ
34:11
Speaker 1: rules and reigns in the heavenly places. That our God
34:15
Speaker 1: has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
34:19
Speaker 1: That we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
34:24
Speaker 1: And that the church is manifesting God's glory in those
34:28
Speaker 1: same heavenly places to those same rulers and to those
34:32
Speaker 1: same authorities. By the way, this is also an important
34:36
Speaker 1: point to be made here. The teaching on spiritual warfare
34:41
Speaker 1: in Ephesians chapter 6 is corporate and not individual. Let
34:48
Speaker 1: me say that again. It's corporate and not individual. He
34:54
Speaker 1: makes it clear here. He'll make it clear later as
34:57
Speaker 1: well in this text. What about our goal? We see
35:02
Speaker 1: our resources and our adversary. What about our goal as
35:06
Speaker 1: we sort of set this field? Verse 13. Therefore, take
35:13
Speaker 1: up the whole armor of God that you may be
35:16
Speaker 1: able to withstand in the evil day and having done
35:19
Speaker 1: all to stand firm. There's our goal. To stand firm.
35:30
Speaker 1: That's it. That's our goal in spiritual warfare. To stand firm.
35:37
Speaker 1: Hold your ground. That's your goal. Hold your ground. Wherever
35:45
Speaker 1: the Lord has called you to be, hold your ground.
35:48
Speaker 1: Whatever the Lord has called you to do, hold your ground.
35:52
Speaker 1: Hold your ground. If by God's grace you have the
35:56
Speaker 1: opportunity to take some new ground, amen, hold your ground, right?
36:03
Speaker 1: Hold your ground. That's it. That's what we're doing. And again,
36:08
Speaker 1: when we talk about spiritual warfare, we always want to
36:10
Speaker 1: talk about, you know, we're going to charge hell with
36:14
Speaker 1: a water pistol, right? Nope. Nope. Nope. Hold your ground.
36:25
Speaker 1: That's more than enough. Hold your ground. That's more than
36:30
Speaker 1: enough challenge in the midst of this onslaught, in the
36:38
Speaker 1: midst of this spiritual reality, this adversarial spiritual reality. Hold
36:44
Speaker 1: your ground. And by the way, it's a glorious thing
36:49
Speaker 1: when you hold your ground, saints. Chapter 4. Look at
36:54
Speaker 1: chapter 4, verses 13 and 14. Until we all attain
37:00
Speaker 1: to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
37:03
Speaker 1: of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the
37:07
Speaker 1: measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so
37:10
Speaker 1: that we may no longer be children tossed to and
37:13
Speaker 1: fro by the waves and carried about by every wind
37:17
Speaker 1: of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness, by deceitful schemes.
37:23
Speaker 1: What's the opposite of being tossed to and fro and
37:26
Speaker 1: carried about by every wind of doctrine? Standing firm. Standing firm.
37:34
Speaker 1: Holding firmly to the truth that God has entrusted to us.
37:41
Speaker 1: Speaking of truth, what about our uniform? It's the first
37:45
Speaker 1: piece of our uniform. Look at verse 14. Stand Therefore,
37:55
Speaker 1: having fastened on the belt of truth, having fastened on
38:01
Speaker 1: the belt of truth. Notice he doesn't say stand and
38:04
Speaker 1: then fasten on the belt of truth. Stand, having fastened
38:07
Speaker 1: on the belt of truth. It's a wonderful picture that
38:12
Speaker 1: he's painting here. It's a picture really that anyone in
38:17
Speaker 1: his audience would have understood. Anyone in the world at
38:21
Speaker 1: that time that was receiving these letters would have immediately
38:25
Speaker 1: understood that he's talking about a Roman centurion, the most
38:29
Speaker 1: feared fighting man in the entire world at the time.
38:36
Speaker 1: It would have been clear. You know, when I think
38:38
Speaker 1: about this, I think about, you know, somebody describing, and
38:43
Speaker 1: I don't care what branch of the military you were in.
38:48
Speaker 1: I don't care what branch of the military your family
38:50
Speaker 1: was in. I don't care what branch of the military
38:53
Speaker 1: is your favorite, everybody in the world acknowledges that the baddest,
39:02
Speaker 1: most intimidating, sharpest uniform in the world is that of
39:09
Speaker 1: the United States Marine Corps. Guys in the Army are like, yeah,
39:17
Speaker 1: we don't like them, but you know? That's it, right?
39:21
Speaker 1: The blood stripe on the pants, the white, come on, y'all.
39:25
Speaker 1: Now imagine if somebody is sort of describing, right? warfare
39:32
Speaker 1: and they talk about the elements of this iconic, most
39:36
Speaker 1: well-known uniform in the world. That's what Paul's doing here.
39:42
Speaker 1: That's what he's referring to here. Because that's what the
39:46
Speaker 1: Roman centurion was in his day. Ephesians 4, 15 and 16. Rather,
39:55
Speaker 1: speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up
39:58
Speaker 1: in every way into him who is the head and
40:01
Speaker 1: to Christ from whom the whole body joined and held
40:05
Speaker 1: together by every joint with which it is equipped when
40:09
Speaker 1: each part is working properly, makes the body grow so
40:13
Speaker 1: that it builds itself up in love. That's the truth
40:18
Speaker 1: that we've been introduced to. earlier in the book. So
40:23
Speaker 1: we stand. By the way, it's the truth of the gospel.
40:28
Speaker 1: It's not just any truth. It's the truth of the gospel.
40:33
Speaker 1: It's the truth of the message that calls us out
40:35
Speaker 1: of darkness into his marvelous light. By the way, that
40:39
Speaker 1: is the most aggressive act of spiritual warfare known to man.
40:46
Speaker 1: Where God goes into enemy territory, And snatches someone out
40:52
Speaker 1: of the enemy camp. And doesn't just snatch him out
40:54
Speaker 1: of the enemy camp, but turns around and places him
40:57
Speaker 1: into his own. So stand, therefore, having fastened on the
41:04
Speaker 1: belt of truth. That holds everything else together, by the way.
41:09
Speaker 1: And having put on the breastplate of righteousness. You got
41:15
Speaker 1: your belt, you got your breastplate. Have we seen this? Yes,
41:19
Speaker 1: we have. 422 to 24. To put off your old self,
41:25
Speaker 1: which belongs to your former manner of life, and discorrupt
41:29
Speaker 1: through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit
41:31
Speaker 1: of your mind, and put on the new self, created
41:35
Speaker 1: after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
41:39
Speaker 1: What is this putting off and putting on? It's salvation.
41:43
Speaker 1: It's salvation. So first, there's the gospel. the truth of
41:46
Speaker 1: the gospel, the message, and then there's the righteousness that
41:50
Speaker 1: we receive as a result of repentance and faith, as
41:54
Speaker 1: a result of believing the message. It's the gospel. And
42:00
Speaker 1: as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness
42:05
Speaker 1: given by the gospel of peace. There it is. By
42:10
Speaker 1: the way, all three pieces of our uniform... come from
42:16
Speaker 1: the same source. It's the gospel. It's the gospel. It's
42:25
Speaker 1: the truth of the gospel. It's the righteousness that belongs
42:30
Speaker 1: to everyone who receives the gospel by faith, turns from sin,
42:37
Speaker 1: turns to Christ, puts off the old self, puts on
42:40
Speaker 1: the new self, It's an alien righteousness. It's not our
42:45
Speaker 1: own righteousness. It's the righteousness of Christ. And then we
42:48
Speaker 1: have our feet shod with the readiness that comes from what?
42:51
Speaker 1: The gospel of peace. All of this, all of our
42:53
Speaker 1: uniform comes from the same source. Let's move from there
43:02
Speaker 1: to our weapons. What are our weapons? Verse 16. In
43:13
Speaker 1: all circumstances, take up the shield of faith. Take up
43:17
Speaker 1: the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all
43:24
Speaker 1: the flaming darts of the evil one. Again, another clear
43:29
Speaker 1: piece of this uniform. And again, the shield of faith
43:39
Speaker 1: with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of
43:41
Speaker 1: the evil one This is at distance, right? And they're
43:47
Speaker 1: coming all the time. They're coming from all over the place.
43:51
Speaker 1: By the way, the Roman centurion was not safe from
43:56
Speaker 1: arrows by himself. The only way he could be safe
44:03
Speaker 1: from arrows by himself is if he could see all
44:06
Speaker 1: the arrows and individually knock the arrows down with his shield.
44:10
Speaker 1: But if he was part of a unit... and they
44:13
Speaker 1: put their shields together, they could all stand behind and
44:19
Speaker 1: be safe. And take the helmet of salvation. Take the
44:30
Speaker 1: helmet of salvation. Again, all of this has to do
44:33
Speaker 1: with the gospel. Take the helmet of salvation. Most important, peace. Peace.
44:41
Speaker 1: and the sword of the spirit, which is the word
44:44
Speaker 1: of God. Interestingly enough, that shield is for arrows that
44:50
Speaker 1: are coming from afar. That sword is for up close.
44:57
Speaker 1: Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer
45:01
Speaker 1: and supplication. So four weapons here. Faith, salvation, the word
45:09
Speaker 1: of God, prayer. Faith, salvation, the word of God, prayer.
45:19
Speaker 1: Listen to this. And the other place where Paul talks
45:24
Speaker 1: extensively about spiritual warfare, 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians
45:29
Speaker 1: chapter 10, beginning of verse 3. For though we walk
45:32
Speaker 1: in the flesh, we are not waging war according to
45:35
Speaker 1: the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not
45:38
Speaker 1: of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds,
45:43
Speaker 1: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the
45:46
Speaker 1: knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
45:50
Speaker 1: being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete. Well,
45:58
Speaker 1: we've seen our resources, adversaries, our goal, our uniform, our weapons.
46:04
Speaker 1: What about our partners? We've alluded to our partners, but
46:09
Speaker 1: it becomes even clearer at the end of verse 18.
46:15
Speaker 1: To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication
46:20
Speaker 1: for all the saints. Remember what I said earlier? Paul's
46:23
Speaker 1: instruction on spiritual warfare is not individual, it's collective. He's
46:29
Speaker 1: not saying you as an individual need to go out
46:32
Speaker 1: and engage in spiritual warfare. You as an individual need
46:35
Speaker 1: to go out and fight the devil. You as an individual,
46:40
Speaker 1: nothing could be further from the truth. He's alluded to
46:43
Speaker 1: it in a number of ways here And here he
46:47
Speaker 1: gets very specific. Remember that last weapon, that fourth weapon, right?
46:53
Speaker 1: It's the weapon that really activates all the other weapons
46:55
Speaker 1: is prayer. And specifically he says, to that end, keep
47:00
Speaker 1: alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
47:15
Speaker 1: Because this is not a special forces mission where you
47:18
Speaker 1: get dropped behind enemy lines to go do whatever it
47:23
Speaker 1: is by yourself and then come back. That's not what's
47:27
Speaker 1: being referred to here. We are an army. We are
47:32
Speaker 1: an army. And our adversary goes around like a roaring
47:37
Speaker 1: lion seeking someone to devour. It's really interesting. and whenever
47:46
Speaker 1: people would come and visit us over in Zambia, we'd
47:49
Speaker 1: always have to take people on safaris, and so we've
47:51
Speaker 1: been on so many safaris, our kids will never be
47:53
Speaker 1: able to go to the zoo again. But the interesting
47:59
Speaker 1: thing is every once in a while on the safari,
48:01
Speaker 1: you get to see a lion. You get to see
48:04
Speaker 1: a takedown. You get to see a kill. And, you know,
48:08
Speaker 1: even the most, you know, animal-loving person in the world,
48:12
Speaker 1: when a lion... starts to stalk something. The most animal-loving
48:17
Speaker 1: person in the world is going, oh no, he's going
48:19
Speaker 1: to kill that little... and just waits for it to happen.
48:30
Speaker 1: You know an easy way for something to get eaten
48:33
Speaker 1: by a lion? To be a straggler. To be off
48:41
Speaker 1: isolated by yourself. I think about this especially in terms of, like, zebras.
48:48
Speaker 1: I always think of zebras when they, because, you know,
48:50
Speaker 1: you think zebras, zebras, they look like they have the
48:53
Speaker 1: worst camouflage in the world. Right? It looks like a
48:58
Speaker 1: zebra is saying, please, I'm over here, come eat me.
49:03
Speaker 1: But when a group of zebras are running together, a
49:07
Speaker 1: lion can't pick one out. He just sees lines moving. Oh,
49:20
Speaker 1: but if he gets by himself. Our partners are essential
49:28
Speaker 1: in spiritual warfare. And one of the great ironies of
49:33
Speaker 1: all the spiritual warfare talk of our day is that
49:36
Speaker 1: it's all individualistic. It's all about you doing battles. It's
49:43
Speaker 1: basically inviting you to put yourself in the most vulnerable
49:48
Speaker 1: position imaginable. Outside of the body. Away from the church.
49:54
Speaker 1: By yourself. Finally, our victory. Again, we think about spiritual warfare,
50:02
Speaker 1: most people get scared. They think it's scary. Look at verse...
50:11
Speaker 1: Continuing from... The end of verse 18. And also for me.
50:19
Speaker 1: That words may be given to me. Again, prayer is
50:24
Speaker 1: the most important weapon because it's activating the other weapons, right?
50:31
Speaker 1: So now we're about to see what these weapons are
50:36
Speaker 1: being activated for. What is this potent act of spiritual
50:40
Speaker 1: warfare that Paul is referring to? that words may be
50:45
Speaker 1: given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim
50:49
Speaker 1: the mystery of the gospel for which I am an
50:52
Speaker 1: ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as
50:57
Speaker 1: I ought to speak. Again, our boldest, our most effective,
51:14
Speaker 1: our most aggressive act of spiritual warfare is the proclamation
51:20
Speaker 1: of the gospel. Period. Full stop. That's what Paul's talking
51:25
Speaker 1: about here. The proclamation of the gospel. Look at it
51:32
Speaker 1: in context. Go back again to chapter 2. And you
51:40
Speaker 1: were dead in your trespasses and sins. in which you
51:44
Speaker 1: once walked, following the course of this world, following the
51:49
Speaker 1: prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
51:52
Speaker 1: is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Now,
51:58
Speaker 1: remember those three things this is all about. Christ's headship
52:03
Speaker 1: over his body. You were not under Christ's headship. You
52:06
Speaker 1: were under the headship of the prince of the power
52:08
Speaker 1: of the air. Right? Unity in Christ's body. You didn't
52:15
Speaker 1: even belong to Christ's body. Therefore, there could be no
52:20
Speaker 1: unity in Christ's body. What's the third one? The glory
52:22
Speaker 1: that the body gives to its head. No. You were
52:26
Speaker 1: following the course of this world. You were dead in
52:30
Speaker 1: your trespasses and sins. You were doing the opposite of
52:35
Speaker 1: bringing glory to Christ. You were an enemy. We were
52:41
Speaker 1: all by nature's. We were all by nature enemies of God,
52:43
Speaker 1: among whom we all once lived in the passions of
52:46
Speaker 1: our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and
52:49
Speaker 1: the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like
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Speaker 1: the rest of mankind. We were arrayed in battle formation
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Speaker 1: on the other side of the field at war with
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Speaker 1: Almighty God. And then what happened? And then what happened?
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Speaker 1: gospel is proclaimed the truth of the gospel is proclaimed
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Speaker 1: by somebody who's wearing it as breastplate the truth of
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Speaker 1: the gospel is proclaimed by somebody who's got their feet
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Speaker 1: prepared with it the truth of the gospel is proclaimed
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Speaker 1: by somebody who's got their helmet and their shield and
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Speaker 1: their sword and The truth of the gospel is proclaimed.
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Speaker 1: And you as an adversary are not killed. You're stolen.
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Speaker 1: We don't just eliminate one of yours. We turn them
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Speaker 1: into one of ours. That's our war. That's spiritual warfare.
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Speaker 1: There is nothing more significant in the spiritual realm than that.
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Speaker 1: And so here are our adversaries in the heavenly places,
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Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, we, who were under the influence,
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Speaker 1: gladly going along, gladly, gleefully living our lives in service
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Speaker 1: to and under the influence of those adversaries are snatched
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Speaker 1: away by the truth of the gospel. We turn from sin,
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Speaker 1: we turn to Christ, and then what happens? We're blessed
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Speaker 1: with every blessing in spiritual places, with every spiritual blessing
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Speaker 1: in the heavenly places. We're then seated with Christ in
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Speaker 1: the heavenly places. and we're united to his church that
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Speaker 1: is manifesting his glory to the rulers and the authorities
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Speaker 1: in the heavenly places. That's the epitome of spiritual warfare.
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Speaker 1: The most audacious act of spiritual warfare is not learning
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Speaker 1: incantations To cast demons out of sound equipment. The most
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Speaker 1: audacious act of spiritual warfare is planting a church whose
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Speaker 1: job is to do what? Stand. Call people out of
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Speaker 1: darkness into marvelous light. Bring them into the kingdom of
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Speaker 1: the sun. Put on them the uniform of the kingdom.
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Speaker 1: And equip them to stand so that we can stand
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Speaker 1: together and continue to be a beacon in the midst
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Speaker 1: of a dark and dying world that says another king
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Speaker 1: rules here. You don't have to like it. But there's
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Speaker 1: nothing you can do about it. Because our king is king.
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Speaker 1: What a different picture of spiritual warfare. Well, is this enough?
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Speaker 1: What about demon possession? What about demonic oppression? What about
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Speaker 1: all this other stuff and What about all that, you know? So,
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Speaker 1: listen to this. Matthew 12. Matthew 12. We'll close with this.
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Speaker 1: Matthew 12, beginning at verse 43. Jesus talks about a
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Speaker 1: demon being cast out. When the unclean spirit has gone
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Speaker 1: out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest,
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Speaker 1: but finds none. Then it says, I will return to
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Speaker 1: my house from which I came. And when it comes,
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Speaker 1: it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.
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Speaker 1: Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits
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Speaker 1: more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.
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Speaker 1: And the last state of that person is worse than
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Speaker 1: the first. So what if I become adept at finding
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Speaker 1: people who are possessed with evil spirits and casting the
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Speaker 1: spirits out of those people? It's fine. Those spirits will
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Speaker 1: come back and find the house clean. And they'll bring
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Speaker 1: more spirits. But guess who spirits can't possess? They can't
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Speaker 1: possess those who are possessed by the Holy Spirit. How
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Speaker 1: do people come possessed by the Holy Spirit? Through the
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Speaker 1: proclamation of the gospel. So do I want to learn
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Speaker 1: incantations to make spirits run from person to person? Or
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Speaker 1: do I want to learn to proclaim the gospel so
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Speaker 1: that salvation can come and those spirits have no place
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Speaker 1: or authority in the lives of those who have been
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Speaker 1: claimed by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
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Speaker 1: How fascinating is it? That our adversary, number one, has
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Speaker 1: us believing that spiritual warfare is about us going off
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Speaker 1: individually to do things, opposite of the truth. And number two,
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Speaker 1: about us learning how to use incantations to make demons
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Speaker 1: flee from people. When in reality, our warfare is being
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Speaker 1: equipped with the gospel. Transformed by the gospel. proclaiming the gospel,
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Speaker 1: and watching God do his work as his people stand
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Speaker 1: firm and his kingdom grows. Right in the midst of
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Speaker 1: the enemy camp. Listen, our resources are sufficient. Our adversary
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Speaker 1: is spiritual and powerful. Our goal is simple. Our uniform
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Speaker 1: is supplied our weapons are supernatural our partners are substantial
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Speaker 1: and our victory is guaranteed let's pray gracious God our
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Speaker 1: heavenly father we thank you and praise you for your
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Speaker 1: matchless goodness for your awesome power for your unfathomable glory
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Speaker 1: and for the richness of your grace. We thank you
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Speaker 1: for the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ
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Speaker 1: who lived the righteous life that we could not live
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Speaker 1: and who died a sinner's death that he did not deserve.
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Speaker 1: so that you might be both just and the justifier
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Speaker 1: of the one who places faith in Christ. Grant by
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Speaker 1: your grace that we might see Christ in all his glory.
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Speaker 1: Grant that we might also see our sinfulness and all
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Speaker 1: of its reality, and that in doing so, We might
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Speaker 1: turn from our sin, repent of it, and flee in
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Speaker 1: faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. Find salvation, redemption, and righteousness. Father,
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Speaker 1: I pray for this church. That it might be a
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Speaker 1: place that stands full of people who stand And that
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Speaker 1: as they stand, they would stand on the proclamation and
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Speaker 1: the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: Because we are not ashamed of the gospel. Because it
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Speaker 1: is the power of salvation to all who believe. To
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Speaker 1: the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Grant us victory,
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Speaker 1: we pray. not for our sake, but so that Christ
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Speaker 1: might indeed have the fullness of the reward for which
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Speaker 1: he died. For we ask these things in his name
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Speaker 1: and for his sake. Amen.