Eph 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

How do we keep going?
Strength in the face of our enemies

1). Who is our enemy?
2). How do we fight?
3). What does win look like?

Who is my enemy?
Action movies

and

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But then the 90’s
Arab Terrorists, Our own government, drug cartels

Personally?
I might have people who frustrate me, but i wouldn’t call them enemies
Grudges, deep

, failed friendships,

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families
But if we were honest, maybe we would use that word for them
Maybe we would use it for ourselves sometimes

Paul

- easy answer
Church - increasingly under persecution, from their Jewish side, from the Empire
Paul…..

Enemies?

Who? not

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Spiritual Forces?
Surely the questions of fear were scrolling through their minds
But what about them? Don’t you remember what they did? Don’t you know what they believe? If they keep going, don’t you know what will happen?

Spiritual Forces
We know so little
Scripture doesn’t give alot
What we do know?
Evil is

Spiritual forces are

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and

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us
But, although we don’t know the mechanics, we know how to

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it.

Paul calls them to stand firm
How?

like a belt
Righteousness like a breastplate

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- ready feet
Faith - takes the flaming darts
Helmet - our salvation
Sword of the Spirit - Scripture
Prayer

Paul says this
a

wearing this stuff standing outside his door
Paul - us too

God has provided us with what we need
Truth, binds us, holds us together
Righteousness - covers all the important stuff - Christ’s righteousness covers us
Gospel - makes us fast - that’s what moves us forward

takes the flaming darts
Our salvation is a helmet, protecting our heads…we are saved

One offensive weapon
Sword of the Spirit - Scripture - knowing it, we can count on it
Jesus - when tempted, he did the

This is the only thing we wield against the enemy

Spirit - constant communication

and then

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some more

Paul’s not being cute
Ambassador in Chains
Every morning he wakes up without freedom
Sees the deep issues facing the church he loves

He knows the real enemy
That solder standing guard over him - not the enemy
That person walking by, living in ways that don’t align with God’s will - not the enemy
That teacher teaching people to live against God’s design - not the enemy
That government official funded by idolatrous rich patrons who looks and speaks and acts like the enemy - not the enemy

In fact, we are fighting

those people - we want them to know
There is an empire over the empire you see
Jesus isn’t their enemy, he’s their Savior

If we think they are the enemy, victory is on the other side of their defeat, their death.
Paul - not the people we are fighting against, they are the people we are fighting for!

Remember Paul’s story
He was deceived, lost in his own self-righteousness and the lies of those evil spiritual forces
Christ came to him - he was rescued

He

like Christ’s enemy, talked like it, acted like it - Christ didn’t see him like that
Father saw him as his son, loved him

How do we fight?
People we think are enemies are actually the territory
Kingdom of God isn’t land - already has that
Boundaries are human hearts!

We need to repent - we’ve treated others like the enemy, instead the spiritual forces reigning over this present darkness

Paul - jailer? God’s

him from darkness to light
Idolator? High Priestess in the temple? God’s

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her
Rich patron? God’s

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her
Slave? God’s

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him
Emperor? God’s

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him

I’m so glad this passage landed on the same Sunday as Edunations
That is an action movie
Enemies are the powers and principalities
How is the battle won? What does win look like?
Christians stepping out in

Father - wanted to marry off his daughter
Cultural thing - in humility, we know that in our culture, fathers give their daughters to all kinds of evil
Marriage isn’t a bad thing

But, we know from others - illiteracy is a jail cell
More apt as vulnerable to be

or manipulated
Christians in Sierra Leone - came fully suited in the armor of God
They knew their actual enemy, and they came ready
Loved her - offered her this

Reveal Answer

of education
Not as a trick, real love
Kids and families they see that, they come and say
Let me know Christ
Churches - they wanted them

Loving and serving their neighbor
Proclaiming the living Christ - walking in a manner worthy of our calling
Kingdom is coming! There, here, everywhere

May we stand

!
Let us fight the actual enemy!
Let us put on armor, truth, Christ’s righteousness, salvation, faith
Let us run with the gospel on our feet and the Spirit and the Word leading the way
Let us love, vulnerable, radically, completely
Let the Kingdom come