Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 783 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text

-- Brother Phil Enlow: Well let's turn to a very familiar passage today, and I trust that the Lord will bring something fresh out of it. It's in Ephesians chapter 6. You know Kenny said he didn't know why he sang that particular song. Well I do. The Lord was trying to say, hey, I'm talking to you, here.

( laughing ).

Just trying to encourage with some thoughts that He gave...He's the only One that can bring anything out of this, so I'm just gonna trust Him with it. Beginning in the familiar verse...verse 10. I'm just gonna go ahead and read it first. Ephesians 6, beginning in verse 10.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (NIV). Does any of this sound familiar this morning?

( laughter ).

Now the Lord's not telling us all this in order to cause us to fear, as though things are in doubt, but, nonetheless we are called to stand and fight and there is a part that we play within the scope of this great plan of God. And there's a lot things you would pass over, that we shouldn't pass over, because they're central. "Finally," he begins, "be strong," and of course, like we said before, if He left it at that, that would sound like a pretty impossible prescription because none of us by nature are strong. None of us in ourselves are strong, or wise in terms of being able to deal with the devil...we're just totally at sea there. We have no chance.

But he doesn't stop there, he says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Now that changes the whole dimension. But you know there's something about that 'in the Lord' phrase that we would just pass over...it's almost like, well, He gives us strength...well that's great. But if you will go back through the book, you will see something about 'in the Lord,' 'in Christ,' 'in Him.' You will see that phrase continually set forth by Paul, and it's a tremendous truth that I believe forms the foundation of all that he is saying there.

Let's just go back and look at a few things. You go right back to the beginning of the book...in verse 3 of chapter 1. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." In Christ...now there is a...that sets the tone for the entire book. That's what Paul is talking about everywhere. It's the blessings that God has given to us 'in Christ.'

There is a relationship that God brings us into with Him where...we are able to partake of all the blessings of heaven simply by virtue of the relationship. It's as though all that God did in His Son, was not simply God doing it in Christ, Jesus Christ as an individual, but He had every one of us who are ever in Him, in mind in what He did. That is when He crucified Him, He crucified us. When He crucified...when He raised Jesus from the dead, He raised us from the dead.

( congregational amens ).

You know, a legalistic approach to God basically gives forth laws and rules and things that we are supposedly to live up to. It's as though all the blessings of heaven are out there and we somehow have to attain to them by our own effort. But that's not Christianity. That is not the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is...here is what God has already done for you. You start out in a position of victory. You start out from a position on a throne, and then in a practical sense, we learn to walk, and live in accordance with what God has already done.

What did we do to get into that glorious position? Did we achieve something? Did we work real hard? Did we do something to qualify? No! We surrendered our hearts to Jesus Christ, put our hope in Him, and our trust in Him, and God did it.

( congregational amens ).

Praise God! Do you feel like you're way down here and the devil's beating on you and you haven't got a prayer? I'll tell you, we need to understand who we are in Christ.

( congregational amens ).

Praise God! I just had to use that marker again. Praise the Lord! And so He's given us every spiritual blessing in Christ! Now what He sets forth in the rest of the book is an enumeration of some of those blessings. "For he chose us in him...." Now see this goes way back to the very foundation of the world. God knew about you and He knew about me. And so He planned for you and He planned for me. And His plan again was not to give us rules by which we could attain heaven, but to give us a Savior and to give us all that we need to live with Him forever. He planned all of that. He did it in Christ.

I'll go back to Adam. How did you get to be a sinner? You were born into a race of sinners. How do you get to be righteous? You have to be born into a race of righteous people. Jesus Christ is the second...is the last Adam. And He, in the plan and the providence of God, has a life within Him that is being reproduced in people throughout the world by means of the Gospel that is being preached as that Word takes root in hearts, we are begotten of that very same life and all that applies to Jesus Christ applies right then to us. Not because we've attained it, but by grace through faith. Praise God!

( congregational amens ).

That's a whole lot better place to start from if you're thinking about trying to overcome the devil, than...oh my God, how will I ever do it? How will we ever do it? Because we are with Christ. Listen to some of the other expressions.

It talks about in verse 6, "...To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins...." It talks about in verse 9, "...And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure...." This is something He desired to do. It wasn't something we thought about, or planned, or somehow worked out. "...Mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ."

You read the Book, you're gonna see this everywhere. "...To be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him..."--once again--"...in Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

Now listen to this. It says, "And you also were included in Christ...." God took you and put you in Him, so that all the blessings that He conferred upon His Son become ours.

( congregational amens ).

Praise God! "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth..."--so it's what we said, it's the Gospel that's preached--"...the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal...." Over and over and over and over again, you're gonna see this 'in Christ,' what we have in Him and all the riches of heaven are ours in Him. Praise God!

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart..."--in verse 18--"...may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...." I think I was wanting to go to another scripture, but you...I know what it is. It's chapter 2, verse 6. It talks about our condition prior to coming to Christ. It says, though we were dead, and part of the world, and living under the powers of darkness, God reached out to us in love and His mercy. But it says, "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."

Now what is the verb tense here? Is this some future 'maybe'? This is a past certainty. This is a God who has all power in heaven and earth who has declared, I have done this! When I did it to Christ, I did it to every one who was in Him. I have created not just a Son...or brought forth a Son, but I have many sons that I am bringing to glory.

If you'll look over into Romans chapter 8...praise God! What He's done for us, it's just beyond imagining. It says, "...We are God's workmanship..."--verse 10--"...created in Christ Jesus to do good works...." You see, even that is the out-flowing of our relationship with Him. None of this is based upon our own natural ability. It's all based upon the relationship that we enjoy with Jesus Christ and His new life that He's begotten in us. Does this begin to make a little more...make that other passage a little more relevant? You think there's some strength in God?

( congregational response ).

You think there's some strength in Christ?

( congregational response ).

Yes! Just as we have access to every other thing that God...every blessing that God has given us in Him, we have access to that. We don't believe it and we don't understand it. That's the problem. And so we live as though we're poor when we're actually very...we're actually rich beyond imagining.

It talks about how...in, going on in chapter 2 there, about how those who were far away from Christ had been brought near. In verse 14, "...He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man...." Again, 'in Him.'

Look at verse 21 and what He's purposed to do. "In him..."--in Christ--"...the whole building...." Now he's talking about the entire kingdom of God's people. All of us together are, as it were, a building. We may be many different parts, but He's putting us together just like you put a building together with all the different pieces of material. "In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

( congregational praise ).

Now you just go right from one end of this Book to the other and you're gonna see this relationship of being 'in Him.' I can't tell you that I can stand here and just...I have a full picture of this great truth. But I'll tell you, it's a real truth. That's how God sees us.

( congregational amens ).

He does not see us as little screw-ups, disconnected from His Son. That's how the devil would paint us to our own minds, but God sees us as His children, He sees us as finished sons and daughters living and reigning with Him forever.

I'll go back to chapter 2, where it talks about how He's seated us in heavenly realms in Christ. Look at the next verse. "...In order..."--He's done this--"...in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Again, you get the same thing. Oh, I'll tell you what, there's no relationship in this universe that is more important than being in Christ. I'll tell you, if we're in Christ we have the best that God has, and God wants us to become aware of the riches that we have in Him and to begin to live like we're people who've actually got something. We can rejoice. It makes all the difference if we understand what God has given us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

( congregational praise ).

And so you go on and on and on through this, you'll find the same thought. So, does it make it a little different here when it says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord...." Once again, if we have every other blessing, we have strength available to us in the Lord, if we consciously put ourselves in His hands and we believe His promises. I'll tell you, there's someone who respects and recognizes the strength that we have in the Lord, and that's the devil.

( congregational amens ).

He knows the difference...if you're just sitting there flailing your arms and sort of trying to get mad at the devil in your own strength, and trying to resist him, and you're just doing it in a spirit of unbelief, he knows that. But he knows if someone stands there and says, Devil, I know what Jesus Christ has done for me. I know I'm not worthy, but I stand here because of what God has given to me in the Lord Jesus Christ.

( congregational amens ).

He has declared that I sit on a throne. That throne is above your power, Devil. I have the right to resist you. I have the right to tell you what to do and I have the right to overcome you, Devil. I'm gonna stand upon what God has given to me. I'll tell you, the devil does not have an answer for that. The devil has a lot of power in this world, but it is through sin and unbelief. And when we come into a relationship with Jesus, and we stand in that, we have all the power that we need to overcome the evil one. Praise God!

( congregational praise ).

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." And of course, he describes that power, doesn't he, in chapter 2? Or chapter 1...that's what I started to read. "I pray also..."--verse 18--"...that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened...." Did you know your heart has eyes? It's the seat of our understanding. It's not something you see...like I'm seeing you with these eyes here. This is an understanding heart.

The world is blind here. They're not able to see and understand things as they really are. But Paul was just praying, oh, I want your heart to see and to understand something. "...That you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe...." Incomparable means there's nothing to which you can compare that power. All of the power is here and here's the power that He has made available to His saints, that He has loosed to work in us. It is incomparable. You cannot compare it to any other power that there is.

"...His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." That sounds like a lot of power to me.

You think about what the devil thought he had accomplished. Can you imagine all...what was going on in the unseen realm at the cross? There was Jesus...it was bad enough the torture, the physical torture...but the sense that God had abandoned Him to this...to experience the wrath that should have fallen on you and me. And can you imagine the devils...they're just screaming accusations at Jesus, accusing Him of every wicked thing that humanity has ever been guilty of? And then to engineer putting Him in a tomb and putting a big rock in front of it and saying, all right we've got him now. But he didn't, did he?

( congregational response ).

God's power was able to take Him from that place.

( congregational praise ).

Didn't even need to roll the stone away...take Him from there and raise Him up to a life that the devil could never touch and put Him on a throne in heaven and give Him a name that is second only to the Father...every other name, He is over. That's the same power that He has promised and declared that He has made available to us. And He's working...and He's using that power to do the same thing for us.

And that's what he goes on...he talks about us, dead in trespasses and sins. There we were in that terrible condition, and what He's done for us. I want to go back and forth. I'll tell you, there's so much you could just go ahead and read the Book, but I don't want to go everywhere preaching the Gospel, I want to try to focus on the things the Lord wants to say this morning.

But in view of this, he says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Well now see, two particular things jump out at me...well three things. We need a full armor. We need everything that God has given to us. And He's talking about our ability to stand. Obviously we do not have the ability within ourselves, and it requires what God has given us if we are to have the ability to stand.

If you're struggling and if the devil is beating you up and defeating you, there is something...to some degree you are fighting in your own self. We are fighting in our own selves when the devil ever gains any kind of advantage over us. It's because we're not taking advantage of the things that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.

( congregational amens ).

Because those weapons will enable every one who takes a hold of them and uses them, to stand.

( congregational amens ).

Praise God! And of course, it's been mentioned many times, the devil schemes schemes. It is a plan. It's like military commanders who send scouts out, and get together and talk about the enemy's weaknesses. There are beings that you and I cannot see who have many councils of war about you and me. They know my weaknesses. They know yours and they plan. And they say, now how can I hinder this one? How can I attack them, and bring them down, and make them ineffective in Christ?

And I'll tell you, I believe God desires that we be more aware than we are that there is a devil, there is a real kingdom of darkness. And that's what he goes on to say, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...." That's where we get tripped up. We see the secondary causes of much of our trouble. We see other people. We see what they do. We see what they say, and we react to that.

And all we're doing is falling right into the enemy's trap, when the real enemy of our soul, the real struggle that we have is not against those. It's "...against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

This is exactly what we were talking about during that service in the convention. There are two kingdoms. And this world exists under the power of what I have just described. That is the real power that drives human beings in this world. And it is because in our day, God is pulling back the restraint against that power, that we are seeing what we are seeing in the world. And the power of darkness is gonna get greater.

Now let's go back to chapter 2, 'cause this is how he describes those who are not yet in Christ. He says, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." This is the way...this is absolutely the world system and that we live in the middle of, and that's the spirit that is behind the governments of this world. That is the spirit that is behind the movements of this world, the entertainment of this world, everything that we see is absolutely driven by this unseen kingdom of darkness. You know, a lot of times we don't have a clue, and God wants us to be aware of what's really going on.

( congregational amens ).

And not just walk into these little ambushes that the devil lays for us. I'll guarantee that everybody here has fallen into some trap this week...some snare that the devil has laid for you.

( congregation inaudible ).

Have you...yeah! God wants us to be more aware of who we are, to grow up in Him. That's why He's giving us this instruction here. But this is the condition of people in the world. And I'll tell you, if you're not in Christ, that's your condition. That should be the great priority of your life, to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, because we are either a part of His kingdom...we are either in Christ and part of God's eternal plan, or we are part of a world that is destined to be destroyed. There simply is no middle ground. You're in one or the other.

But Paul is writing here to those who are in Christ wanting them to understand what they have in Him and what they need to do. Now notice the word 'struggle.' I think there's a lot of us who would love to find a place in Christ where there's no struggle, where we just...I've reached this great pinnacle of spirituality and enjoyment, and now all I have to do is just coast. The devil's way on down there. He doesn't bother me any more.

That's not real Christianity. That's not real life. I'll tell you, we are called to absolutely fight, as Paul said, the good fight of faith. There is a warfare. Just like Caleb...the song we sang awhile ago about the giants. And his attitude was, God is with us, God has promised us this land. We have every right to go in...the giants don't have any right to keep it. They don't have a chance because they're not up against just us, they're up against God! And we need to see that in our own relationship with...well it's not a relationship with devils...our own dealing with devils.

( laughing ).

We don't want to have a relationship.

( laughter ).

But our own confrontations with the powers of darkness, we need to realize that they're not simply attacking us, they're attacking Jesus Christ.

( congregational amens ).

And our relationship with Him means everything in our ability to stand against that. But there is a struggle. Don't you go looking for a place where you can go to sleep and float to heaven on flowery beds of ease, as the expression goes. God has called us to put up a fight. And in His wisdom, the work that needs to be done, the character that needs to be formed in us, is formed by the fact that we have to get on our hind legs and fight many times...put up a fight. Praise God!

It says, "Therefore..." in verse 13, "...put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes..." Wouldn't it be nice if he said, 'if' the evil day comes? If--if--if. Then we could just hope to keep our head down and sort of slide through life, and okay, I'm just being good here. No, I'll tell you what, we are called to stand up and do what God calls us to do and not to try to slip and slide through life and avoid all the trouble.

Our job is to go straight forward like Jesus. Jesus, at one point, it said, his eye was fixed on going to Jerusalem. I don't remember the exact phrase, but you remember what I'm talking about. It was like a flint...that's right. There was something that was unyielding in doing the will and the purpose of God. If we take that stand, and God has called us to take that stand, we are going to be confronted by the powers of darkness. We might as well recognize that there will be evil days.

This is not talking about a once-in-a-lifetime thing, as though there is the evil day, and then you go on past it. This is talking about all through our life there are going to be times where the devil will get in our face and confront us in some way and try to exploit whatever weaknesses he thinks he can get a hold of. And so God has told us to put on the full armor, "...so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

Now he's picturing here a battlefield...or at least two people in conflict on a battlefield. And, for a while they're engaged, and they're fighting, and they're thrusting one another with a sword back in their day. But you know there comes a time when the battle is over, and the question is, who is left standing?

And Paul says, you take the armor that God has given you, and you will be the one standing at the end of the battle. The devil will have had to quit the field. Do you believe...I mean do you really, really, in your heart of hearts believe we have power over all the power of the enemy?

( congregational amens ).

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