The Churchs Spiritual Conflict Is For Societys Survival Eph 6:1-12 Sermon Notes 9-1-19

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Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 1-4  (ESV)

By Honoring Their Parents Children Can Live Long God’s Way

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 5-9  (ESV)

Bondservants & Masters = Employee & Employer, Must Struggle to Do God’s will from the hear

5Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 9-11  (ESV)

Servants & Masters Must Be Strong In The Lord Because We All Wrestle Against Powers of Darkness

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 Ephesians Session #13

“The Church’s Spiritual Conflict is Contest for Society’s Survival”

Message map Ephesians 6: 1–12

  1. Single Sentence Main Point Clear BOTTOM LINE:

Since the Fall in Eden, when the earth came under the curse of sin, and a significant amount of influence was transferred to Satan, who in Eph 2:2 is called “the god of this world,” everything beautiful, glorious and righteous must be fought for. 

In Eph Chapters 1 — 3 we see the heavenly calling of the church as a BODY, Whom God the Son paid the price for with His Own Body. “We have Redemption through his blood” (v. 7)

In Eph Chapter 2 The church is a TEMPLE, Chapter 2.  Those “dead in trespasses” (v. 1) are made into a living temple

In Eph Chapter 3 The church is a MYSTERY, that was Not revealed in the Old Testament. Nonetheless, Jews and Gentiles become participants of the same body — the church

In Eph Chapter 4 The church is a NEW MAN, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit” (v. 3), We “No longer are children”(v. 14); but are to “grow up into him”(v. 15); into “perfect man” (v.

13).  We “Walk not as other Gentiles walk” (v. 17); The Bible says “be ye kind one to another” (v. 32), so we are tough minded- tenaciously walking, tender hearted people.  Christians are a paradox.  We are to be tough minded enough to full a mission, no matter what opposes us, and we are to do so in a tender-hearted way.

In Eph Chapter 5 The church will be a BRIDE. We are in an engagement period in vv. 1-17. Christ says, “For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2)

The experience of the bride-church, vv. 18-24 is we are to “Be filled with the Spirit” (v. 18)

The Spirit motivates us with expectation in vv. 25-33 “That God will present us to himself as a glorious church” (v. 27)

In Eph Chapter 6 The church is a SOLDIER, and I wonder if this is where we have fallen most short.

Eph 6: 1-9 we see as soldier’s we are in relationships with family and bosses and employees.  These are the primary relationships that make a society function appropriately and effectively.

Yet we see the paradox — a seemingly contradictory statement or proposition that when examined contextually is profoundly true. (2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No man that warreth/entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.” Yet God has placed us on earth to be IN the world, and function here, though we must do so in a such a way that we are not OF the world.  Our motivations, desires and loyalty is to God through Christ in Heaven.  We are OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

TODAY in Eph 6: 11 We will see as soldier’s we have an enemy, vv. 10-12. Satan’s stratagems are called “The wiles of the devil.” (v. 11)

NEXT WEEK we will examine what God provides for us as …

  1. The soldier’s protection, vv. 13-18 “The whole armor of God” (v. 13)
  2. God gives us our soldierly example — Paul, a good soldier of Jesus Christ, vv. 19-22
  3. Finally we’ll see The soldier’s benediction, vv. 23, 24

In Eph 5:22 – 6:12 we see the Bride is in a Battle; the Family is in a Fight, and The Church is in Conflict, and with spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.   What is the prize, and what is being contested is the common culture.  Many do not see this.  We think the battle is about Churchianity, but Jesus said we are to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  America, a nation based on the application of the Bible to every aspect of life, including our civics became the epitome of, “God’s will being done on each as it is in heaven.” 

Let me give you one statement from the NORTH CAROLINA 1835 Constitution:

No person, who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the CHRISTIAN religion, or the Divine authority either of the Old or New Testaments … shall be capable of holding … office  

  1. OPENING LINE:

Ephesians 5:22 – 6:12, Shows us that the most important relationships that hold together our lives and society are under attack by Satan, who schemes are designed to get us to live independently from God and forfeit God’s plan of grace and mercy. God gives us a WHOLE suit of armor to engage in the battle. To win we must know 1) what does God actually give us. 2) How does God want us to use it, and 3) Where God wants us to be deployed to use it.

  1. THE INTRODUCTORY TRANSITION:

Eph 6: 10 – 12 “The Church’s Spiritual Struggle Is for Society’s Survival”

Three-pronged agenda to destroy the USA’s Christian Culture calls for destroying esteem for God, our families, and the Church’s Biblical Application In Culture.

The Bride of Christ is in a Battle For Souls = Christ’s Great Commission to Make More &  Better Disciples, by

Going into all the world to Convert within the Context

The Family is in a fight to Fulfill It’s Biblical Roles and Responsibilities

family is in a fight

The church is in a conflict to Evangelize The Culture

  1. THE MAIN POINT IS:

Have you heard that the best defense is a good offense?

Eph 6: 1–12 is a discipleship call to get in touch with God’s plan and wisdom for how …

We use this armor first in our internal relationships in our families and then in our churches. Then we engage the culture by going into all the world to make disciples.  In Eph. 5 we see the church is a Bride.  In Eph 5:22 – 6:9, we see the church is a family both literally and figuratively.  Every family is to be a model of the church. Every church is to be like a family.  In Eph 6: 10-12 we see the Bride is in a Battle; the Family is in a fight, and the Church is in a conflict. 

 Eph 6:1-3 Obedience shows honor

Children Are In A Battle To Obey & honor Their Parents To obtain the Blessings God Bestows on The Obedient

 1Children, obey (1. listen and attend to be fully responsive & compliant 2. answer appropriately.) your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

2“Honor (1. treat with personal esteem. 2 fix the value to. 3. show reverential respect for & to) your father and mother”

(this is the first commandment with a promise) = (1. “announces what is fitting” (2. God reciprocates what is appropriate. 3. God issues a guarantee, secured by His own eternal Law & Being. 4. NW 1828 says a promise is “A binding declaration of something to be done or given for another’s benefit.  In Commandment #5, God declares blessings will be bestowed upon those who obey their parents, who lead and guide them in the ways of the Lord.)

3“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

God shows honor by

  1. 5. WHY DOES IT MATTER?

 (Yellow  NIN) Sampson:  I-D Leader (Judges 13 – 16)

Great Personal Gifts, but focus = My Will for God!

A great warrior, who single handedly overcame 1,000 competitors

But a lousy leader he cared little for God’s & the organization’s mission. His walk was very crooked.

The organization did not benefit, develop, grow or profit from his efforts!

He married & gave secrets to the organization’s enemies (2 Cor. 6:14), and his downfall was from these self-inflicted wounds!

God used Sampson’s waywardness, but Sampson wasn’t much of a role model or success!

  1. Including APPLICATION:

Eph 6: 4 Fathers Must Fight to Honor Children – Fathers Must Fight For Their Families 

4Fathers, do not provoke (1. rouse someone to anger by weaponizing another’s weaknesses; 2. to provoke in a way that “really pushes someone’s buttons,”3. to “really get to them” in an “up-close-and-personal” way, which is to goad them in an area of their lives of which they particularly are weak or sensitive.  In some families the members weaponize each other’s weaknesses, by using their weaknesses against them by picking on them over those issues. The members join together to pile on when one is getting into trouble for something. Sometimes this is done out of frustration  of the other members wishing some obnoxious behavior to stop, but piling on seldom helps.  Instead we should mention it as politely as possible, and then pray for the offending member.) your children to anger, (make wrathful) but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Examples of provoking to anger include which of the following:

  1. failing to love or mistreating their mother. (Same goes for the wife’s, who must love and respect their husbands.
  2. breaking promises without reason or for the wrong reasons. (Sometimes we promise our children the family will do something on the weekend, but then a relative has had an accident or a medical episode, so you can’t fulfill the promise. Such instances are rare interruptions that cause us to temporarily break our promise
  3. not being truthful or acting hypocritical
  4. practicing bad touch.
  5. failing to dedicate proper attention to family times

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 5-6

Faithful Fathers Fight for Families by Bringing Up Children In The Lord!

4 Fathers Should …

  1. setting or placing the mind through God-inspired warning /”admonition”
  2. “warning through teaching” improves a person’s reasoning so they can reach God’s solution – i.e. by going through His thought-process. See 3560 (nouthetéō).
  3. It’s the Rom 12:1-3 process that by faith receives God’s thoughts that renew the mind, to reach God’s solutions.

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 5-6

Bondservants Battle to Serve Christ from the Heart

5Bondservants (1. servant/slave 2. a person exercising absolute ownership) obey your earthly masters (a person exercising absolute ownership ) b with fear and trembling, with a sincere (gracious) heart, as you would Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

Does eye-service mean …

  1. doing only as much as the boss or customer can see  Y/N
  2. neglecting and leaving undone what cannot be seen   Y/N
  3. not doing what can’t be traced to, or blamed on you     Y/N
  4. doing the right thing in the right way for the right reasons.
  5. doing only what pleases men despite what the Bible says. Y/N
  6. not doing what pleases God because someone might be offended. Y/N

Service to Christ on earth is to be done with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ.”

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 7-8

Bondservants Can Be Inspired To Serve Enthusiastically

7rendering service with a good will (kind enthusiasm) as to the Lord and not to man,

8knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

In Christ we all are free to realize God’s destiny for our lives!

Joseph served Potiphar as unto the Lord despite….

all of which he persevered through to be promoted by Providence.

Walk Thru The Word: Ephesians 6: 9 [bctt tweet=”The Family is in a fight to Fulfill It’s Biblical Roles and Responsibilities As a Church we must Fight For The family As The Building Block of Society and Culture” username=”LibertyCF3″]

Bosses Must Behave In A Christlike Way

9Masters (slave owners, bosses) do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Masterc and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

and that there is no partiality (favoritism, springing from the will and affections, rather than from God’s perspective of love, truth and justice).

Eph 6: 10-11 God Serves All To Be Strong In The Lord & Suit Up with Armor To Stand Against The Devil’s Schemes

10Finally, be strong (receive the filling or get filled with) in the Lord and in the strength of his might (dominion, exerted power, force or ability for overcoming immediate resistance.)

11Put on the whole armor (panoply = a complete set/ suit) of god, (= the full resources the Lord gives us believers to successfully wage spiritual warfare. In this way we do not fight for our victory – but from His victory – obtained through His = 1) virgin birth, 2) sinless life, 3) substitutionary death, 4) bodily resurrection, 5) being seated at the right hand of God.

A partial suit of armor isn’t to enough to handle all the devil may hurl at us. of God,

that you may be able to stand against the schemes (searching after something to inquire about a method to organize evil-doing by craftiness, deceit and trickery) of the devil.

Eph 6: Servants & Masters Must Be Strong In The Lord Because We All Wrestle Against Powers of Darkness

12For we do not wrestle (a wrestling bout; hence: a struggle, fight, conflict, contest) against flesh and blood, but against the rulers (kingly or magisterial potentates), against the authorities (those authorized with conferred & delegated empowerment, operating in a designated jurisdiction.), against the cosmic powers over this present darkness (morally evil principle of sin with its certain results) against the spiritual forces of evil (angelic or demonic powers controlling the earth = sublunary world and asserting its independence of God) in the heavenly places.

Eph 6: 12 Servants & Masters Must Be Strong In The Lord Because We All Wrestle Against Powers of Darkness

12For we do not wrestle (a wrestling bout; hence: a struggle, fight, conflict, contest) against flesh and blood, but against the rulers (kingly or magisterial potentates), against the authorities (those authorized with conferred & delegated empowerment, operating in a designated jurisdiction.), against the cosmic powers over this present darkness (morally evil principle of sin with its certain results) against the spiritual forces of evil (angelic or demonic powers controlling the earth = sublunary world and asserting its independence of God) in the heavenly places.

  1. THE CLOSING

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THIS INFORMATION:

Eph 5: 1-2 beloved children Relate To their Father Through Initiation, imitation & immolation,

Discipleship Competence is a Factor of

FAITH = Faith, Advancing In The Heat of battle)

FAITH = Faith, Advancing In The Hope of victory/Christ)

Three-pronged agenda to destroy the USA’s Christian Culture calls for destroying esteem for God, our families, and the Church’s Biblical Application In Culture.

The Family is in a fight to Fulfill It’s Biblical Roles and Responsibilities

As a Church we must Fight For The family As The Building Block of Society and Culture

  1. To Be what God calls us to be
  2. To Know what God wants us to know
  3. Do what God wants us to do

The church Needs To Be Revitalized to ReEngage in the conflict to Evangelize & Disciple The Culture

  1. Most churches are unaware that God inspired America as a Biblically based nation, and they are unaware that Christian culture should be defended, because President Calvin Coolidge stated July 5, 1926: “THE principles … which went into the Declaration of Independence … are found in … THE sermons … of the early colonial clergy .
  1. Behave Biblically by
  2. Living by the 10 Commandments
  3. & The Sermon on The Mount (& Plain) Matt 5-6 and Luke 6:20 – 49

America’s Once Christina culture has been corrupted.

  1. The Church was deceived through 501C3 that disengaged it from politics and government which control the culture.
  2. It’s about Me not the Mission = Preaching about our healing, our prosperity, my family while neglecting the Great commission

Let’s Pray ….

God thank you for Your amazing Word and the tremendous work You do in our lives through it.

Make us aware of the battle we are in. Help us not to neglect the important things we must allow You to do through us to be the men and women, boys and girls, wives and husbands, parents and grandparents, bosses and employees You are calling us to be.

Amen!

Church Needs To Be Revitalized to ReEngage in the conflict to Evangelize & Disciple The Culture.  [email-download-link namefield=”YES” id=”406″]

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