Ij

"Fight From Victory" Ephesians 6:10-20

by Clancy Nixon

September 3, 2006

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

www.holyspiritanglican.org

It seems to me that I am seeing more discouragement in the body of Christ here in

Loudoun County lately. Now this is not uniform by any means, many people are doing

quite well. As people have been honest with me lately, I discover that many people are

hurting just now. They tell me that they are confused about why so many things are not

going well in their lives, all at the same time. The stories vary, but several themes keep

coming up. The husband's job takes too much time; the marriage could be better; the

kids are making wrong decisions. Several people are feeling lonely and isolated, and

want to make closer friends in the congregation. I go to local pastor's prayer meetings

and my fellow pastors are feeling stretched to the limit, and are in need of help and

encouragement. In the midst of a population boom here in Loudoun, very few churches

are growing in numbers. It is small comfort to know that our congregation is like most

others in that. The percentage of those in our county who attend church is shrinking.

The US Census Bureau now ranks Loudoun County with the highest median income of

any county in the whole nation. Yet I am not seeing higher levels of security, or of

happiness, or of health.

So what is up, spiritually speaking? As I have prayed about this, and listened to

the intercessors in our county who seek the Lord about these things, this is what I get. I

believe that we are going through a season that consists of two things: both 1) intensified

demonic attacks, and 2) the discipline of the Lord. Both intensified demonic attacks, and

the discipline of the Lord. Next week I will speak on the discipline of the Lord. This

week, I focus on the attacks of the evil one. At the end of my talk today, I'll tell you why

I think Loudoun County is under attack just now.

What do these attacks from the devil look like? An attack might look like an

unusual pattern of negative circumstances in your life; the attack might come as an

overwhelming feeling of inadequacy, or of doubt, or of fear. Now I don't think that the

devil is responsible for all the negative things that happen in our lives. The Bible says

that our struggle takes place on three different battlegrounds. First, we struggle against

the world - this fallen world system with its ruthless competition, fallen creation with

things like Hurricane Ernesto, and fallen people like the Ashburn man who was just

convicted of murdering his wife over a dispute about money. Second, we struggle with

our own flesh - to get mastery over our selfish desires. Third, we struggle with the devil.

While the devil is not the cause of all our problems, I do believe that the devil often puts

spiritual gasoline on the fire of our existing problems. The devil is the accuser of the

brethren, and he will accuse you and try to condemn you in general ways. For example, if

you have a recurring thought that you are stupid or inadequate in some way, that thought

did not come from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always convicts you of particular

sins, so you can confess, repent and receive forgiveness. The devil makes general

accusations, so you can't confess, and you are left with shame. Remember that

distinction. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin in the particular actions we have done,

while the devil condemns with general accusations.

How is the Christian to respond to the attacks of the evil one? In the last few

weeks, the Lord has led me in prayer to teach on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6

ends his letter with a divine battle strategy in resisting the attacks of the evil one, and that

is the Armor of God. The Apostle Paul is very familiar with the armor of a Roman

soldier, because while he was writing this letter, Paul is under house arrest in Rome, and

he spent his days there chained to a Roman soldier. Paul makes it clear that there is a

war on, that we have a real spiritual enemy who has brought this war to us, and that we

need to be protected from his attacks.

Turn to page 1160 in your blue pew Bibles, Ephesians 6, verse 10: We are to "be

strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power." The implication here is, don't go to battle

in your own strength. The battle belongs to the Lord! Great and mighty is he! That is

the first principle. Paul tells us in verse 11 that you are to "take your stand against the

devil's schemes." I can imagine what some of you are thinking. You may ask, "If Jesus

Christ has already won the victory for us on the cross at Calvary, why are we still in

battle?" In an earthly war, a Christian fights for victory but not in a spiritual war. Our

spiritual battle is not FOR victory, but FROM victory. Let's say that together. Our

spiritual battle is not FOR victory, but FROM victory. Christians fight from victory. We

stand IN victory. Tell your neighbor that say to them, "You stand IN victory."

Remember that Satan is not equal to God Satan is a created being who is subject to

God's authority. I've read to the end of the Holy Scriptures, and the final outcome is not

in doubt Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Christ won the decisive victory over sin

and death on Calvary, the victory HAS already been won. If you believe in Christ, your

position in him is secure. Until the Lord returns, the battle we are in is nothing but a

mopping up operation. Verse 12, we are to stand our ground in the authority that Christ

has given us here.

The only way for the enemy to win, is for us to quit. Darrin Yeager uses this

analogy. Imagine that before a football game, both teams know the outcome for certain

they are told that one team will win, and the other team will lose. During the game, any

player can be injured, because it is a real game. The team that is slated to win knows that

as long as they continue until the final quarter, the victory is theirs. The only way for

them to lose is to quit. The only strategy that the losing team can use is to inflict enough

pain and suffering on the winners, and enough discouragement, so that the team that

would have won, instead quits. The only way for the losing team to win is by forfeit.

That is the strategy of Satan: he knows he can't win, because he has read the book, too.

So he attacks and discourages Christians so that he can take us out of the game. That is

why we stand if we stand, we win!

In verse 12, Paul tells us that "[O]ur 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." This is absolutely key to

understanding this battle. Other people are not your enemy. If you are fighting your boss,

your husband or wife, your children or parents, or your business competitor if you are

fighting them, you are not fighting the real enemy! We are to love people. When Paul

speaks of rulers and powers and authorities of this dark world, he is referring to ranks and

titles of Satan's dark angels, which we also call demons. When Paul speaks of spiritual

forces of evil, I think he means things like the sordid business of internet porn, and dark

ideologies like that of Al Qaeda, because they are based on lies. These are our true

enemies.

In my family at home, we sometimes have differences of opinion about various

things, for example, the merits of certain video games. These differences of opinion have

at times escalated into heated disagreements, where one family member has held a grudge

with another. Ginger learned something recently that we do now when we get angry with

each other. Instead of the four of us sitting in a circle, we all sit together on a couch, and

we place one chair opposite us, and we put the problem in that chair. In that way, we

have a visual and spatial reminder that the family is a team; we are not fighting one

another, we are attacking the problem. Our battle is not against flesh and blood,

particularly not family.

Let's look at two pieces of armor today. Verse 14: The Belt of truth is the first

piece of armor, because it is foundational. On a Roman soldier, all the other armor

attaches to the belt, so the belt must be secure. Spiritually, everything hangs on

understanding the truth about God, and the truth about us. That is why the belt is called

Truth. Pontius Pilate asked cynically, "What is truth?" For Christians, the truth is a

person Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Christ is

inseparable from his holy Word: he is the Logos, the Word of God. Our truth source is

the Bible. Truth is not relative; truth is absolute, and we can know the truth. The Word of

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen?

Another piece of armor is the readiness of the shoes of the gospel of peace. In

hand to hand combat, a soldier must have secure footing, good traction, or he might slip

and fall. How can we be prepared with the gospel of peace? I have mentioned before that

from time to time I lack the peace I desire. Like you, I have too much to do in any given

day, but unlike most of you, sometimes I let it get to me. The enemy of my soul has been

using this weakness to attack me recently during my sermon preparation. Two weeks ago,

I became anxious about my recent traffic tickets, and I shared with you what God did to

minister to me. Just yesterday, I lost peace thinking about all I had to do. I am becoming

more aware of ways I can strike people as perhaps not the warmest guy in the world,

maybe not the most approachable. So I have been working hard to be more responsive to

people. Probably too hard, so I got stressed out yesterday. This is an old pattern with me.

Have you ever noticed that Satan is not very creative? He tries the same ploys over and

over again.

The good news is, I have learned a reliable battle strategy through these

experiences that I want to share with you, and it follows the lines of Theophostic prayer

ministry. Here it is: 1) When I lose peace, I'm honest with myself about what is

happening I don't try to pretend it is not there, but instead I deal with it. 2) I admit to

God and to another human being what I am thinking and feeling. I tell God and usually, I

tell Ginger. Ginger prayed with me again this week. Thanks be to God for praying wives!

3) I stop and identify the emotions that I am feeling, and the thoughts I am thinking that

are causing a lack of peace. 4) Then I ask God to show me a memory from my past where

I felt that way. Yesterday, God took me to the memory I have of when I was ten years old

in my family kitchen, and my weeping mother held me and told me that my father had

just moved out, and that now I was to be the man of the house. There is the root of my

present pain. 5) I ask God to speak the truth to me about what I am thinking and feeling.

Yesterday, God spoke to the heart of the ten your old boy I me that I was not responsible

to be the man of my house when I was ten. He reminded me once again that I am not

responsible for saving people now either, that is Jesus' job. When God's truth comes into

our places of pain, then snap- we are delivered from all our bondages, including

demonic ones, and peace floods our soul. God told me to just rest in him again. 6) This

is the coolest part God set me free! As I remembered my position in Christ, that I am

seated with him in heavenly places, then peace flooded my heart. I was able to write my

sermon in peace and attend my son's 17th birthday party last night! The way I figure it,

when I am weak, then God is strong. I share this weakness with you to encourage you

that we all struggle, we just have different struggles. My vulnerability with my wife in

asking her to pray with me has also been a great blessing to her in our marriage.

Friends, we need each other! We don't have to go looking far to find people to

minister to; just look around you here this morning! Let's be honest with each other and

admit that we need each other. Let's get into small groups, in accountability groups, or

prayer partnerships share our deepest needs. I need you to help me be the pastor God

wants me to be by speaking the truth in love to me.

Back in Ephesians, after the armor, Paul directs us to pray in the Spirit. Prayer is

not a weapon; prayer is the way we engage in battle and the purpose for which we are

armed. The armor is only preparation; prayer is the battle itself. Paul says we are to pray

in the spirit on all occasions. We are to always keep on praying for all the saints. We

stand together, and we pray together.

I'm not completely certain why the Church in Loudoun is under such sustained

attacks just now, but I will tell you what I think. My intuition says that these attacks are a

demonic response to the prophetic promise of the Lord from a year ago to pour out

revival in Loudoun County. I do believe that God plans to pour out His Spirit right in our

neighborhoods. The Lord brought this word from Pastor Dennis, a prophet from Zambia,

that as we travail in prayer, and churches work together, we will see a miraculous and

huge change in our culture here in Loudoun. A definition of Revival is when the Holy

Spirit is poured out in such power through the church, that the surrounding culture is

changed. When revival came to camp meetings in Kentucky during the Second Great

Awakening, crime rates plummeted, bars closed, and churches were built to take their

place. The prophecy for Loudoun is for many salvations, many healings on a scale of

which we have not yet dreamed. It is a historical truth that all revivals are preceded by

focused prayer. At our Men's Retreat, Clay McLean said that he believed that God is

calling our men to gather together to pray. We are beginning a new weekly prayer

meeting, open to both men and women, at the Nixon's home this Friday, from 6-7am.

Yes, six in the morning! I'd love to have enough men to come to that meeting so the men

can pray with men, and the women with women. You can participate in person or by

speakerphone. We are looking for serious intercessors who will pray for our church, our

county and our world.

Friends, be encouraged. The battle belongs to the Lord! He has already won the

victory. We fight from Victory. Remember your position in Christ. When you are

attacked, go to God in prayer, and let God show you the truth about what you are feeling.

And the peace of god, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and

your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let's pray now.