Ephesians: The Armor for the Fight of Our Lives (Part 6) | Armor of God - Video

City Light Church Sermons

Sermon Text: Ephesians 6:18-20 Sermon Date: 9/01/2024 Speaker: Corey Deyamport . Check us out at: https://citylightvicksburg.org/ Or check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/citylightvicksburg . Sermon Notes: Sept 1st, 2024 Ephesians 6:18-20 These last few weeks, we covered the Armor of God, and while many would read this and feel ready for spiritual warfare, Paul asks for prayer… for help. Let that sink in. We go against an enemy who attacks us in numbers, and power to speak against our heart and mind constantly. we need daily and constant reminders of the love our God has or us. We need every piece of this armor. All of these pieces of armor highlight someone not standing with their own power but it paints the picture of one standing in the power of another - God. So, Paul asks for prayer - for us to pray for everyone and everything! And Paul asks for the Church in Ephesus to pray for him. There are three things we can see that Paul is asking for us to pray for: persistence, power and the scope of our prayer. Persistence - Paul says to pray at all times Power - Paul says to pray in the spirit. Scope - Paul says to pray for each other and the spread of the gospel. Persistence - at all times. As Paul explains the entire parts of the armor, he immediately explains we should be praying at all times. Paul often says that we should pray without ceasing and be steadfast in prayer. We should live with intentional, mindful and regular prayer. We should be quick to bring every kind of joy, concern, and every sorrow before the lord. The enemy is relentless, so we should be relentless as well. If the enemy of our soul is not taking a day off, we shouldn’t either. Even in moments of peace, we should continually remain in prayer, so that we’re staying in communication with our general, so that when the enemy attacks again, we are fully ready to take His commands and obey them in this war. Power - pray in the spirit - not a reference to speaking in tongues, it rather speaking under the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit. To pray in the spirit is to pray that God, by his spirit and by his word would align our hearts and our prayers with his will. It’s not about asking what we want, but asking what God desires. This passage of the armor of God does not highlight readiness, BUT RATHER, our weakness. We are dependent on God. Also, it’s our position in God. He is our Father. We can ask our father for deeply intimate things without fear. We should boldly make big requests. Our ability to make these requests come from us being sons and daughters of the creator of the universe. Whether or not what we ask for is Gods will, we should still ask! We are all too familiar with our weakness, and we are careful to stay in our place, but we should not cast off our confidence in God’s power in an effort to remain in our place. Scope - pray with all prayer and supplication for all the saints. This call to prayer is not a singular event, call to pray for everything. Adoration - Praising God for who He is. Confession of sin. Thanksgiving. Supplication - what we want. Lament - sharing our doubts, and sorrows and fears. Paul also calls for perseverance. Engaging the community around you. Be consistently in contact with your brothers and sisters so you know how to pray for them. Pray as an intercessor. And lastly Paul asks the community in Ephesus to pray for him. As I look at this passage in Ephesians, I don’t see my strengths, I instead see my weaknesses. Perhaps, we should too. #churchservice #armorofgod #spiritualwarfare #christianity #faith #divineprotection #spiritualawareness #ephesians6 #ephesians #righteousness #Justice #culturewar #glorifygod #makingadifference #faithandfreedom