Battling to Serve
Series: SERVE
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 23rd November 2019
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 throughout the church calendar. So we're coming to an end of that, as Nick has indicated.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:10 I'd be grateful if you had Ephesians 6 in front of you, that Bible reading. Also, we also have a
00:00:10 --> 00:00:16 service outline, which has the Bible passage in front of it, and a very brief outline of where
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 I'm heading. But also, there's St. Paul's app, so you can get it on there as well to follow along.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:27 One other little shout out. I don't normally do this, but we've indicated that it's,
00:00:27 --> 00:00:32 or highlight the fact that it's Ruby's birthday today. From my understanding,
00:00:32 --> 00:00:37 according to Facebook, it's also Ali Rowe's birthday today. Is that correct, Ali? Is that correct?
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 That is correct. Happy birthday, Ali, as well.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:52 That's the only value of Facebook, as far as I can tell. Let me pray. Father God, as we launch into
00:00:52 --> 00:01:01 your word, we ask that you would reorientate our worldviews. Amen. World War I, while it was raging
00:01:01 --> 00:01:09 in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, the United States maintained a policy of neutrality.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:17 At the time, millions were dying in Europe. Life went on pretty much as normal for people in the United
00:01:17 --> 00:01:21 States. There were some that were aware that there was a big war in Europe, but the majority of the
00:01:21 --> 00:01:27 population just kind of cruised on with everyday life as if it didn't happen. It didn't really impact
00:01:27 --> 00:01:35 them at all. The intention of the United States was to stay out of World War I. President Woodrow
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 Wilson's efforts to maintain neutrality, however, was totally disregarded by German submarines.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:54 3rd of February, 1917, the USS Housatonic was sunk by German submarines. Three more ships, US ships,
00:01:54 --> 00:02:02 were torpedoed in the following weeks. And on the 6th of April, 1917, President Wilson signed the
00:02:02 --> 00:02:08 declaration of war against Germany. A couple of other sort of events tipped him over, such as the
00:02:08 --> 00:02:17 possible invasion from Mexico into the United States. From a nation that had an intention of
00:02:17 --> 00:02:25 staying out of World War I and to live in peace and quiet and to get on with life, they very quickly
00:02:25 --> 00:02:35 shifted into a full-blown wartime mindset. Within two and a half weeks of declaration of war, Congress
00:02:35 --> 00:02:42 passed the Liberty Loan Act to raise funds from the war effort, and $20 billion was raised for American
00:02:42 --> 00:02:49 citizens in the next two years. Six weeks after the declaration of war, Congress passed the Selective
00:02:49 --> 00:02:56 Services Act. 24 million men between 21 and 30 were registered. Three million were drafted immediately
00:02:56 --> 00:03:04 into service. A month later, the Espionage Act put a 21-year prison sentence on anyone who hindered the
00:03:04 --> 00:03:11 war effort or aided the enemy. On the 3rd of October, the War Revenue Act increased corporate and personal
00:03:11 --> 00:03:19 income taxes and established excise, excessive profits and luxury taxes. On the 5th of April, 1918,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:29 the War Finance Corporation is formed with capital of $500 million to support the war industry. From the
00:03:29 --> 00:03:44 moment of declaration of war in April, 1917 to armistice in November, 1918, so 18 months, 4 million Americans
00:03:44 --> 00:03:56 fought in the war. But the whole nation was engaged in it. The whole nation changed from the moment of
00:03:56 --> 00:04:05 declaration of war. Now, all this is just simply to say that during times of war, everything changes.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:13 Everything changes. Everything changes. And I want us to see from Ephesians 6, that passage in front of us,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:20 that a war is in fact raging that is far more devastating than any world war we've seen.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:27 The stakes are infinitely higher. World War I and World War II were devastating for the planet.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:38 120 million deaths. And the war that we are currently involved in is a spiritual war that sees over 50 million
00:04:38 --> 00:04:49 souls slip into a Christless eternity every year. And over the past seven years or so, we've been
00:04:49 --> 00:04:56 reforming what we've been reforming what we do as a church to get higher and higher engagement in our
00:04:56 --> 00:05:04 local area, especially, but beyond us in that battle. For me, what we're doing here, and as we've been
00:05:04 --> 00:05:12 reinforcing it throughout this vision series for us, it flows out of a biblical conviction more so than
00:05:12 --> 00:05:18 effective strategy, although strategic thinking is part of what we're doing. This biblical conviction
00:05:18 --> 00:05:24 is for what we've seen throughout the book of Ephesians as it's unfolded before us.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:29 It's God's grand purposes for all people on the planet, no matter what culture, what generation,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:36 what people group you belong to. His purposes for his people, the church, and this world from
00:05:36 --> 00:05:44 eternity past to eternity future. Ephesians chapters 1 and 2 and 3, as we have already been there,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:52 reveals what God is doing about the mess that this universe is in because of human sin and our
00:05:52 --> 00:05:58 rebellion and rejection of God. The disintegration and disorder and the chaos and the brokenness
00:05:58 --> 00:06:05 is sold by God coming into this world himself, God the Son, the person of Jesus Christ, being made king
00:06:05 --> 00:06:14 over all things. Under his kingship, all that is disintegrated and broken gets integrated. God's purpose
00:06:14 --> 00:06:20 is to create a single new humanity through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The death
00:06:20 --> 00:06:29 and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the core fact and hope of the Christian faith, and it is the solution
00:06:29 --> 00:06:38 to the sin, the evil, the brokenness, the chaos of this world. And if you've never heard the term
00:06:38 --> 00:06:45 gospel before, on the back of the service sheet, I've given you a brief explanation in English, and
00:06:45 --> 00:06:52 there's one in Chinese and one in Korean. And what the Bible declares, what the Christian faith declares,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:59 is that there is no other way to find salvation forever than in the blood of Jesus Christ. And
00:06:59 --> 00:07:08 that's what we've seen in Ephesians 1 to 3. And Ephesians 4, 5, and 6 is how you live in accord
00:07:08 --> 00:07:17 with that grand reality of all things. The reality of who we are as Christians, as a church, who are now
00:07:17 --> 00:07:23 united in Jesus Christ. And so Ephesians is rich with the mystery and the wonder of salvation,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:30 of peace with God, and unity among believers, and giftedness to serve God's human society.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 Unity, diversity, purity, and harmony, these are some of the characteristics of the new life
00:07:36 --> 00:07:44 and the new society in Jesus Christ. And they are exalted thoughts. They are wonderful thoughts.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:52 And just when you think that Paul's going to end his letter with, and they lived all happily ever after,
00:07:52 --> 00:07:58 which is kind of what you think he's going to get to, the conclusion he comes with, he basically
00:07:58 --> 00:08:05 slaps us in the face and wakes us up from our dreamy reflection. He says the beautiful life
00:08:05 --> 00:08:13 of the united and yet diverse new society is lived while camped out in the trenches of war
00:08:13 --> 00:08:22 we're in the enemy territory. That is, Christian, you need to know you're in a battle.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:29 It's a battle for souls. J.C. Rye was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:36 He once preached a sermon about the war that Christians are involved in, and he said this,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 true Christianity, true Christianity, and he says, mind that word true.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:47 There is a vast quantity of religion current in the world which is not true, and it's not genuine
00:08:47 --> 00:08:54 Christianity. There are thousands of men and women who go to churches and chapels every Sunday
00:08:54 --> 00:09:02 and call themselves Christian, but you never see any fight about their religion.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:15 Of spiritual strife, exertion, conflict, self-denial, watching and warring, they know literally nothing at all.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:23 Such Christianity may satisfy man, but those who say anything against it may be thought very hard and uncharitable,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:29 but it certainly is not the Christianity of the Bible. True Christianity is a fight.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:37 The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:43 He is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indulgence, and security.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:49 He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 like one traveling in an easy carriage.
00:09:54 --> 00:10:01 Ephesians 6.12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:05 against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 Verse 10 opens with the word finally.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:18 It's not, you know, like towards the end of this, I say, and finally, you go, oh, morning tea's on.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 That's not what Paul's thinking here.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:26 The word finally is not signaling his final thought.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:30 The word is better translated for the remaining time.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:37 Paul is indicating that the whole of the remaining time before Jesus Christ returns from when he left to when he returns
00:10:37 --> 00:10:43 to hold all of history and humanity accountable is going to be characterized by this battle.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:56 The peace which God has made through Christ's death is to be experienced only in the midst of relentless struggle against evil.
00:10:56 --> 00:11:02 Verse 12 says it's not a war against flesh and blood.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 It's a supernatural war.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:12 That is, it's not just a war in the physical world with our own sin.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:18 It's against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:22 against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:29 Now, some of you may be sitting here going, what?
00:11:30 --> 00:11:37 Tell me, Steve, you know, you're educated, sort of, and you read stuff.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41 How could you possibly believe in this day and age, in this spiritual stuff?
00:11:42 --> 00:11:47 And surely you're not actually saying that there is actually a bloke called Satan or a devil.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:51 You don't really believe in a personal being who's evil.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:52 Do you?
00:11:54 --> 00:11:54 Yes.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 Yes, I do.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 The thinking of our world has changed dramatically.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 And when I say our world, I mean the Western world.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 So we're representing about 20% of the world.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 It has changed dramatically.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:18 Greek philosophers in the centuries before Jesus saw the material world, including the physical human body,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 as subordinate, unimportant, and unreal.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:28 And it's Greek philosophy that the Western society is built on.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:34 The ancient world was dramatically changed by Christianity.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 Christianity.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:46 Because Christianity was the first of the religions that actually saw the physical world as a good creation of God.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:53 Christianity was the first to capture the value of the physical world and human life.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 To put value on individual freedom.
00:12:57 --> 00:13:09 And the Christian worldview of a world crafted by a rational, personal God was a contributing foundation for the development of modern science.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:19 Modern science would not exist if it wasn't for Christianity discovering the value of the physical world.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:31 And what the modern secular world has done is taken Christian worldview, removed God from it, and amplified it to say that only the natural world matters now.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 It's the only reality.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:42 This world's view suggests that everything has a physical cause and explanation.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:49 Even suggesting that love and moral feelings are functions of a brain, functions of chemistry.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:58 This worldview is the basis of a power, very powerful consumer and technology culture,
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 with the view that all of the world's problems will eventually bow to a scientific solution.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:13 In other words, human reason can solve what ails us because they are only material things that ail us.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 Psychology and medicine will help us adjust and overcome emotional and physical problems.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 We don't need spiritual resources for that.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 Sociology will help us to create a just society.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 We don't need divine virtue for that.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:34 And so, what I've just read out there seems hopelessly naive.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 Almost like a fairy tale.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:45 And yet the belief that everything has a scientific explanation and a technological solution
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 is in fact the naive response.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 It's hopelessly naive.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:57 These verses are saying that everything...
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 And I would love more time to unpack that for you, but unfortunately I can't.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:05 These verses are saying that every day there's a bigger battle at play
00:15:05 --> 00:15:09 than the many battles that we face in this physical world.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 And it's a battle for the soul.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:17 That is, there's more to us as human beings than simply matter.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 There is more to us than the bucket full of chemicals.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:30 80% of our world's population still recognise that humans have a material part and an immaterial part.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 We are both body and soul.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 The soul doesn't die, but the body does.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 And when we think about it though,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:46 it's impossible to live consistently with the view that humans don't have souls.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:50 If humans don't have souls,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:57 then we are simply no different than just all the other buckets of chemicals.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:05 There's no difference between a tree and a cockroach and you.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:10 No different than a blade of grass.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:16 Why then do we treat humans different to the blade of grass?
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Or at least I do when I'm cutting it.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 I don't lie my kids up out there as well.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:30 Why give a human being dignity and respect that nothing else is given?
00:16:33 --> 00:16:38 Even if we don't intellectually believe that we've got souls,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 we inherently live it.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:45 Because there's something more to us than just buckets of chemicals.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:49 So Christianity, it's not naive.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 It's not simplistic.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 It hasn't got all the answers, but it's not naive and it's not simplistic.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 Christianity sees that our problems are multidimensional.
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 Multidimensional.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:05 And the consensus of the Bible is that human beings are involved in a spiritual war for souls
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 while we live in the physical world.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 While we think that our problems are just flesh and blood, just material,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:16 and we can fix it with better education and better technology and better police
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 and better social programs,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 we will always be defeated.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:33 We have these things in increasing measure in our world
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 ever since the dark ages.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 And our world is not getting any better.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:43 We're in a much more complex battle.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 And what this passage and what the consensus of the Bible is,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 is this is the world that Satan does his work.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 1 John 5.19 says,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 We know that we are children of light
00:17:55 --> 00:17:59 and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 Ephesians 2.2, just a little bit early, we've looked at already,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:06 the devil is called the ruler of the kingdom of the air,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:14 And so the devil and his angels are a great demonic enemy
00:18:14 --> 00:18:18 with a defined and disciplined chain of command.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 Satan is terribly powerful.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:25 He doesn't possess anything like the power of the infinite God,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 though he can only be in one place at one time.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:33 For instance, with his army of evil agents,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 he imitates God's omnipresence and his omnipotence.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 He desires to be God more than anything else.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 And in fact, his desire to be God more than anything else
00:18:42 --> 00:18:46 is at the center of his terrible, total spiritual evil.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 And it's what he'd led humanity to,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 which is what the Bible declares.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 It led his humanity into wanting to be God also,
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 just like him in his deception.
00:18:55 --> 00:19:00 And verse 12 alludes us to this,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:04 describing the enemy as the powers of this dark world
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 and the spiritual forces of evil.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 Even those throughout history who have gone very low in evil
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 in what they perpetrate against humanity
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 do not in any sense match Satan's evil.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:23 Satan has no compassion,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 no conscience,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 no remorse,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 no morals.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 He feeds on pain and anguish and filth.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 There is nothing in Satan
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 which is even remotely redeemable.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 There is no virtue.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 There's only dark void.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 That's it.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 He is supremely cunning.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 Verse 11 there speaks of the devil's schemes
00:19:43 --> 00:19:47 and he's been honing his methods of deception for millennia.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:51 He's an accomplished philosopher and theologian and psychologist.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:55 He has studied for thousands of years
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 and enough time to become astonishingly brilliant
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 at every single discipline
00:20:00 --> 00:20:04 directed in order to deceive humanity.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:11 He is the ultimate manipulator and subverter and actor.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 2 Corinthians 11 says that one of his deadly methods
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 is masquerading as an agent of God's.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:24 And this technique is just mixing enough truth with falsehood
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 to make it seem plausible.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 Another one of his is sensuality.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:34 Many souls are sold to accommodate a downward spiral in morality.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:40 And another which is just instilling doubts about God's goodness.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 Whatever his tactic,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 he seldomly attacks in the open.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 His strategies administered by his agents
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 are nearly always unseen.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 They are shrewd
00:20:54 --> 00:20:58 and they're perfectly tailored for you
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 and for me.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 He operates best when he can convince us
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 that he doesn't even exist.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 He's done a great job of that in the Western world
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 and to persuade us
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 that the Christian life is in fact not a fight.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:21 He is evil beyond our comprehension
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 with our conscience,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 without principle.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 He's diabolically cunning
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 and he is after us.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 He hates God.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 He hates God's children.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 He hates the church.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:40 He hates the mission and vision of this church
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 to see the Lord Jesus treasured
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 together by us
00:21:45 --> 00:21:48 in such a way that more and more people
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 from every culture,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 tribe and language
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 is rescued from his evil clutches.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 He hates it.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 He hates our plan to be united,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 multi-ethnic and socially diverse church.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 He desires to destroy
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 the work of the Father
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 to make one society in the Lord Jesus forever.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 He will do whatever he can
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 to destroy the work of the gospel
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 in your life
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 and in the life of this church.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 This is Paul's cosmic perspective.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:28 And if you're sitting there going,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 no, no, no,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 there is no spiritual realm,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 can I ask you not to be so naive
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 and dig deeper?
00:22:34 --> 00:22:41 Now, all would be despair
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 except I've only described
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 part of Paul's cosmic perspective.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 Among mortals like us,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 Satan has no equal,
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 but he is far exceeded
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 by the God of the Bible
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 who's revealed himself,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 the God of the universe,
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 the God who's created all things.
00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 Satan is nowhere near God's evil.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 Sorry, equal.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 Let me just retract that.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 Equal, equal, equal.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 Nowhere near, he's equal.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 Okay.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 Not even close.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 Not even close.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 And this is different
00:23:16 --> 00:23:21 between the Greek philosophy of old
00:23:21 --> 00:23:24 that saw good and evil as a dualism.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 Both Satan and God are fighting together
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 and hopefully one will get the upper hand.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 Not even equal.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 Satan is finite,
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 God is infinite.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 In fact, Colossians 1 and 2
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 says that the entire spiritual realm
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 owes its existence to Jesus Christ,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 including the thrones,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 the powers,
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 the rulers,
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 the authorities,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 both visible and invisible,
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 both heaven and on earth.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:51 Christ is not only more powerful
00:23:51 --> 00:23:55 by being virtue of Satan's creator,
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 but because he defeated Satan on the cross.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 That's what the early chapters of Ephesians
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 have already declared to us.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 He has sealed their doom.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 Although in this present age,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:11 they still exercise a control over those
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 who have not found freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 just yet,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 as we have already sung this morning.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 If we are filled with the Holy Spirit,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 Satan's forces cannot subdue you.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 In Jesus Christ,
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 there is always victory.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 But,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 be realistic.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 Real Christianity is a fight,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 but the fight is the Lord Jesus' fight.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 That's the good news.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 The fight is his.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 The battling's ours.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 Paul leaves two commands that dominate,
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 and I want to do this real quick,
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 that dominate his advice
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 in these last two verses of the letter.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 The first is in verse 10.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 Finally,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 be strong in the Lord
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 and in his mighty power.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 It's a passive command.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 Be made strong.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 Jesus Christ has the victory,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 and Ephesians 1 and 2
00:25:02 --> 00:25:05 declare that he has given us
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 the resources
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09 to stand and flourish.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 We cannot fight this evil
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 by ourselves.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 We are totally dependent upon Jesus,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 and Paul expresses here
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 what you might see,
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 a proper combination
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 of divine enabling
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 and human cooperation.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 He does it again
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 in the second command,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 in verse 11.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 Put on the full armor of God
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 so that you can take your stand
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 against the devil's schemes.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:39 God has mercifully made provision
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 for us in Christ
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 so that we can stand
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 and not fall.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 And the provision is his armor.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:50 It's a picture of a soldier
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 in a battle.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:54 So if your aim
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 is to persevere
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 in the Christian life,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 not to be defeated
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 in the greatest sense
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 that is in a spiritual battle,
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 then you must put on this armor
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 described in these verses.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 And we're told four times
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 in these verses
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 that the need to stand,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 to stand our ground.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 Paul is concerned
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 about our stability.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 Wobbly Christians
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 don't have a firm foothold
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 in the gospel of the Lord Jesus
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 are easy prey.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 Easy prey.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 Paul here wants to see Christians
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 so strong,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 so stable,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 that they're stable
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 in the face,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 able to stand
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 in the face
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 of all of Satan's schemes
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 and stable
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 even when the day
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 of evil comes,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 as it says.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 So this armor is essential.
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 It's described
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 in the following verses.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 Let me just quickly
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 touch on it.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 The belt of truth,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 verse 14,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 basically held
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 the sword in place.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 And to stand firm
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 in the battle,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 you must be a person.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 The sword here
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 is the truth
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 of the revelation of God
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 in the scriptures,
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 in the Bible.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 And for that truth
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 to have transformed you
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 as a person
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 into truthful character.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 Essentially,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 important,
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 that's really essential.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 It's so important
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 in a world
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 where absolute truth
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 is rejected.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 The irony of that statement
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 that there is no such thing
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 as absolute truth
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 is that that in itself
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 is an absolute truth statement.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 That's the irony of it.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 And we're saying
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 our absolute truth
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 is in the scriptures,
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 be filled with it.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 Secondly,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 the breastplate of righteousness,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 verse 14,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 the breastplate of righteousness
00:27:35 --> 00:27:38 is God's own righteousness,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 his own goodness
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 and right standing
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 freely given to those
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 who believe in Jesus Christ.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 This is the good news
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 of the Christian gospel
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 as we've seen
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 in Ephesians 1 and 3.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 It's written on the back
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 of your service sheet again.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 Jesus Christ,
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 perfect life,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 right standing before God
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 has become yours.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 You don't earn it.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 You don't work for it.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 You don't contribute
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 to your right standing
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 before God
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 at all.
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 It's Jesus.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 He's achieved it
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 and given it to you
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 as a gift.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 And not only that,
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 he's taken my unrighteousness
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 to the cross
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 and dealt with it.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 A great protection
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 against the thrust of Satan
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 which remind us constantly
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 of our own unrighteousness
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 and our own unworthiness
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 before God
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 is the gospel
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 to hold it close.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 Thirdly,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 feet fitted with the readiness
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 that comes from
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 the gospel of peace.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 Verse 15,
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 the peace with God
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 that comes to us
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 in and through
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 the gospel of the Lord Jesus
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 firmly plants our feet
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 and gives stability
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 in battle.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 A gospel
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 that declares
00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 that you are not
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 at war with God.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 God.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 He's not your enemy.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 You are not at war
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 with him
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 but in fact
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 at peace with him
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 through Jesus.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 Number four
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 is the shield of faith.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 Verse 16,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 as we are locked
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 in this battle
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 with the enemy,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 this is the battle
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 that you will experience
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 deep in your soul
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 day in and day out.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 Repeated volleys
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 of temptations
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 and rejection
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 and criticism
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 and hypocrisy
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 and deception
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 and doubting
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 of God's goodness
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 and doubting
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 of the truth
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 of his word,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 doubting even
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 his existence.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 That is the battle
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 that you fight
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 constantly
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 in your soul.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 But up comes
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 the shield of faith
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 against a thousand
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 of those fiery arrows
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 as we believe
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 and trust
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 what God
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 has revealed
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 about himself
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 in his word
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 that in Jesus Christ
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 you are his son
00:29:44 --> 00:29:47 as we have already sung.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 Five is the helmet
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 of salvation
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52 which is the assurance
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 of salvation
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 and the resulting
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 confidence it brings.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 This helmet
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 assures us
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 that no matter
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 what happens
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 in this battle
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 we will be saved
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 and we will be
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 we will experience
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 victory
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 forever
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 in Jesus Christ.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:16 that's the outcome
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 of this battle.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 Lastly
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 the sword
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 of the spirit
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 we are told
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 that it is
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 the word of God
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 the word of God
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 cuts to the heart
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 it lays it open
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 so that people
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 would believe
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 and repent
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 and be made alive
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 in Jesus Christ.
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 We're at war
00:30:31 --> 00:30:33 and what this verse
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 tells us
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 as does the rest
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 of the New Testament
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 in fact all the Bible
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 is our razor's
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 sharp weapon
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 is God's word.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 That's how
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 Jesus
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 when he was
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 tempted by Satan
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 in Matthew 4
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 he used the word
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 of God
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 to repel him
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 and our razor
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 sharp weapon
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 is the word
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 of God
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 and we would be
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 fools to lower it
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 simply because
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 our culture
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 says
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 it can't cut.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 Our enemy
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 wants us to believe
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 that our weapon
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 is irrelevant
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 in the modern age
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 that it's archaic
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 that it's not
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 understandable
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 so keep it
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 in its sheath.
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 So friends
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 we must read it
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 we must meditate
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 on it
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 we must memorize it
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 we must study it
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 we must love it
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 the weapon
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 that we fight
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 with are not
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 the weapons
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 of this world
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 which brings us
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 to verse 18
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 and the importance
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 of prayer.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 And pray in the spirit
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 on all occasions
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 with all kinds
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 of prayers
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 and requests
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 with this in mind
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 be alert
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 and always keep
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 on praying
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 for all the saints.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 Prayer isn't
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 an added element
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 like another part
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 of the armor
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 it's the thing
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 that perviates
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 if you like
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 the whole war.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 The prayer
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 referred to here
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 is comprehensive
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 pray on all occasions
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 regularly and constantly
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 with all kinds
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 of prayer and requests
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 for it takes
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 many and varied forms
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 being alert
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 and always keeping
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 on praying
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 because we don't
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 want to fall asleep
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 in a battle
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02 for all the saints
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 since the unity
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 of God's
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 new society
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 which has been
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 the preoccupation
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 of this whole
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 letter of Ephesians
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 must be reflected
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 in our prayers.
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 Not
00:32:14 --> 00:32:16 simply God
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 give me
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 a better job
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 but God's
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 agenda
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 being reflected
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 in our prayers.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 And so my first
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 and my simple
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 challenge to us
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 at the end
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 of our vision series
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29 is to rethink
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 your priorities
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 in these two areas
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 right now.
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 Commit to a new
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 resolve
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 to be a Christ
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 centered
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 Bible saturated
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 follower of Jesus
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 who's devoted to prayer
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 as we move into 2020.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 Be committed to that.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 Commit to a new
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 venture with God
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 today to pray
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 for this church
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 for its leadership
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 for its ministries
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 and its mission
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 and for the souls
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 the souls
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 of people
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 that they would
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 trust Jesus Christ.
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 My second
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 simple challenge
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 is to take us
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 back to the beginning
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 and for us
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 to take on
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 a wartime
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 mindset
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 in regard
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 to the spiritual
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 war that we're
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 engaged in.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 A wartime
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 mindset
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 is where we
00:33:14 --> 00:33:16 pour our resources
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 into the battle
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 to win the battle.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 The thrust
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 of this whole
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 series
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 over the last
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 six weeks
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 is about
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 engaging
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 our time
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 our talents
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 and our treasures
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 our prayers
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 and our energy
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 to see
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 God's global
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 vision
00:33:32 --> 00:33:34 advance
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 here in your
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 own life
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 but also
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 in the lives
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 of those
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 who are not
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 here at the
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 moment.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 Our collective
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 response
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 is dependent
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 upon every
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 individual
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 response.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 We want
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 each one of us
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 first and
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 foremost
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 to sign up
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 to serve.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 We also want
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 every one of us
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 to give
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 financially.
00:33:55 --> 00:33:57 as we do
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 each year
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 we pledge
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 to the work
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 that we're
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 doing a year
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 ahead
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 to engage
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 in this
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 battle
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 to see
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 many souls
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 won for
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 Christ
00:34:05 --> 00:34:07 and as we
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 do each
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 year
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 our pledging
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 and our
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 leaders
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 that is our
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 parish council
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 and our
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 staff
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 they do it
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 in advance
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15 as a sign
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 that we are
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 leading you
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 as a church
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 into this.
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 Now in a
00:34:19 --> 00:34:19 moment they're
00:34:19 --> 00:34:19 going to come
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 up
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 even though
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 they've already
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 done that
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 they've already
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 all pledged
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 to me
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 they're going
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 to come
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 up in a
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 moment
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 they're going
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 to also
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 put cards
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 in here
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 just as a
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 sign of
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 partnership
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 with us
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 as a church.
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 The reason
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 why we
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 pledge in
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 advance
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 is because
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 we want
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 to lead
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 the church
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 in this
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 matter.
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 So I'm
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 really happy
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 to declare
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 and I'm
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 going off
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 script here
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 John
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 or whoever's
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 up there
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 I can't
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 see
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 sorry
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 is that
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 Owen
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 it is
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 Owen
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 and Adrian
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 thank you
00:34:46 --> 00:34:48 I'm happy
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 to declare
00:34:48 --> 00:34:50 that our
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 leaders have
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 already
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 pledged
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 this is 27
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 people
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 staff and
00:34:55 --> 00:34:55 parish council
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 have pledged
00:34:56 --> 00:34:58 $4
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 a week
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 that's
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 slightly
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 over
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 than
00:35:02 --> 00:35:04 40%
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 of our
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 budget
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 next year
00:35:06 --> 00:35:09 they have
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 also
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 on top
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 of that
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 given
00:35:12 --> 00:35:15 $29
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 towards
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 the target
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 of $75
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 that
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 likewise
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 is 40%
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 of that
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 target's
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 already been
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 hit
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 when we
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 hit here
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 this morning
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 so what
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 I'm calling
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 you today
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 is to
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 follow them
00:35:27 --> 00:35:29 and to
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 make a
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 sustained
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 effort
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 not just
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 with a
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 one-off
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 response
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 but a
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 sustained
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 effort
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 to resource
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 the war
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 into 2020
00:35:35 --> 00:35:37 right now
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 I'm going
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 to invite
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 John
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 is Ash
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 here as
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 well
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 Jake
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 Aaron
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 come on
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 up
00:35:43 --> 00:35:46 these
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 guys
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 are
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 our
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 four
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 interns
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 Christians
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 and
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 right
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 now
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 we've
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 got
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 30
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 grand
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 to go
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 towards
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 the
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 battle
00:35:57 --> 00:35:59 engaging
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 these
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 guys
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 in
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 that
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 but
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 I want
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 to pray
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 for them
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 because
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 they're all
00:36:03 --> 00:36:03 here today
00:36:03 --> 00:36:03 and I want
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 to pray
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 for them
00:36:04 --> 00:36:06 that
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 they would
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 be used
00:36:08 --> 00:36:08 by God
00:36:08 --> 00:36:11 to be
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 effective
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 soldiers
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 and
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 servants
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 as we
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 even
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 just
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 prayed
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 for our
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 two
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 sisters
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 in
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 baptism
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 they
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 would
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 be
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 effective
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 soldiers
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 and
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 servants
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 for the
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 Lord
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 Jesus
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 in
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 this
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 battle
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 and
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 that
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 we
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 would
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 resource
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 them
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 as
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 well
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 let's
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 do
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 that
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 gracious
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 heavenly
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 father
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 I want
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 to thank
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 you
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 that
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 you
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 spread
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 your
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 gifts
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 ashore
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 to
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 all
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 of
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 your
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 people
00:36:30 --> 00:36:32 thank
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 you
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 that
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 the
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 Lord
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 Jesus
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 has
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 given
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 his
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 gifts
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 to
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 his
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 church
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 he
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 held
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 them
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 all
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 and
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 he's
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 given
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 them
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 and
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 dispersed
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 them
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 amongst
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 us
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 so
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 that
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 we
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 might
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 continue
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 his
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 work
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 in
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 the
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 world
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 we
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 pray
00:36:45 --> 00:36:45 for
00:36:45 --> 00:36:47 our
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 four
00:36:48 --> 00:36:50 brothers
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 and
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 sister
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 here
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 in
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 the
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 Lord
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 Jesus
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 who
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 have
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 been
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 impressed
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 by
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 you
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 to
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 be
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 set
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 apart
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 for
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 the
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 war
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 in
00:36:58 --> 00:36:58 this
00:36:58 --> 00:36:58 church
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 but
00:36:59 --> 00:36:59 also
00:36:59 --> 00:36:59 beyond
00:36:59 --> 00:36:59 this
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 church
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 to
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 live
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 a
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 life
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 of
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 vocational
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 service
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 we
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 ask
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 that
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 you
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 would
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 fully
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 equip
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 them
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 for
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 that
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 work
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 that
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 as
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 they
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 battle
00:37:11 --> 00:37:13 not
00:37:13 --> 00:37:13 just
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 with
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 the
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 devil
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 beyond
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 and
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 the
00:37:16 --> 00:37:16 world
00:37:16 --> 00:37:16 from
00:37:16 --> 00:37:16 the
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 outside
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 but
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 their
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 own
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 hearts
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 within
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 the
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 flesh
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 within
00:37:19 --> 00:37:21 Lord
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 I
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 pray
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 that
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 they
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 would
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 hold
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 your
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 gospel
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 close
00:37:23 --> 00:37:24 that
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 they
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 would
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 know
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 always
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 that
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 they
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 are
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 your
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 much
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 loved
00:37:27 --> 00:37:27 children
00:37:27 --> 00:37:29 and
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 that
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 you
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 would
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 continue
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 to
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 equip
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 them
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 for
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 this
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 battle
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 and
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 as
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 a
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 result
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 of
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 what
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 they
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 do
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 that
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 we
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 would
00:37:35 --> 00:37:35 see
00:37:35 --> 00:37:35 many
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 souls
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 won
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 for
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 you
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 for
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 the
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 glory
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 of
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 the
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 Lord
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 Jesus
00:37:39 --> 00:37:39 Christ
00:37:39 --> 00:37:41 Amen