The Sword of the Spirit

Well good morning Twin Lakes Church. My name is Sarah Bentley, another one of the pastors here and I'm so glad that you have joined us today. We are gonna continue in our series on Ephesians this morning but before we do that, I want you to see the special message from Ben who is a pastor at Hope Chapel in Maui. Check this out.

René and the Twin Lakes Church family, thank you so much for all your support and your incredible generosity. Last 10 days have been something that it's just hard to describe but God is working in our midst. We've mobilized, we have teams on the ground in Lahaina every single day helping to distribute aid and prayer. We have a distribution center that's being loaded as you can see again this morning from gifts from all over. But one story from yesterday, a family came in, they lost everything. It was their four year old's birthday today. One of our volunteers prayed with them, talked to them and then found a perfect fitting birthday dress in one of the donations, gave it to the family, just brought them to tears. Their story after story on how God is just meeting his people in this time of need and we just wanna thank you for all your prayers, your support, your generosity. Hope Chapel Maui loves you, thank you.

Well I wanna say thank you to you, Twin Lakes Church. You make it possible for us to give in that way. So thank you for your generosity to what the Lord is doing here and in other places as well. Let's pray for Maui. Jesus we continue to bring the people of Maui before you. Would you be their rock, their strength in these moments? Would you continue to mobilize the church, the believers on the ground there to bless those around them? And would you give them strength as they serve? Lord ultimately we pray that people would find their hope in you, even in the midst of these terrible circumstances. God we pray all of this in Jesus' name, amen.

Well if you have a Bible with you this morning, grab it and open it up to Ephesians chapter six. That's where we're gonna find ourselves in just a moment. If you've been with us over the last five weeks, we've been in a series walking through the book of Ephesians and here's what Paul writes to us in Ephesians chapter six, beginning in verse 10. A final word, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of this, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Now since this is our second to last week in this series, I also want us to go back to Ephesians one, the beginning paragraph of this letter to remember what Paul says at the very beginning. Meet me in Ephesians one, verse three. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do. It gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding.

I wanted to read both of those passages today because Ephesians one and Ephesians six serve as bookends to this letter. In fact, as pastor and professor, Darryl Johnson puts it, he says, "Ephesians chapter one reads like an alternative reading of our identity and location in the world." In other words, Ephesians one reminds us that our true identity is in Christ and our true home, our true location is in the heavenly realms. In other words, I'm not just Sarah who lives in Santa Cruz in 2023, but even more so, I am Sarah who is in Christ, a citizen of heaven. Meaning if you know Christ, you have both your being in this physical earthly realm and in the spiritual realm. We are simultaneously both citizens of earth and citizens of heaven.

And it's because we occupy both of these realms that the armor that Paul writes about in Ephesians six is so important. Because if chapter one is an alternative reading, a reframing of our identity and our location in the world, then chapter six is an alternative reading, a reframing of our struggle to live in both of these worlds. And Paul reminds us in Ephesians six 12, who we are actually struggling against, the one we are actually in battle with. Look at what he writes. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

In his book, "Mirror Christianity," C.S. Lewis writes this, "Christianity is a fighting religion." Christianity is a fighting religion. And this fight, as we've said before, is not against any person or human institution. Our true enemy is the devil, who will use any tactic he can to distract us from the truth of who we are and the truth of whose we are. Let me say that again. Satan's main tactic is to try to make us forget who we are and whose we are. And it's only once we understand who our true enemy is that we can know what kind of gear we need to be outfitted with, what kind of armor we need to stand firm. And it's this gear, this armor, that we've been studying the past five weeks, if you've been here with us.

Now we've said there are seven pieces of armor in total, and we're instructed to take all of these pieces up and to put them on. And that makes sense, right? If you're a soldier heading out to battle, you don't wanna just have a helmet and nothing else, that's not gonna do you a whole lot of good. You need the complete set of armor to be protected. And Paul mentions seven pieces of armor here. And it's interesting to me that the first five pieces he mentions are defensive. In other words, they function to protect us. Those defensive pieces include the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. And we've covered those in each of the last five weeks.

But the last two pieces of armor are offensive. Offensive in the sense that they allow us to actively engage in the fight. They're what we use for purposeful attack against the enemy. These offensive pieces include the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and prayer in the Spirit. And it's the first of these offensive pieces, the sword of the Spirit, that we're going to look at today. Now the first question we have to ask ourselves is why. Why does Paul use a sword as his image here? Well, my husband and I have two boys, and like many boys, ours have amassed a fair number of swords over the years. This is them now. Somebody said you have to show a recent picture. Here's a recent picture of our two kids. But we have a veritable arsenal of swords at our house. We have pirate swords. That was the Jake the pirate phase when they were little. We have lightsabers, Star Wars phase. We even have homemade swords that they've made with their grandpa in the wood shop. We have so many swords, I honestly don't know what to do with them. We started to give them away. If you have a kid who wants a sword, come find me afterwards. I'm your girl.

Now the Apostle Paul didn't know about all of those kinds of swords, but he did have a pretty clear view from his jail cell of the sword that would have been hanging by the side of the Roman soldier guarding that cell. And scholars believe the sword that Paul is referring to here in this passage, the Roman sword, was called a gladius. Now here's what's distinct about a gladius. A gladius was actually a smaller sword. It was only about two feet long. The blade was about two feet long and about two inches wide at its widest point. It also only weighed around two pounds, which means it was extremely easy to handle in close hand-to-hand combat. It was also extremely deadly. And Paul uses this image of this gladius, the short, sharp, effective sword to communicate truths about the spiritual sword that you and I have access to as we stand against the devil. And it makes sense, right, because the devil specializes in close-up hand-to-hand combat with us, doesn't he? He knows exactly how to get us.

And Paul doesn't leave us guessing as to what this spiritual sword is. He tells us plainly the spiritual sword we have access to is the word of God, literally scripture, this book right here. So if this sword, scripture, is such an important part of our offensive armor, we would do well to take a moment to ask a few questions, to ask what is the Bible anyway and why is it so effective? First, that question, what is the Bible? Well, you may know that the Bible is actually 66 different books written by various authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In fact, in our church's doctrinal statement, we say this about the Bible. The Bible is the word of God, fully inspired, infallible, and entirely trustworthy. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The books of the Bible should be interpreted according to their context and purpose and in reverent humility to the Lord. When I said we're serious about getting the Bible into your hands, I really meant it.

And here's why. If what I just read in that doctrinal statement is true, if the word of God is inspired and trustworthy and has supreme authority, then it must be our first offensive weapon to combat the lies and schemes of the enemy. But there's a second question we need to ask, and it's this, what makes it so effective? What exactly does God's word do? And I wanna spend the rest of our time answering that question together this morning. So are you ready? You with me? Okay. The first thing God's word does is this. It instructs and it nourishes. It instructs and it nourishes. To say this another way, we could say that God's word not only informs, but it performs. It informs and performs. Let me read some verses that speak to this point. 2 Timothy 3, verses 15 through 17 says this. You have been taught the holy scriptures from childhood and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Jesus Christ. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we're wrong and teaches us what to do, what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. And then listen to the words from Hebrews 4, 12. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Church, our world claims that there are a lot of avenues to find true wisdom and true spiritual nourishment. But ultimately, there is only one true source and that one true source is the word of God. It's in God's word that we find wisdom to make godly decisions. It's in his word that we find instruction on what is right and wrong. It's in God's word we find encouragement and direction and it's in God's word that we find correction when we tend to wander off. To quote the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon, conviction, conversion, consolation, still are wrought and only by the word of God.

So let's get super practical. How does the word of God instruct us? And to answer that question, we need a quick Greek lesson. So hang with me for just a minute. In the original language of the New Testament, there are actually two distinct Greek terms that can both be translated as word in our English Bibles. First is the Greek word logos and logos is used to describe the Bible as a whole. It's God's complete, God's total revelation to us. But there's a second term that can be translated word and it's the Greek word, rhema. And rhema is a specific Greek word and it's the word Paul uses here in Ephesians 6, 17. And it means a saying of God or a statement of God. So while logos refers to the whole of the Bible, rhema refers to a single passage or one part that has very specific pointed application in our lives. And Paul's point here is that each rhema cuts through the lies. Each rhema reveals what is true. Each rhema teaches us, encourages us, specifically equips us for the kinds of battles that you and I will face in this life. In other words, while we can think of scripture as a whole as one giant sword, it is also accurate for us to think of our Bible as an arsenal filled with shorter, smaller swords. Each sword uniquely fitted for the kinds of battles that you and I will face in this life.

But not only does the word of God instruct us, it nourishes, it nourishes. Now how does it do that? Well it's no secret that every one of us needs to eat throughout the day to keep our bodies going, right? Okay, now I for one love to eat. Please don't, I'm not the only one, right? Anybody else love to eat? Okay, I love to eat. In fact, I get kind of passionate about my food, so passionate that on a recent birthday I had a plate of gourmet desserts in front of me and I was like on pain of death, nobody else is coming close to this plate of desserts, people. Well we know that our bodies need to be nourished by food and water. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration tells us the average adult needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy physical lifestyle. But do you realize that just as your physical self needs calories, needs nourishment, so too your spiritual self needs ongoing nourishment? Now there's not an exact calorie count in the Bible when it comes to spiritual nourishment. It's not quite that cut and dry. But what I do know is that reading God's word, soaking in God's word on a daily basis is necessary for us to find the nourishment we need to mature as followers of Jesus. You see, it's a good and right step for us to accept Jesus into our lives, to ask him to be our savior. But let's not stop there. If we want to truly grow, to mature into the person that Christ desires for you and for me to be, we've got to dive into the Bible to let the Holy Spirit nourish us here. You see, being in scripture is not a suggestion, it's not optional, it's imperative if we're going to stand strong.

You know, one of the best places to see the sword of the Spirit in use, both instructing and nourishing, is in the life of Jesus in Matthew chapter four. In Matthew four, we find Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. And here's what we read in the first few verses of Matthew four. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to turn to loaves of bread. Now look at how Jesus replies, verse four. But Jesus told him no. The scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word, every rhema, that comes from the mouth of God. Here Jesus is actually referring to a verse from the book of Deuteronomy. It's Deuteronomy eight, three. And in doing so reminds us that our deepest nourishment, the kind that keeps not just our bodies, but our souls alive comes from where? Every word that comes from the mouth of God right here.

So let's get super practical. When it comes to God's word instructing and nourishing us, our response, our action point must be this, to pay attention and to drink deeply. To pay attention and to drink deeply. What do I mean by that? Well, pay attention. We need to take the time to read what's in this book. We need to take our time to apply ourselves to study what's in this book. Maybe this fall that means joining a small group or coming to a Wednesday night class for the first time. And then we need to drink deeply. In other words, when you do sit down to study this book, don't just rush through it like an academic exercise, but sit and dwell on it. I specifically asked the Holy Spirit for a word or phrase. He wants to jump out at you and then sit and pray over that word or phrase and say, Lord, what do you have for me in this today? Allow the Holy Spirit to use God's word to nourish your soul. Psalm 119 says this, "How sweet your words taste to me. They are sweeter than honey. Your commands give me understanding. No wonder I hate every false way of life. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." Which brings us to the second thing that God's word does. God's word reveals God's promises and God's plan. Reveals God's promises and plan.

I don't know about you, but true confession, I am a girl who likes a good plan. I like to write out my to-do list. I keep a schedule of my day as much as it's possible. I like to see what's coming up around the bend so I can be prepared. Well, in Luke chapter two, we read about two individuals who knew the promises of God from the Old Testament scriptures and therefore were ready and able to recognize God's plan unfolding in front of them. Their names were Simeon and Anna. Here's Simeon's part of the story in Luke chapter two, verses 25 to 32. At that time, there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly awaiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. That day, the Spirit led him to the temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God saying, "Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations and he is the glory of your people, Israel."

Here's what's going on in the story. Mary and Joseph have just brought Jesus to the temple to dedicate him according to Jewish tradition. And apparently there wasn't a huge crowd there, but there were a few people and Simeon and Anna are a few of those people. And it's Simeon who first recognizes the significance of Jesus. Now how in the world did Simeon recognize Jesus? Well first, because he was open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But second, because he chose to believe the words of the prophet Isaiah from the past. He believed that God was working out his promise and his plan and it was happening now right in front of him. You see Simeon knew the following from Isaiah chapters 40 through 45. He knew that God's people, the Jews, had once been in exile in a foreign country because they had put their hope in the wrong things, in foreign kings, in false gods, in their own strength, in their own wisdom. But Simeon also knew from Isaiah that God had refused to abandon his people even though they had abandoned him. He promised to bring them home to restore them from exile. God promised to send a suffering servant who would fix all of our ultimate problem of spiritual exile. In other words, God said he would send a savior to pay the penalty for humanity's sins. And because Simeon knew these promises and plans of God from Isaiah, when Simeon sees Jesus, he knows exactly what's happening. His eyes are open and he's ready. He can see that salvation has finally come by way of this child.

Twin Lakes Church, scripture reveals God's good promises and God's good plan to us. Like his promise to never leave you and never forsake you, his promise to redeem us back to himself, that he sent his son to die on a cross and to raise from the dead three days later so that we could have our sins forgiven and our perfect relationship with God restored. Let me ask, how might your life look different? And I mean truly different if you believed God's good promises and God's good plan were actually unfolding in your life. The action point here is pretty straightforward. If God's word reveals his good promises and his good plans, then our response must be to believe what God's word says and to act accordingly. In other words, to believe and to act like it's true. To let the reality of what we read here change the way we live.

Which brings us to the third point. God's word transforms you and me. God's word transforms you and me. When Jesus prays for his followers before he ascends back to heaven, he says this in John chapter 17. Now I am coming to you. I told the many things while I was with them in this world so they could be filled with joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth. Teach them your word which is truth. Do you catch what Jesus asks for in his prayer here? His specific prayer is to make them, make us his followers holy. Other translations read sanctify them. That word sanctify means set them apart. Set them apart. And how does God make us holy? Through his word. Because God's word transforms and changes us.

Here's just one example of that transformation. In Acts chapter three we read the account of John and Peter healing a crippled man. And then in Acts four we read about the religious leaders getting extremely upset over what John and Peter have done. So upset that they arrest these two men, throw them in jail, and then bring them out the next morning to stand trial before the rulers and elders of Israel. Which by the way was not an easy audience to stand in front of. And in front of all of these rulers and elders we are told that Peter filled with the Holy Spirit launches into a defense. But it's a really short defense. It's actually interesting here. It's what I call, and other commentators call, a scripture sandwich. It's two lines about Jesus connected in the middle by a psalm. It's actually Psalm 118.22. Here's what Peter says. For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says, the stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Now Psalm 118.22, the center filling of that scripture sandwich was well known among early Christians. In fact, it was a verse many early Christians had memorized. And obviously it had deeply impacted Peter. It had transformed him, changed him into somebody who had enough courage and composure to quote it in this tension filled moment when there was a lot on the line. And look what happens as a result. In Acts 4.13 we read this. When they, meaning these rulers and elders, saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus. God's word transforms us.

Reading Acts 4 this last week challenged me to look in the mirror and honestly ask all over again, Sarah, based on the things that come out of your mouth, based on the way you respond under pressure, would people actually be able to tell that you've been with Jesus? Would they be able to tell that you've been dwelling in his word and that it's changed you? A professor of mine from seminary said this and I've never forgotten it. Education in transformation go hand in glove, causing even the toughest souls to recognize that we have been with Jesus. I don't know about you, church, but I want people to be able to tell that I have been with Jesus. I want God's transforming work to be evident in me, transformation that comes as we soak in his word and let it sink down to the deepest parts of who we are. I believe that God is making us holy like Christ transforming us, how? By his truth, by his word, which means that you and I can now live out of our new identity and that's the next action point. We can live out of our new identity because we have been with Jesus, we are not the same people that we once were.

So what do I want you to leave here remembering today? Well, I want you to remember that God's word instructs and nourishes you. I want you to remember and believe that God's word reveals his good promises and plans. And I want you to remember that God's word transforms you. But now what? What do we do with that knowledge? To ask that another way, how do we use the sword of the Spirit this week? Well, in the few moments we have remaining, let me suggest three steps to help you put the sword of the Spirit to use this week and they're very simple. I want to encourage you to pray, pick it up and put it to use. Pray, pick it up and put it to use. First pray, Christian writer Philip Yancey writes this in his book titled Prayer. "The main purpose of prayer is not to make life easier nor to gain magical powers, but to know God." Maybe this week in addition to praying for your needs and it's fine to bring our needs before the Lord, but in addition to praying for your needs, might you also ask God to help you know him more through his word. In fact, simply ask God, reveal yourself to me as I spend time in your word. Don't be afraid to ask God to show you the deepest parts of who he is, he longs to be in deep relationship with you.

Second, after you pray, pick it up. This may sound obvious to state, but a sword does us no good if it's laying on the ground, right? For it to be useful, you've gotta pick it up. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 6, 17, take the sword of the Spirit. In other words, we've gotta pick up these pieces of armor and we can apply this when it comes to the Bible quite literally. We've gotta lift this book off our bookshelf. We've gotta get it off the nightstand. Or open up your phone and instead of scrolling through social media or the news every morning and every evening, go to the Bible app and read through Scripture instead. Pick it up and dwell there because the things that God wants us to know are right here waiting to be discovered. We just need to get in and read it. The Apostle Paul was living proof of this. His letters in the New Testament are full of snippets and lengthy quotations from the Old Testament. Paul saturated himself in Old Testament Scripture and his sustained and serious study provided the fertile ground for the Holy Spirit to speak to him. And we see that as evidence of what he writes to us in the New Testament. Let's follow Paul's example and pick up the sword of the Spirit, study it, soak in it, spend time in it.

And third, we've gotta put it to use. We've gotta apply it. As you pray and then as you study Scripture, thirdly, ask God to provide you with practical ways to apply it in your everyday life. Part of my role here as one of the pastors at Twin Lakes is I do a lot of visitation, both with people in the hospital or in nursing homes or sometimes in people's homes. And I sit with people who are in really hard circumstances. And I can't tell you how often I have Scripture flooding into my mind in those situations. Like Matthew 5, four, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Or Matthew 11, 28, come to me, all you who are burdened, all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Now sometimes I choose to speak those verses out loud to the person I'm visiting, but other times, I just sit with that and apply it to my own soul. So that in that moment, I can be calm and present with the person I'm visiting with. Ask God to give you opportunities to apply his word this week and I guarantee he will do just that.

So let's wrap up. Why a sword? Well we need a sword because we need an offensive weapon that is fitting for the battle we are in. A close up battle with the devil who wants to make us forget who and whose we are. What is the sword? The sword is God's word. And what does God's word do? It instructs and nourishes. It reveals God's promises and plan and it transforms you and it transforms me. So now the choice is ours. What will we do with God's word this week? Will we pick it up? I hope you do. Will we leave it sitting on the shelf? Let's be a church that picks this up this week and dwells here. Let's pray. God we thank you. We thank you for the gift of your word. We thank you that we don't have to guess about who you are or what you're like, but that your word tells us. God I pray that you would give each of us a renewed hunger to be in your word daily. Lord give us a desire to know you deeper. And then Lord give us opportunities to share your word with those around us, to apply it. To the hurt maybe we're feeling or to those around us are feeling. Lord show us how it is so relevant for what each of us is right now. We love you and we pray that you would be honored by the way we live this week. We pray all of this in your name, amen.