Title: Waves of Victory (Ephesians 6:10-20)
Contents
People have different ways of thinking and feeling about life depending on what kind of environment they are in. For young men and women before marriage, life is like a rosy dream result. But after marriage, everything becomes a reality. When an organ donor appears to a patient who has been waiting for the day to die, that person thinks this world is a beautiful world. But for someone who has been scammed by lending money to a neighbor, this world is just an unbelievable dark world infested with bad guys. How do you feel about this world?
But think about it this way. I saw a movie called "The Green Mile" a while ago. A black man named John Coffee is taken to the place where only death row inmates are held. The black man is sentenced to death for killing a farmer's two young daughters. But in fact, it was framed. The black man had a very special ability, the ability to see a person's past and the ability to heal diseases in the body and mind. And as he saw the sins and pains in other people, he wept endlessly. It's a famous quote from there. John Coffee says he is about to end his life. : “I was tired of not having friends to discuss my life with, I was particularly tired of people’s ugly behavior, and I was tired of the pain I heard and felt in the world every day.”
I felt like a man named John Coffee was like Jesus, not just that black man on death row. Because John Coffee sees people's pain and weeps. He heals people. And he chooses to die, taking all the blame and accusations.
Imagine if we had the same abilities that that person had. Imagine if we had magic glasses that could see everything in the world. I wouldn't wear those glasses. You can see all the sins of this world, how can you use them? How can you watch the words that hate and curse others fly like bullets in the air in a place no one knows about? How painful would it be if we could see not only the sins already committed, but the wars, terrorism, fraud, murders and robberies that are still being cleverly planned?
And today's word comes right after all these armor of God. Why is the Apostle Paul not only referring to the full armor of God in order to fight against Satan, he is adding more words today? To summarize the words after the word about the full armor of God, verse 18 overlaps with prayer and verse 19 overlaps with intercession and evangelism. If we can summarize it again in two ways, we can say that it is prayer and evangelism. Why does the Apostle Paul give the words about prayer and evangelism after the words about the full armor?
I thought of this saying this way. No matter how much you are armed with the full armor of God, the ability to use those weapons specifically and effectively comes from the power of prayer in the Holy Spirit. No matter how good a weapon I have, it's of no use if I can't use it. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and strength to use our spiritual weapons in prayer. Satan is not afraid of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the facts of salvation, or even the word of God. What Satan fears is to seek God's help to use all of these powerfully, and the power of prayer when they are actually used.
Dear saints, Young people! I am going to church, listen to the word of God, and try to live by faith, but am I experiencing the failure of faith in the world? Maybe we have a pile of spiritual weapons, but we don't have the power to wield them? Everyone! Then ask God. Pray for power, wisdom, and strength to use these spiritual weapons. Ask God for help. Always pray in the Holy Spirit.
Another thing Paul asks the Ephesians for intercessory prayer is that it is for evangelism. The Apostle Paul's ultimate purpose was here. What is the worst thing Satan does? It is to prevent people from thinking about the kingdom of God in their hearts and not believing in Jesus. Satan and evil spirits deceive people's hearts today as well, causing them to fall into their ultimate destination, the eternal lake of fire (hell).
The apostle Paul's words are clear. Why have I been told to oppose Satan until now? Why was he told to put on the full armor of God? Why was he told to pray in the Holy Spirit? Why did you ask me to pray so that I can boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel for me?
Dear saints! What is your final concern? A person of faith, a person of prayer, and a person of devotion The apostle Paul's only hope was to save those who fell into the pit of sin and destruction. That was the echo that resounded in the heart of the apostle Paul. "You shouldn't leave that person over there... I should have pulled him out of there... I should have brought him out of there then..."
In the final scene of the movie “Taegeukgi Waving”, the younger brother shed tears of regret for not being able to take his beloved older brother out from the battlefield raining bullets, but to no avail. In order not to repeat these tears and pain, we must bring that person out of destruction and into eternal life, no matter how difficult or desperate it is. No matter how hard or stubborn the person you love, you must save that person. Even if that person insults me for being ignorant or persecutes me, we must lead that person by the wrist. Satan will not easily give the person away from sin and unbelief. But on the cross, Jesus Christ has already broken the power of Satan and has promised us victory. If we believe in him and go out, we can win. We can bind Satan's power and rescue his soul. Put on the full armor of God to save that one person. Always pray like this in the Holy Spirit to save that one person. “Give me your word, so that I may open my mouth boldly to reveal the mystery of the gospel.”