Ephesians - Winning the War - Ephesians 6:18-24

Today pray for your fellow soldiers. Today share information with your fellow soldiers. Today serve your fellow soldiers. This is the way that together we win the war.

And as we look at Ephesians 6, we pause to pray. Thank You, Father, for the opportunity You’ve given us to begin to study Ephesians. We have not really plumbed the depths of this book. There’s so much more to learn, but thank You for what we have learned and thank You for helping us to live what we learn. And now I pray that today You will teach us from the Word. Give us a heart that loves the Word of God. Give us an appetite, an ever-growing appetite, to feed on the Word of God and then to turn that knowledge into everyday life. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Dr. John Watson, a very well-known British preacher, used to say, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle." I’ve tried to remember that statement; in fact, I have written it at the front of many of my Bibles from which I have preached. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. And everyone is fighting a battle. You may not know it, you may not see it. It may look to you that there are people who are just floating on the crest of the wave, everything is going for them. Well, you don’t know the battles perhaps at home or within their own hearts and minds or perhaps the pain of their bodies. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. And one way to show that kindness is to help other people.

We’re all in this war together. Ephesians 6 was written to the brethren. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord." All of God’s people are on the battlefield, and we need to encourage one another. The devil is fighting God’s people as never before today. We need the armor, we need the divine power of God, and we need each other. If there’s one thing Paul teaches us in Ephesians, it is the fact that Christians belong to each other and they need each other and they must minister to each other. God is putting things together, and He does this through His church. That means that the church must be together. Every Christian must help his fellow Christians to win the battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

And in Ephesians 6, oh, let’s begin at verse 18 and pick up the end of the armor. In this passage, Paul suggests several ministries that we can have one to another to help each other in the battle. Ephesians 6:18, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Notice that phrase now. We aren’t just praying about our own battles and our own needs. We are praying for all the saints. "And for me," says Paul, "that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

It’s a marvelous way to end the letter, isn’t it? My friends, when they get letters from me, always know when I’m running out, I start talking about the weather. I don’t care much about the weather, and when I in my letters start talking about the weather, people know, well, this is the end. But not so with Paul. To the very last word, the inspired apostle has something to say to us. Now, what are the ministries that I should be performing to help you in your battle against the devil? And what ministry should you be performing to help me and others in our battle against the devil?

Well, the first one, obviously, praying for one another. Verse 18, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Now, this is praying that has some discipline behind it. Always praying, praying with all different kinds of prayer—thanksgiving, petition, adoration, supplication. It must be in the Holy Spirit, and we have to pray with our eyes open. When you’re on the battlefield, you don’t close your eyes. You pray with your eyes open. Nehemiah, we watch and pray with our eyes open. And we persevere. It’s so easy to quit in praying. We’re praying and praying, and the more we pray, the more the devil fights us, and we say, "Is it really worth it all?" Well, it is. It is. Praying with perseverance and purpose, praying with supplication for all the saints. 

Now, Paul requested prayer for himself. Paul was not embarrassed to say, "Pray for me." Every once in a while, some dear saint will say to me, "Brother Wiersbe, the least I can do is pray for you." And I sometimes reply, "My friend, the best you can do, the most you can do, is to pray for me. I need prayer support." If the great apostle Paul, who’d been to heaven and back, needed prayer support, where does that leave me? If the great apostle Paul, who had such marvelous spiritual gifts and was guided and filled by the Holy Spirit of God in such a wonderful way—if he needed prayer, oh, how much more do we need prayer today? 

In Romans 15:30, he requested prayer: "Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe." He was praying for physical safety. I like the way he expresses it here. We pray through the Lord Jesus Christ; it’s in His name. We pray because of the Holy Spirit’s love in our hearts. If we are walking in the Holy Spirit as we ought to walk, then our love will make us want to pray for others. This prayer is striving; it’s striving together, specifically, and praying for Paul’s safety. 

In Philippians 1:19, Paul talked about the prayer support of his dear friends in Philippi: "For I know that this will turn out for my salvation"—meaning his deliverance from Roman bondage—"through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." And so the Romans prayed for Paul, and the Philippians prayed for Paul. Here he asks the Ephesians to pray. In 2 Thessalonians 3, he wrote to his friends in Thessalonica, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course." That’s a marvelous statement. Not "pray for me that I may get out of prison" or "pray for me that this may happen or that may happen." His first concern was that the word of the Lord may have free course, it may run and be glorified as it is with you. And then he says that we might be delivered from the hands of the enemy. 

We can pray for one another. Whenever I think of the saints praying for one another, I think of the image of Moses up on the mountaintop, Exodus 17. Amalek came and attacked Israel, and so Joshua took the army and went out to fight the Amalekites. Moses and Aaron and Hur went to the top of a hill, and when Moses lifted up his arms in prayer, Joshua won. When Moses got weary and his arms dropped down, Joshua began to lose. It’s a perfect picture of intercessory prayer. You and I are advancing the battle as we are praying. Do you have a missionary prayer list? Do you pray daily for people out on the mission field, for Christian leaders at home, for Christian schools, for various ministries? Are you praying specifically and holding up the arms of those who are out in the battle?

Praying for one another—that’s the first ministry I think the Lord wants us to perform. Secondly, communicating with one another. "But that you also may know my affairs," he writes in verse 21, "and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts." You know, in a warfare, communication is very important. The enemy always tries to cut off communication. When you’ve cut off communication, you have taken a great step toward defeating the enemy. The enemy does not want us to communicate with God; he tries to keep us from praying. He does not want us to communicate with one another. He doesn’t want the soldiers to know what is going on. 

Every once in a while, I meet a Christian who complains because of communication. Or I may get a letter that says, "Brother Wiersbe, why do you write and tell us about the work of Back to the Bible? We pray for you and we occasionally give, but must we be told all these things?" And the answer is yes. You and I are soldiers together on the battlefield. We dare not excommunicate one another. We want you to know the problems, we want you to know the blessings, we want you to know the opportunities. This is true of every ministry that the Lord has raised up. 

My wife and I get a great deal of mail, as you probably do too. And some of it comes from ministries that we don’t think are of the Lord, and we don’t pay much attention to it. But there are certain ministries that we really love and God has burdened us to support. And so when we get a letter from them, even if it’s not a personal letter—it might be a printed letter—we read it to find out, "How is the work going?" Recently, the leader of a very fine worldwide ministry phoned me, and he told me some of the burdens that he was carrying, and I’m able to pray for him because of that. 

Now, Paul did not send Tychicus to just share the burdens. He said, "I want you to know my affairs." When you get a prayer letter from a missionary, don’t be offended. This is a part of fighting the battle. You need to know their affairs. And every once in a while, Christians get selfish and critical and they say, "Well, all these missionaries do is complain." Well, pray about it. "Well, all they do is ask for more money." Well, pray about it. This is the purpose for communication in the battle. Paul did not write to complain or to boast; he wrote to glorify God and to help people pray for him. 

Now, I don’t know about you, I cannot pray generally. I have a difficult time saying, "Now Lord, help all the missionaries in Zimbabwe." Now, He may answer that prayer, but I prefer to pray specifically about specific needs. Here’s a burden, here’s a problem, here’s a missionary who needs a visa, here’s a missionary who needs support, here’s a church that needs an assistant pastor, here’s a Sunday school class that needs a teacher. God wants us to pray according to knowledge. And so Paul said, "When Tychicus arrives, he’s going to tell you all that’s going on here in Rome, where I am a prisoner, not of Caesar, but a prisoner of Jesus Christ."

You’ll recall that Paul is interested in all of the saints doing things together. Ephesians 2:21, he talks about the whole building, God’s temple, the church. Ephesians 3:15, the whole family. Ephesians 4:16, the whole body. You and I need to be praying for God’s people around the world and getting all the information we can get in order to pray specifically and with faith. Well, we must pray for one another. We must communicate with one another. Don’t get angry when you get mail, because we want you to know what God is doing and what the devil is doing, and we need your prayer support. And by the way, that’s a two-way street. When you write to us, you’re sharing your burdens with us and we pray for you. 

Our third ministry is serving one another. Here is Tychicus, a beloved brother who is serving Paul. Paul could not go to Ephesus; Paul was a prisoner in Rome. But here was a man named Tychicus—we wouldn’t even know about him were it not for Paul. He served in love; he was a beloved brother. He served in the Lord, and he served faithfully. He was a companion to Paul. In Acts 20:4, you find him listed as one of Paul’s companions. When Paul traveled, he had these men who helped him. He was the kind of a man who could bear burdens and share responsibility. Colossians 4:7, "Tychicus, who is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me." I like that. He was the kind of a person Paul could trust. He was a messenger. He carried Ephesians, he carried Colossians, he carried the letter to Philemon. He was Paul’s postal deliverer. And Tychicus was the man who carried these three precious letters to their destinations. He was a problem solver. 

God used Tychicus to help Paul in many ways. Now, we serve one another. Even carrying the mail, we serve one another. Even answering the telephone, we serve one another. We serve the whole family when we serve one another. There’s something all of us can do. Each of us can find a task to fulfill. Even if we’re shut-in, even if we’re handicapped, there is a ministry that we can perform for the Lord. 

Pray for one another, communicate with one another, serve one another, encourage one another. "Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort"—encourage—"your hearts." You know, it’s a sin to discourage people. In the Old Testament, several times the armies are warned, "Don’t discourage one another." Don’t be a discourager. We have to encourage one another. Well, how do we encourage one another? By loving one another, by praying for one another, by encouraging faith. He talks about peace: "Peace to the brethren." Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. That’s an encouragement. 

When your pastor prays for you, is he happy or is he sad? Are the people in your church glad that you are there because you are an encourager, or do you go around discouraging and criticizing? Let’s encourage one another with God’s peace, and with God’s love, and with faith, and with grace. "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." An incorruptible love, a love that does not fade away. 

Well, we need to help each other in this battle. I tell you, the battle is going to get worse and worse. Living the Christian life and serving the Lord and building the church—these things are not going to get easier, they’re going to get harder. The Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground, and you and I cannot fight the battle alone. We need each other. And we show this encouragement to one another as we pray and as we communicate and as we serve. 

Do you realize that you are a Christian soldier? God’s not going to draft you; you’re already in. He doesn’t have to come chasing you; you don’t even have to volunteer. You are there. You’re a soldier, either a good one or a bad one. And Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, don’t try to fight the battle alone. Yes, God gives us the equipment; yes, God gives us the energy through prayer. But He also gives us the encouragement of our fellow soldiers. Today pray for your fellow soldiers. Today share information with your fellow soldiers. Today serve your fellow soldiers. This is the way that together we win the war.

[Interview}

Up next, Warren joins Arnie Cole, CEO of Back to the Bible International.

Warren, sooner or later we’ll realize that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground. Who or what are our enemies? 

Well, he makes it clear, Paul does, in the book of Ephesians in chapter 2. He talks about the world, the flesh, and the devil. And the other authors in the Bible do the same thing. John talks about it. My first enemy is the devil. He hates me, he hates Jesus, he hates the church. He’s a liar, he’s a false accuser, he’s a counterfeiter, he’s a murderer, and he doesn’t want me to be a happy Christian. The flesh—as we get older, we feel some of the temptations of the flesh. And the world. Love not the world, because if you love the world, you’re not the friend of God, you’re the enemy of God. So, these are our main enemies. 

We’ve got to realize that our enemies are not flesh and blood. If your neighbor is a nuisance, that’s some demon using your neighbor. Lead him to Jesus. If you have problems with people and they make life miserable for you, pray about it. I can recall some people in some of the churches that I pastored that just created problems for me. And I prayed. I said, "Lord, I’m not going to argue with them." And God always took care of it. So the church needs to know that trouble is coming. Right here and now in America, there are people plotting against the church. It’s all over the world; it’s going to get worse. And I say to pastors: equip your people. Preach Ephesians 6, because this world is a battleground, not a playground. But I encourage everybody to trust Jesus and follow Him.