Sermon Tone Analysis

Put on the whole armour of God, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”[1]

"Diplomacy,” said Will Rogers, “is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.”

Diplomacy is the continuation of war by other means.

Diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.

We Christians long for peace; but peace at any price is too dear a cost.

As we have seen in previous messages, we are at war with a vicious and ruthless enemy.

I stress that this is not a war against flesh and blood, but against the enemy of the soul.

Accordingly, Christians must not make peace with the enemy.

Rather, we must recognise that we are at war and stay alert against every assault.

We Christians can honestly say that we are enemies to no man—we have no scriptural warrant to hate anyone or to fight against any other mortal.

However, we are appointed to occupy sacred ground that was purchased by the blood of our Master.

We are commanded to stand firm, resisting evil.

To accomplish the assignment we have received, our Master has provided equipment that will permit us to withstand the onslaughts of the enemy.

We also are armed with the Word of God, a weapon that is capable of turning back every assault.

As the Apostle listed the various items that comprise the panoply of the Christian warrior, he included instruction that that must be obeyed for the armour to be effective and for us to be able to stand.

Turn again to *Ephesians 6:13-20*.

“Take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Focus on the *18th verse*, taking special note of two verbs, translated into English as “praying” and “keep alert.”

Either verb is a present participle, which would normally be translated “praying” and “keeping alert.”

Each is related to the instruction that has preceded.

These are not additional commands, but rather they are instrumental—that is, they are the means through which all that is commanded is accomplished.

In other words, donning the Christian panoply, standing before the attacks of the evil one, and wielding the sword of the Spirit, are accomplished through “praying” and through “keeping alert.”

Since the words are present tense, it implies that this is to be an ongoing condition for the child of God.

Underscore in your mind, then, praying is not intermittent, but constant.

Likewise, vigilance is not occasional, but continual.

Thus, the hallmark of the engaged Christian is prayer and vigilance.

The Christian that does not depend upon prayer and fails to maintain vigilance cannot be counted as a mature believer, and such a one is disobedient to the expectation of the Master.

May I say that the Christian that does not live a life of prayer and does not remain vigilant endangers not only his own spiritual well-being, but that of his or her fellow believers.

What has this to do with diplomacy?

We do not go seeking a fight; but neither do we flee before the enemy of the soul.

We are gracious to all whom we meet, showing courtesy and kindness, even as we have received kindness and mercy from the Master.

However, we realise that we are part of a divine army, supporting one another and holding one another accountable.

We are always seeking to hold the enemy at bay.

This means that we must be “always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope [we] possess” [*1 Peter 3:15*].

This means that each believer understands and is aware that “though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” [*2 Corinthians 10:3-5*].

We endeavour to live lives that are pure and godly, assuming control over both our mind and our body.

We seek to advance the Kingdom of our Saviour through telling the Good News of His great salvation and urging all mankind to believe this message of life.

And we resist the insinuation of wickedness into our lives or into our assemblies.

Join me, as we examine the disciplines of prayer and vigilance, discovering how they complement the equipment God has provided.

*The Necessity of Prayer in the Christian Life* — It is important to note that while Paul emphasises that the armour we are issued is divinely given, we are responsible not merely to don it, but to do so with prayer.

Miss Baker was an elderly woman living in San Francisco when I ministered there; she was a completed Jewess, having received Jesus as the promised Messiah.

I suppose some people would have thought her extreme in some of her practises, but there could be no question that she did love the Saviour and endeavoured to serve Him with all her heart.

One evening Lynda and I offered Miss Baker a ride home from the service.

The church was located in a somewhat unsavoury section of town, and a woman walking alone placed herself in some peril.

After Miss Baker climbed into the car, I started the engine and placed the transmission in gear.

“Hold it,” she exclaimed!

“Don’t move until we pray.”

And then she prayed for God’s protection for our journey through the streets of Daly City.

“You are doing God’s work,” she explained, “and the devil will attack that work by injuring God’s servant if he can.”

She continued by explaining that she did not do anywhere without asking for God’s protection and God’s direction.

It was a sobering experience for me, compelling me to examine the minutiae of life.

Upon reflection, I concluded that there were truly no minute areas of life.

Since that night, prayer has been a vital part of my life as I confess my dependence upon God and seek His direction.

I do not hold myself out as a great prayer warrior, but I am conscious of my dependence upon God and His mercy to accomplish the tasks He assigns.

I confess that I seek His direction in my life in the minutest aspects.

I confess that on occasion I have even asked what shirt I should wear or what tie would be best.

You may recall Jesus’ admonition that disciples “should always pray” [*Luke 18:1*].[2] Throughout the letters Paul wrote, we see the same encouragement for Christians to pray.

Nearing the conclusion of his Letter to the Christians of Rome, the Apostle commanded, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” [*Romans 12:12*].

The Roman Christians, as is true also for us, were to fill their lives with hope that brings joy, remain steadfast in our trials, and pray continually.

This is the same message that Paul penned to the Christians situated in Colossae.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” [*Colossians 4:2*].

These words echo what he wrote in his first Letter to the Thessalonians saints: “Pray without ceasing” [*1 Thessalonians 5:17*].

I am always astonished at the dearth of a vigorous prayer in the life of contemporary churches.

At one time, Lynda and I were part of a congregation of over 24,000 members.

I served on staff at that congregation and Lynda was involved as a volunteer.

We attended the multiple services, including Sunday School, the early morning worship service, Training Union each Sunday evening followed by the Sunday evening service.

Each Wednesday we attended prayer meeting.

Seldom were there more than eighty people, out of 24,000, present to pray at that prayer service.

The percentage is not vastly different from most churches.

One cannot read the account of the meeting of the apostolic congregation following the resurrection of the Master and that of modern churches.

Listen once again to the familiar words of *Acts 1:12-14*.

“Then [the disciples] returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

The nascent congregation faced insurmountable difficulties.

They had received the charge to carry the Good News of the resurrection of the Master throughout the entire world, beginning in the very city where He had been crucified.

Left to itself, that congregation would have died a lingering death as had a thousand other sects.

That they did not die testifies to the residence of power that is almost unknown to contemporary churches, though that same power is freely available to any Christian congregation.

What those first believers did is precisely what few believers do in this day—they devoted themselves to prayer!

Someone has well said that the first congregation devoted itself to prayer for ten days and preached for a few minutes, providing what is perhaps the greatest demonstration of power the world has witnessed to this day as three thousand individuals came to faith in the Risen Saviour.

The modern congregation devotes itself to prayer for a few minutes, preaches for ten days, and if three people respond to the message they say they have witnessed a great revival!

How vital is prayer to the people of God as they prepare themselves for battle!

The belt of truth must be cinched with prayer.

You will recall that when we looked at this in a previous message, I noted that the truth to which Paul referred likely pointed both to Christian doctrine and personal integrity.[3]

Without prayer for discernment, we are prone to drift into all sorts of fantasies.

Balance is woefully lacking in the doctrine of many of the professed saints of God, and a primary reason for the lack of balance is a failure to pray as the believers formulate a doctrinal stance.

Consequently, without sound doctrine filling their mind, they lack integrity.

Likewise, the breastplate of righteousness speaks of the life expected of the child of God who must stand firm while resisting the wicked one.

The righteousness that is witnessed outwardly is rooted in the righteousness of Christ which is imputed to each believer.

Again, it is impossible for us to be righteous without prayer to avoid sin, or to resist temptation while living holy and godly lives.