Once Were Warriors

Shayne Goldfinch

Men's Camp - Once Were Warriors • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Ephesians 6:10–20

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Christian Warfare

Ephesians 6:1-20 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the ful…d”

Fight for the family (6:1-4)

Fight to be a good witness (6:5-9)

Fight for yourself (6:10-17)

Fight for your brothers (6:18-20)

Fight for the family

As a Child - how do you talk/honour/legacy your parents as a model

As a father to your children or father figure in the church (village)

Victory is joy and a good life

Fight to be a good witness

as an employee/citizen (Bosses, Government)

as Managers, Leaders, Owners

Victory they get to see Christ & Lord will reward you

Fight for yourself

God is your rear guard - always advancing

Protection against the enemey (he hates God and the gospel)

Victory is standing firm in a world that is quicksand

Fight for your brothers

Your weapon of choice - Prayer

Your fellow Ambassadors

Victory = Fearless Gospel Warriors

Ephesians 2:14-16 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

Two enemies (Jew and Gentile) become one harmoniuos unit = Unity in Christ the ultimate Peacemaker

Ephesians 4:13 “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Unity is a sign of Maturity

Christian Warfare = Peace

Colossians 4:2-6 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Commentary & Articles

6:1-4)

Understanding Your Child A father was berating his child for doing something wrong. Finally in exasperation he added, “Every time you’re bad I get another gray hair.” The little guy looked at his dad and said, “Wow! You must have been a terror! Look at Grandpa!” As parents we may forget the problems we caused our parents.

Submission within divinely ordered relationships

Submitting to one another in fear of Christ

This type of submission characterizes the ‘Spirit-filled living’ of those in Christ

a display of understanding Gods will

6:4 Paul’s exhortation to fathers not to ‘exasperate’ their children echoes his earlier concern about ‘anger’ in 4:26–27, 31. The positive exhortation to bring up children in the training and admonition of the Lord recalls the earlier emphasis on learning the tradition of Christian teaching (4:20–21) - (Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 440.)

In contemporary society the Roman patria potestas, that is, the authority of the head of the house, gave the father unlimited power over his children, and this law exercised a considerable degree of influence in the Hellenistic culture generally. In Hellenistic Judaism severe punishment could be meted out to disobedient children. - (Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 445.). Picture of secular vs Christian parenting (it should look different).

The term tekna here can include adult children, but it certainly is not limited to them, who in any case would not necessarily be living in the household any more. As Lincoln says, “the children in view here have to be old enough to be conscious of a relationship to their Lord and to be appealed to on the basis of it, but young enough still to be in the process of being brought up (cf. 6:4). - (Ben Witherington III, The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), 335.)

Article

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you [not just your children!], along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31).

Fathers cause their children’s souls to shrivel into small, hard, angry shells mainly by being like that themselves. A few behaviors dad should avoid so as not to make kids mad (yelling, excessive discipline, boundaries that are too narrow or too harped on, bossiness, etc.)

Anger is the cannibal emotion: It eats all the others till none is left. It does this first in fathers, and then this constricted soul is passed on to the children. Anger is absorbed as the dominant emotion and all the tender feelings die. Paul says don’t let that happen. “Fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger.” The remedy is the gospel—“as God in Christ forgave you.”

Even though both mother and father work together in raising the children (“children obey your parents,” v. 1), fathers are the special focus of verse 4. Fathers have a leading responsibility for raising children. This is a natural extension of the headship of the wife in Ephesians 5:23-25. Dad should take the initiative to make sure that plans and processes and people are in place to build a vision of God and truth and holiness into the lives of the children.

Rearing children with a connotation of care. The solicitous feel to the word shows up in Ephesians 5:29 where Paul says, “No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishesand cherishes it.” That word nourishes is the same word as bring up in Ephesians 6:4. So the focus is on the fact that, in all that a father does to bring his children to maturity there should be a provision and a care that assures the child that, behind all the discipline and instruction, there is a great heart of love. This earthly father is working all things together for the good of his child. And so God’s character is being displayed.

In the discipline... (paideia)This word signifies the actions a father takes to give his children the abilities and skills and character to live life to the glory of God. It is not synonymous with teaching. It is more full and more active. For example, it is used in 2 Timothy 3:16 for “training.” “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

The word often refers to the painful part of training: “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Hebrews 12:7-8).

Growing up with a Christian father’s help involves being shown how to do the things that a Christ-exalting life requires and being held accountable to do them as well as you can.

Words for a father raising children:

1. Be a real father figure to your children. 2. Let your love show. 3. Don’t be afraid to discipline. 4. Devote yourself to your child’s development. 5. Set the emotional and spiritual tone in your home. Conclusion All of this

can be summarized into two sentences: Let your children know you’re their father. Let your children know their father.

Floyd Strater, Sermon Outlines on Ephesians, ed. Sam E. Stone, Standard Sermon Starters (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1996), 46.

6:5-9)

Colossians 3:22-25 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”

“The argument, succinctly, is that Christ is lord of all, and every action in the master/slave relationship should be done with the connection of both parties to Christ fully in mind.” The slave’s service is ultimately to the Lord, and the master’s supervision is to be done with full cognizance that he is accountable to the Lord for what he says and does. In other words, the slave’s actions cease to be mere servitude to a human master, and the master’s actions cease to be those of one who has absolute authority over another human being. Both parties are called on to be proactive, not reactive to their situations. In both cases their eyes must be on the Lord and on how to please him, not on mundane or merely human considerations and factors

Ben Witherington III, The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), 339.

V6-9)

What is especially being critiqued in v. 6 is work done only when the human master is watching, work done to curry favor with the human master. Rather, since they are now Christ’s slaves, the slaves are to look to please him

Such a slave is only on loan, so to speak, to the human master, and so the human master’s authority is attenuated and indeed is restricted by what God requires of the Christian master. “Slave of Christ” is even applied to a free person

V. 7 makes evident just how radical Paul’s advice really is. The slave is to serve with enthusiasm (literally “with goodwill,” met’ eunoias), doing it as if for the Lord, not for humans. Now of course the basic posture of a slave in antiquity is of one who has no a choice about matters

V. 8 brings in a reference to eschatological reward. Paul in good epideictic fashion relies in both v. 8 and v. 9 on what the audience already knows about their Lord and their faith (eidotes hoti in both verses). Regardless of social station or status one will be rewarded, each one for whatever good she or he has done

V.9 masters, since they are Christians and among those who must respond to the exhortation in 5:21, are actually to serve their slaves. He even adds “for the master himself is a servant.” This calling of all Christians to servanthood, and so to submitting to one another comports with the teaching of Jesus about himself being a servant of others and his exhortation to his disciples to be the same way (Mark 10:45; Luke 22:24–29)

Masters and slaves have equal status before God, and he will judge both as adult Christian moral agents. There is no partiality with the Lord in heaven, but then this implies that there should also be none with earthly lords either

6:10-20)

When one visits the Holy Land, one of the most impressive spots is Masada—that isolated mountain reaching high into the Judean air, near the Dead Sea. A cable car takes the tourist some 1400 feet to a platform near the summit. Here Herod the Great built a royal sanctuary and fortress. Later, when Rome ruled Palestine, the site became an armed Jewish stronghold where resisters stood their ground against the Roman garrisons. Eventually Masada alone held out. The Jews made an heroic seven-year stand, finally choosing mass suicide rather than capture and slavery. Today young recruits in the Israeli army are taken here for their final oath of allegiance to Israel. The ceremony concludes with their ringing affirmation, “Masada shall not fall again!”

Christians are called here to preserve and hold on to their core values against the attacks of the dark powers. They are to stand on that which they have petitioned God about and praised him for in the beginning of the discourse.

serves as a final emotional appeal (the peroratio). It describes how Christians are in the midst of spiritual warfare and should put on the very armor of God, which is always complete and adequate. Perseverance in the long run requires strength and being adequately equipped with such things as faith, the gospel message, righteousness, and hope.

Paul’s peroratio has three parts: 6:10–13 provides the opening salvo and exhortation to take up the armor of God, vv. 14–17 provide the rhetorical invention, linking the parts of the armor to various virtues and divine gifts, and vv. 18–20 return to the theme of prayer so stressed in chs. 1–3 with a final effort at pathos with the reference to Paul in chains needing prayer. We move from the call to preparation for battle and assuming a defensive posture to encouragement by a description of the armor available to a reference to the human commander or leader being in chains and needing prayer.

v. 11 to put on the panoplia, the full armor of God, by which is meant not merely the armor that God gives but the armor God wears. The image here is of the fully-armed foot soldier. There seem to be two primary sources of the imagery: the description of Yahweh as a warrior in Isa. 59:17 and elsewhere, which refers to armor God is not merely the maker of but also the wearer of when he is attacked by his foes, and the armor worn by Roman soldiers, all the more so since Paul is under house arrest and could likely examine such armor on a regular basis.

6:23-24)

Peace Ephesians 2:14-16 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

Links with Ephesians 6:23-24 “Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

Peace in unity (Jew and Gentile as one), enjoy a tranquiity of mind. Love with faith (God is the origin of peace and love). What has faith got to do with it? Gal 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision “nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Faith works (activities) through love, is this what it means? Romans 14:23 “But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

Grace ( James 4:6 “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”” ) and love (our Lord Jesus is verticle) add that to the love with the brothers (horizontal) incorruptile love equals an eternal love. faith unites us to Christ in eternal love (life). A supernatural love is produced by faith. what does love do? Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!”

Love, peace has to go with faith which produces Grace (more Grace is promised to those who love the Lord.

My Ramblings

Basketball: Defence wins matches, or, a key to a good offense is a good defense. Most of the armour of God is defensive attire, and to be used to stand firm.

As we meet, there is a physical war raging in the Ukraine and along with the secular population, Our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing a battle both in an actual war with real tanks and guns as well as the spirtual one. We need to pray for them to stand firm.

The evilness of that invasion has been captured in many ways, one that horrified me was a Tank that swerved on purpose to run over a civillian car and then reverse over it again, inside was an elderly man. in a miracle, praise God he survived the ordeal. Our enemy is much more evil, and much more cunning. if we are not prepared he will blindside us too.

* Standing firm takes effort - especially with all types of forces pushing against us. If we don’t anchor we will be pushed well off course and possibly even shipwrecked. We need a firm place to anchor and an anchor that will not break, and anchor is the same, Jesus Christ and our anchor and firm foundation. Reminds me of the parable of the shifting sands.

Matthew 7:24-27 ““Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.””

I am the poster child for what is wrong with the world, straight, white middle aged western man who is privelleged and a Christian. The world wants to link our sexuality, colour, ethnicity, social status as our identity. Paul idnetifies as a sinner and more importantly a crucified messiah. I wonder if thats your identity? I am sure we would say that, but do our actions betray that, are we identified by our work, social status, bank balance,.

A few years agao Gillette caved and fell victim to compromise to a beast called ‘toxic maculinity’ now what I am not saying is that there is not some truth to the movement that attacks the culture of intimidation and abuse to women in various forms (Narscisitic, Emotional, Physical, Sexual and Spiritual abuse). But it was also used to try and silence sensible men.

The church has dropped the ball, we don’t want to have a voice becasue that would be hypocritical becasue of the attrocities particularily through abuses, to our vunerable women and children. The ones we were called to protect. But if we are honest, we have been some what cowardly on matters that matter, and shouting hoarse on matters that dont matter. God has raised people in the secular world, people like Jordan Pietersen, the church is afraid if she lifts her head on such matters that it would be used as a punching bag.

Matter of humanity! The problem with Men’s issues is the same as the problem with Women’s issues, and that is treating people less human not more human. Think about it! over the last few decades we have seen the decline of men’s image to one of a buffoon who is only good for a good time and a pay cheque. This was portrayed in many sitcoms, for example friends. No responsibility, immature, idiots who are inferrior. Everybody loves Raymond. We laughed our way to being irrelevancy.

Matter of Identity! Who are we? Men’s mental health and suicide are trending in the wrong direction, if you are a young male you are more likely to committ suicide. Are we more than stats? Yes! We are warriors, we are children of God most high with a purpose. We are designed to reflect his image and his masculinity. So why are we so dsplaced in this world. We are not John Wayne and we are not Ned Flanders. Unity does not mean uniformity

What makes a man? Is it age, is it knowledge, maybe wisdom. Is it fulfilling your duties? Yes, I beleive it is responsibility that makes a boy a man! Responsible church member, community member and family member. Our responsibility, like Jesus is to serve and sacrifice, but not to the detriment of our soul or health, has to be balanced. Serving also equals sabbath! Resting in Jesus for our strength and sanity.

Today, including church we can feel like a catcher in teeball....useless. But that is what society wants us to feel, outdated and not needed. Why? it attacks the very core of the family and society. Biblical men make strong women stronger and feel safe to flourish in their giftings, as well as children. Biblical manhood encourages and strengthens other men to not feel alone and to fill their calling too. Biblical manhood is supposed to be a witness to the community on how to act and serve.

According to the Australian Government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare In 2020 3,139 people committed suicide of that 755 were women leaving a stagering 2,384 being men. Of that the second highest age bracket for men were 40-44 year olds close third were 20-24 year olds. No. 1 position was 85 plus. The avg suicide rates in men have been 3-4 times that than females. Let that sink in.

Why? Identity, but also a sense of lonliness, and carrying burdens. In the UK they created a new position of minister of lonliness. Its hard to have good friendships without the world making assumptions. Vege Tales was asked if Bob and Larry were gay. The same was said of David and Jonathan’s friendship. We tend to worry what others think of us, but our identity is in Christ and we are brothers. The early church were accused of incest becasue of the term brothers and sisters.

A Picture of a Warrior

Submits to authority

Serves wether in leadership or subordinate role

Protects women and their rights as co-equals

Kind and generous

Watches over, teaches, protects and listens to kids

Disciples others and is discipled

Rests in God

Weeps over death and sin

Encourages others to flourish

Sings

Lives peaceably

Looks out and protects the vulnerable

Calls out hyprocisy

Cares for the outsider and outcast

He loves his God, his family, his church

He is even tempered and controls his emotions

Only has a righteous anger

Is focused cleaning up the church and not society

Is gospel ready

Is honarable and respectable (even if people wont respect him)

(picture of Jesus)

Paul says to take off the old man and put on the new in unity (found in Christ).

Take off Put on

Lies * Truth

Anger * Peace

Stinginess * Generosity

Gossip/Slander * Encouragement

Revenge * Forgiveness

Promiscuity * Self-control

Drunkeness * Spirit of God

Roman Soldiers

Each Roman soldier carried both a gladius—a sword of roughly two feet in length that was shaped like an elongated leaf with a grooved hand grip made from ivory, bone, or wood—and a pugio, or dagger, attached to the belt. For protection, each soldier was equipped with a large curved rectangular shield, helmet, and segmented plate body armor. The legion would deploy in three lines with shields facing outward to present a uniform front to the enemy. The Roman army of the imperial period was virtually undefeatable on the battlefield

David A. Kaden, “Roman Army,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Colossians 3:1-15“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Chri…”

Spiritual warefare - Paul Washer

Gods strength vs your weakness

Devil may slander, kill even but will not take away anything from God

Most powerful life is a pious life (godly) Christ likeness and walking in obedience. If we want true power and steadiness this is a must.

Wifes greatest need is, is the same as a childs greatest need and that is that her husband, their Dad is more like Jesus Christ.

Not Mystic or superstitous proceeding against the devil like the tele-evangelist may spruke but learning to standfast where we are in Christ. Learning to draw from God’s strength and walking in righteousness

Titanic / Epic struggle between the kingdom of God and the Kingdom of darkness. All out war on God and his creation, namely us. Yet alot of Christians walk around oblivious, either from poor or no teaching, or from an apathetic posture. See their lives as unaffectred from this great war. You are a warrior in Christ added to Gods army. War is enivable

You will fight and keep fighting into victory

You will fall, great loss to yourself, the church, the community and the family. Have you been trained

You don’t care - we all fall into things of this world being more important than than the things of the kingdom of God for a little while, worldy pursuits or gains. But if your life is marked by a pre-occupation of gaining or advancing this kingdom rather than advancing the Kingdom of God something is terribly wrong.

You are distracted. Life is now so full of distractions. Call out of my life more and more distractions. Has he given me time to sleep, rest, disciple my family, ministry, work Yes. Anytime for much else..No. Some are more focused on retirement, games, pusuits

You are at war for your family, yourself, and others and we need to live like it. Your enemy wants to destroy all things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Armour of God is not some mystical armour that you pray for and it magically appears. but about practical things like integrity, charater, lack of godliness

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Assurance - salvation and correct understanding of the gospel and the peace it brings, including the righteousness it brings allows us to run freely and joyfully into action.

Sheild deflects the arrow by reminding us that nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ

Intro Talk)

Welcome to all

Who am I

Why are we here

What will we be talking about

What will we be doing

Basic message

Dismiss

Fight for the Family)

Fight to be a good Witness)

Fight for Yourself)

Cricket Helmet

Steel Cap Boots (snake season)

Bullet Proof Vest

Only in times of peace or in town would a Roman solidier take his helmet off

“Here is what I learned. Happiness does not fall from the sky; it is in your hands. Happiness comes from inside yourself and from the people you love. And if you are happy and healthy, you are a millionaire. And happiness is the only thing in the world that doubles each time you share it. My wife doubles my happiness My friendship with Kurt doubled my happiness.” ― Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth:

Fight for Your Brothers)

Seal Team - disfunctional and vulnerable apart but strong and united when together. balance out strengths and weaknesses

No man is an Island, we need each other we have been designed that way.

“Shared sorrow is half sorrow; shared pleasure is double pleasure.” ― Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth