Columbia Christian Fellowship

the closing verses of Ephesians give us a glimpse into the person and nature  of the Apostle Paul -brief wrap up of our series on Ephesians -opportunity for folks to share one thing they learned or gained from the series  

: Paul's instruction to pray takes on a missional/evengelistc focus

Prayer is not part of the battle armor...it is the battle strategy... -praying for all the Lord's people...other believers...one another is a vital, critical component of the battle strategy -without this we suffer tremendous casualties in spiritual warfare   

an attempt to better understand what Paul means by: "pray...with all kinds of prayers and requests...be alert and always keep on praying"  

We will try to explain what exactly Paul means by "all occasions"  

we will attempt to explain the biblical expression "pray in the Spirit"

: further teaching on prayer in relation to spiritual warfare

often times the context of a passage defines the nature of prayer referred to...the entire passage of Ephesians 6:10-12 is spiritual prayer...therefore this is fighting prayer...prayer that engages in spiritual battle  

: beginning a mini-series on prayer from Ephesians 6: -an introduction and review of general principles on biblical prayer before we look at the specific meaning in the context of spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6  

: celebrating Jesus and what He has done for all who will believe...

"The Armor of God...the sword of the Spirit"   Theme: the sword of the spirit is the word of God -we will develop the theme "prevailing in spiritual warfare with God's word"  

The helmet of salvation protects us from the onslaught of the enemy by taking away the "fear of death" Our eternal destiny is sure because we are saved.

this was a tough one...an attempt to explain and apply the shield of God in our lives

what is it and what is its role in the Armor of God  

Josh will bring further insights into this subject matter until I return next week

the breast of righteousness protects the believer from the deception of the enemy who wants to keep us in bondage to condemnation and intimidation due to a sin conciousness,  -many believers have more of a sin  consciousness than a Christ consciousness  

Truth counters deception -truth as a part of the Armor of God has a defensive and an offensive usage/value

Let's ask the Lord to make this a special time for our congregation Sunday morning

believers are exhorted to "stand their ground" against the devil and his schemes -we will explain what Paul meant by "stand your ground" and why it is so important  

Scripture support giving believer's assurance we have victory over our spiritual enemies in Christ -we fight from a position of victory..not defeat

: we do not fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in heavenly realms -the intention is that we gain an awareness of the heavenly realm and the true nature of the battle

we do not fight against flesh and blood, human beings... -flesh and blood, human  beings are not the primary enemy...they are victims of the enemy who need to be set free -the primary purpose of spiritual warfare is that lost souls (human beings) come to Jesus and are set free from sin and Satan

:  Believers are instructed, admonished and commanded to take a stand against the schemes of the enemy/devil