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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023038S
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00:13 (music ends) 00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're delighted that you could join us this week 00:21 as we continue our journey through the book of Ephesians. 00:25 We are looking at Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, 00:28 pulling it apart, pulling it back together, 00:30 and seeing what it means to you and me in our lives today. 00:34 This week we are on lesson number 13 00:36 with an interesting title: "Waging Peace." 00:40 We're going to find out what that's about in just a moment. 00:43 But before we delve into this week's lesson, 00:45 let's begin with prayer. 00:47 Father, we want to thank You 00:48 for the journey that You have taken us on thus far 00:52 in the book of Ephesians. 00:53 We ask that this week You will help us to better understand 00:57 Paul's exhortations to us, his encouragement for us, 01:00 and the hope that we have in Jesus. 01:03 We ask that You'll bless our time together this week, 01:05 and we thank You in Jesus' name. 01:07 Amen. 01:09 Well, our guest this week, 01:10 as he has been throughout this quarter, is Dr. John McVay. 01:15 He's the president of Walla Walla University. 01:18 John, welcome back once again. 01:20 >>Good to be back with you. 01:21 >>So we're almost to the end, week 13. 01:25 >>We've got one more to go. >>Week 13, 01:27 second week studying what is arguably 01:29 the greatest passage in the New Testament 01:32 on the cosmic conflict or the great controversy, 01:35 at least as it has to do with our behavior 01:37 as Christian disciples. 01:38 >>That's right, and we're gonna pull that apart 01:41 this week, "Waging Peace." 01:43 Now, when we take a look at this week's lesson, 01:46 let's kind of review a little bit 01:50 of what we've looked at before last week. 01:53 There's this armor of God that Paul talks about. 01:56 Walk us through that; 01:58 that'll help us get ready for where we're going this week. 02:00 >>Sure. So you'll remember from last week 02:03 that Paul issues this, repeatedly, 02:06 this call to "be strong in the Lord" 02:09 early on in chapter 6, verses 10-20. 02:13 Last week, we spent much of our time 02:15 with verses 10-13, 02:19 and he talks about these authorities, 02:21 these rulers and authorities 02:24 and cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil 02:26 in the heavenly places. 02:28 So we know something about our foe, right? 02:30 And now he's going to go back through all of that, 02:34 but he's going to do it in a detailed image. 02:37 And if you really look at how he does this, 02:39 he portrays the Christian disciple 02:43 donning various implements of war, 02:46 various pieces of armor and various weapons. 02:50 He imagines that happening in much the same order 02:53 that a Roman legionnaire might put those things on. 02:58 And he assigns various names 03:01 to various pieces of the implements 03:05 of a Christian soldier's armor, doesn't he? 03:09 >>He does. >>Yeah. 03:10 >>So let's kind of walk through there. 03:11 He says in verse number 14, 03:13 "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, 03:18 [and putting] on the breastplate of righteousness"-- 03:21 he goes on from there-- 03:22 "having shod your feet with the preparation 03:24 of the gospel of peace," 03:26 then, "taking the shield of faith 03:28 "with which you will be able to quench 03:29 "all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 03:32 "And...the helmet of salvation,... the sword of the Spirit, 03:34 which is the word of God." 03:36 So elements of armor, some defensive, some offensive, 03:40 it's kind of an all-encompassing attire 03:44 that he pictures here. >>Sure. 03:45 Yeah, it is, and in Greek the term is "panoplian," 03:50 which is the complete "armor" of God. 03:52 So it's not just armor; 03:54 it's the head-to-toe protection 03:58 that God provides for Christian disciples 04:01 as they engage in the cosmic conflict. 04:03 And these are significant and important, aren't they? 04:06 >>Very significant. Now, a question might arise 04:10 about these different elements of the armor 04:13 that we are supposed to put on. 04:14 Are these human virtues? Are these divine gifts? 04:19 How do we see these different portions 04:22 or pieces of the armor? 04:24 >>Well, Bible students do argue about that point. 04:28 And I'm gonna fudge it, Eric, and say they're kind of both. 04:31 They're kind of both. 04:32 If you have to say, "Which are they primarily?", 04:35 I think primarily these are the gifts of God 04:38 to the Christian disciple. 04:40 So this is God's truth, the belt of truth, belt-on truth. 04:45 So the belt as part 04:47 of the Roman military man's equipment 04:52 played a little different role 04:53 than the belt you put on probably this morning. 04:56 It was this fairly massive piece 04:59 that helped them gird up their loins. 05:02 You know, you tucked stuff in all around it, 05:04 you got ready for battle, 05:06 and from it hung pieces of thick leather 05:09 that actually formed part of the armor 05:11 and helped protect the soldiers. 05:12 So you had this belt. 05:15 And Paul envisions it, uses it as an image 05:18 for God's truth, which he grants to Christian disciples, 05:23 the truth of the gospel that he's been discussing 05:25 throughout the epistle to the Ephesians. 05:28 So, Paul is really portraying 05:33 the Christian's-- 05:34 the transformation of pagan believers into Christians 05:38 by imagining them donning these pieces of armor. 05:41 This is how they are transformed. 05:42 It's a little bit like putting on "the old man" 05:45 and putting on "the new man" that we saw back in chapter 4. 05:49 And so they're putting on these different implements, 05:53 but they don't so much possess God's truth 05:57 as God's truth possesses them, right? 06:00 And we can kind of do this with each of these implements. 06:02 These are more God's gifts to us 06:06 that protect us and enable our Christian witness 06:09 than they are our own virtues 06:11 that are our own individual virtues. 06:14 But--and I think this is important-- 06:17 Paul is trying to activate them and to say, 06:20 "These aren't just abstract gifts of God 06:23 "that you set on the shelf, but you need to live into these. 06:27 "You need to live into this truth. 06:28 "You need to live into this battle. 06:30 You need to live into the gospel of peace," 06:33 and so on. So it's both, in a way, virtue, 06:37 but principally, gifts, assets 06:41 that God provides us, with which He equips us 06:44 as soldiers in the great controversy. 06:46 >>So He's giving us these things, 06:48 but I guess one might say we have to choose to put them on. 06:52 We can't just look at them and go, "There they are." 06:55 >>Exactly, exactly. >>We have to--I don't know 06:57 if I'm comfortable with the word "own," 06:59 but we have to embrace these gifts-- 07:02 >>Yes. >>...and put them into use, 07:04 put them into practice. 07:05 And one would expect that the more we embrace them 07:08 and the more we put them into practice, 07:10 the more perhaps comfortable 07:11 we'll feel in that armor-- >>Sure. 07:13 >>...and it will become a natural extension 07:15 of who we are in our lives-- 07:18 >>Sure. >>...which is encouraging. 07:20 >>We can talk about each of these pieces of armor, 07:23 but let's touch together on a couple of them. 07:27 The shoes, "As shoes for your feet, 07:30 "put on what will give the readiness 07:32 to proclaim the gospel of peace." 07:35 Now, I think that's a really key mention here 07:38 because I think Paul controls his metaphor by that phrase. 07:43 We might read this and say, 07:45 "Oh, Paul's talking about actual combat." 07:48 And we might remember that 30 years ago, 07:51 there was a group of people in Waco 07:54 who stocked up arms and read the prophecies 07:58 and imagined participating in actual combat. 08:01 What a sad story that is. 08:03 And Paul warns us away from misreading 08:07 his powerful, high-testosterone image here. 08:12 He guards us from that by saying, 08:14 "What we're really about is the gospel of peace." 08:19 So he kind of deconstructs his own metaphor, 08:22 and that's led someone to say 08:24 that what Paul's talking about here 08:26 isn't waging armed actual combat. 08:30 It's about the church waging peace. 08:33 But what it does help us capture is the churches, 08:37 the investment of Christian disciples, 08:39 the zealous engagement 08:41 and investment of Christian disciples. 08:43 We're not just sentries 08:45 standing off somewhere at a corner of the battlefield 08:47 watching it unfold. 08:49 We are fully engaged, throwing ourselves into this battle, 08:55 which is waging peace. 08:57 >>So the army is not that group over there. 09:01 The army is a group of which I am a part. 09:04 >>Yes, exactly. >>And my calling 09:06 is to wage this peace with others. 09:10 As you've mentioned, 09:11 in the book of Ephesians Paul is trying to strive for unity 09:15 and using us to bring about that unity too. 09:18 >>And throughout the letter, he's been discussing 09:20 the strategies of Christian disciples. 09:24 He's been thinking about the great controversy 09:26 throughout this letter. 09:27 We see hints of that going on as we've seen. 09:30 And interesting to read, say, the end of chapter 4: 09:34 "Let all bitterness and wrath 09:35 "and anger and clamor and slander 09:36 be put away from you, along with all malice." 09:38 So that's not the kind of war, you know-- 09:40 he's actually setting those things aside. 09:44 And the strange weapons for this Christian army are, 09:48 "Be kind to one another," (laughs) 09:50 "tenderhearted, forgiving one another, 09:51 as God in Christ forgave you." 09:54 These are the kind--they're strange battles, 09:57 or strange weapons, for an actual army, 09:59 but they're just the ticket for the militia of Christ. 10:03 >>For a group that is called to wage peace. 10:06 >>Yes. 10:07 >>And that's a fantastic picture there. 10:10 John, there's several commands 10:13 that Paul gives as we move through this section, 10:18 and I wanna kind of start digging into those 10:20 before our break. We'll come back and do a little bit more. 10:23 But what are some of the big commands that we see Paul give 10:27 to the church here in Ephesians 6? 10:30 >>Well, I like to distill this passage into four commands 10:33 because they're kind of easy to remember 10:36 and it helps embed this passage in my mind. 10:39 So the first one, for example, would be follow the leader. 10:44 And when I say this passage, 10:46 I'm taking the whole passage now, chapter 6, verses 10-20. 10:49 And we see this happening, 10:51 Paul underlining this command early on: 10:53 "Finally, be strong in the Lord 10:55 and in the strength of His might." 10:57 That's how he starts the passage, right? 10:59 In other words, follow the leader. 11:03 So, it's as though Paul sees himself as a general, 11:07 and he's stepping onto the battlefield on the eve of battle, 11:12 and he's given a big speech, 11:14 and he's conveying the orders of the commander-in-chief, 11:18 who calls us to battle 11:20 and promises to be with us in the fight. 11:23 And so in those early verses there, 11:25 he's really giving us that command, 11:28 deep in our hearts and souls: "Follow the leader." 11:31 It's a good, strong command, isn't it? 11:33 >>It's a great place to start. 11:35 What about the second command? 11:37 >>The second command, I would say, 11:38 is encapsulated in, oh, verse 12 especially, 11:42 and that is know the foe. 11:44 He wants us to avoid 11:46 underestimating our enemy. We don't wanna do that. 11:50 We have to have a realistic assessment of our foe. 11:53 And he says you're not just up against flesh and blood; 11:57 you're up against spiritual forces of darkness. 11:59 You're up against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers. 12:03 You're up against all of that. 12:05 He wants us to have a realistic assessment 12:08 of what we're up against. If you move down the passage, 12:10 he wants to remind us that those forces of darkness 12:13 are led by a wily devil. 12:17 And so we're up against it. 12:20 He wants us to have a realistic assessment of our foe. 12:24 So, second command, know the foe. 12:27 >>So we've got follow the leader as the first command, 12:29 second command, know the foe, 12:31 and we're gonna be looking at the third and fourth commands 12:33 when we come back in just a moment. 12:35 I wanna encourage you--time is running out. 12:37 We're on week 13 of 14. 12:39 If you don't yet have the companion book 12:42 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, 12:44 be sure to pick it up very soon. 12:46 It is called "Ephesians" by John McVay. 12:49 It's the companion to this quarter's lesson. 12:51 You can find it at itiswritten.shop. 12:54 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 12:57 We're gonna come back in just a moment 12:59 as we continue looking at week number 13. 13:03 We're looking at two more commands that Paul gives us, 13:06 and we're gonna tie together this thought of waging peace. 13:10 We'll be right back. 13:11 (uplifting theme music swells and ends) 13:15 (serene music) 13:16 >>[John Bradshaw] It's a land rich with culture. 13:19 Colorful bazaars, stunning mosques, and ancient ruins 13:22 now occupy the same territory once conquered 13:25 by the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. 13:28 In the midst of this tumultuous history, 13:30 followers of Christ began to form their first churches. 13:34 One of these churches was instructed by Jesus 13:36 to "be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, 13:40 "that are ready to die, 13:42 for I have not found your works perfect before God." 13:46 What were the believers in Sardis missing? 13:49 And how is this letter to a church 13:51 that existed 2,000 years ago 13:53 relevant to the church today? 13:56 Find out by watching 13:57 "The Seven Churches of Revelation: Sardis" 14:01 and learn what it means to truly overcome. 14:05 "The Seven Churches of Revelation: Sardis," 14:09 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:17 You know that at It Is Written, 14:18 we are serious about the study of the Word of God. 14:22 And we encourage you to be serious about God's Word also. 14:26 Well, I wanna share with you another way 14:28 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God, 14:31 and here it is: itiswritten.study. 14:37 Go online to itiswritten.study, 14:38 and you can access the It Is Written Bible Study Guides, 14:43 25 in-depth Bible studies 14:45 that will walk you through the Bible. 14:48 It's gonna be good for you, 14:50 and it's the sort of thing 14:51 that you will want to tell somebody else about 14:54 so that they can dig deeper into the Word of God 14:57 and come to know the things of the Bible intimately. 15:01 As you get into the It Is Written online Bible study guides, 15:04 you'll understand the prophecies of the Bible, 15:06 the plan of salvation, and more. 15:08 So don't forget: itiswritten.study. 15:11 itiswritten.study. 15:16 (uplifting theme music) 15:20 >>[Eric Flickinger] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:22 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:24 We are continuing to look 15:25 at lesson number 13: "Waging Peace." 15:28 And, John, we've looked at two 15:29 of the four commands that Paul gives us already: 15:32 Follow the leader and know the foe-- 15:35 both very, very important. >>Sure. 15:37 >>But he doesn't just give us those two; 15:38 he gives us at least two more. What are the other two? 15:40 >>Yeah, the third one would be join the army. 15:44 Now, it's really interesting, Eric, 15:45 'cause you look at the way our passage has been understood 15:47 down through Christian history. 15:49 Most of the ink has been spilled 15:52 on a very individualistic understanding of the passage. 15:56 I am the lone Christian soldier battling against evil. 16:01 And there's been a lot of ink spilled. 16:03 There was a gentleman back in the 17th century, 16:06 William Gurnall, who preached a bunch of sermons 16:10 on this passage and wrote three volumes 16:12 totaling more than 800,000 words and 1,500 pages. 16:16 So down through time, 16:17 there's a lot of literature on this passage. 16:19 Much of it sort of assumes that Paul 16:22 is addressing the individual Christian warrior. 16:26 But that would be really quite strange, wouldn't it, 16:28 in a letter, as we have seen, 16:31 that focuses so much attention on the church, 16:34 to talk about church, church, church, church, church, 16:36 and then in the letter 16:38 with a portrait of a single individual, 16:40 would seem pretty strange to me. 16:43 >>It would; it would be very inconsistent. 16:45 >>Very inconsistent. 16:46 So it seems to me that we understand this 16:49 to be Paul's final metaphor for the church, 16:52 his final image for the church as an army. 16:56 This is a call to arms. 16:58 This is a call to the church militant-- 17:00 importantly, as we've just talked about, 17:03 not waging any conventional war but waging peace. 17:07 But we need each other just as much 17:09 as those soldiers in actual combat need each other. 17:12 We need one another. 17:14 So the third call would be simply to join the army. 17:19 Join the army. 17:20 The church, says Paul, is a well-equipped fighting force, 17:25 a united army engaged in the long-running battle 17:29 of the great controversy. And just as others 17:33 in conventional battle need one another, 17:36 we need each other. In fact, I like to think 17:39 that if we view the passage that way, 17:41 and there are all sorts of hints that we should do so, 17:44 if we view the passage that way, 17:46 there's a secret weapon buried in the passage. 17:50 And that's Christian camaraderie and esprit de corps, 17:54 and that makes sense in a letter 17:57 which is about unity, right? 17:59 And Paul here goes after his theme of unity, 18:03 all things being united in Christ, 18:05 chapter 1, verses 9 and 10, 18:07 one more time under the image of the need 18:10 for a united, fit fighting army waging peace. 18:15 >>So we've got one more command here 18:19 that Paul gives us. >>One more, yep. 18:20 And this is a rather important one. 18:23 We've touched on it a bit earlier. 18:25 But it would be fight to the finish. 18:29 Fight to the finish. 18:31 I do believe this is a high-testosterone image, 18:35 in which Paul-- 18:36 one of his great goals or objectives 18:39 in finishing his letter this way is to activate us, 18:43 to energize us to zealous participation 18:48 in the cosmic conflict as soldiers of the cross. 18:53 So he doesn't want us to just relax in the chaise lounge 18:57 watching others fight the battle. 18:59 He's recruiting us into the army of Christ. 19:03 He's wanting us to be active. 19:05 We've talked a little bit about that command to stand 19:08 that is used four times here, 19:10 and the fact that that command to stand 19:13 doesn't mean to stand as a sentry, not fighting. 19:17 It refers to the moment when two phalanxes would meet. 19:21 And at that moment, when you're meeting that opposing army, 19:24 what you have to do is dig those hobnail boots in and push 19:28 your, push the boss of your shield forward 19:32 and stand in battle. 19:34 So it's not a quietistic, passive stance 19:38 that he's looking for. He's saying to us, 19:41 "You're in this battle, 19:44 "and you need to be all in this battle. 19:46 Fight to the finish." 19:48 >>And yet in all of that is this idea 19:51 of waging peace. >>Yes. 19:52 >>So he takes those two seemingly opposed ideas 19:57 and melds them beautifully together here. 19:59 >>It's a vigorous military metaphor, 20:02 but he gives us enough hints and clues along the way 20:05 that we know how to apply this. 20:07 This is not conventional war, 20:09 but this is zealous engagement in the cosmic conflict, 20:13 zealous engagement in waging peace. 20:15 >>Very powerful. 20:17 John, I wanna read a quote here and have you respond to it. 20:22 This comes from a book called "Testimonies to Ministers" 20:24 on page number 22. And here's what it says: 20:28 "When men arise, claiming to have a message from God, 20:31 "but instead of warring against principalities and powers, 20:34 "and the rulers of the darkness of this world, 20:37 "they form a hollow square, 20:39 "and turn the weapons of warfare 20:41 "against the church militant, be afraid of them. 20:44 "They do not bear the divine credentials. 20:47 "God has not given them 20:49 any such burden of labor." 20:51 That's a rather interesting passage. 20:54 >>It is. 20:56 >>The word "friendly fire" comes to mind. 20:57 >>Yes, it does. >>Your thoughts on that? 21:00 >>Well, again, to know the foe--our second command, right?-- 21:04 is to be able to identify who's your enemy 21:06 and who's your friend. And Paul is really concerned 21:10 that we not misidentify each other 21:13 as the enemies in this conflict. 21:15 In fact, in the truest sense, 21:17 our enemies are not in human form, right? 21:20 If you're fighting the battle of the great controversy, 21:24 or you think you're fighting 21:25 the battle of the great controversy, 21:26 and you're fighting against human beings, 21:29 you haven't fully understood Ephesians 6, verses 10-20. 21:32 You haven't understood that your foe 21:34 really are the supernatural powers of darkness. 21:37 So, friendly fire is not something we want to have happen; 21:40 that is, we do not want to damage fellow combatants, 21:44 fellow disciples in the cosmic conflict. 21:47 We want the force of our waging of peace 21:51 to go against those supernatural forces of darkness. 21:55 >>Very powerful. 21:56 So one thing that doesn't jump out at us in this depiction 22:01 of the armor of God is prayer. 22:04 How does that figure into all of this? 22:08 I'm going to make the assumption 22:09 that it does-- >>Sure, sure. 22:10 >>...because prayer is part of Christian warfare, 22:14 as it were. But how do we see that fit in here? 22:16 >>Well, verses 18-20 is Paul's call to prayer. 22:19 Some Bible scholars see this as separate 22:22 from the armament passage. 22:24 They see the armament passage 22:26 as only chapter 6, verses 10-17. 22:29 However, as I've studied ancient battle literature 22:33 to try to understand Paul's imagery here-- 22:35 because he seems to be very much drawing 22:37 on the tradition of Greek and Roman warfare-- 22:41 as he shares this image of the church, 22:46 I'm impressed by how often soldiers 22:49 are portrayed as praying. 22:52 And so while I don't think it's given to us here 22:55 or portrayed here as a separate weapon, 22:57 it is part of the battlefield context. 23:00 So, a soldier gets all suited up, ready to go to the fray, 23:04 ready to enter the fray. 23:05 He knows all of the difficult things 23:09 that are gonna happen out there on that battlefield. 23:11 He's mentally trying to get prepared for that. 23:15 The next thing that that soldier will do, 23:17 often in ancient battle literature, is pray. 23:20 Now, he's praying to the gods--plural, right?--here. 23:23 But Paul wants us to pray with him 23:25 and about him to God, capital "G," 23:29 to the one true God, to Jesus Christ. 23:31 He wants us to pray to God. 23:34 And so I think this is part of his battlefield setting 23:38 that he's painting for us here. 23:40 >>So prayer, very, very significant. 23:42 John, there's one other section in here 23:44 that I think is important to tease out a little bit, 23:49 and that's what Paul refers to in verse number 20. 23:52 He says, "I am an ambassador in chains." 23:56 What does he mean when he says 23:57 that he is an ambassador in chains? What's that all about? 24:02 >>Well, if you look at the context here, 24:05 he seems to be looking toward an event, doesn't he? 24:09 He says, he asks them to pray "also for me, 24:14 "that words may be given to me in opening my mouth 24:16 boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel." 24:19 And he seems to be looking toward that tête-à-tête, 24:23 head-to-head conversation 24:25 that he will have with none other than Emperor Nero. 24:28 So he's looking toward that, and he's saying, 24:29 "I know that's coming. 24:31 "Please pray for me that in that moment 24:34 "I won't quail or turn tail and run in the battle, 24:38 "but that I will stand firm 24:40 "and proclaim the mystery of the gospel. 24:42 So please pray for me." 24:44 And then he says, "I am the ambassador in chains." 24:48 Well, he's imprisoned, remember. Paul is in prison. 24:51 This is one of the prison epistles, 24:53 so he's referring to the chains of his imprisonment. 24:56 But there may be some spicing of irony here, Eric, 25:00 in that ambassadors wore a chain of office. 25:04 And so there may be a kind of double entendre 25:07 going on here in this mention where he's saying, 25:10 "These chains actually signify something far more important: 25:15 "that I am the personal ambassador of the risen Christ 25:19 "who sits on the throne of the cosmos. 25:21 Nero is almost meaningless" (laughs) 25:24 "when compared to the power and the glory 25:27 of the One that I serve." 25:28 >>So the chains that may have been visible on him 25:32 were not nearly as powerful 25:35 as the invisible chains of office 25:38 that he was also wearing. 25:39 >>Very nice way to put it. 25:40 >>Very powerful. >>Yes, mm-hmm. 25:42 >>So, John, there may be somebody 25:44 who's watching this right now, listening to it right now 25:46 who's looking at their own life 25:48 and trying to figure out how they fit 25:52 into this big picture. 25:53 They may not feel that they have the strongest shield, 25:56 their belt may not feel as wide 25:59 and hefty as others'-- >>Sure. 26:01 >>...and they don't quite know how they fit 26:03 into this larger army, as it were. 26:07 They feel a little bit alone. 26:08 >>Yeah. >>How would you encourage them 26:10 and help them to see 26:12 that Christ has a message for them 26:14 in this metaphor of a soldier? 26:17 >>Well, I might go to one piece of armor 26:20 that we haven't mentioned here much, Eric, 26:21 and that's the helmet of salvation, as it's usually called. 26:25 And the term that's used there for, 26:27 that's translated "salvation," 26:29 is probably better translated in a battle context 26:33 as the helmet of "victory," 26:37 the victory helmet, the parade helmet. 26:39 And New Testament scholars used to say, 26:41 "Well, did such things even exist?" 26:43 But in recent years, archaeologists have discovered 26:46 these beautiful parade helmets 26:48 that you would never wear in battle, lest they get damaged. 26:51 Beautiful! The Hallaton Helmet from the U.K., 26:54 discovered in a U.K. bog, for example, 26:56 this gorgeous, gorgeous adorned helmet-- 26:59 and so Paul is saying-- 27:02 if that's correct that it's the helmet of victory, 27:04 the parade helmet--he's saying, "Enter the fray, 27:07 "enter the battle with the parade helmet on 27:10 "because you know that God is provisioning you with victory. 27:14 "You know that you have all the resources you need. 27:17 The victory is certain; it is promised." 27:20 And so I would say to that hesitant disciple 27:22 or hesitant soldier 27:24 that this is far more about God than it is about you. 27:28 This is about what God intends in Christ to do in you 27:32 and for you and through you. 27:35 You can trust yourself in God's hands. 27:37 >>I seem to remember a passage in the Bible 27:39 that says something about "the battle is the Lord's." 27:41 >>The battle is the Lord's. Amen. 27:43 >>And that's encouraging for all of us, 27:45 or at least it certainly should be. 27:47 I trust and pray that this week's lesson 27:49 has been a blessing to you. 27:50 We have one more week left, lesson number 14 next week, 27:55 and we look forward to seeing you back again then. 27:57 This has been "Sabbath School," 27:59 brought to you by It Is Written. 28:01 (uplifting theme music) 28:27 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-09-11