 All right, good morning, everyone. Let's begin, actually, with a word of prayer. So we only have a few people on the screen. If any one of you could please unmute and just commit this entire session into the Lord's hands, we can then begin. If any one person can just unmute and pray for us committing our class into the Lord's hands. Amen. Thank you so much, Divya. Yes, let's begin our class. If you remember last week, we completed most of Ephesians chapter six. There was just a small portion left. There were a couple of pieces of armor, of the spiritual armor in Ephesians chapter six that we could not cover. So we will spend a few minutes looking into that. And then after that, we will begin with the letter to the Philippine church. So if you remember, last time we covered five pieces of armor from Ephesians chapter six. And we started the sword of the spirit, but we could not complete the explanation for that. So we looked that this is a sword of the spirit. So it is through the spirit that we wield this weapon. It is through the enabling of the spirit that we are able to use this weapon in an effective manner. We also saw that when that term sword is used in the Greek Bible, it talks about a double edged sword. So it's a sword that is sharp on both sides. And we also looked at how this sword is used with the help of the Holy Spirit, how it is used in two ways, to prepare ourselves for warfare and to be able to take a stand against Satan and not budge. So the first aspect that we saw was that the sword of the spirit, we first of all use it on ourselves. We use it to clean up ourselves on the inside to attack the impurities that need to be got rid of. Because once we are right with God, then we can use this weapon effectively against the evil one. So we looked at Hebrews chapter 4 verses 12 to 13, where we are told that the word of God is alive and active. So this is not just words that were written centuries ago. This is a word of God, which is alive and active even today, even though the original letter writer is dead, but that words which he wrote in that letter, which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, that Holy Spirit is very much alive and active. So through him, these words gain power. So this word of God, when we meditate upon it, when we reflect upon it, it works like a double edged sword. And what does it do? In Hebrews chapter 4, we are told verse 12, we are told, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. So when this kind of a sword was used in those days in Biblical times, especially to maybe cut open an animal, maybe a sacrificial animal. So the sword is used to cut the animal at its various joints so that the lower part of the leg is broken from the upper portion of the leg. So you basically use the sword to cut the animal at various points where you have the joints. So the knife, the sword, after it has cut the different bones, sometimes this sword was also used to hit the bone itself. Let me explain this better. When you cut the bone at a certain point, you not only get to see the bone, you also get to see what's inside the bone. I mean, what is there at the core at the center of the bone gets exposed. So as long as the bone is whole, we cannot see the inside. But when you take the sword and you cut that bone at the joints, it exposes the marrow, which is there at the center of the bone. So what was hidden during the entire lifetime of the animal is now exposed to the human eye. And that is the point which is actually being made over here because in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 13 it says, nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. So the word of God, it penetrates us, it divides soul and spirit, it exposes what is right inside because in our soulish, unrenewed minds, we may still have wrong attitudes, wrong motives. But this word of God, it acts like a sword. It cuts right through so that what is there at the center, that soulish, unrenewed aspects which are still there at the center, they are exposed. And so in that sense, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And so in verse 13 it says, nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. So the first thing we do is we use this word of the spirit on ourselves to find out what is actually there at the core of our soul. What are the motives that are lying over there? What are the attitudes with which we are walking with God? And so when the wrong things which are there, the impurities which are there are exposed, then we can repent, we can get right with God. And then when we are in a right relationship with God, when we use this sword of the spirit against the evil one, there is great power. Because you're not just quoting words at the devil, you actually are living out those words in your life. So you have the entire full backing of the Holy Spirit. So you're no longer just simply quoting a bunch of words at Satan, you're actually living out those words and the Holy Spirit is living in you through you because you are standing on those words and practicing them in your life. So you see how important it is to firstly use it upon ourselves and to cleanse ourselves. Once we have done that, this word of God becomes a powerful weapon in our hands. So in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verses three to five, this is basically how, you know, warfare, spiritual warfare is described. So if someone could please go to 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and read out for us verses three to five, 2 Corinthians 10 verses three to five, please. Although we walk in the flesh, we do not walk according to the flesh. For the weapons of our worst, warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. And then verse five. Casting down arguments and every high things that exiled itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Yes, thank you. So we see here in verse five, we are told that this weapon, this word of God, it can demolish arguments that have been set up against the knowledge of God. So God's word says something. God is setting certain standards and making certain statements, but Satan comes with other arguments, which try to lead us away from the truth of God's word, the truth of the knowledge of God, like he did in the case of Adam and Eve. So God had said that if you eat of that fruit which is forbidden, you will die. And what is the argument that Satan raised? He said, no, you will not die. So he set up an argument which went against what God is saying. It went against the knowledge of God. And so when Satan brings such arguments in the form of temptations or in the form of doubts which he wants to create in our minds, in the form of wrong teachings that he wants to sow into our hearts. So when he comes with all of these wrong thoughts and teachings and arguments and wants to set himself up against the knowledge of God, what do we do? We can use the sword of the spirit to demolish those arguments and forcibly cause those wrong teachings and those wrong temptations to bow down in obedience to Christ. So this is something that we can do through the word of the spirit. And the usual example that is given for this is from Matthew chapter four where Jesus uses scriptures to defeat the evil one when he is tempted. So maybe we can just look at one of those temptations, maybe the first temptation. So if again, if someone could go to Matthew chapter four and read out for us the first four verses, Matthew four, one to four, please. Then Jesus was fed up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Now, when the tempted came to him, he said, if you are the son of God, come on, these tongues become bread. But he uncertainly said, it is written, men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that pushes from the mouth of God. All right, so here, what is this tempter? What's the wrong argument with which the tempter is coming over here in this particular scenario? He says to Jesus, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Okay, basically he's saying, now look at you, you're sitting over here in the wilderness all alone, no shops nearby, no food supply anywhere around. You've been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, your fasting time is now finished, you're really hungry, you're waiting for God to provide you with food because there are no trees available, no fruits available, there are no crops where Jesus can go into the fields and maybe take some grain and eat that, there's nothing. Either God provides him with food or he stays foodless. So he's in that state. So the tempter says you're saying that you are the son of God, but look at you sitting over here all helpless. So if you are the son of God, prove it. Prove it to me by turning these stones into bread, that way you'll be able to establish that yes, you are the son of God and also you'll get to eat. So that's basically the temptation which the tempter is bringing. This is the argument that he is presenting and this argument is set up against the knowledge of God, the true knowledge of God. What is the truth over here in this case? Jesus has been sent to the earth to be fully human so that he can be our representative. If he chooses to use his divinity whenever he feels like it, then he will not be human, fully human like us. We humans, we have no divinity. So when we are in a tight spot, we can't just simply use our divine powers to get out of that particular situation. So Jesus has come over here to the earth having made the decision that he's going to lay aside his divinity and not make use of it. And here the tempter is saying, use your divine powers. Prove to me that you are the son of God. And so Jesus says, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. God the father has sent him over here to be our human representative by being fully and completely and totally human and helpless and completely dependent on God the same way we are. So he cannot just simply access his divine powers and turn those stones into bread. He would be going against the word of God if he did that. And so he says, it's not really bread which I need to live. What I really need is every word that comes from the mouth of God. If I feed on that and if I do that and obey that, that will give me life. So that's a statement that Jesus makes. And he's not just saying that quotation because it's a nice quotation. He literally has meditated upon it, reflected upon that truth, absorbed it into his life, made that part of his daily living. And so when he speaks out that verse, it has the full conviction of what he believes. And so now the tempter cannot tempt him because Jesus is saying, this is the truth. And I'm speaking of the truth and demolishing your argument to pieces. So in what way are you gonna tempt me? I'm not tempted by this wrong temptation, this wrong argument which you have brought. So in that way, Jesus has forced this wrong thought, this wrong teaching to submit to the true knowledge of God. Okay, in that way, Jesus has wielded the weapon of the sword of the spirit in this particular case. Now why did Jesus use this particular verse? I mean, there are so many verses in the Bible. Why did he choose this particular verse? There's no explanation given in Matthew chapter four as to why Jesus used this particular verse. So, but then we know that this is a quotation from the Old Testament. So if we go to the Old Testament and look at the background, then we get a clear understanding of why he used this particular passage. You know, it can help us understand how we can use the word of God in our own situations as a sword to fight the temptations which Satan brings. So if we could have someone go to the Old Testament, go to Deuteronomy chapter eight verses two to five. Let's look at that because then we get a very clear idea of why Jesus used this particular passage. Why he quoted that particular line and why it was so effective in demolishing the argument which Satan tried to bring. So Deuteronomy chapter eight verses two to five, please. Every commandment, which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may leave and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord sought your Father. Are you sure? Just a moment, please. Brother, just a moment. Are you in Deuteronomy chapter eight verses two to five? Yes. You remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 days in the wilderness to humble you and test you to know what you was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. So he humbled you, allowed you to hunger and fed you with manner which you did not know or did not did your father's know that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone but man live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Your garments did not wear out on you nor did your foot swell these 40 years. You shall know in your heart that a man chattains his son so the Lord your God chastens you. Amen. Amen. I mean, look at the parallel between what Jesus is experiencing right now in the wilderness and what the Israelites experienced back then in the same wilderness setting many, many centuries earlier. So in the Deuteronomy eight passage we see that God did not have any struggle in producing food for the people. I mean, it was the easiest thing for him to provide food but the reason that he withheld food sometimes is to humble and test them in order to know what was in their heart which is so that's the only reason that he withheld food from them on certain occasions and it explains in Deuteronomy eight verse three it says the reason that he did this is so that people will realize you know it's not just that manna which falls down from heaven which is going to sustain them if they hold on to the word of God and obey every word that he is saying that will sustain them because he is the source of the manna and every word that he is speaking is literally food for them. So God wanted them to know this that is why it says in verse three God caused you to hunger to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. So whether the manna is there or the manna is not there God is always there his words are always there and if you stand on his words the manna will automatically follow the food will automatically follow and so it goes on to provide further evidence of how this is true. You see their clothes did not wear out their feet did not swell those 40 years. Why? Because it was the word of God that was sustaining them and then in verse five it says the reason that God withheld food on certain occasions is because he was trying to teach them something. You know there's a lesson there's an important principle life principle that God wanted to teach and so it says in verse five the reason that God disciplines in this manner is because he considers people these people his children. And so Jesus understood that I mean right from a young age even as God began to teach him he understood that he is now learning firsthand all the things you know which we humans have been taught by God. You know like in Hebrews five eight it says the son though he was he learned obedience from what he suffered it says about Jesus. So by going through these sufferings on earth Jesus was learning firsthand what obedience feels like. You know I mean he being the living word who has existed from eternity he was sitting on his throne and he gave his word to the Israelites he told them do this don't do this he give the commands but now as a human being he was learning firsthand what it feels like to obey those commandments what it feels like to make those sacrifices what it feels like to see nothing in the natural and continue to hold on simply by faith you know through spiritual sight if you look through your physical eyes it's just wilderness all around no food supply no help no assistance so you got to look in or no into your inner person into your into your spiritual you know being into who you are as a spiritual person and look at spiritual truths which cannot be seen through physical eyes Jesus was learning all of this firsthand he was learning obedience through suffering he was learning what obedience feels like what it involves the faith that it takes all of that he was learning so Jesus even has seen he was probably waiting over there after 40 days of fasting and the food has not arrived yet and he is hungry at that time he probably was thinking about this passage and he was reminded how his heart was now being tested to know what is there in it you know because God disciplines his son like it says in Deuteronomy 8.5 Jesus was now being disciplined he was being tested to find out what is in his heart and Jesus remembered that in the passage what was the teaching that was being brought out that man does not live on bread alone but on every word so you see there's a lot of background to what Jesus said he didn't just quote a verse he had taught about that verse he had looked at how that verse applies to his circumstances he had absorbed that teaching and now fully knowing what the truth of God's word is regarding this particular matter you know having understood that with all the power that that word contains he speaks it out against Satan he demolishes the argument which Satan tried to build and now Satan has no way to stand I mean you know once you say that I know the truth and I'm not going to believe your lies he's helpless he has to leave so he leaves of course he comes back again with other temptations but Jesus is able to overcome the temptation by quoting the word of God so this is what we do we spend time every day in the presence of God meditating on the scriptures allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us beautiful truths and then he shows us how to apply those truths in our own lives in our own situations so then one day when the tempter comes and he comes with a very nice sounding argument but you who have spent you know time at the feet of the Holy Spirit now you know your scriptures you know the knowledge of God the true knowledge of God so then in that moment of temptation you lift up that sword of the Spirit you lift up those truths which you have learned and you declare them to Satan you know so it's not just a nice verse that you're quoting at Satan Satan knows the verses by heart what you are doing is you're standing on that word the truth of it and declaring and saying you know Satan what you're saying your argument it's crooked it's corrupted let me tell you what the truth is and you declare that truth Satan has no way to stand he has to leave because you're refusing to get tempted you're saying no I know the truth I'm not going to be deceived so now he can't deceive you and he has to leave of course he'll come back with some other strategy on the next day but for now you have won a victory and the Lord is very pleased that you chose to believe his word and you chose to take a stand on his word so after Jesus you know has gone through these temptations the angels they come they bring the food and you know and they minister to him is what we read so this is how we use the sword of the Spirit now some people generally stop over here you know with at verse 17 and they think that the spiritual armor is complete but then now you know a lot of teachers are recognizing that verse 18 is also talking about another part of the spiritual armor which is basically the weapon of prayer now what they say is that when you consider the armor which the Roman soldier used to wear he not only had all these other pieces of armor which are mentioned by Paul he also used to carry a spear you know the spear is that long, thin it's a kind of a long stick or pole and then you have the sharp knife attached to it so sometimes when the army is still when the enemy is still coming towards you from Afar what would the Roman soldier do if he has a strong army a strong arm and if his aim is really good he can lift up that spear and fling it into the air and because he is strong and his aim is good the spear flies through the air and pierces the enemy long before he has actually even reached so it's like a long distance missile that can be released it's something like that prayer works like that when the enemy is still far off before the attack has actually approached you can attack beforehand in prayer claim the victory in prayer and so when the final event actually happens there's no power in the event at all because you already, you know cancelled out the danger, the harm which that event could bring upon you it's already been cancelled out through prayer let's look at an example of this in verse 18 it says praying always with all prayer and supplication because there are so many different kinds of prayer so you use all of those different types of prayer and supplication in the spirit through the enabling of the Holy Spirit you use all these different kinds of prayer and supplication so that you can be watchful so you pray and prepare yourself in this manner being very, very watchful because you know temptation will come one day or the other and you not only pray for yourself it says in verse 18 Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18 it says also supplication for all the saints so not only do you pray for yourself you pray for the others and in this way you prepare and attack beforehand from a distance itself and we see the example of this in the case of Jesus praying for Peter Luke 22 verses 31 and 32 this is what the Lord says to Simon you know the temptation which Simon is going to face has not yet come that is still in the future but Jesus says to him Simon, Simon indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat but I have prayed for you Jesus is saying I've already used the spear I've already thrown the spear it's already been taken care of so the Lord says I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail and when you have returned to me strengthen your brethren so in prayer Jesus had already won the victory for Peter that Peter should not be crushed by what's going to happen that he should not end up the way Judas Iscariot ended up that even though he would be deeply broken after having betrayed even though there would be so many thoughts in his mind after that event he would come back he would hold on to the faith he would be restored so this is something that Jesus used the spear of prayer to achieve beforehand even before the attack came so you see what a powerful piece of armor this is I mean if we were to talk about all the other pieces of armor and leave out this it would be a very, very sad so prayer is also one of the important pieces of armor that you can use to fight even before the event takes place in prayer you're preparing yourself and you're preparing the other believers and saying Lord we know that temptation is going to come we know that persecution is going to come at that time O Lord we need to be strong and not budge we need to stand and stay firm so we pray to you O Lord strengthen us prepare us and so you spend time in prayer preparing yourself and without your knowledge there are strongholds coming down in the spiritual realm and so finally when that event takes place where the temptation comes or the attack happens or the persecution is precipitated at that time there's no power left in that because the battle has already been won in prayer when you have when you've launched that spear of prayer that time itself in the spiritual realm the victory was won and so no damage occurs when the physical event finally takes place so after having said this this is what Paul says in verse 19 he says pray also for me such a sweet thing you know I mean he's talked about the armor and he's talked about how you know you can use all kinds of prayer and supplication to prepare yourself so he says please if you could use this piece of armor for me please pray for me and what does he want prayer for he says so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel and he repeats it once again in verse 20 he says pray that I may declare it fearlessly Paul was just a human like all of us I mean he had the same emotions as all of us he was as scared of getting beaten up as you know we are it's not like he was you know he was fearless he was as fearful as all of us so he says I need prayer if you guys can pray for me and intercede for me so that you know when the time of persecution comes when that time of stronger position comes then I will not get scared and run away but rather I will take my stand and fearlessly declare the mystery of the gospel and of course you know we've talked about what the mystery of the gospel is it's basically that the Gentiles are equal with the Jewish believers and that the Gentiles also have been invited into the kingdom of God that they too have all the inheritance which which has been one for us in Christ Jesus and so there was a lot of opposition in the early church for this because the Jews were against the Gentiles and they regarded the Gentiles as inferior so at that time whenever Paul would go anywhere and start talking about this there would be serious persecution serious opposition a lot of arguing so to have to face such situations he needed people to back him up in prayer so that he would have the guts to be able to do that so he says please use this weapon on my behalf and pray for me as well is what he says so these are the different pieces of armor which we are supposed to use so that we can take a stand and after all the attacking which Satan has done after he goes away defeated we'll still be standing not having budged not having fallen not having given way but still standing there faithful to the Lord victorious so these are the pieces of spiritual armor that we are meant to use on a daily basis in our own spiritual walk so yeah I'll just discontinue this recording so that we can start Philippines with a new video