Take your Bibles with me and turn to Ephesians 6.

I'm going to do something I very rarely do (and those of you who have been here with me for the last 14 years can attest to this) I'm going to talk about politics.

I don't like politics. If you would have asked 15 year old Ryan what he wanted to do with his life, I would have told you I wanted to be a political influencer of some kind. My first real paying job in high school was working as an intern in Dan Quayle's failed presidential campaign, and I volunteered on George W Bush's campaign as well.

A younger me devoured books by guys like Dinesh DeSouza and Thomas Sowell, and listened to copious amounts of talk radio.

But something happened, I felt clearly that God was calling me to the ministry. My youth group took a trip to Crown College in TN, and I just knew in my heart God wanted me to go there. I remember standing in the lobby of the school, and wouldn't you know it, there was a picture there of Vice President Dan Quayle, my old boss and one of the professors put his arm around me and asked if there was anything he could pray with me about, and so I told him I was wrestling with whether to work in politics or to go into the ministry.

When I came back home, I was sitting around the office one day and this man named Emile Boulieu, who had been the long time mayor of Manchester, NH and who was a faithful Christian said to me, out of the blue, "Ryan, I think God is calling you to be a pastor and I think you should do it."

And so I turned my back on politics and have given my life to religion. I do not regret that one bit.

But I want you to understand something about our faith. It is not siloed. It is not like we have this little faith box, this little religion box, that we keep hermetically sealed against the rest of our life.

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That's not how faith works. Our faith is all encompassing. It dictates every other part of our life. Everything we do, from work, to family, to what we eat, to what goes on in our mind - all of it is to be shaped by our faith.

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The Bible is clear that everything in us is to be given to Christ. Every one of our thoughts should be captured by Him.

[!bible] 2 Corinthians 10:5 - KJV 5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

And I hate to break it to you - but that includes our thoughts about politics. We can't really seal off our politics from our faith. That will not work. No, God gets all of it, including our politics.

Now, this week, the most awful thing happened. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since Wednesday afternoon: Charlie Kirk, a christian and conservative that basically went to college campuses and answered questions and had open debates with people, was assassinated by a sniper from a nearby rooftop.

How many of you have heard about this? Unfortunately, I saw the clip. I wouldn't recommend you watch it. It was horrible.

Now, I am not a Charlie Kirk fan. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that I didn't like him or that I disagreed with him. I just didn't really pay him any attention. I saw some of his videos and was impressed, but I never really watched him or went to his rallies.

But I've watched quite a bit since Wednesday - and I would guess that Charlie Kirk and I agree on about 99% of things. He probably liked Trump a bit more than I do, but that is about all I could find.

And yet, he was killed. Murdered. Assassinated in cold blood.

And what is worse, a whole lot of people I personally know cheered. I work with two guys and one of them said "He had it coming, he was a provocateur" and the other said "They killed a terrorist. I'm not going to be upset about it."

People in my own family cheered.

And the whole thing just felt unimaginably dark. It was like someone through a dark wet wool blanket on my soul.

Charlie Kirk was 11 years younger than me. He was a young husband and father. His daughter was literally born the same exact day as our Addie. He wasn't a preacher, but he probably preached the gospel to more people on college campuses than anyone in history. And they shot him.

And it was like - those same people would rejoice if I was killed. They would rejoice if most of the people I know and love were killed. It was a chilling moment. One I know all of us have been wrestling with all week.

And so what does the Bible say to this? I kept thinking this week about spiritual warfare. So I wanted to go to Ephesians 6 this morning and remind you of our spiritual reality.

Are you there? Let's read verses 10-19 this morning:

[!bible] Ephesians 6:10-19 - KJV 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

There are four truths from this passage I think we need to know right now. These truths are always true, but we really feel them on weeks like this week.

The first truth I see in this passage is...

1. We are in a battle field.

We are engaged in a battle against the devil and all of his forces, and the devil is wiley. He is a formidable enemy. We are really and truly in a battle.

Ever go to a big city and you'll see a construction zone, and there will be signs all around it that say "danger, hard hat area." They want you to know that if you enter that fence, some construction material may fall of you. You are entering the danger zone.

Well, a battle field is far, far worse. Imagine walking through an active battlefield. Bullets are flying. Explosions are happening. If it was an ancient battle field there would be firey arrows flying through the air and giant catapults launching huge boulders.

You can say I'm just a bystander. I'm not involved. I may be with these guys but I'm a noncombatant. That doesn't matter man - you are in the middle of stinking battlefield. There is an army over there that you can see, and they are going to do everything they can to destroy you whether you pick up your weapon or not.

A lot of Christians have this sense of naivete when it comes to the spiritual battle we are in. They walk through this life like they are strolling through Disney World, completely oblivious to the fact that they are right in the middle of a battle.

The truth is, you are in a battlefield. There is a war on. The forces of light and the forces of darkness have been duking it out since the dawn of time, and the moment you trusted Christ you put on the Christian uniform and put a target on your back.

We can forget that. I forget that. And then moments like what happened this week grab our attention like a bomb blast that just barely misses us.

Wake up! You are on a battle field! There is danger everywhere! We aren't playing around here!

That is the first thing to learn from this passage. The second truth I think this passage tells us is...

2. We have powerful enemies.

Look at verse 12 with me:

[!bible] Ephesians 6:12 - KJV 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I think it is very important to remember who our enemies are and who are enemies aren't.

Let's start with who are enemies are:

First, we are fighting against Satan. Against the devil. He is the leader of the forces of evil. He is a fallen angel, commanding a host of fallen angels - all completely opposed to God and everything He stands for and they are, by and large, in control down here where we live.

And he has help. Because this verse tells us we are wrestling against "principalities." That word means "first rank ruling powers."

Think of the most powerful people in the whole world, the people you wouldn't want to cross - and we are wrestling against them.

We are also wrestling against "powers" that just mean "authorities." The powers that be in this world, the governments in this world, are often lined up with Satan against God and what He is trying to do. They often hinder what God wants to do through Christians.

We are wrestling against "the rulers of the darkness of this world." This world is a dark place. There are forces of darkness at work. And those forces are opposed to us and what God has called us to do.

I think the last phrase is interesting against spiritual wickedness in high places. This means we are fighting against "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm." We are fighting against demons, fallen angels, creatures far more powerful than us and that we cannot even understand or see.

And all of these forces have captured vast swaths of mankind. They are working through most of the power structures of this world:

• through education,
• through government,
• through media,
• through culture.
  This is the battle we face.

So not only are we on a battlefield, we are on a battlefield and deep in enemy territory.

Now, I want to be crystal clear with you. I believe in our time and in our culture, a very clear and dangerous enemy is what has become the modern left.

There are things in the traditional left that align with Christianity: compassion for the poor, dignity of all races - I'm sure there are others.

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the political cancer that has eaten the minds of our kids, causing vast swaths of our population to walk in lock step against God and the Bible. The kind of mentality that causes people to cheer when they hear a man like Charlie Kirk is assassinated. I believe the whole thought process comes from Satan and is a weapon of spiritual warfare.

50 years ago, radicals in our colleges and universities started talking about post-modernism and critical theory. Let me give you a very simple summary of what post-modernism and critical theory presents. They key thesis is this:

There is no truth, there are only oppressors and victims. The concept of truth is used by oppressors to hurt victims. So what matters isn't the truth, but whatever helps victims overcome oppressors.

By the 90s, this concept had basically taken over the humanities departments in major colleges and universities. Including the education departments. The education departments teach teachers - who then went and started bringing that worldview into our High School and elementary classrooms. So for the last 20 years or so, our public schools and colleges have been indoctrinating people with the idea that there is no truth and the only thing that matters is helping victims and marginalized people overcome oppressors.

Now, as a Christian, that is not the way we see the world. We see the Bible as truth. It is perfectly true. We see Christ as the way, the Truth and the life. Our rock, our foundation, isn't that there are oppressors and victims, our rock is ultimately God's word. So this worldview does not mix with biblical Christianity. They are like oil and water.

Yet this worldview has been poured into our culture and an entire generation of students have been indoctrinated by it.

And the result of it is the modern left. Have you ever wondered how the same people can champion gay rights and at the same time champion Islam, which in every place it has power executes people for homosexuality? I mean, something doesn't add up there?

It's because they aren't thinking like you and I are thinking. They are myopically focused on who is the oppressor, and who is the oppressed. If you are oppressed, you are good. If you are in power, you are bad. That is the main lens that they have to see the world.

So why did Charlie Kirk die, and why are people celebrating it? Because Charlie Kirk was a truth teller, and people have been conditioned to see truth-telling as oppression.

I believe the devil and the forces of darkness have used this lie to undermine the truth, to turn the races against each other, to turn the generations against each other, to turn children against their parents, and ultimately to turn people against their very own bodies. It is the most dangerous weapon the devil has come up with in a long time.

And that is just one tactic of the enemy. But it is the prominent one right now. It is one we have to strenuously fight against if we want to preserve a future for our kids and our grand kids.

Now, I told you when I started this point that I would identify who our enemy is, but also who is not our enemy. This verse starts by telling us "We wrestle not against flesh and blood."

It is very important that we understand that we aren't trying to defeat people. We are trying to defeat Satan and his forces. We are actually trying to rescue people.

Satan started taking over this world back in Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve. Since that fateful time, the default position on this earth has been to be under Satan and his lies.

But the Bible teaches us that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son. To save who? To save sinners. To save those who were duped by Satan.

Our goal is not to hurt anybody, but to convert them. We are in a spiritual battle yes, but our enemies are also our mission field. The true enemy is the lies they believe.

And because our enemies are spiritual, our weapons must be spiritual too. Remember, we aren't fighting with flesh and blood, and so we aren't fighting with physical tools. We have no right to try to convert anyone by force. We have no desire to do it.

Remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who as He was being killed as the ultimate truth-teller. As He was being horrendously murdered and tortured, and the demons and forces of hell circled around the cross mocking Him in his pain said "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Remember that God, in His wisdom, picked out one of the biggest haters and persecutors of Christ named Paul, and converted Him - making him the great missionary to the Gentiles and using him to write much of scripture.

I love our hymn "O Church Arise" - I think it captures this perfectly:

With shield of faith and belt of truth
We'll stand against the devil's lies
An army bold whose battle cry is love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor

When faced with trials on ev'ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations

So what have we learned so far from this passage?

• We are in a battlefield
• We have powerful enemies.

Tonight I'm going to finish this message and give you the last two points:

• We have been called to stand.
• We have been given the equipment we need.

Conclusion

As I close this morning, I want to tell you something. I've read many posts this week on social media of people waking up. My parents have told me about many different conversations they have had with their family members because of this. My daughters tell me that at work they've had many conversations about this.

This kind of think shocks people. A lot of people are waking up and saying "This is evil." I read one person who said "I've never been to church because I didn't know if God is real, but I think I'm going to start attending, because I know that evil is real."

You know, I believe that it was when Stephen was being stoned for his bold witness that God started to work on the man who would become the Apostle Paul.

What happened this week was absolutely tragic and horrible. The way people reacted to it was sickening and sad. But I believe God is using this event in a great way to bring people to Himself, to release people from the captivity of their anti-truth ideology.

And if you are here today and you have been on the fence - Christ will take you. Christ will save you. He died on the cross and took your sins upon Himself so that you could be a part of God's family.

I want to finish with a clip:

https://youtube.com/shorts/5zOWFBXyXgY?si=Q7j-qxy10T9VKjo0

!If I Had 30 Seconds to Live, What Would You Tell Me_ Rest in Peace Charlie Kirk.mp4

I couldn't say it better myself. Let's stand for a song of invitation. If you would like to talk to someone about becoming a Christian, just slip out the back and there will be a counselor there to meet you.