Ephesians6:10-20
I. His protective panoply
A. It must be applied (verse 11): "Put on the whole armor"
B. It must be appropriated (verses 13-17) "take unto yourselves"
1. Girdle of Truth
2. Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Sandals of the Gospel
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit
II. His aggressive enemy
A. Satan is methodical (verse lie): "wiles," methods
B. Satan is infernal (verse 12) "not against flesh and blood"
C. Satan is diabolical (verse 16)
III. His effective strategy
A. The continual attitude of prayer: "praying always"
B. The creative agency in prayer: "in the Spirit"
C. The constant alertness in prayer: "watching thereunto"
D. The comprehensive action of prayer: "for all saints"
E. The compulsive authority of prayer (verses 19, 20)
1. To liberate line Word (verse 19a) "that utterance may be given"
2. To interpret the Word (verse 19b) "to make known the mystery"
3. To demonstrate the Word (verse 20)
IV. A worthy soldier of the Cross
One of the most courageous men alive today is Wiran Takko of Formosa. He grew up in a mountainous region, peopled by the aborigines. Formosa has quite a formidable past. Ceded by China to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, the Japanese State religion, Shintoism, was pressed upon the people.
By 1945 there were 4,000 believers among the aborigines; they had built 12 churches and were erecting others. This was reported by the first missionary to return to Formosa. The story of Wiran's sufferings was gradually pieced together.
Secret meetings, banned by the Japanese, were held in the hills. The police caught Wiran and beat him until he was near death. They tried to compel him to renounce his belief in Jesus Christ, but he refused and was promptly clubbed into unconsciousness and remained in that state for two days.
Three days later, at the police station, he was asked to divulge plans for the rescue of Christians by Americans, and he replied that he knew nothing of such plans. Isubaki, the police chief, punished him by refusing to allow him to sleep for a week, causing Wiran to lose his reason. When he demanded the return of his Bible, for some strange reason, they returned it.
He was then locked in an iron cage in his own home for one year and then released. Ignoring the threat of police brutality, he continued teaching his people about Christ. On two occasions he was arrested and threatened with death, but he refused to deny his Lord.
Then came the Japanese surrender, which brought great joy to the Christians. Today the man who was locked in a cage for a year and beaten many times is continuing his work, walking the mountain trails for hundreds of miles, to tell the people of a Saviour Who is mighty to save.
