pray that i may declare it fearlessly (phillip jensen)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

This was the passage (Eph 6:10-20) for a sermon that i just listened to by Phillip Jensen (on CD). it was soo awesome! i love talks that are really "chunky" - full of solid theology and challenging to the core! and this one was no exception...

His main point was that Christians are in spiritual warfare; and the devil is especially wanting to silence those who proclaim the gospel. This is why Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him- pray that he may declare the gospel with boldness -> because Satan is trying his hardest to silence the gospel.

One of the ways that Satan uses to silence the gospel is the idea of tolerance or pluralism. In this day and age, we're meant to be "tolerant" people; accepting of others. This includes the thinking that everybody is right, that there is no absolute truth, and that all religions lead to God as long as you have enough belief. But this is wrong!

You see, the gospel is open to everybody- but they must enter through the narrow gate (Matt 7) The gospel includes everyone whether they are Jew, Gentile, Chinese, Australian... but unless they believe in Christ and this belief leads them to repentance and to change their ways...they are excluded.

It is this inclusivity and then the consequential exclusivity which offends. People are happy for us to tell them Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. But we tell them that Jesus is the ONLY way to God..and then they are offended.

Phillip also talked about the media. Everyday newspapers publish horoscopes (which are stupid and more lies by Satan!!) but they always have scathing reports on Christians. The media hates Phillip Jensen precisely because he speaks the TRUTH. click here for a report on this very sermon!

And so Phillip asks that we may pray for him- that he may declare the gospel with boldness. He is fighting a spiritual battle against Satan who is always trying to silence the gospel and its saving power. But he are not alone. And neither are we when we tell our friends about the gospel!