In Christ Week 13: Stay Strong and Suit Up

Coming Up

Awaken Youth is this week!

CPU’s Registrations are live!

Summer Voices starts next weeks | Four of my dear friends will be preaching for us

This is not B Team…These are world class communicators!

_______

Todays Text

Ephesians 6:10–23 NLT

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness.

Opening Illustration

There is no opportunity to prove your strength and independence like carrying in the groceries.

You pull every bag handle to your wrist to try and prove how strong you are…

But occasionally you reach that place of realization that you’ve taken on too much…

It feels like the bags are literally going to cut your hand off…You set them down and recalibrate so as not to be maimed…

There are times you have to come to the realization that you’re not strong enough…

________

Context

Paul has given a pretty heavy command to the Ephesian church over the last few chapters of this passage.

He has told them the value of submission and

made the equation that their willingness to submit is what gives evidence to their commitment to the Lord.

This is a hard word that a weak audience couldn’t receive…so Paul tells them to be strong.

________

Be strong…but not in yourself

The greek word for strong is a word that translates aptly to be able.

Paul tells a group of believers that they have a mandate to face their uncertainties, battles, and insufficiencies with one objective…be able.

This is a biblical mandate to walk in a level of ability…yet often as Christ followers we are ever focused on our inabilities.

There are many of us who have become entirely too well versed in our inabilities.

We have evidence of when couldn’t produce success

We have evidence of when couldn’t measure up to the expectations of others

We have a default expectation of disappointment based on selective evidence

And then Paul throws a mandate at us to “be strong”…

This is an impossible mandate if it was out on a limb by itself.

_______

The clarifying condition

Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

If you are someone who has deep seated feelings of insecurity and insufficiency…Paul is offering you a reframe that has the potential to change your life.

Your strength is found in your surrender.

I can only walk in the strength of the Lord when I’m willing to surrender my own strength.

(This isn’t the starter mandate until you can get strong in yourself…the whole mission for your whole life is to be strong in the Lord.)

________

It’s a battle out there

Ephesians 6:11–12 NLT

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

The call to stand in the strength of the Lord is necessary…because fleshly strength can only stand against fleshly weight.

The battles we are facing are bigger than what we can see.

It is incredibly beneficial when we come to realize that the issue is not the issue.

If you’ve ever been incredibly confused by how things get blown out or proportion and a bunch of little things turn into a bunch of big things

It’s an indication that you are not facing an issue of the flesh.

We need spiritual defense for spiritual attack.

________

Know your enemy

The enemy is not your ex

The enemy is not the person who betrayed you

The enemy is not the person who is spreading gossip about you.

The enemy is the spirit behind what they are doing.

Our enemy is a master manipulator…

He manipulates people

He manipulates circumstances

He manipulates emotions

All of this equates to situations and scenarios wherein we feel overwhelmed

If you attack the wrong thing…you can win and still be defeated.

______

Ephesians 6:13–14 NLT

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth…

________

Sidenote

It’s worth noting a couple of promises in this verse…

We don’t have to surrender to the enemy.

The battle will end (“after the battle”)

You will still be standing…

The enemy likes to paint a bleak picture for the outcome of this battle…But it will end…and you will still be standing.

___________

The Belt of Truth

The belt is the article of every ensemble that holds it together.

The thing that holds our lives together when everything else is raging around us…is the truth.

Over the years I’ve had all kinds of things said about me…to me…over me…

I’ve dealt with deep anxiety from some of those things

The way I break the anxious thoughts is by asking one simple question…

IS WHAT WAS SAID TRUE?

Anxiety and depression are often a cycle of thoughts built on information that is not fully true.

Philippians 4:8 NKJV

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

________

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14 NLT

….and the body armor of God’s righteousness.

The body armor…or breastplate…is a piece of armor that protects your heart.

Scripture often equates the heart with the emotional center and the point of driving passion.

Righteousness protects our heart…

Our hearts are where the lies of inadequacy and insufficiency comes from…

We need protection from those lies.

What protects our heart from feelings of inadequacy is to know that when we believe on Jesus we have been made the righteousness of God.

You cannot become more righteous than you are at the moment you receive Jesus

You can only increase in your revelation of that righteousness…

The more I come into a revelation of righteousness…the more I live that righteousness in my daily life.

Understanding the source of my righteousness serves as guard for my heart.

Wrongly sourced righteousness inevitably produces pride.

________

The Shoes of Peace

Ephesians 6:15 NLT

For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

When I receive the gospel…Every where I step should be visited and impacted by the peace of God.

Shoes leave specific prints behind.

When you leave a room…do you leave a peaceful trail?

If you bring conflict you don’t bring peace

If you bring confusion you don’t bring peace

If you bring drama you don’t bring peace

If you bring constant negativity you don’t bring peace…

Do an inventory of the footprints your tracking…

________

The shield of faith

Ephesians 6:16 NLT

In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

The king james actually translates “in addition” as… “Above all.”

Not "also."

Not "if you have time."

ABOVE ALL.

This clause that Paul inserts lets us know something…this is the most important part!

Maybe you’ve been hurt in the past by the church or someone in the church…

If church burned you, or bored you, or just slowly stopped making sense.

You already know about the fiery darts.

You don't need me to convince you they're real.

You feel them at 2am when you can't sleep.

You feel them when you open social media and everybody's life looks better than yours.

You feel them in that voice that says you're behind, you're failing, nobody would stick around if they really knew you.

Those darts…

But it’s important to differentiate that those darts are not coming from the people around you.

(Paul already told us that back in verse 12.)

It’s an important differentiation because if we see the darts coming from the wrong source…we will try and protect ourselves with the wrong shield.

________

What’s your shield

We’re all holding up something.

Some of us hold up achievement. “If I just hit the next thing, the darts stop.”

Some of us hold up distraction. “Numb it, scroll it, drink it.”

Some of us hold up cynicism, and let me tell you, cynicism feels like a shield. It feels safe.

But all cynicism really does is bring us to the place to where we expect the impact of the dart…

It doesn't stop the dart. It just makes you stop hoping the dart could ever miss.

We have become accustomed to using a lot of ineffective shields…

A shield only works if it can take the hit.

_____

Paul calls us to take up the shield of faith

Faith isn't pretending the darts aren't real.

Faith is having something in front of you strong enough to take what's coming.

Faith is trust.

Trust placed in a Person who already walked through the worst of it and came out the other side.

Trusting that God has something better in store for us is the only defense that mitigates the threat of Satan’s attacks.

______

The helmet of salvation

Ephesians 6:17 NLT

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Let the fact that you’ve been saved change the way you think.

Stop considering yourself a sinner

You are the righteousness of God

We have been saved…meaning God chose us.

I am not forgotten or unimportant because the God of all creation chose me.

______

Offensive Weapons: Pray in the Spirit and Quote the Word

Ephesians 6:18 NLT

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

The gifts of the Spirit are a part of the armor of God.

I’m thankful for the belt of truth

I’m thankful for the breastplate of salvation

I’m thankful for the armor that protects me as defense

But the Word of God and Spirit-filled prayer are the offensive weapons that God has given us to fight against the strategy of our enemy.

Paul tells us that there is never a bad time to pray in the Spirit.

When your sick..when your healthy

When your sad…when your happy

When your winning…when your losing

_____

Don’t give up praying

He throws in be persistent in your prayers…meaning the enemy is going to strategically try to rob you of a commitment to pray.

Be persistent to pray for all believers

It’s hard to stay mad at someone you are consistently praying for.

________

Pray for your leaders

Ephesians 6:19–20 NLT

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Paul begins closing his letter to the Ephesians by letting them know…He struggles too.

I would echo Paul’s sentiment

Pray for me…

Paul tells them I’m currently dealing with literal chains but I’m still walking in my purpose.

Don’t let the fact that someone is walking in purpose fool you into thinking that they don’t have problems.

Pastors have bad days too

Pastors deal with depression too

Pastors have financial hardship too

I’m not preaching that to garner sympathy…I’m saying while your praying for everyone else…and while I’m praying for your needs pray for me!

Pray that my family would thrive

Pray that my vision would be clear

Pray that my kids would go further in ministry than I ever dreamed.

_______

Close the book

Ephesians 6:21–23 NLT

To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness.

________

Close the message

Be strong (be able)…but not in yourself…be strong in the Lord

Put on the armor

Let the truth hold you together

Leave footprints of peace everywhere you go

Guard your heart with the righeousness of God

Guard your mind with the fact that you’ve been chosen by God for salvation

Pray in the Spirit and quote the word to attack the enemy.

But I want to close this out by reemphasizing the most important part according to the apostle Paul…make sure you keep the shield of faith.

_______

After mom’s accident, she spent seventeen weeks in the ICU.

for nearly all of those weeks, she couldn't talk.

The machines were breathing for her.

We sat in that room day after day, watching her fight, and she couldn't say a word.

Towards the end of her journey they got a tracheotomy tube placed to where she could speak. Just a little. Just barely.

Weeks of silence.

wondering what she would say if she ever could again.

And the first sentence out of my mother's mouth after all of that silence was three words.

"I'm trusting God."

_______

She didn’t say

why me."

"I'm scared."

"get me out of here."

I'm trusting God.

_______

I tell you that story for a couple of reasons…

I always want to honor the faith of the woman who shaped me and inspired me to follow Jesus…my hero.

But also because it emphasizes this point.

Faith is meant for seasons when the darts are being fired the hardest.

I tell you that story because the darts did not miss her.

This was real trauma.

This was the kind of fiery arrow that you and I are terrified of.

And that trauma ultimately took her life.

So this isn't a story about how faith makes the bad thing go away. It didn't.

It’s a story that reminds me, in the middle of the worst of it, with barely enough breath to make a sound, my mom chose what she was going to hold up.

She didn't hold up achievement.

She didn't hold up distraction.

She wasn't reaching for cynicism.

She held up faith…

_______ I don’t know what struggles you’re facing today…but I want to encourage you stay strong and suit up…

And if the devil is attacking…Your greatest strategy for the fight is holding up faith!