How to be strong as a Christian
How to be strong as a Christian 3/9/08 p.m.
Eph 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the 2wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
We have enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves.
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might there are some things we need to know and some things we need to do.
The first thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
The command: that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
Our strength is in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Be strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting.
Jn 15:5 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Be strong in Him, we can do nothing of our self
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
11 to Put on the whole armor of God,
The things of God are for our provision as well as our protection – use it all
The proper defensives and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan
2 Co 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,[1]
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
That putting on the whole armor of God is the only way you are be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
the devil’s assaults, both of force and fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against us.
w/o using all God has provided we can not combat the devices of Satan
spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, financial
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
12 that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
We are not battling man Man is only a tool of choice influence & controlled by Satan
The devil & ranks of devils have a government which they exercise in this world.
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
That we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We are not battling man but the spirits that controls the spirit of man
He is a powerful enemy:
Principalities, and powers, and rulers.
They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan’s empire.
The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and they are unseen, and assault us w/o us being aware of them.
They chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickednesses, pride, envy, malice, etc.
The next thing we need to know to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is;
13 realizing who our enemies are; Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Use all God has made available to us,
the bible, sound advice, H.S., wisdom, knowledge, understanding, experience, etc.
This is the only way we can endure faithfully
because the days are evil and will be until Christ returns and destroys all the
works of evil
even when it seems you are at the end of your rope-don’t give in or give up
We must withstand,
We must not yield to the devil’s allurements and assaults, but oppose them.
Satan is said to stand up against us, 1 Chr. 21:1.
If he stand up against us, we must stand against him;
set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the devil.
Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand against Satan is to strive against sin.
We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand.
We must resolve, by God’s grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee
Now we know the things needed To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might there are some things we need to do.
The means to perform the command
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
This is the first step to stand and remain faithful – with truth, in truth, by truth, through truth
God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts.
This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned.
As a girdle restrains and keeps in the body. This is the Christian soldier’s belt:
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
put on the breastplate of righteousness,
This is the second step to stand and remain faithful – by doing what is right regardless of
cost or consequence
Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart.
Our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
15 shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
This is third step to stand and remain faithful – knowing & applying the gospel and its’ Message
The use of them was to defend the feet against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks,
The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it.
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
This is the fourth step to stand and remain faithful – by knowing that you know that you know – God is, and He is faithful
Faith is all in all to us in an hour of temptation.
The breast-plate secures the vitals; but with the shield we turn every way. This is the victory over the world, even our faith. We are to be fully persuaded of the truth of all God’s promises and threatenings, such a faith being of great use against temptations
Consider faith as it is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for
Satans’ temptations are called darts
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
17 And take the helmet of salvation,
This is the fifth step to stand and remain faithful – knowing that you are saved
eternally – regardless of what happens to this body; That is, hope
The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
This is sixth step to stand and remain faithful – use the Word of God to fight your battles
It is called the sword of the Spirit,
because He renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.
Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with.
Christ himself resisted Satan’s temptations with, It is written, Mt. 4:4, 6, 7, 10
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might we need to;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
We must join prayer with all these graces, for our defense against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always.
This is the seventh step to stand and remain faithful – pray, pray for endurance, and pray for other saints
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2 schemings
[1]The New King James Version. 1982 (2 Co 10:4-5). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.