Strong
Notes
Transcript
Well if you have ever done physical therapy, you know that one of the focuses of physical therapy is trying to fix whats wrong.
If you hurt your shoulder, the Doctors want to fix it right?
But the second part of physical therapy is almost just as important and that is that a lot of times they will teach you how not to get injured again.
And if you have been with us during this series so much of the series has had to do with making sure your identity is in Christ.
And really what we have talked about is how when our identity is in Christ our lives are changed.
And really God enters our lives and our lives might be a mess, we might have broken pieces all over the place, but God buts those broken pieces back together to form something beautiful.
But God does not just stop there because He does not just want us to find our identity in Him and we are done.
But He wants us to live a life where we are in a constant relationship with Him.
And really today we are in Ephesians 6:10-18 and really what Paul (who wrote this) is wanting us to understand is we need to stay strong in that identity.
And Paul tells us how we are able to stay strong in God, even when there are so many other things that can capture our attention.
So turn with me to Ephesians 6:10-18 and we will just be starting with the first few verses. It says:
Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
So basically what Paul is saying is look you need to be strong in God.
If you have ever seen a large tree this is such a good picture for what Paul is talking about here.
Because typically if you look how big and tall a tree is the roots of that tree typically go just as deep in the ground.
And the reasons trees have their roots go so deep and wide in the ground is because when a strong gust of wind comes they will not fall over. When a storm comes they can still survive, they will not fall over.
And really Paul is telling us you need to be rooted in Christ
and he tells us why in the next two verse he says:
Ephesians 6:11–12 (NIV)
.... so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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.
And really Paul is saying there is a storm coming the language he uses is war.
And really he is saying there is a storm coming something that Paul calls war and if you are not formulae with this we call it spiritual war-far.
Meaning that while God desires us to live a life glorifying Him, Satan actually wants us to live a life seperated from God and rebeling against Him
And Paul is telling us that Satan is constantly doing things to lur us away from God.
So Paul is saying we are in a war.
And what we are told is that we will loose this war.
There is no possible way we can win if we are on our own. Because Sin has caused so much destruction in our life and it is going to continue to unless something happens.
And this is a big issue, because if you were told you were going out to war and you go up to you ask your commanding officer “you think we are going to win the war?”
And they looked at you and said “no, we do not have a chance”
Well that is going to be pretty sad… because there is not much hope.
But look what Paul tells us in verse 13 because he basically says you will loose if you do this alone, but with God you can do it. and in verse 13 he says:
13 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.
Basically Paul is saying you need to surround yourself in God like you are putting on armor.
You know if you have ever played Football (I didn’t but I have friends who have), but my friends say when you are in your football uniform and have the padding and helmet you feel like you are indestructible
And in a way thats what Paul is saying, that when you put on the armer of God it is going to be impossible for Satan to win the war.
And these next verses are so practical because Paul tells us what this armer is.
And Paul uses the Roman Soldiers armer to describe the armer of God, because He knows the Romans armer very well.
As we have talked about a little, Paul is in prison during this time so he was probably actually chained to a Roman soldier
So Paul starts with the belt in verse 14 it says:
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
You know on a Roman soldier a belt was actually the first thing they would but on and it actually holds everything else together.
And so Paul starts with the belt of truth and this is actually not talking about the Gospel, but it is just saying we need to live a life that has truth as a huge part of it.
And this means being truthful, to others but really it means where we are able to examine our lives truthfully in light of God.
Because so often what we like to do is we ignore real issues in our lives and there are things that are toxic in our life and walk with God.
And so what Paul is saying is stop trying to ignore areas in your life that are not glorifying to God, but shine the light of Christ in that area.
And after that He even says to place the breatplate of rightousness on which would guard the heart.
Meaning the way we live should be glorifying to God, because if not the enemy can strike at the heart and that is a strong blow.
Well, look at verse 15 because Paul moves on to the gospel
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Really what Paul is saying is that we need to live a life where we are standing on the Gospel.
You know it is amazing what a good pair of shoes can do. When I was training for a Marathon, I had a really sketchy pair of shoes and I would trip and twist my ankel non stop
So I finally invested in a nice pair of shoes and it was amazing how much more stable I was.
And in this verse it is basically saying to stand on the Gospel. Live a life where everything you do is a result of God and what he is doing in your life.
Because when circumstances change or an issue comes up you are going to stand firm.
Look at the next verse and this is one of my favorites verse 16 because it says:
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
You know the Roman soldures shield was actually wooden and then it was coated in leather so when flaming arrows would be shot at them the wood would stop the arrow, but the flame would not get to the wood because of the leather.
And I have never been shot with a flaming arrow, but I imagine if I was I would really have to have some faith that the shield I have actually works.
And that is why Paul says take up the sheild of faith.
Basically trust God.
You know so often we say we trust God, but the moment something goes wrong we go okay God I trust you, but I am going to take this in my own hands.
And so we do our own thing instead of trusting God.
Look at the last two pieces of Armer Paul mentions in verse 16 because he says:
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
You know if you have ever been to a construction sight they a lot of times have a sign that says hard hats required.
And its to protect your head but it also makes it so you do not have to be as on guard that something might hit your head
It makes it so you do not have to feel like you might get hit all the time.
And really I think Paul is tell us, look your life should not be living in fear that you will mess up or stumble in your walk with God,
Because you have the helmet of salvation. Basically God has won the war.
And this does not mean we should live however we want, but so often I see so many Christians concerned over messing up and it actually paralyses them.
And Paul is saying when you have the helmet of Salvation on you know that Satan is already defeated, so start living into the calling that God has given you.
Well the last piece of armer in the sword. and everything else has been defensive and this is actually the only affence that Paul mentions.
And it is the word of God, basically when we read or hear God’s word something happens where darkness and sin flees and God takes over.
basically the word of God should transform us.
Because we can try to break old habits or addictions, but only God and His word has the power to change our heart and others.
And look at this last verse (verse 18) it says this:
18 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 Lord’s people.
Really this is the most important part. Because Paul ends all of this by saying we need to listen to where God is leading us.
And you know I am unsure where you need light in your life this morning. But what would happen if you allowed God to transform your heart this morning and to guide you to a place where his Kingdom is full.
Because the truth is the armer we put on does not retrain us but it gives us freedom to live for Him.