Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

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Intro:

Do you ever wonder how you stand with your employer???

Does the boss think well of you, or are you in a place of suspect?

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Is the boss impressed, wanting to promote you.. keep you around..

Or.. is the boss on the edge of getting rid of you.. because you are unproductive… or , you are a liability? ++

Do you ever wonder how you stand.. with that close relative?

What do they really think about you?

Are they pleased?

Are they impressed?

Do they trust you? ++

Are you in “good standing” or “bad standing”??? ++

Do you ever wonder.. how you stand.. with the guy, back in the kitchen, who’s making your sandwich??

They look through their little window.. see you there..

Do they make a judgment based on appearance..

Do they know you from somewhere? ++

Is that cook.. the guy you cut off in traffic and used single fingered sign language with?

You know.. it’s possible.. and right now.. they’re back there preparing something that you’re going to eat… ++

If you are, or are not in good standing with people… it makes a big difference.. ++

So far, the book of Ephesians has taught us.. that we are in “Good standing with God..”

Not because of our righteousness..

But, because of the righteousness of Christ..

If we have received Christ as our Lord..

If we have received by faith.. the forgiveness that He offers freely..

Then we stand.. in Him.. and ultimately.. in His righteousness. ++

Christ is righteous and holy..

That righteousness and holiness is extended to us..

And for 3 whole chapters.. (1-3) .. Paul taught us.. of the crazy awesome blessings that we’ve received in Christ… ++

If we send up a prayer to the Lord..

We don’t have to wonder if He’s like that short order cook… peeking out the window.. wondering who ordered the healing with a side order or “help me pay my bills.” ++

He already knows who you are..

And He knows.. that you are in the best possible standing w/Him..

Through JX. ++

You don’t have to question… ‘how you stand’ with God…

In the 3 chapters that follow.. we talk then about how we walk… ++

And until now.. that’s been our topic..

We’ve discussed the “talk”.. in 1-3..

Then.. we’ve discussed: “walking the talk.. “ in the chapters that follow.. ++

Today.. we’re going to take the walk.. to the next level..

Today.. we’re not just walking our faith in the every day issues of life..

It’s more than that now..

Now.. we’re walking our faith.. into battle.. ++

We’re looking beyond the obvious physical world..

And we’re seeing into a realm of conflict..

A realm of good, verses evil..

A realm where all of us battle, whether we realize it or not.. ++

Let’s read again this one verse...

Ephesians 6:10 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

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As we prepare to jump into this… I want to give you four verses from Joshua chapter 1:

Joshua 1:6 ESV

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

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Joshua 1:7 ESV

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

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Joshua 1:9 ESV

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

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Joshua 1:18 ESV

18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

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Do you see a theme here?

Here’s what’s significant about these four verses..

In every one.. the Lord is calling Joshua to “be strong and courageous”

And he keeps on saying it.. over and over again.. ++

Why did Joshua need strength and courage?

Because he was about to go up against the giants..

He was about to go to war.. and fight for the promise that God said was his..

He was about to go into the land of promise.. – a place of joy, peace and great experience.. ++

However.. unless he fought for it.. there would not be: joy, peace or great experiences.. ++

Here’s the spiritual lesson.. for us..

Crossing the Jordan.. entering into the promised land..

That’s not a picture of us “crossing over into heaven” ++

Swing Low Sweet Chariot got it wrong..

There are no giants opposing us in heaven..

You and I.. we spiritually crossed that Jordan.. the day we gave our lives to Jesus.. ++

Egypt.. which represents a life of slavery to the sinful ways of the world.. is behind us.. ++

The promise.. is forgiveness and eternal life..

We entered into that.. the day we prayed, by faith.. to become a Christian.. ++

So here we are.. everyone of us here today.. who believes in Jesus..

We are in our promised land..

But, there are still giants..

There is still, great opposition.. ++

You have a great enemy, in the desires of your own flesh..

You have an enemy.. on a spiritual level.. in the Devil..

You have giants.. that don’t want you to experience.. everything that God has for you.. here! ++

Therefore… Be Strong!

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Here in Ephesians.. we are encouraged to be strong: “in the Lord”..

Not.. “in my own will power”

Not.. “in my own muscle power”

No way.. instead.. be strong.. in the Lord.. ++

Is God strong?

Yes! - omnipotent.

That should give us confidence..

The Bible tells us a few things about the strength of the Lord... ++

Exodus 15:2 ESV

2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

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2 Samuel 22:33–35 ESV

33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. 34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. 35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

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Psalm 28:7 ESV

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

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2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

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Who is our strength? The Lord!

What are we s’posed to do in the Lord? Be strong!! ++

But.. but.. our culture.. our society.. our new way of thinking..

.. we just don’t grasp the idea of being strong.. as easily as we used to..

In many ways.. we as a society have become very focused on: “how we are feeling”.. or “how we are being treated”.. or.. “how we are perceiving things..” ++

We’ve gone to such extents with our sensitivities.. that we look for stuff to offend us..

We read into things in such a manner, as to make them.. offend us.. ++

It’s popular and downright expected.. that we be people..

Who are thin skinned..

Perpetually walking w/an expectation that we are being: judged, dissed, discriminated against and disrespected.. ++

We are being taught by our world… to be overly sensitive and quickly offended...

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And then.. we read:

Be Strong in the Lord an in the strength of His might.. ++

Illustration:

Think with me.. for a minute.

Now we have environment friendly cars..

They run on partial battery power and go about 300 mpg..

Some of them are fully powered by batteries… no combustion whatsoever.. ++

They’re getting better… Teslas are somewhat robust…

But, your run of the mill Prius.. it’s a bit more sensitive… a bit more delicate..

Nice little pods to drive around.. from house to the office..

P-up some groceries in…

Take your old newspapers down to the recycle bin.. ++

But.. – are you gonna drive that car into a battle zone?

Enemy fire.. zinging all around you..

Rough terrain.. bombs going off..

Bad guys to run away from??? ++

No. You’d have better luck squeezing yourself into a pepsi can and rolling down the hill.. ++

Now.. here’s the comparison..

Years ago, I took my boys to the John Paul Jones arena.. to see the Monster trucks… ++

The Monster Trucks were revving their engines…

And I’m certain.. because of that event..

..the ozone has been smitten and another inch or two has been worn into the illusive ozone hole.. ++

Those trucks were powerful..

It was loud.. it was smelly.. it was smoky.. and yes, it was a blast..

I’d be more willing to drive something like that into battle.. ++

It can move fast.. drive over anything.. and scare away the bad guys simply by revving the engine…

It was powerful.. ++

You see.. the hybrid car is nice.. it has it’s place..

But it’s place.. is not in battle..

And in life.. sometimes.. we have to shift gears.. – you have to get out of the every day car.. and climb into something that requires a little more strength.. ++

This applies to us.. our lives.. who we are..

We might be sensitive and emotional..

No problem.. that’s good..

But.. there comes a time in life.. when you have to shift gears.. ++

We have to move away from our “doubts”.. our “insecurities”.. our “fragility”..

And we have to climb into our Monster truck..

And hit the gas. ++

Paul didn’t have monster trucks back in his day.. so he illustrated this with something a bit more familiar… It’s probably a good thing… otherwise this passage would be called the ‘Whole Monster Truck of God’

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Paul looked at the Roman Soldier that stood guard over him..

And he noticed.. that this guy is prepared.. for battle..

He’s not wearing the most comfortable clothes in the world..

No way.. he’s not dressed for feeling..

He’s dressed.. to both.. display.. and deflect.. power. ++

therefore.. Paul says:

Ephesians 6:11–13 ESV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.

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Before Paul tells us what the “whole armor of God” is..

he informs us.. concerning the threat.. ++

here we see the term: “schemes (wiles) of the devil”

that word schemes.. also means... deceit.. or .. trickery.. ++

the Gk. Word is where our word; method – comes from.

Folks.. this is the method of the devil.. ++

He is a scammer, a grifter, a player.. a liar and a thief..

He will place promises in people’s hearts.. that are lies..

He will make accusations.. that are unfounded and false..

He will build ideas about yourself.. God .. and the world around you.. that are pure fabrication.. ++

These methods.. of crafty strategy..

Are coming against those of us.. whom the Devil might consider a threat..

As they come.. we are called.. to stand against them…. ++

The nature of the threat is defined next..

Not flesh and blood.. ++

No.. not every conflict is demonic..

No.. not every carnal weakness is of the devil..

No.. not every person we don’t like.. is a spawn of Satan..

There are real battles in the flesh.. ++

Today, we’re not talking about the road bump that our hybrid car has to rev its engine to get over.. ++

Today.. we’re talking about a different realm..

When we think of: principalities.. or powers.. or “rulers of darkness”.. or.. spiritual hosts of wickedness..

I think of things.. that I don’t want to put my trust in..

I don’t want to give myself over to these things.. or allow myself to be influenced..

These terms speak of spiritual beings who have evil authority over realms, governments, people groups, and individuals in our world.. ..

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When we study the evil powers… especially in the OT, we often see that they are territorial.. - They attach themselves to land and region…

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We see terms were that tell us that they are organized.. under an authority structure..

Working.. according to a plan..

And networking.. with a host of wicked allies.. ++

These principalities and powers.. are all in cahoots w/the devil..

His goal.. is (John 10:10).. to steal, kill and destroy..

He sometimes (2 Cor 11:14).. masquerade as an angel of light..

And Paul says.. (2 Cor 2:11).. we should not be “ignorant of his devices”.. ++

So.. not only are we called to be knowledgeable of these things..

But … we are called to stand against the attacks..

And.. we are called to wrestle.. with these powers that attack us.. ++

Literally.. the word there.. is either.. “to fight” .. or “to struggle.” ++

Now.. don’t forget..

In this fight.. in this struggle..

We’re not driving the Duracell powered hybrid..

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We’re in the Monster Truck..

Tons of power..

Great big wheels..

Rip roaring loud..

And ready to crush anything that stands in its path.. ++

Thats what this armor speaks of to Paul’s culture ++

Don’t forget.. vs. 10

we are called.. to be “strong in the Lord”..

He is our strength..

And that is especially important.. when we experience the schemes of the devil.. working in our midst.. ++

To fully understand the opposition..

We need to fully understand.. each part of the armor..

Paul keeps on saying “full armor”..

He’s not just saying.. one piece..

No way.. he’s saying the whole thing… ++

Every part.. helps you to not only.. stand strong..

But.. to stand “against” the attack.. ++

We’re going to keep it short today.. and start into the armor next week..

Before immersing our thoughts totally into spiritual warfare..

I just want to encourage our hearts and minds today..

To cling to the disposition.. which prepares us for the warfare.. ++

Be strong.. - How? - in the Lord..

We might be weak.. in flesh or in mind..

But in the Lord.. we need to shift gears.. ++

When it comes to the spirit..

We need to climb up into the monster truck..

Strap ourselves in..

And let that big ol engine do its work… ++

God has already beat those powers and those principalities..

The battle is complete..

But we.. are still on this side of that completion..

We’re fighting that.. which is already won..

And .. we’re doing it in faith… ++

“God is in control… God is strong.. God is victorious”

Folks.. God is the type of guy.. that we want to be in cahoots with..

He’s looking out for us.. and He’s desiring to rev His engines in us.. ++

To be strong in the Lord..

First and foremost…

We need to be “in the Lord”

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Conclusion

As we close today..

this would be my challenge to you..

Are you “in the Lord”

Are you.. saved? Forgiven? Restored to a healthy relationship with God?

The solution is simple..

John 3:16

Believe, confess, repent.. and receive..

Let it be real… before you and god today…

End..