Stronger Than...Week 2

Stronger Than  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Ephesians 6:10–13 NIV
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, 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. 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.

Opening Story

How do I struggle with this?
mask to protect us

Question

How do we all struggle with this?
If a mask may protect us from the virus, what do we do for the rest of our lives?

Text

What does the Bible say about this?
In the next verses, Paul calls for believers to “stand.”
Ephesians 6:10 NIV
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
“finally” - to wrap everything up.
“be strong in the Lord”
Get your strength from the Lord.
When the military prepares men and women for battle. The 1st thing they do is basic training which pushes them to their physical and mental limits. They get them to be physically strong.
Get strong from God and His mighty power. How?
Workout your spiritual muscles. Read, pray, witness repeat!
Ephesians 6:11 NIV
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
After they get them prepared physically and mentally they fit them with the proper tools to do their jobs.
That is what Paul is doing here by telling us that to go to battle we must put on the full armor of God. Why the full armor? So we can stand! Stand against the devil’s schemes.
“take your stand” - A military expression that refers to a posture of opposition toward an enemy.
Paul uses military imagery to help us to understand how vital and real the battle is.
The devil’s schemes are his effort to disrupt the Church.
What in the world is Paul talking about? He is talking about spiritual wickedness, about that which is satanic. Notice that he is coming to the end of the epistle and says, “In conclusion be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” You cannot overcome the devil in your own strength and your own power.
Ephesians 6:12 NIV
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.
Now that Paul has your attention on how real and serious this battle is, He wants to make it clear what are battle is against.
It is not against the political leaders that we disagree with. Not against the media. Not against the ones who disagree with you on if we should wear a mask or not. In fact, the battle is not against anyone - “flesh and blood”
The enemy whom the Christian is to fight is not flesh and blood. The enemy is spiritual, and the warfare is spiritual. That is why we need spiritual power. It is well to note that the flesh of the believer is not the enemy to be fought.
It is only God’s armor which can withstand the strategy and onslaught of Satan who has all kinds of weapons (spiritual missiles). We need an antimissile system if we are going to overcome him. That is why it is so important for the Christian soldier to recognize that he does not fight an enemy who is flesh and blood. We are not to fight other men. The enemy is spiritual, and the warfare is spiritual. The devil is the enemy of every believer and the one here whom we are told we fight. The way to victory over the devil is to obey the commands to “put on the whole armour of God” and “to stand” (v. 11).
We are in a spiritual battle. The devil has in battle array his minions arranged by ranks. It says that we wrestle against them. This speaks of the hand–to–hand encounter with the spiritual forces of wickedness
Ephesians 6:13 NIV
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.
We have identified the enemy. Now Paul begins to identify the arsenal which is available for defense. Nowhere is the believer urged to attack and advance. The key to this entire section is the phrase to stand.
Many years ago Billy Sunday, the evangelist, attracted a great deal of attention by saying that up on the speaker’s platform he was fighting the devil. I think that there was a great element of truth in that, because it was a spiritual battle.
This is an hour when my heart is sad as I look at a great many churches. I love the local church and the local pastors. There are a great number of wonderful pastors fighting the battle. They are the men who are really on the battlefront today. I go to so many Bible conferences as a speaker because I want to help them. I have been a pastor long enough to know how wonderful it felt and how I always appreciated it when others came to me and stood shoulder to shoulder with me. My heart is sick when I see the attendance way down and the interest gone in churches that at one time were great churches. The members were blind to the fact that a battle was being fought there, a spiritual battle.
Do you pray for your pastor on Saturday night? Don’t criticize him, but rather pray for him. He needs your prayers. The devil gives him enough opposition. You don’t need to join the crowd that crucifies the man who is preaching the Word of God. You ought to uphold his hands as Aaron and Hur upheld the hands of Moses on behalf of Israel. My heart goes out to pastors who are in need of congregations who will stand with them.

Application

What should you do about this?
Stand - stand on the Word of God
Stand - stand in prayer
Stand - hold your ground

Challenge

How can we all live this out together?
Pray for each other. Meet together. Pray for your leaders.
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