Part 1 - The Preparation for Battle
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The church of Jesus Christ is in a spiritual war that affects the lives of men and women for eternity.
Anti-war activists like to ask, “What if we gave a war and no one showed up?” Sadly, that is not far from the truth when it comes to the church.
Much of the professing church today is not aware of the battle much less active in the battle. Some are not conscious of the battle and others are not concerned about the battle.
A.W. Tozer wrote, “In the early days when Christianity exercised a dominant influence over American thinking, men conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin, the devil, and hell as constituting one force, and they believed in God, righteousness, and heaven as the other.
Man could not be neutral … and if he chose to come out on God’s side, he could expect open war with God’s enemies.” He goes on to say that in modern times, “men think of the world not as a battleground, but a playground. We are not here to fight, but to frolic. We are not in a foreign land, we are home … and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life here to the full.”
That is a challenge for us to get back to believing the Bible and battling the enemy. If you know Jesus and try to live for Jesus you know that the battle is real!
We must engage in the battle. We are in a spiritual war! As Christians we were drafted into the army of the Lord when we were saved. This spiritual battle has been raging for thousands of years.
The battle is real, the battle is fierce, and the battle is ongoing.
*None of us are too young to be excused from the battle and none of us are too old to be exempt from the battle.*
Our enemies are real and the battle is real! All Christians are in this war. Paul called for the church to prepare for the spiritual war.
I want you to be conscious of the battle, concerned about the battle, to be consistent in the battle, and to be courageous in the battle.
Are you aware of what is going on around you?
Are you alert against the attacks of the devil?
Do you even know that you are at war?
Have you accepted your marching orders from the Commander in Chief?
Are you fighting the good fight of faith?
Would you today begin to prepare for the battle?
This text shows us specifics about preparing for the battle.
The plan for His servants
The plan for His servants
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
In verse ten Paul puts emphasis on this section with the use of the word ‘finally.’ The word “finally” speaks of the conclusion, but here it also speaks of a commencement. Paul is saying, “Last, but not least!” This section is a serious matter for the church. This is very, very important for the church to hear and apply. This is God’s plan for all of God’s people. God wants His people to be strong in the Lord.
Be strong in our faith!
Be strong our witness!
Be strong in our praying!
Be strong in our worship!
Be strong in the Lord Jesus!
Spiritual warfare is not for the weak and timid in the faith!
It is good for us when we recognize our deficiency and His sufficiency. We need to be endued with His strength, and such is available if we are “in” the Lord. It is our position “in” the Lord which makes us strong, just as the vigor of an arm is its position in the body.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
There is no substitute for the strength that comes from God!
Paul’s introductory reminder to be strong was important because he was about to hurl us into battle against a mighty, tireless, and implacable foe.
We must never underestimate the enemy. God doesn’t.
The person of our strength
The person of our strength
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
In the preparation for battle we are encouraged to know about the Person of our strength. We are not called to fight in the power of the flesh, but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to be strong in the Lord. Jesus won the victory at the cross and that victory is realized each day as we live out our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Warren Wiersbe wrote, “As believers, we do not fight for victory—we fight from victory! The Spirit of God enables us, by faith, to appropriate Christ’s victory for ourselves.”
The Lord Jesus is the source of strength which enables us to be victorious. There is no power greater than Him! There is no strength that can match Him or come up against Him. He is the Lord almighty!
I’ve already said it, but I’m going to say it again...
We need to recognize our deficiency so that we can rely on His sufficiency.
We’ve seen the plan for His servants, the Person of our strength, and next we see:
The power to stand
The power to stand
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
As Paul wrote this he was chained to a Roman soldier. He had been in the company of soldiers for years, so he knew all about armor.
Roman armor was designed to protect the soldier’s body from the enemy’s weapons. Christian armor is designed to protect the soul.
God does not throw us unprotected into the battle against Satan’s empire. God has provided all that we need for complete protection of mind, heart, soul, spirit, conscience, and will.
The power to stand comes from three things that we’ll look at - surrender, strength, and strategies...
Our surrender for the battle:
Our surrender for the battle:
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
If we are going to have power to stand against the enemy we must surrender to the Savior.
We can’t be used by God if we do not surrender to God. We must surrender to the Lord Jesus to be victorious in the battle.
The Bible tells the church what must be done. This is not a suggestion, but a command.
We are to put on the whole armor of God.
In our act of obeying we find ourselves surrendering.
We have power to stand when we surrender. In this war the only way we can be victorious is to surrender.
We’ve looked at our surrender for the battle, next, we see:
Our strength in the battle:
Our strength in the battle:
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The Bible tells us that our strength for the battle is found in the Person of the Lord Jesus, but that strength is only realized when we put on the whole armor of God.
Putting on the armor of God makes all the difference in success and failure and in standing and falling.
We are given the result of putting on the whole armor of God.
Here it is: when we have on the whole armor we are able to stand. Without the armor we are not able to stand.
Stand means to hold a critical position while under sustained attack.
We are not to back down, cower away, or shrivel up in the face of the enemy. We are to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. We are to put on the whole armor of God. We are to stand strong in the Lord.
Matthew Henry wrote, “We must resolve by God’s grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armor, we give him advantage.” When we surrender to the Lord we’ll have strength from the Lord for the battle. The child of God finds strength in the Lord Jesus.
Thinking about the power to stand; we’ve seen our surrender, our strength, and then we see:
His strategies for the battle:
His strategies for the battle:
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We are called to stand and we have power to stand against the wiles of the devil. Wiles: (methodia) we get our English word “method” from this Greek word. It carries the idea of craftiness, cunning, deception, or trickery. This word is used of his strategies or plans of war. This term was often used of an animal that cunningly stalked its prey and pounced on the prey.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The devil is a schemer, a liar, a fraud, a destroyer, a murderer and he seeks to discredit the work of God and deny the Son of God.
The devil has many strategies and many methods for attacking God’s children and God’s church.
Warren Wiersbe said, “As a serpent Satan deceives, as a lion Satan devours.” He has many methods and strategies in this spiritual war. He seeks to devour and destroy lives, homes, and churches.
We need to be resolved to fight in the strength of the Lord. Today we have an opportunity to surrender to the Lord, be active in the battle, and be dressed with the armor.
we must realize that we are no longer by standers,
we are no longer to be passive,
we are no longer to try to evade the war,
we are to accept our call to fight the good fight of faith.
It’s time for us to choose sides and fight for what is right!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Many Christians are wearing the garments of the world. There’s no difference in us. We are not dressed for battle. We cannot put on part of the armor; we must put on the whole armor of God.
We must be prepared for the battle and we must take on the whole armor of God. God has spoken to us today and He is calling for us to be prepared for the battle. We must believe the word of God and what it says about the spiritual war.
We must be active in the spiritual battle. The souls of families, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances are in the balance.
We must never deny the facts but engage the enemy by the Lord’s power. None of us are strong enough on our own to face the devil. We must put on the whole armor of God! Have you done that? Are you armed for the battle? The Lord is calling for us to live for Him and fight the good fight of faith.