Be strong in the Lord

We are starting a new series today called / / Be Prepared...

Over the next several weeks we are going to look at a passage of scripture in the book of Ephesians written by the Apostle Paul. This letter was to the church in a major trade city called / / Ephesus. This was a busy, growing and prominent city with a main port. This made it a very important location for the early church. Three main travel roads made their way to Ephesus, and it was one of the biggest and most important shipping ports in the known world at that time. If you want a new message to get spread, the best place to be is where the people go, right?

The book of John tells us that when Jesus was on the cross, he looked down at Mary, his mother, and said, “look, this is your son” speaking of John the apostle, and then turned to John and says, “look, this is your mother”. And it is believed that John and Mary went to Ephesus and at some point John started the church. But the church there was really established by Apostle Paul who had stayed there for anywhere from 2.5 - 3.5 years teaching the people, preaching the gospel, building the church. So, this place had a really special place in Paul’s heart, I believe.

Ephesus was an interesting place. There was a lot of pagan worship there, particularly to a Greek goddess Artemis. Artemis was considered the goddess of fertility, wild animals and hunting. There were lots of towns that would have pagan worship, they would have shrines to various Greek gods and goddesses, but Ephesus in particular had the largest temple constructed to this goddess Artemis. The temple was so large that it was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, over 400 feet long, 225 ft wide, with these massive columns, 120 of them, holding the roof up. This thing was big and impressive.

This caused an issue when Paul shows up and people start following the teachings of Jesus, believing in this man who Paul is saying is God himself, the one true God, died and raised to life. And it’s such an interesting story, and it actually gives the backdrop for why Paul writes what he writes to the church in Ephesus that we’re going to be looking at in this series. So I want to start by reading from Acts 19 which tells us of some of this trouble that’s happening in Ephesus: / / About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsman busy. He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows:

“Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis - this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world - will be robbed of her great prestige!”

At this time their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him. Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak. But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak, “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

NOTE - this image that fell down to us from heaven, the literal translation would be that which fell from the sky, and is mostly believed to simply have been a meteorite. A rock from space fell down and MAYBE looked sort of like the shape of something, but most likely it was actually just an image carved by someone, and then told to the people that its origin was something else, and for purpose of belief and sales, this lie continued. This wasn’t something unique to this temple or city, but in many greek temples there were stories of things having fallen from the sky that proved the god they worshiped. And you see the uproar this created in Ephesus, where did it start? With the craftsmen that were selling created replicas of these images. Of course they are going to be upset, their livelihood is on the line. That’s a fantastic side note, by the way, / / When our humanity is threatened by the supremacy of God, we must deny our humanity for the reign of God to be experienced. Don’t allow your fear of losing your humanity stop you from embracing the divine. God will always look after you far better than you can look after yourself!

The Mayor of Ephesus continued:

/ / “If Demetrius and the craftsman have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly. I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.” They he dismissed they, and they dispersed.

Interesting account of this weird event, and really with no conclusion. The next verse is the Acts 20:1 and it says, / / When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

It’s almost like, why is that story even in there? But, the story gives us a really good insight into the climate and the culture that Paul and John the church in Ephesus were dealing with, and I think it gives a visible representation of an invisible reality.

Ephesus is this really interesting place.

So, there’s the main temple of Artemis, and beside city hall there was a smaller temple of Artemis, but the interesting thing about that location was that in 44 BC when Julius Caesar was assassinated the senate of Rome declared that he was a god, and a portion of that temple was dedicated to the worship of Julius Caesar.

Do you see this. I mean, the climate that Paul is walking in to. First of all he’s declaring ONE true God. Not multiple gods. Not gods for everything under the sun, a different god for hunting and fertility, a different god for crops, a different god for war, for peace, for whatever…One God, AND on top of that he had come to earth as a man, had been crucified on a cross, but raised to life again.

The people of Ephesus already had a god who had been a man and had died, but the difference this time is there was no testimony of his resurrection. So, was Julius Caesar a god? Or was he just a man? Was Jesus a God? Could Paul prove it?

And people began to believe in Jesus, and they followed is way. But the climate didn’t change over night. And I think that is a very important thing to recognize. A persons climate doesn’t instantly change when they choose to follow Jesus, or when they are introduced to Jesus. We are not suddenly removed from our current scenarios, our jobs, our family, our friends, the beliefs we once held. Life is different now, but life is very much the same.

So Paul has all of these new Christians, those who have chosen to follow Jesus, who are faced with all of this turmoil and upheaval. This amphitheater that Acts 19 talks about, where the city gathered to chant, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”.... was so large it had a capacity of 25,000 people and vs 29 says, / / Soon the WHOLE CITY was filled with confusion. EVERYONE rushed to the amphitheater...

No wonder the believers were begging Paul not to go because they feared for his life. Imagine, a mob of maybe 10, 15, or even up to 25,000 people chanting at the top of their lungs, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” And Paul is like, “Let me in there boys...”

So, there is this tension between the old and the new. And this is no different than what most people go through today when they choose to believe in Jesus Christ. Our new belief is in contrast, or direct conflict even, to our old mentality, our old climate, our old way of doing things. And the process of belief takes us on a journey of commitment to this new way in the face of our old world chanting, “Don’t forget about what you used to believe...”

We just spent two weeks talking about how we can prepare and focus ourselves for 2022, well, to ensure we succeed, we have to understand this very real truth: / / The enemy of your soul doesn’t give up just because you found Jesus. In fact, sometimes it feels like we were oblivious to the thing UNTIL we decide to follow Jesus. Just like these believers in Ephesus, until they followed Jesus, there was no tension with anyone because everyone else simply lets you do your own thing, until your own thing is in conflict with theirs. See, as soon as you say those very words that Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5, / / There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus. You become at odds with the world.

Not at odds with humans.

Not at odds with people.

Not at odds with your family.

But at odds with the mentality that we can do this ourselves. Because to follow Jesus Christ is to confess that there is ONE God and the only way to be reconciled to God is through belief in Jesus Christ. This is the very core, the fundamental unchanging, unshakeable truth of our Christian faith. And to believe and confess this truth puts us at odds with anything else that would try to convince humanity that there is any other way.

But this isn’t a bad thing, nor is meant to be complicated, and as we will see over the next weeks, we are not at odds with people, but we are at odds with something else entirely.

This series is going to take us through Ephesians 6:10-18, and today we’re going to start by reading the first couple verses. Starting in vs 10, / / A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

And who is Paul writing this to? He’s writing it to the church in Ephesus. Why? Because from what we just read from Acts, it very MUCH feels like their fight is against people, doesn’t it? This guy, Demetrius had incited a riot against the followers of Jesus, claiming they are going to ruin the financial economy of the city. Everyone will be without work and money. And even the mayor who broke up the event says, “if you have a claim, bring it before the legal courts and they will decide their fate.”

If Paul has been telling these brand new Christians about Jesus then he has been telling them this, that Jesus was wrongfully accused, taken before the authorities who found NOTHING wrong with him, but were cornered in to giving him over to the very people who were calling for his crucifixion. And it didn’t matter whether he was guilty or not, but simply that they wanted him dead, and they got him dead.

That would be a very scary scenario, wouldn’t it?

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy says, / / …everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

So, when it feels like the world is at odds with each other, what do we do? And how do we not take it personally? And how do we not look at the person who objects with us as the problem?

We need right perspective. We need to continually remind ourselves that people are not the real problem. Paul doesn’t dance around that issue, he doesn’t sugar coat it, he calls it exactly what it is. / / For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies!

But we are fighting, aren’t we? There’s a battle over truth. There’s a war over our hearts. There’s a fight for our emotional health, our mental state, our physical well-being. And to understand how to overcome, we must understand WHAT we are overcoming.

The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:6-9, / / …humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

I would almost call these two passages of scripture, from Ephesians written by Paul and then what Peter wrote, parallel verses because they are so similar in theme and content. So, today we are going to look at three things that we need to gain right perspective on so that we can successfully navigate through this year, and through our lives and in these days we live in.

/ / 1. Heads Up

Paul in Ephesians 6 and Peter in 1 Peter both give the people they are writing to a heads up.

Paul is finishing up his letter to the church in Ephesus, and so in Ephesians 6:10, he writes, / / A final word… That’s what he starts with. His ending is, “Oh, one more thought. One more thing I have to tell you.” Now, if we think conversationally, we don’t throw one more thing in unless it’s really important. We don’t make a note, this is the last thing I’m going to tell you, unless we really want the person to listen. It’s no different with Paul here, He’s giving the reader a heads up, it’s a writing style, a way to get someone’s attention.

This is why, when I’m coming to the end of my sermons, sometimes you’ll hear me say, “And closing with”, or “And my last thought” or “last point for today is...” and that’s a way of saying, “Listen, I know you’ve been listening for a while, but I need you to give me just one more minute of your time, it’s gonna be worth it, trust me...”

A final word… listen up… pay attention. And with what he then goes in to, what he’s really saying is, “This is something you need to keep focused on. This is something you need to always be paying attention to.”

The ESV translates it as simply, / / Finally…but the definition is something remaining, finally…in finality… keep this in your mind as you are moving forward, this is information for the future, to keep in mind. N.T. Wright in his commentary on the scripture says it this way, / / “What else is there to say? Just this:”

And in the same way, in 1 Peter 5:8, the apostle Peter, / / “Stay alert!”

Pay attention. Moving forward you need to be aware of some things, and I’m about to tell you what you need to be aware of...

/ / 2. Be Strong In The Lord

Again, both of these writers, Paul & Peter both bring in an element of trusting in God’s strength over our own. This is not a fight we were meant to fight in, it is a fight we are meant to stand in, and learn to trust in God in the midst of.

Paul says, / / A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Peter says, even BEFORE he says to stay alert, in vs 6, / / So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God...

Now, Paul, to the best of our understanding historically, wrote Ephesians about the year AD 60. Which is a few years AFTER he wrote 2 Corinthians. This is important because in 2 Corinthians 12 Paul lays the foundation for this statement, “Be strong IN the Lord...

I was in an addiction recovery meeting this past week and wrestling through this idea of will-power, being able to do it on my own. See, in recovery there is a bit of a constant tension between what we call will-power, and God’s power, or what some people call their higher power… Our humanity always wants to rely on Human Power, or Will-Power. We like to try and convince ourselves that we can do it on our own.

I was talking to someone just a couple weeks ago about the fact that this had been my first Christmas as a recovering food addict and that even in the face of major temptation and struggle, I had not given in and eaten any sugar or carb type foods that I have given up as part of my personal journey of abstinence in recovery. And immediately her response was, “Wow, you really had great will-power, didn’t you...”

And I thought for a moment, “Isn’t it true, something in me wants to take the credit...”

But I’m not strong by my own power. What’s this foundation I’m talking about that Paul laid in 2 Corinthians? It’s in Chapter 12 where Paul says that he’s been given a thorn that keeps him humble, it’s something, we don’t know what, a disease, an addiction, a pain, an injury, not sure, but it’s something that keeps him reliant on God. He says in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, / / Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work THROUGH me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is the foundation that Paul has laid. It’s not my will-power, but in fact it’s my humility and dependence on God’s power. It’s not my supremacy, it’s HIS supremacy.

will-power is defined as / / “control exerted to do something or restrain impulses”.

I don’t know about you, but that offends my humanity. That anyone would tell me I can’t do it. Or that I need someone else to do it.

So, if it is will-power that is the ability to exert control in our lives to do what we need to or to not do what we aren’t supposed to do, what is the alternative?

Paul says in Galatians 5:16, / / So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. And he goes on to explain the devastating results of following our earthly, or sinful nature, and then he switches to talking about what the Holy Spirit wants to produce in our lives. And in vs 22-23 he says, / / But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Be Strong IN the Lord.

Make the Right Decisions BY the Fruit of the Holy Spirit which is Self-Control.

Be humble enough to admit we can’t do it on our own, and that we rely on God, who is our Creator, to lead us and guide us into life.

And this is not a “woe is me, I’m terrible…and I can’t do anything right”

No, this is the declaration of Romans 8:37, / / No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours THROUGH Christ, who loved us. or as the ESV says it, / / …in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

It is finding that place of joy in our relationship and connectedness to God as our Father, Savior & the Spirit of God alive inside of us that we find this strength. I don’t need will-power when I have God’s power inside me.

Romans 8:13 says, and I’m reading this from the Amplified version, / / For if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.

Peter and Paul both agree here, and there is this real unified front here between what they are both saying. And I don’t know if Peter read what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians or in Ephesians, but there’s a good chance he did. In 2 Peter 3:15 Peter writes, / / This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him - speaking of these things in all of his letters… making reference to multiple letters, and then 1 Peter actually starts with, / / I am writing to… the [churches] in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia… Well the city of Ephesus is in what was known as the Roman Province of Asia. It’s not what we call Asia as a continent now, but was an area of what is now modern day Turkiye.

And the reason these letters became what we call the canon of scripture, what we call the bible today, is because they were being passed around to these various churches, and encouraging the body of Christ, to a point where it was valuable enough to make them a permanent book of letters. And there are letters that the early apostles wrote that of course did not become what we consider the bible.

All of that is to say, Paul and Peter are giving the same word to the body of Christ through what becomes the scripture of the bible, but even practically, they are both writing essentially to the same group of people, / / do not rely on your own strength, but learn to humble yourself and rely on God’s strength and power. It is in humility, understanding YOUR weakness, that you feel HIS strength.

/ / 3. Stand Firm

Both Paul and Peter write this phrase, to stand firm.

Ephesians 6:11 says, Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil... Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground...

And Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9, / / Stand firm against him [the devil], and be strong in your faith.

So, what does it mean to stand firm? They both seem to think this is a way to overcome evil, to overcome obstacles, to learn how to stand firm.

/ / Stand firm, or stand against was a military term meaning to resist the enemy, hold the position and offer no surrender.

This is a term that is used multiple times throughout the new testament.

Galatians 5:1 says, / / For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery...

2 Thessalonians 2:15 says it in a way that really brings it to life, / / With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

1 Corinthians 16:13, / / Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

Interesting, after just spending all this time talking about how it’s not our power, or our will that we rely on, and then we’re saying, / / “ok, stand firm” like somehow we have the ability to make that happen.

But there’s a few things we need to see in this phrase, Stand Firm.

First of all, I think the most important thing we need to walk away with here is that Paul, Peter, and anyone else speaking in to this reality is telling us this, / / You need to take this seriously...

This is not a game. This is serious. As we are going to see over these next few weeks we are in a battle. There is a war waging on around us. The Disney movies are absolutely right in that sense, the great story of life is good vs evil. N.T. Wright says of this passage and of Spiritual Warfare, / / “What we have in the present passage [Ephesians 6:10-20], and what I believe is required again and again as Christians face the daily and yearly battle for the kingdom, is a sober, realistic assessment both of the struggle we are engaged in and of the weapons at our disposal.”

We need to take seriously the world around us, the spiritual world, and what God has called us to.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 said it best, I believe, / / stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching...

keep a strong grip...

To stand firm is to make a decision that you are going to take this fight seriously. You are going to give this the best shot possible. To stand firm means to take it seriously. To decide for yourself that Christianity, that the word of God, that following Jesus Christ is of the utmost value to you.

We said a couple weeks ago that the greatest thing you can do for this year is decide that your Spiritual Health matters.

Well, over these next few weeks we’re going to look at very spiritual and very practical ways that you can stand firm, to hold your position and not give in to surrender.

Yes, salvation is a free gift.

Yes, grace is free, of course it is, it is unmerited favor, undeserved, that’s the very definition of it.

But, we would be foolish to believe that in the face of receiving a free gift, if there truly is an enemy of our soul, that he wouldn’t do whatever he can to rob us of that gift. And so we are suddenly awakened to a world where much more is going on than we thought.

If you’ve been coming here for a while you know that I love to quote John 10:10 which is Jesus talking and he says, / / My purpose is to give them [you] a rich and satisfying life.

That’s the end game, right? That’s what God promises if we follow him. That’s the purpose of the law, of the prophets, of God’s instruction, of the 10 commandments, of it all, that we would find, and live in His life!

But that doesn’t mean it’s automatic. Jesus starts that verse with, / / “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy...”

So, I have a good God, a loving Father, a Messiah, a Savior who is willing to go as far as laying down his life for me, and the Holy Spirit who is willing to go as far as making me his home.... all of that wonderful gift, all of that wonderful life.... but there is also one who would purpose to steal all of that of that from me.

Now, personally I don’t believe there is any power in this world that can steal God’s Spirit from me. In fact, Romans 8:38-39 says, / / I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The guy who wrote that is the same guy who wrote Ephesians, telling us to stand firm… why? Because just because you have a gift, doesn’t mean you’re living utilizing that gift. Just because you are a son or daughter, doesn’t mean you understand what it means to have a good father. Just because you are free, as we see in the journey of Israel through the wilderness, does not mean you know how to live free.

And like we read earlier, Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom that we have been set free. or how the NLT says it, / / So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you STAY free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

So this series, Be Prepared, is all about the preparation and reality of God’s best for our lives, and what it takes on our end to live in it. I believe wholeheartedly that 2022 can be our best year yet. I do. Even in the midst of struggle, trial and shifting of the world, we can experience life and goodness. We can experience the greatest sense of God’s love, His presence, we can develop the best relationships, we can have the best community. We can truly find life, no matter what we are going through or what’s going on around us.

So, my question for you today, my challenge for us all, will we be dedicated? Will we heed the warning given by Paul and Peter, Heads up, there’s more going on around you than you think… So humble yourself, recognize God is what you need, don’t rely on your own strength, stop trying to do it yourself, and lean on the strength and wisdom of God because it’s time to take this seriously…

Will you embrace this journey? If you are, I want you to pray with me.

God, I want to take this seriously. I want the life you promise in your word. To understand and experience true freedom, your love, your promises. I am ready and willing to do what it takes to experience your life. Help me be humble. Remind me that I need you.

So, right now, I humble myself, I admit that I need you. I am not strong enough, smart enough, powerful enough to make it on my own. My ways don’t work. I turn to you. I want your ways. Your strength. Your wisdom. Your guidance, in my life. Where I am weak, let me feel your strength. Where I am sad, help me feel your joy. Where I feel alone, help me feel your comfort. Where I am afraid, let me feel your peace.

Help me rely on YOUR strength to stand firm and hold on to all you have taught me.