Transformed By Ephesians - Part 6

Ephesians 6:10–14 NKJV

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Pray

Confession of Faith

I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name

Intro: Boot Camp - In the military enlisted men and women go through Basic Training or whats know as boot Camp In this Basic Training recruits are prepared for all elements of service! The go through physical preparation, mental preparation and emotional preparation! During this time it gives the recruits or service members the basic tools needed to perform the rules that will be assigned to them!

Now each service organization - meaning army, navy, marine corp, air force, coast guard has it’s own training program, tailoring the curriculum to the specialized nature of its role in the Military !

To all the military veterans, all who are reserves and every man and woman active duty , thank you for your service!

If you didn’t know we are in a war! The War you and I are actively in is a spiritual war! The war we enlisted to when we accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior is a spiritual war

We are Solidiers - Paul is admonishing us to look at our lives differently!

The life of a Christ Follower, The Life of a Believer in Jesus Christ - that life is a life on a battlefield!

Soon as you and I received Jesus we find ourselves in a constant struggle! You and I are in an unceasing fight, it’s like a war that never ends!

Paul is keeping it real! We are soldiers in this war of chaos and conflict!

If you ever thought being a Christian was easy, if you ever thought being a Follower of Jesus was a life of enjoyment Stop fooling yourself!

We are fighting enemies within and without! We are constantly struggling with the lust of the flesh, the temptations of the world, and the demonic suggestions from Satan. We must prepare ourselves for WAR!

Galatians 5:17 NLT

17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

We are In A War

Ephesians 4:22 NCV

22 You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse, because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do.

We are In A War

Ephesians 6:10–11 NLT

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

As a Christ Follower - this is your charge!

Do you know there is no other way to conquer the spiritual enemies who are waiting to destroy you - steal from you and kill you! You must listen to what Paul is telling us today! If you don’t listen and apply this truth - you will continue giving in to temptation and sin and allowing the enemy to steal the joy of life.

We must listen and apply what Paul is saying or we will allow the enemy to prevent us from receiving healing, blessings, power, deliverance, care, love and daily fellowship with God!

Do you know the enemy will plant in your mind - things like - you are to busy to pray right now, or you are to busy to read the Word of God...

Unless you understand that you are in a war - you will continue to be uncertain and unsure of the future or not have the confidence of being acceptable to God or even not being assured of living forever with God.

Wake up-

We are in a war - and we must do exactly what God says in order to conquer these enemies trying to destroy of live. The charge is twofold.

1. We must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

be strong in the Lord's power and in the Lord's might

That word "strong" means power, might, strength. We must possess power, might, and strength as we walks through the course of this life.

But here is the key - it’s The Lord's "power" -His sovereign unlimited power and dominion over all.

Something about that name Jesus -

Song says

In the name of Jesus - In The Name of Jesus - we have the victory, In the name of Jesus In the Name of Jesus - Satan will have to flee

Paul says be strong in The Lord's "might" his strength, force, ability.

What A mighty God we serve - What a mighty God we serve - Angels bow before him , heaven and earth adore him - what a mighty God we serve!

Remember - we are not talking about human, fleshly strength; I’m not talking about the strength of anything within this world. Our strength is found in the Lord— Our might is found in a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus. God is the source of my strength. There is no other source that can give us the strength to overcome this world with all its trials and temptations and death.

So the charge - gets me strong on the inside then, it gives me the heart to fight the good fight of faith - Now I understand the assignment!

Pause - DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT? The assignment is to build the Kingdom Of God!!!

We cannot go to war - until we have the presence and power of God in our hearts! Now we can go to war!

remember the song

We are soldiers in the army,we've got to fight although we have to cry we have to hold up the blood stained banner we have to hold it up until we die. Next Week - we are putting on the armour