Be Strong in the Lord

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Ephesians 6:10-12

“Be Strong in the Lord”

Now the Nitty Gritty…•You’ll become very familiar with this guy over the rest of this study•Paul uses the tools of this soldier to give an accurate description of how we must enable ourselves to fight the Enemy•Battlefield readiness is essential to survive ANY armed conflict, let alone a daily war for the souls of humanity…

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:10-12, NASB

A. Be strong in the Lord…

•Are there any combat vets among us?•The moment you become a Believer, you enter the battlefield•Actually, your very “heart” is the battlefield•Let’s look again at v 10 to begin this study

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength [power] of His might.”

Ephesians 6:10, NASB

A. Be strong in the Lord…•His might, or power, is what gives us the victory in battle•Jesus’ intercession for us is the key…•Satan constantly accuses us, but Jesus intercedes constantly too•While a Lion seeking to devour, he can only scare us– as long as we don’t yield

A. Be strong in the Lord…•Understanding comes from the Greek phrase-- “strength of His might”•Kratos– Greek for strength or power with an action• Ischys– might; better translated as ‘ability’•Think muscle man– can lift heavy weight, even if not doing so—reserve of strength•But when he pumps weight, he is exercising kratos– power in operation

A. Be strong in the Lord…•Our God has vast reservoirs of might that can be realized as strength in our Christian lives•We can see God’s might in our lives in one of the three following ways

1. His might works in me as I sit and do nothing2. I can do Kingdom work without depending on His

might3. His might works in me as I depend on Him by faith,

and step out to do His work• DING! DING! DING!

“11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

Ephesians 6:11, NASB

B. Put on the full armor of God•Charismatics will teach “the Full Armor differently than Go intends•Its not some magic spell you quote every day– they will say•“You need to claim the Whole Armor of God every morning , and rebuke the demonic forces. Then everything will go smooth.”•NOT!!!

B. Put on the full armor of God•When Paul wrote this, he was chained to a Roman guard•There is inspired significance to every piece of equipment he mentions: belt, breastplate, footwear, helmet, shield, and sword•Six pieces altogether

B. Put on the full armor of God•The first three; belt, breastplate, and footgear– for long range protection, never removed in field•The next three; Helmet, shield Sword– kept in readiness for use when actual fighting begins•If you only have different combinations without all six, you cannot adequately defend or attack when necessary

C. Put on ‘YOUR’ full armor…•Your armor must be your own…•1 Samuel 17, David and Goliath•Your armor must be fitted to you•Though the laymen might have thought David to be lacking armor, his was obviously better than Goliath’s!

“12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12, NASB

D. Not against flesh and blood…•Important to remember that our fight is NOT with people, but with demonic forces•During Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, there was a riot caused by Demetrius the silversmith•Don’t think that demonic attack won’t manifest itself through people, however

D. Not against flesh and blood…•Government folks•Workmates and neighborhood•Church Members•Greek word for struggle, puts us into hand-to-hand combat rather than mere spectators at a game•Paul also said that our spiritual; weapons are so powerful. They can destroy strongholds of evil

“…4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-6, NASB

D. Not against flesh and blood…•So, how do we do that?

“…4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-6, NASB

“…4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-6, NASB

D. Not against flesh and blood…•So, how do we do that?•Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ•Meaning, don’t let your mind wander into sinful la-la-land by guidance of your sin nature•Rather dwell on things that allow you to keep your thoughts obedient to the Word

Principles to Take Home…1. No Satanic assault is

stronger than God2. No Satanic schemes

can penetrate God’s armor

3. No Satanic force can defeat God’s work