Sermon Notes, July 10, 2016 A.M.
BE
STRONG IN THE LORD
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. Should
a Christian fight in a war? You may not realize it but that question closed the doors of Cordell Christian
College in Oklahoma almost one hundred years ago. The
president of Cordell Christian was J.N. Armstrong who later became the president of
Harding College. Thus, the school was a part of the heritage of Harding University
and Oklahoma Christian University. This message is not about that controversy but I
want to clearly state that all of us who wear the name of Christ are in a war.
president of Cordell Christian was J.N. Armstrong who later became the president of
Harding College. Thus, the school was a part of the heritage of Harding University
and Oklahoma Christian University. This message is not about that controversy but I
want to clearly state that all of us who wear the name of Christ are in a war.
1. It is not a war over geographic
territory.
2. It is not a war over human ideologies.
3. It is a war that is being waged against
us by the greatest spiritual terrorist of all
time, Satan.
4. Truthfully, many of us are poorly
equipped for this war. It should not surprise us to
see Satan winning battle after battle.
a. To be sure, Satan will lose the war.
God has already conquered him. His doom
for eternity is sealed.
b. In the meantime Satan strikes against
the heart of God by seeking to drag as
many souls down to Hell with him as
he possibly can.
B. The
Bible contains many war stories.
1. Abraham against the armies of Shinar in
Genesis 14.
2. The Israelites and Amalekites in Exodus
17.
3. The conquest of Jericho in Joshua 6.
4. The initial defeat and subsequent victory
over Ai in Joshua 7-8.
5. The victory of Gideon and the Israelites
over the Midianites in Judges 7-8.
6. David and Goliath. Israel’s victory over
the Philistines in 1 Samuel 17.
7. The greatest battle depicted in the
pages of your Bible is the battle that continues
to rage between the spiritual forces of
good and evil.
a. John 18:36 – Jesus said to Pilate, “My
kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, then My
servants would be fighting so that I would
not be handed over to the Jews; but
as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
b. 2 Corinthians 10:3–4 - “For though we
walk in the flesh, we do not war according
to the flesh, 4 for
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely
powerful for the destruction of
fortresses.”
c. Romans 13:12 - “The night is almost
gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us
lay aside the deeds of darkness and
put on the armor of light.”
C. You
cannot fight this battle successfully without following the instructions of
Paul in
Ephesians 6:10–18.
1. There are three sections in this text
that are vitally important to your spiritual well-
being. I want to assign each of them
a very brief heading that will help you
remember them. (There is something
to be said for brevity. A monk who allowed
to speak only two words every ten
years. After first ten years he said, “Bed hard.”
After the second ten years he said,“food
bad.” After the third ten years he said, “I
quit.” His superior said, “I’m not
surprised. All you have done for thirty years is
complain”).
2.
The three brief headings are:
I. STAND FIRM - vss 10-12.
A. What Paul is going to say here is
connected to the thought begun in 5:18 when he
said, “Be filled with the Spirit.”
1. He has demonstrated what the
Spirit-filled life looks like in 5:19 through 6:10 as
we praise God, give thanks to God
and submit to one another in the church, in
the home and in our work.
2. Now he writes, “finally.”
a. Have you ever heard a preacher
say “finally?” It’s like the two minute warning
at a football game.
b. The word Paul uses means, “to the
rest.” He’s not done yet but he wants to
connect what he has said
previously with what he is about to say.
B. “Be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of His might.”
1. This is the same type of command he
gave when he said “Be filled with the
Spirit” in 5:18. It is a present,
passive imperative. It is a command for us to
constantly put into practice every
day.
2. Do you think you can stand against
Satan with your own strength? Can you
protect your precious little boy or
girl from Satan by yourself? Remember, Peter
says “our adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion seeking whom he
may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
3. You can try to be as good and well
intentioned as you can be but you are no
match for the devil and his angels
who are waging a war against you.
4. Look at verse 11 where Paul urges us
to stand against the “schemes” of the
devil. “Schema” means “methods.” Satan
has a method with your name on it. He
has a scheme he wants to implement
to take you away from God.
a. It may involve pride.
b. It may involve conflict with
another person.
c. It may involve immorality.
d. It may involve apathy, becoming
complacent and self-satisfied.
C. Do
you remember the story behind the Star Spangled Banner? Francis Scott Key,
a 35 year old lawyer, watched from a
ship off the cost of Baltimore while Fort
McHenry was being bombarded on September
13th and 14th, 1814. Throughout the
night the cannons roared. The fort stood
firm. In the dawn’s early light Key saw the
stars and stripes waving. The fort stood firm. This is Paul’s
message, “stand firm.”
1. In verse 12 Paul says, “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.” The word
“struggle” means “hand to hand”
conflict. It is personal and individual.
2. I do not understand everything about
this spiritual struggle that is taking place. I
know it is real. I know that as we sit
here this morning there are spiritual forces
battling for our attention. Satan
and his angels are attempting to make inroads
into your heart. They are trying to
alienate you from other Christians. They are
devious and diabolical. We must
stand with even greater diligence than that
which characterized the patriots at
Fort McHenry.
II. PUT ON – vss. 13-17.
A. In the military you are given a uniform
and the equipment you will need.
a. You are given instructions on how to
act, dress and use your weapons.
b. You must use that knowledge and
equipment. No one can fight the battle for you.
c. When you became a Christian you
enlisted in God’s army. God gives you every
tool and piece of equipment you will
ever need in spiritual warfare.
d. You must put it on. Do you know why
the church is so weak and the world is so
wicked? We have a lot of naked
Christians running around. We came up out of
the water and never put on our
armor. We think as long as we show up
every now and then we have our
ticket punched. We have forfeited the battle.
B. Put on the full armor. The word here is
panoply – the complete suit. What does it
involve? These are listed in the order a
solder would have put them on and are
based on an Old Testament passage in
Isaiah 59:17 – “He put on righteousness
like a breastplate, and a helmet of
salvation on His head; and He put on garments
of vengeance for clothing and wrapped
Himself with zeal as a mantle.”
1.
Belt of truth. A Roman soldier’s belt served several purposes. It could
hold
weapons, it stabilized his uniform.
It was central to everything else. Truth is
central to everything we do. Jesus
said, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is
truth” (John 17:17).
2. Breastplate of righteousness. The
breastplate covers the heart. Our hearts must
be protected by the righteousness of
Christ.
3. Feet covered with Gospel of peace.
Josephus says the Roman solders wore
shoes with spikes like cleats so
they could stand firm in battle. The Gospel
enables us to stand firm against
opposing forces.
4. Shield of faith – 2 foot by 4 ft
wooden frame covered with linen, overlaid with
leather and metal. Before battle it
would be soaked in water so the wet leather
would extinguish flaming arrows.
These shields could be interlocked together so
Roman soldiers could protect one
another.
a. Wouldn’t it be great if
Christians offered that type of protection for one
another? We must stand together
in this spiritual battle.
b. This shield protects us against
the flaming arrows of Satan. Ancient
warriors would dip arrows in tar
and light them. Satan’s attack is like that.
5. The helmet of Salvation – the
assurance that God gives us.
6. The sword of the Spirit which is the
word of God.
a. Would you go into battle without
a weapon?
b. So many Christians are thrust
into spiritual warfare without any weapon and
without any idea of how to use
it. This is the only offensive weapon mentioned.
III. PRAY
ALWAYS – vs. 18.
A. When an enemy can cut the lines of
communication he has a major advantage in
battle. Paul urges in verse 18, “With
all prayer and petition pray at all times in the
Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all
the saints.”
B. If there is anything you and I need to
learn, it is the power of prayer.
1. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be
given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you. 8 For
everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened” (Mt. 7:7-8).
2. Many of our failures in life result
from a failure to pray.
a. I believe that one reason the
church has so little influence on our culture
and why we have become so
influenced by our culture is because Christians
spend so little time in prayer.
b. William Carey said, “Prayer –
sincere, fervent, believing prayer, lies at the root
of all personal holiness.”
C. You and I will never be strong in the
Lord and will never be victorious in this
eternally important battle with Satan
and his sinister forces without daily, intimate,
intense, purposeful prayer in our lives.
CONCLUSION:
A. War is always fought at an awful cost.
1. One hundred years ago Europe was in the
midst of World War I. Dr. Julie Harris
shared information with me this past
week about the Battle of Somme which
began 100 years ago this week. 57,000 men were killed on the first day of
battle.
The battle raged on until November, with
an average casualty loss of 6000 British
soldiers per day (not counting German
and other nationalities). During World
War I
the young men from entire British
villages would enlist. There were occasions when
none of them would come home.
2. During World War II five sons from one
family, the Sullivan brothers, were killed on
board the USS Juneau at the battle of Guadalcanal.
B.
There is a greater battle that required a greater sacrifice. It is a battle of
spiritual
proportions that required the sacrifice of
God’s son, Jesus. He died for you. Will you
live for Him? He gave His life for you. Will you give your
life to Him?
C. If
we may assist you in your obedience to the Lord today as you confess Him,
repent
of your sins and are baptized into Christ
we invite you to come. If we can pray for you
as you rededicate your life to Him we
invite you to come as we sing.
