Christians: Be Strong In The Lord! Series

Christians: Be Strong in the Lord!

Ephesians 6:10-17

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Series: The Book of Ephesians

(Prepared July 27, 2024)

MESSAGE:

*When I was 9 years old, we moved to Daytona Beach, Florida. We never went through a hurricane during the three years we were there, but I remember a northeaster storm that hit one time. We only lived a block away from the beach. And when the storm got close, we went to see the big waves.

*That was the only time in my life I could fully lean into the wind and not fall down. If that wind had been much stronger, it would have knocked me off my feet. Now, that wind was only about 40 mph, but an F5 tornado can have winds over 300 mph. A storm that powerful can literally peel the asphalt off a roadbed. And I once saw video of a place where that happened.

*Christians: Sometimes life is going to feel like an F5 tornado. How can we find the strength to stand in times like that? We must be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ, and God's Word shows us how.

1. FIRST: WE MUST REMEMBER THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH.

*This is why verse 10 tells believers to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." When it comes to our spiritual life, when it comes to the most important things in life, the only way to be strong is to be strong in the Lord.

*King David totally depended on the LORD to be his strength. The introduction to Psalm 18 calls it "a Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies. . ." And in vs. 1-2 David said, "I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

*Then in Psalm 27:1 David said, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" And in Psalm 19:14 David said, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."

*David was totally sure that the Lord was his source of strength. And now on the resurrection side of the cross we can be even more sure! We can be "strong in the Lord, and the power of his might," because our risen Savior is our ever-present source of strength. By His Holy Spirit, He is in us, and we are in Him. Every born-again believer is literally in the spiritual Body of Jesus Christ.

*Remember that when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, one of the miraculous things that happened was that His Holy Spirit came to live in our spiritual hearts. But at the very same time, God's Holy Spirit put us into the spiritual Body of Christ. Paul talked about this in 1 Corinthians 12:13 when he said, "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. . ." This means we have been totally submerged into the spiritual body of Jesus Christ.

*This is an essential truth about Christianity. We know this because phrases like "in Christ" or "in the Lord" are used almost 100 times in the New Testament, including ten times in this short letter to the Ephesians.

*Please listen to a few more verses that talk about believers being in Christ:

-Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

-In Romans 16:7-10 Paul said, "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. . ."

-Ephesians 1:1-2 says, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

-And Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ."

*Christians: We are already IN CHRIST. That's why here in Ephesians 6:10 Paul tells believers to "be strong IN THE LORD, and in the power of his might." Our spiritual strength must come from the Lord. Paul lived by this truth. That's why in Philippians 4:13, with all of his suffering, hardship, and trouble, the Apostle could still say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."