Finding Strength In The Lord Series

Finding Strength in the Lord

Ephesians 6:10-13

Rev. Brian Bill

May 25-26, 2024

This past week, I watched a few segments from a documentary called, “Deadly Hunters.” I was hooked after reading the synopsis: “Earth is home to fearsome creatures armed to the teeth and in possession of a predatory prowess few can escape. One bite of some creatures is enough to take down a full-grown elephant. Not only are they perfectly adapted to be all but invisible, they are armed with a lethal cocktail of heart-stopping venom. These snakes, spiders and scorpions do not play games.”

For instance, the Saharan Sand Viper from Africa buries its body in the sand, except for its eyes and a small section of the tail, which it moves back and forth as bait. The snake lies in ambush until an unsuspecting victim is attracted by the movement, paralyzed by venom, and swallowed whole. As I watched, I wanted to warn the animal about the invisible serpent before it walked into the trap.

While I couldn’t save the prey from the snake, I do pray that God will use this message to prevent us from falling prey to the slithering serpent known as Satan.

Let’s give our attention to Ephesians 6:10-13: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.

As we begin, let’s pray this prayer together from The Valley of Vision.

We bless thee that the issue of the battle between ourselves and Satan has never been uncertain and will end in victory. Calvary broke the dragon’s head, and we contend with a vanquished foe, who with all his subtlety and strength, has already been overcome. When we feel the serpent at our heels, may we remember Him whose heel was bruised, but who, when bruised, broke the devil’s head.

As we have mentioned, the Book of Ephesians has two major divisions: doctrine (1-3), and duty (4-6). The first half exalts our position in Christ, while the second half exhorts us to put it into practice. A case could be made that there’s actually a third section of the book we could call spiritual warfare. We could outline it like this:

• Wealth (1:1-3:21).

• Walk (4:1-6:9).

• Warfare (6:10-24).

In our study of Ephesians, we’ve walked through our heavenly calling and our earthly conduct, and for the next two weeks, we’ll consider our spiritual conflict. Incidentally, D. Martin-Lloyd Jones preached 52 sermons on this section of Ephesians 6 and I’m only preaching two messages on these verses!

I appreciate how one pastor captured the flow of Ephesians: “Having instructed the church concerning her wonderful privileges and opportunities, and having exhorted the church concerning her great responsibilities, Paul concludes with a vital explanation of her vulnerabilities coupled with an encouragement about her possibilities.”

Here’s our main idea: Stand against Satan in the strength of the Lord.

1. Be strong in the Lord. We see this in verse 10: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” The word “finally” can mean, “in conclusion” or “most importantly.” While our culture tells us to be strong in ourselves, the Bible urges us to “be strong in the Lord,” or more literally, “be made strong in the Lord.” Psalm 28:8 says, “The Lord is the strength of His people…” Deuteronomy 20:4 shows we can be strong only through the Lord’s strength: “For the LORD your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

The phrase, “strength of His might” takes us to the prayer found in Ephesians 1:19: “…according to the power of His great might.” The only way to experience this power is to live out our position through prayer. We’re to fight in the power of His might because as one pastor says, “when you were transferred out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, you were added to the devil’s most wanted list.” Because of that, spiritual battles require spiritual strength.

H.B. Charles says we need to be strong in the Lord because we have three spiritual enemies who attack us relentlessly.

• The world is our external enemy.

• The flesh is our internal enemy.

• The devil is our infernal enemy.