A Call to Stand
Ephesians 6:10-12
Series: Armed and Dangerous
June 24, 2007
Morning Service
Introduction
Leonidas, King of Sparta, was preparing to make a stand with his Greek troops against the Persian army in 480 B.C. when a Persian envoy arrived. The man urged on Leonidas the futility of trying to resist the advance of the huge Persian army. "Our archers are so numerous," said the envoy, "that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun." "So much the better," replied Leonidas, "for we shall fight them in the shade." Leonidas made his stand, and died with his 300 troops.
The Spartan soldiers set an incredible example of courage and sacrifice in the face of battle. They stood against the Persians and held their ground until they died. Jesus wants to see the same kind of courage and strength in our spiritual life. In our battles we have been called to stand.
Our battle is now new but instead is very old. It began shortly after the dawn of time. It began in a peaceful garden and a lie that would change all of humanity. This war is fought not through physical means but rather through spiritual means and sadly we have forgotten our place is not on the sidelines but on the frontlines. Our battle is not about land, material wealth or anything of that nature. Our fight is for the souls of others all around us each and every day.
As we turn to the scriptures this morning I want to look at one of the battle cry passages of the New Testament, turn with me to Ephesians 6:10-13. We are very familiar with the verses that follow this section of the passage but I think that far too often we miss the charge that the apostle Paul issues to us.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12
Our need in times of battle is courage. The English word courage has its roots in the Middle English word corage and the Anglo French word curage which means from the heart. Courage is an aspect of the heart.
Courage means to have mental or moral strength to venture or persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them. Ralph Waldo Emmerson
I. Christians are given the call to be strong (10)
Our strength rests in a person
Paul issues a charge for the Ephesian church and for our church as well. He calls us to be strong because he understood the reality of the battle that we would be facing. The need for strength is clear enough to see because we all have it. The truth is that we have a deep personal need for an inner strength that will give us the ability to get through the daily grind of life. This strength impacts each and every day that we live on this earth and it helps us live faithfully for the next life.
Paul shows this daily need coming into our lives in two related ways. The first is found in God being the source of the strength we so desperately need. The only source of the deep inner strength that gets you through life is God and anything else is just a cheap imitation.
Paul relates this truth earlier in the book of Ephesians.
I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:16
God has the strength that you need and He wants to give it to you, all you have to do is ask Him for it. Our strength is not in the flesh, it is not in the will of our mind. It is not in the realm of physical means, the strength that we need is spiritual in nature.
Our strength results form His power
The second way Paul speaks of the strength is in the sufficiency of God’s power. Paul is literally saying that everything that we need in this inner strength does not come from within us but rather it all comes from God’s own personal power. In other words; the deepest needs of your life cannot be met by your abilities or your efforts. Instead we must rely on god to give us the strength that we need out of the depth of His resources.
II. Christians are given the call to stand (11)
Our ability to stand involves preparation
Paul tells the church that they must be willing and able to stand. It is important to remember that Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison and would have likely been chained to a Roman soldier at all times. So Paul uses a military term that all of his readers would have easily understood and was a call for the soldiers to hold their position against an enemy assault.
Paul is describing a process that the Christian must go through in order to stand. The first step is to be strengthened by God Himself and allow His power to flow into our lives. The next step Christians need to take in order to stand is to put on the full armor of God. The word here for put on was understood as a permanent act, so that when one put God armor on they were never to take it off. Once we have the strength of God in out lives we need to be ready and willing to hold our position against attack.
The full armor of God is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sward of the Spirit. I am not going into detail about these items but it is important to note that Paul describes both the entire armor of a Roman soldier and the complete provision of God fore our lives. Just as a Roman soldier would not have been ready for battle without all of their armor, so the Christian is not ready to stand for God with all that God makes available.
Our willingness to stand indicates our position
Paul is clearly telling the believers in Ephesus that they are to hold the life giving position that they have in Christ against the attacks of the devil. Specifically, Paul says that they need to carefully watch for the schemes of the devil. The Greek word for schemes is methodia, which is the same word we get our English method. The devil uses certain strategies and plans to attack the Christina with and to make his assault against the church.
How does the devil attack the church?
1. Division – If the devil can get a church focused on the things that they cannot agree on than he has an easier time of attacking because the church is not unified in their position.
2. Delay – If the devil can get us to wait before we reach out and look for only the “right time” to share Christ’s love, we waste opportunities to evangelize
3. Distraction - If the devil can get our attention on things that have nothing to do with Christ’s work, we lose our effectiveness.
4. Discouragement - If the devil can get us to believe that what we are doing for Christ is insignificant or unimportant, we will cease to give our best efforts or give up.
5. Distortion – if the devil can get our doctrine clouded and twisted, confusion is the end result.
6. Distance – if the devil can get people to feel that they are not wanted or needed in the life of the church, they may withdraw from the fellowship.
III. Christians are given the call to struggle (12)
Our struggle is spiritual
The Greek word that Paul uses here for struggle is an athletic term that was used in the sport of wrestling. The struggle described here is like one wrestling with an opponent for a victory. Wrestling matches in ancient Greece were fierce competitions that were part of an aggressive battle for victory. The wrestling was extremely desperate because the loser would have their eyes gouged out. Make no mistake this was an aggressive, desperate fight that no one wanted to lose. Paul is making it clear that we should adopt the same attitude in our spiritual walk with Christ and fight Satan with a determination to win.
The struggle that we are part of is not a physical contest but rather we are involved in a spiritual battle that is desperate. Our position for this struggle is not one of weakness but rather, we have been given strength by God Himself for this fight. God gives us this strength so we can enter the fight.
I think that far too often Christians believe that we are meant to let the world go on or that we are too weak to do anything to stop this world’s decay. Christians are not meant to be doormats of this world but instead we are put on this earth to be change agents of God’s grace. You have been put on this earth at this time to make a difference for the Kingdom of Christ.
Our struggle is against spiritual domination
Satan works through this world to accomplish his master plan of domination but his goal is far beyond controlling this world. Satan understands that this world is the battleground for the eternity and he is more than ready to fight.
We are charged to stand against the works of Satan through our world. Paul speaks of Satan using the authority structure of this world to fight the Kingdom of Christ and the greater harm he can inflict on Christians in this life, the more effective he can be in his own kingdom. Satan uses people like Osama Bin Laden and Sadaam Hussein as puppets to accomplish his work.
Our struggle is against spiritual darkness
Satan wants to keep as many people in spiritual darkness as possible because he does not want them to see the light of truth and believe. So he does everything he can to keep the truth from penetrating their hearts and lives. Satan often creates confusion or some form of distraction to keep people from seeing the truth.
We are charged to stand against the spiritual darkness of ignorance by spreading the light of the good news. We must stand up for those who do not yet know the truth because they are walking in darkness. As Christians we are meant to carry the light to a lost and dying world.
Our struggle is against spiritual domains
Satan also works in the higher spiritual realms that are beyond our ability to see but we do see the effects of this work each and every day. Satan works through the spiritual realm to attack Christians and the church. The ultimate goal of Satan is to take the place of God and that is what he works toward but we already know that Satan was defeated by Jesus.
The problem is that Satan acts much like a madman; he either believes that he can still defeat Jesus or he is just trying to take as many people to Hell with him as he can. He is a real threat and he is working against us.
IV. Christians are called to stand strong (13)
We can stand strong in God’s protection
Paul again tells the believers in the Ephesian church that they need to put on the full armor of God and never take it off. Every Christian will need the armor of God because we all will need to stand strong in the day of evil. What exactly does Paul mean by the day of evil?
Paul is not necessarily speaking of one specific day when Satan strikes at us but rather he tells us about every day that Satan strikes at us. Make no mistake Satan will attack harder at some times than others but we have to understand that we know Satan will come after us. Everything that God blesses Satan will attack.
The important thing to remember is that whenever Satan comes at us with trials and temptations, God has already supplied what we need to win. He has given us forgiveness through Jesus, the strength to stand and the armor for protection. When we put on God’s armor, we walk in His strength and we are covered by His power.
We can stand strong in personal consistency
Paul tells the Ephesian church that they are to do everything in their ability to stand for Christ and his message for our church is no different. How do we stand for Christ? Do everything in your ability to live each day for Jesus.
The Word: Take time each and every day to read your Bible because it is filled with God’s instructions for living.
Prayer: Spend some time each day in prayer because it builds a deeper relationship with Christ.
Worship: Spend time each day in worship of Christ because that is how you experience His glory.
Conclusion
A study was recently completed on corporate managers. In it they were asked if they voiced positions that 1. focused on the good of the company, rather than personal benefit and 2. jeopardized their own careers. Emerging from this study were the four leader-types which are found in all organizations.
Type #1 -- courageous. These people expressed ideas to help the company improve, in spite of personal risk or opposition.
Type #2 -- confronting. These people spoke up, but only because of a personal vendetta against the company.
Type #3 -- calloused. These people didn’t know, or care, whether they could do anything for the company; they felt helpless and hopeless, so they kept quiet.
Type #4 -- conforming. These people also remained quiet, but only because they loathed confrontation and loved approval.
The researchers discovered that the courageous managers accomplished the most, reported the highest job satisfaction, and eventually were commended by superiors. Their commitment had certainly improved the quality of their lives.
