Sit Walk Stand
Ephesians 6:10-17
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
1-19-2020
Sit Walk Stand
We have begun 2020 with a study of the little book, “Sit, Walk, Stand” by Chinese pastor Watchman Nee. In week one of this series, we learned that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and that we are seated with Him. This has titanic implications for how we view our sin, our identity, and our trials.
Once we have learned to sit or rest in our position is Christ, then, and only then, can we learn to walk in this world. Sitting describes our position in Christ. Walking described the practical outworking of that heavenly position here on earth.
Last week, we studied Ephesians 4:1-3 to see how we “walk worthy of our calling.” We ended our service praying that God would grow in us the fruit of gentleness, patience, and peace.
If you weren’t here for those two weeks, I would encourage you to watch the sermon on our Facebook page.
This morning, we will wrap up this series with a call to stand. Pastor Nee writes:
“Christian experience begins with sitting and leads to walking, but it doesn’t end with these. Every Christian must learn to stand. Each one of us must be prepared for the conflict. We must know how to sit with Christ in the heavenly places and we must know how to walk worthy of Him down here, but we must also know how to stand before the foe.”
We will spend our time today studying the last verses of the book of Ephesians. Please turn to chapter 6.
Prayer
The Christian and the Adversary
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Paul wants to give these Ephesian believers some last instructions before he closes the letter.
A. The Christian’s Power Source
He begins by commanding them to “be strong.” It’s in the present tense meaning, “be strengthened.” This is something done to the Christian.
But notice we are to be strong “in the Lord and His mighty power.” How strong you are is irrelevant. Our strength comes from our union with Christ.
Pastor Nee writes:
“Only those who can sit can stand. Our powerful for standing, as for walking, lies in our having first been made to sit together with Christ. The Christian’s walk and warfare alike derive their strength from his position here. If he is not sitting before God he cannot hope to stand before the enemy.”
In Ephesians 1, Paul wants us to know the “incomparably great power for us who believe.” This is the same mighty power that “raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right rand in the heavenly realm.” (Eph 1:20)
This power “made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions…and raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 2:5-6)
Paul knew this power and he knew it was not his own. He had a thorn in the flesh. We aren’t sure what it was. It couldn’t have been problems with his eyesight. But he asked God three times to take it away. God said no but told Paul:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)
Paul’s response shows his understanding of Christ’s resurrection power:
"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10)
Bryan Chapell reminds us that
“…we are in Christ: covered by His blood, robed in His righteousness, members of His household, sons and daughters, in union with Him, beloved. We may dread the exposure of our weakness in our battle against sin, but Paul reminds us that the strength of our relationship with our God is provided by Christ. Because we are in Him, seated with with Him, we have access to a power greater than we.”
Isaac Watts wrote these words in a hymn dated 1707:
“Hell and your sins resist your course;
But hell and sin are vanquished foes:
Your Jesus nailed them to a cross,
And sang the triumph when He rose.”
But we live in the already/not yet. Yes Christ has triumphed over the powers of darkness but we have not experienced the full fruits of Christ’s victory. That’s why we need to learn to stand.
Near the end of his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul makes the same charge:
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (I Cor 16:13)
When you feel weak, when you feel like giving in to your sin, when you feel like your will-power is growing dim, we must remind ourselves to “be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”
B. The Christian’s Adversary
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 2:11)
We will return to the armor in just a minute, but let’s look at this idea of standing.
Paul says this this armor will help you “stand against” against the devil’s schemes. The Greek words mean, “hold your ground.” The fact that we are told to stand implies that the ground that is disputed by the enemy is really God’s and therefore ours.
Pastor Nee writes:
“Today, we wage war against satan only to maintain and consolidate the victory which Christ has already gained. By the resurrection God proclaimed His Son victor over the whole realm of darkness, and the ground Christ won he has given to us. We do not need to fight to obtain it. We only need to hold it against all challengers.”
He continues:
“We do not fight for victory, we fight from victory. We do not fight in order to win but because in Christ we have already won. Overcomers are those who rest in the victory already given to them by their God.”
If you try to talk to people about satan today, most of the time they will simply laugh. They picture him as in a red cape with horns and pitchfork.
Or, like my mother, they simply don’t believe in him at all.
But every New Testament writer mentions him and Jesus dealt with him at the beginning and ending of his life and ministry.
He is called by many names - satan, the serpent, the accuser, deceiver, evil one. He was an angel who lusted for God’s throne and was cast out of heaven along with one-third of the angels which now do his bidding.
He is a created being, so he doesn’t have the “onmi’s” of God. He is not all knowing, all present, or all powerful.
He is clever, insidious, merciless, has no love for God or you, and wants to kill, steal and destroy your life, your dreams, your future. He wants to discourage you, tempt you to doubt God, and damage your testimony.
The word “schemes” is where we get our word “methodical.” He is a determined enemy and he is always looking for a way to hurt us. He’s had thousands of years to watch humans and learn our weaknesses.
He doesn’t fight fair and will use anything and everything to bring us down.
Paul writes that Satan often “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14) and is Peter warns his readers to be alert because “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
There is war going on between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness.
But the one thing you must remember is that satan is a defeated but still dangerous. ER doctors report that many times snake bite victims come in having thought they had killed the snake. Some had even cut the snake’s head off but were still bit.
Jesus defeated satan on the cross and we stand with that victory.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is an attempted exorcism that went terribly wrong.
Seven sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva thought they could drive our demons by saying, “In the name of Jesus who Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
We pick up the story in Acts 19:
“One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” (Acts 19:15-16)
We dare not think we can deal with the devil on our own but only by acknowledging the only power we have is through Christ.
C. The Christian’s True Struggle
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 6:12).
Paul wants us to understand that we are in a war and most of the battle is in the unseen, spiritual realm. The word struggle means “wrestle” and he makes the case that we aren’t wrestling humans.
It can seem like that we are in a war against evil people - human traffickers, the makers of pornography, genocidal warlords, and abortionists. But Paul says they are not the true enemy. The true enemy is the one behind their evil actions.
Paul calls them “rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms..”
From this verse, we learn that there are different ranks and categories of demonic beings. They are opposed to all that is good, holy and hate the light. And they are powerful.
J.B. Phillips translates the last phrase in this verse,
“…spiritual agents from the very headquarters of hell.”
Ray Pritchard says it this way,
“We are all foot soldiers in a vast invisible war that stretches across the cosmos. There is no release from the battle. If we go AWOL, we simply find a bigger battle on the other side.”
You can not be neutral in this conflict. That’s why Paul tells the believers to make sure we have on the armor of God.
D. The Christian’s Supply in the Day of Evil
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Eph 6:13)
Notice that it’s not our armor but God’s that we put on. He doesn’t put it on us. We have to make the decision to put on the armor.
There will be times when evil will be encountered in our Christian lives. Strong temptation will sweep in a threaten to overwhelm us. But in that evil day, we will not fight alone and we do not fight in our own strength. But we fight in the strength that Christ gives us.
Pastor Nee writes:
“We must not ask the Lord to enable us to overcome the enemy, nor even look to Him to overcome, but praise Him because He has already done so; Christ is the victor. It is all a matter of faith in Him.”
Martin Luther, who actually threw an ink well at the devil while translating the New Testament into German, wrote the words we sang earlier:
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
The Christian’s Armor
In verses 14-17, it seems like Paul took a long look at the soldiers guarding him and thought that their armor would make a great word picture for his readers.
He may have been thinking of Psalm 18:39:
“You have clothed me with strength for the battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me.” (Psalm 18:39)
But Paul does an interesting thing. All the imperatives in these verses are plural. Yes, we need to individually put on the armor of God. But even more we need to collectively, as the body of Christ, need to don the armor for the battle is real.
He lists six parts of a Christian’s armor and each of them is vital to standing our ground in the battle.
The Belt of Truth
A couple of year ago, I learned how important a belt really is. I was flying back from Trinidad and was in the Toronto airport. I had lost weight over the summer and my belt was the only thing holding up my pants. Of course, I had to take my belt off to go through security.
I was holding my pants up and the lady that took me through the X-ray machine told me I had to put my my hands up. I told her that if I did that my pants would be at my ankles. She gave me a stern TSA look, and I obeyed her. My pants weren’t quite at my ankles but they were close. She laughed and said, “Well, you weren’t kidding, were you?”
The first piece of armor that Paul tells us to put on is the belt of truth. Roman soldiers wore tunics and would tuck their tunics into their belts when they would go into battle.
It’s important to put on truth in times of trial and temptations because Satan is a liar. Those lies can get in our heads, and our hearts, and lead us to despair.
But Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 10:10) said the truth will set us free (John 8:36). What is truth?
Tony Evans defines it this way:
“Truth is the absolute standard by which reality is measured. It’s God’s view on everything. God has spoken and He has not stuttered.”
We must remind ourselves daily of the truth that, as Christians, we are are extravagantly and unconditionally loved, that God is holy, righteous, good, that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, that Jesus is praying for for us right now, that the Holy Spirit has sealed us, and that all things work together for the good of those who love God.
Dennis Jernigan, one of my favorite worship leaders, translates Zephaniah 3:17 from the Hebrew this way:
Read p. 114 of Mystery of Majesty.
This is truth. We must live in this truth. This must be the air we breathe.
This means speaking with integrity and sincerity. We must “put off falsehoods and speak truthfully to one another…” (Eph 4:25)
The Apostle John wrote in his second letter:
It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. (2 John 1:4)
God’s Word is truth and one of the ways we can “put on the belt of truth” is to “hide His Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.” (Psalm 119:11)
B. The Breastplate of Righteousness
A soldier’s breastplate was often made of woven chains would cover his heart and other vital organs. It would be like a modern day bullet proof vest.
How much righteousness do we have in ourselves? None!
We must remind ourselves of that daily! Our righteousness is “alien” as theologians like to say. It is not in us. It is from outside of us.
Paul told the Corinthians that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)
This is called the imputed righteousness of God. Jesus traded His righteousness for our sin and we were legally justified and declared righteous:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Rom 5:1)
Once we understand that, it will help make right decisions. Paul tells Timothy:
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” (I Tim 6:11)
We must guard our hearts (Prov 4:23) and not compromise spiritually because that would let our guard down.
Righteousness gives us courage to fight the battle because we know we don’t have to fight from our own strength:
“The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Prov 28:1)
C. Shoes of Peace
Paul gives us the third piece of armor:
“…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
A Roman soldier would wear sandals with spikes on the bottom, much like athletic cleats, to give them sure footing as they fought.
Shoes are important. Have you seen the show “Naked and Afraid?” Neither have I. But I read about it. What’s the very first thing that contestants do when they are dropped off? They make some sort of coverings for their feet because, without that, they will not be able to survive the time in the wilderness.
What gives us sure footing in times of temptation?
As Christians, we have peace with God (Rom 5:1), the peace of God (Phil 4:7), which leads to peace with others (Rom 12:18).
I’ve always loved this lyric from the late Rich Mullins:
“Let mercy lead, and in every footprint that you leave there’ll be a drop of grace.”
Adrian Rogers reminds us that “peace is not the absence of problems but the addition of God’s power in the midst of the problems.”
Paul Tripp writes that we must daily preach the Gospel to ourselves. We need to remind ourselves that we are hopeless and helpless in our sin and that we can never be good enough to get into heaven. But Jesus Christ died on the cross, in our place, to pay the penalty for our sins. And by placing our faith in Him alone, I’m with Him, we can be saved and have assurance of spending eternity in heaven.
Peter writes that must also be ready to share the Gospel:
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (I Peter 3:15)
One of satan’s tactics to disturb your peace is discouragement. It shouldn’t surprise you that I battled discouragement all week. At one point, I didn’t throw an ink well, but I said out loud, “Really?”
Let’s put these shoes on and remind ourselves daily that Jesus is our peace.
D. Shield of Faith
Once we have the belt of truth on, and the breastplate of righteousness, and shoes of peace, the next article of armor is the shield of faith.
This would have been a 2-4 foot wooden shield covered in leather that would be soaked in water.
Let me remind you that our faith is not in faith. Our faith is in a Person, Jesus.
Tony Evans defines faith “as acting like what God said is true.”
Satan wants you to doubt God’s goodness. That’s how started in on Eve, “Did God really say?” He continues to plant doubts today.
He shoots flaming arrows of doubt, lust, anger, and discouragement.
We cry out to Him in these times and it is by faith that we counteract these lies.
How about when satan tells you that you’ve done it this time and God is sick of you sinning again and again and you’ve gone too far for Him to forgive you?
By faith, we remember that:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39)
When the fiery darts come, and they will remember that ultimately God is our shield:
“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30)
One more point before we move on. This armor is defensive but it’s not meant to be used individually. When the arrows would fly, soldiers would gather together, sometimes even interlocking their shield, forming what’s know as a phalanx. They created a wall that would protect them from any projectiles launched their way.
This is a beautiful picture of the CHURCH! We are all in this together and we need each other to take up the shield of faith to form a protective barrier to protect us from satan’s arrows.
E. Helmet of Salvation
We must not only protect the heart but also the head so Paul charges us to take up the helmet of salvation.
I have a friend who skateboards. One day he decided to try to jump an entire flight of stairs. As you can guess, we didn’t make it. Wisely, he was wearing a helmet. He loved showing that helmet, that had been nearly split in two instead of his brain.
This helmet was made of tough iron or bronze with a visor. It was nearly impenetrable.
This is Old Testament imagery. Isaiah says that God Himself:
“He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.” (Isaiah 59:17)
The mind is a battlefield that satan wants to make his playground. This is why we must renew our minds:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:2)
I’ve talked to several people lately that I asked if they were prepared to stand before God and they responded, “I hope so.”
Listen, you can be certain:
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12)
Ray Pritchard writes,
“When a soldier knows that the Captain of his salvation watches over him, he not fear to enter the fiercest battle.”
Let me ask you a question - do you know that you know? Are you 100% sure that you will go to heaven when you die?
F. The Sword of the Spirit
The last element of armor is a sword, actually a small dagger that would be used in close up, hand-to-hand combat.
The Bible says that the Word of God is “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
When Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted, He simply quoted Scripture. Three times satan tempting Him and three times Jesus responded with Scripture:
Satan said “turn these stones into bread.” Jesus quotes Deut 8:3: It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”
Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said worship me and I will give them to you. Jesus quotes quotes Duet 6:13: “It is written: Worship the Lord and serve him only.”
Satan said, “jump off the temple…prove who you are…angels will catch you.” Jesus quotes Duet 6:16: “It is written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
When the evil day of tempting comes, do you have enough Scripture in your heart to do battle with the enemy? David wrote in his journal that he had “hidden God’s Word in his heart that he might not sin against Him.” (Psalm 119:11) ?
Two excellent passages to memorize would be I Corinthians 10:13:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (I Cor 10:13)
And Titus 2:11-14:
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14)
If all the other pieces of armor are in place, then this is the only offensive weapon you need.
Conclusion
We are to live Truthfully, Righteously, Peacefully, Dependently, Confidently, and Biblically.
Ray Pritchard reminds us that it is not our armor but God’s armor we put on. And ultimately, all of these pieces describe Jesus! He is our armor. He is our victory.
Watchman Nee, finished his book “Sit, Walk, Stand” with these words:
“The Christian life consists of sitting with Christ, walking by Him, and standing in Him. We began our spiritual life by resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. That rest is the source of our strength for a consistent and unfaltering walk in the world. ?
And at the end of a grueling warfare with the hosts of darkness we are found standing with Him st the last triumphant procession of the field. Unto Him be the glory forever!”
