Ephesians 6:10-20

David Jones

Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Be Strong In the Lord

We face spiritual battles every day. Most people are oblivious to the war that rages all around them. The root of every evil action is spiritual. For example, when a person steals from another person, covetousness and greed prompt the action. If a man cheats on his wife, lust drives the action. Putting on the armor of God is not physical but spiritual.

They are designed to help us stand firm against the devil’s schemes. The devil is patient and methodical. His schemes are not obvious. He can even use good things to accomplish his evil deeds.

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from [a]any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

Satan used a Bible study to deceive Eve. Notice his tactic. He did not refer to God as “Lord God” but only “God”. He is using religion and rules rather than focus on the lordship of God. This is how Satan works. He gets our eyes of of Christ and puts them on other things. If he can get us distracted long enough, he can reap destruction in our lives.

Our struggle is not against one another but Satan and his demonic forces. People that live oblivious to this will discount the power of Satan and his wicked schemes. Our country is and has been pulled subtly into his lies. On issues such as abortion, marriage, and education. we have allowed his influence on this world to shape the culture we live in. He started in the 60’s with the sexual revolution. Here we are 60 years later and he has so shaped our culture in America that it is in direct opposition to God’s Word.

Satan is patient and methodical in his tactics. Believers must be prepared to fight this war by the Power of God.

Put on the Full Armor of God

1. Belt of truth

Truth alone does not set us free from the bondage of Satan, it is what we know about truth that sets us free.

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

What you know to be true about God, will help you be grounded in the truth. The more you know about God, the less you will believe the devil’s lies. A person that knows God can spot a lie of the devil a mile away. It doesn’t line up with the Bible.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

The breastplate guards the heart of a soldier. We must guard our hearts against the world. The world is very tempting and promising of satisfaction. It will leave you empty and frustrated.

Our hearts are the central part of our being. Everything originates in the heart. It starts in the heart, then goes to the mind, and then moves to action. If our hearts are holy, so will our mind and body. What are you allowing to feed your heart.

3. Shod your feet

Your feet are your movement to action. This is what you do when the Lord calls you to do something. You just don’t pray and think about it, you do it. Moses was hemmed in between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. God did not unleash His power until Moses held out his rod. Give example of motion detector lights. Sometimes God is waiting for us to move before he unleashes his power. Most of the time we get it backwards. We only want to move when God unleashes his power.

4. Shield of faith

The shield of faith protected the soldier from the flaming arrows of the enemy. It was made of two layers. One to stop the penetration and the other to extinguish the flame. Remember the old western when cowboys and Indians would fight. The cowboys would shoot guns and the Indians would shoot arrows. It was an unfair fight. But there was always the one crazy Indian that would light his arrow on fire and shoot it at the wagon. It was not meant to kill a cowboy, but to create a distraction. If the wagon was on fire the cowboys couldn’t fight the Indians because they had to put out the fire. This is what Satan does to the believer. He creates distractions to get the believer off of what God desires for him to do.

5. Helmet of Salvation

The helmet protected the head. The helmet of Salvation protects the mind of the believer. Satan tries to get into our minds. He will tell us that we are not worthy to be Christians. He will keep reminding of us of the things we did in our past. Jesus has died for those sins and forgiven us of them. We should not allow Satan to beat us up with them.

6. Sword of the Spirit

This is an offensive weapon to slay Satan. Jesus used it masterfully in .

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You’;

and

‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “[b]On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and [d]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him

We must be able to use God’s word to defeat the temptations of the Devil.

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

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