“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Here is a tough one for me – and a lot of people. To be strong in the Lord and allow Him to show His strength and power on my behalf. Oh how we struggle with this one.
The Bible is full of examples of men and women who allowed God to direct their paths and their actions in powerful ways. So much so that I would venture to say the modern church would condemn them for their actions. Think back and remember the thousands upon thousands of lives taken by the appointed men and women of God throughout the Old Testament. For that matter, remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts. They came before the man of God and told him they had given all their money to the early Church just like all the others had, when in fact they had held back part of the money for themselves. They were free to do that if they had chosen to, but they lied to the leaders and their fellow believers. Remember what happened? They were both struck dead by the power of God through the words of Peter. I don’t think our modern, politically-correct, soft church would be able to stand that kind of judgment. It especially doesn’t fit our image and interpretation of God in modern times.
It is hard for us to admit that we have grown soft. We have re-interpreted sin, calling it a disease or an illness. We assume on the grace of God, trying to guilt-trip Him into covering for us while we explain to our brothers and sisters that He understands we are only human. Oh my goodness! If I only had a dollar for every time someone said something like this to me. If I only had a dollar for every time I HAVE SAID IT MYSELF! We lean far too heavily upon the grace and mercy of God that He provides for our falls. We want to believe He will turn His head every time we purposely do something out of line with His Word and His will for our lives. We treat Him like a dirty police officer – slipping Him some money occasionally in the offering plate in exchange for a “pass” on our shortcomings. God help us!
In much the same manner Paul is writing to the believers at Ephesus in this passage. The early church saw suffering and torment at the hands of society in ways we in the Western world can’t even imagine. Unfortunately our brothers and sisters in foreign lands to this day are often tortured and killed for their belief in Jesus Christ. We have grown fat and lazy. We have no discipline (I speak this to my own shame as well), we have no moral absolutes, we are flexible to adapt to our society’s standards as opposed to the standards God placed before us. We often start out well, but are soon beaten back into place without a fight. At the first sight of struggle or pain we fold.
In this entire passage to follow, Paul lays out the whole armor of God that we are to daily put on and use. He has to first prepare us mentally before we can even don the belt of truth. Before we even begin to battle the lies of the enemy we must be prepared in our minds. We must know this is a battle to the death. Some of you may remember the death matches shown on late night television. They weren’t truly to the death, but there was no escaping the ring. The contestants were locked in. Neither of them could get out, nor could anyone get in to rescue them. Only one walked out at the end of the match.
Unlike these televised events, our fight is not against flesh and blood; instead, it is against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. We are in a spiritual battle – this is for our eternal souls. Sure that often includes the death of our physical bodies, but more importantly it decides the fate of our eternity. The Bible tells us to not fear the one who can kill the physical body, but we are to fear the One Who can kill both the body and the spirit. That would be Jesus, my friend, not Satan. BUT, for Jesus to kill us eternally we must give up, we must yield to Satan, we must admit that he is more powerful than Jesus and God. In other words, when we fold under pressure, when we fail in battle, when we roll over and tap out – we are giving glory and honor to Satan himself.
We have so many promises given to us in scripture – promises of victory, not of defeat. Promises of healing, not of sickness and death. Promises of protection and guidance. Promises of provision. On those promises alone we should stand strong knowing that our God is immeasurably greater than Satan. Satan, after all, is a created being. God is the Creator. We have been assured that His Word will not return to Him void (empty, spent, useless, ineffective), but that it will accomplish that thing it was sent to perform. Boom! When we walk in the Word and in accordance with God’s will, we have His promise that we will be effective, that we will be part of accomplishing everything He has said.
One word jumps off the page in our verse for today: be STRONG in the Lord. STRONG has one definition of being bull-headed. I used to argue with my wife for hours. Even if I knew she was wrong, I was going to stand my ground and would not yield an inch. When circumstances eventually proved she was right, I would only admit that it was a coincidence or sheer luck. NEVER would I willingly concede a fight. I was in it to the death. Now, if we will do that with our spouses, friends, pastor, etc, why don’t we have that same tenacity with Satan? We already know he is a liar and the father of all lies. God has shown us that and so has life. Yet when he rises up against us, we tend to collapse into a heap and give up. NO! Stand up, brother. Stand up, sister. This is not the time to just give up and quit. This is the time for you and me to dig in, prepare for battle, and put on our armor. We have been assured of the final outcome – WE WIN. Not only is Satan a liar, he is a loser. He’s not going to be a loser, he already IS a loser. We have the victory. Stand strong – be bullheaded for God. Back straight, chest out, chin up, eyes fixed straight ahead at our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus.
Be blessed.
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