- It’s Day 12, and we’re ending the book of Ephesians today. God bless you all for journeying with us and sharing your reflections and insights throughout the period.
- We continue with Philippians 1 tomorrow on our 50 Days Quiet Time journey 🤗📖
- As iron sharpens iron, may we continue to sharpen one another with the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God 🔥
STAND In The Lord!
“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.” ~ Ephesians 6:13
Dear friend, immediately you became a believer, you made an enemy – an adversary called the devil or Satan. And he is waging war against the Lord’s people. So now we are all soldiers in the Lord’s army, fighting the good fight of Faith.
- By the way, it doesn’t say put on the bikini (if it’s a bikini, then we’re in for a beach party);
- Nor does it say to put on a ball gown or suit and tie (because it is not a dinner reception);
- It says put on the full armour... so it is a fight, a battlefield, and a war zone!
- Christians don’t want to accept that they are in the battlefield. And we hear people say: “hmmm the battles are too much.”
- Tell me, did God say the battles will be few? (Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers him out of them all ~ Psalm 34:19)
The Bible says: “Fight the good fight of faith!” Beloved, it’s not a party o, it’s a fight… You and I must develop the mind of warriors; fighters in the Kingdom!
"WHEN the day of evil comes..."
- English scholars can understand what it means to use “WHEN.” It means that day will surely come, you will have your day of evil.
- Rick Warren calls it the ‘midnight time,’ where you go through the mill (you’re being grinded), and sometimes it’s like the temptations and troubles are winning.
- But hey, we pray for you (as Jesus prayed for Peter), that you may stand after that evil day, or days, or months, or even years. May you stand strong after it all, and may your faith not fail!
- It is relatively easy to start as a Christian than it is to keep going and finish as one. “And having done all, to stand!”
- Paul said to Timothy, “I have FOUGHT the good fight, I have FINISHED the race, I have KEPT THE FAITH…” I pray that these will be our words also at the end of it all!
- Pray about it. Paul is one of the very few who could say he finished the race and kept the faith! Meaning after all he went through, he still believed what he first believed in!
Jude 1:3 says, "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to CONTEND FOR THE FAITH that was once for all delivered to the saints."
There is contention. We are being pulled and fought against! This is War! You can’t afford to fold up your arms and refuse to fight, you’ve got to fight in the Spirit!
We don’t have to do anything wrong for Satan to attack us. It’s what he does. It’s who he is. The Bible calls him “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Revelation 12:10). And he wants nothing more than to attack those who love Jesus.
- Yet often, our own impure lifestyles make us vulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
- He knows that if he can slip his foot into the door of our hearts through impurity, we’re goners.
- He’ll trip us up with all sorts of temptations, from pornography to movies to books to advertising—whatever it takes to make us ineffective as representatives of God’s kingdom.
“Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest.” ~ Ephesians 6:14
That’s why the breastplate of righteousness is so important as we battle against whatever Satan throws at us.
A Roman soldier going to war would always put on a breastplate to protect his heart and vital organs (Our modern day equivalent of the bulletproof vest). No soldier would dare go to battle without this piece of armor.
Neither should we! Paul tells us that righteousness, or purity of motives, is our breastplate. When we ask God to give us a pure heart and pure motives, we’re putting on that breastplate of righteousness.
- Satan fears the person with a pure heart—not the perfect person, but the person who wants to do the right thing and who keeps their motives pure.
- People who pursue purity don’t have to be afraid of him. Satan is afraid of them!
- Purity doesn’t mean perfection, though. None of us fit that description. God expects purity of motives, not perfection of action.
It means when we do something wrong, we’re convicted and we want to make it right. We can’t have God’s blessing on our families, our businesses, or any other area of our lives unless we seriously pursue that kind of purity (not to gain salvation but to live out the saved life in Christ).
- For example, if you open up your heart to greed, Satan can get you to cheat on your account books or make a shady business deal.
- If you leave the door to your heart ajar through pride, you’ll chase the applause and praise of others rather than the approval of God. That leads nowhere.
Without a pure heart, you’re a pushover for Satan. We don’t have to be strong physically to stand against Satan’s attacks, but we do need to protect ourselves with God’s armor of righteousness.
- Are there areas of your life where you have become vulnerable to impurity? What can you do about it?
- Who can you invite into your life to keep you accountable to make pure decisions that honor God?
- “Righteousness” may seem like an intimidating word, but it just means pursuing pure motives. What is one simple way you can check and correct your motives?
“Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” - Ephesians 6:17 (NCV)
If we want to successfully handle temptation, then we must claim the promises that God gave in His Word about temptation. We have to memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13:
“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”.
- Many people say, “I couldn’t help myself. It was impossible to resist. I had no choice but to give in.”
- You see, when we say that, we’re basically calling God a liar. He says He’ll always offer an escape from the temptation you face.
- It may be tough and painful. It might even be embarrassing. But there will always be a way out. God makes sure of it! That is His promise. Will you believe His promise?
“Satan is constantly battling for your mind. When God gives us an idea, it’s inspiration. When the devil gives us an idea, it’s temptation.” ~ Ps Rick Warren. You choose every day which thought you’re going to dwell on.
Salvation is the first step: “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet.”
- We can change our minds by replacing temptation with truth, and truth is found in the Bible.
- The Bible says to resist the devil. How do you do that? By preparing for the temptation.
- Two things we need to do in order to handle temptation:
What does a helmet do? It protects your head and your mind, and that’s where the battle is going on. Before you can say no to the devil, you need to learn to say yes to Jesus Christ. His power comes to you through salvation.
2. The second step is to use God’s Word as a sword.
Truth is the antidote to temptation. You can keep your Bible by your bed at home, but when you don’t have it with you and you’re tempted, how does it help? We need to get the truth found in the Bible into our minds.
Without a doubt, the single most effective tool for combating temptation is to memorize Scripture. If you don’t have any verses memorized, you’ve got no weapons for the fight!
- When Satan comes along, how are you going to counter him? He’s not afraid of your opinion, but he does fear the truth.
- The sword of the Spirit is God’s truth, but it only becomes a weapon we can use when we memorize it and have it in us.
- What are some goals you can set this week for memorizing Scripture? - Who can be your accountability partner as you memorize Scripture?
Beloved, it is not enough to be on the defensive end all the time, you must also attack. And our offensive armour is: The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!
- Do you ever listen to a sermon and it’s like the Pastor makes a statement or two that are directed to you? You feel like that’s a personal word from God to you.
- That’s the Rhema word of God and we need those, not just from sermons at church but from our personal time with the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
- The devil fights against us getting a Rhema word from God.
- Whether in church or during your quiet time, he will try to make sure you don’t get a Rhema in your spirit (mostly by distracting you).
- Beloved, let’s make time to read the Bible, devoid distractions, and ask the Lord for a Rhema word.
Our offensive armour doesn’t end there. Paul says we should pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers in the Spirit! When you get your Rhema word, now you’ve got to pray. Pray in the language of the Spirit!
- When you wake up, pray; before you leave the room, pray; before you study/write an exam, pray!
- Pray short prayers, pray long prayers, pray silent prayers, pray in loud cries and wailing.
- Make prayers of petition, make prayers of intercession, make prayers of warfare. By all means, pray!
We need to pray, it is time to pray! Brother, Sister, pause! Have you prayed? (Check out this song by my big brother, Ps Cofi Boham: https://youtu.be/uaBl3hD8wH0).
Hey, you're blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved! Do share your lessons from Ephesians 6. Remember to tag us and your friends on 📲:
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Disclaimer: this post contains portions of messages and text originally shared by Ps Rick Warren (who is one of my mentors in the faith).
