Daily Devotional on Ephesians 6:10-20 [NIV]
“STANDING OUR GROUND”
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As shared by Pastor-Evangelist, Rev. Don Schink
10Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For
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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted
with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet
of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I
open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the
mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
We
are to be prepared! We are to be
ready. In fact, we are at war! We are in the Lord’s army! As such, we are to put on the “full armor of God.” We are to “stand
firm.” As we think of
Independence Day, the 4th of July, or any other freedom celebration
day, as Christians, our true independence is in Christ!
As
such, the Church is involved in a spiritual war with the devil and his armies,
for the lives and the souls of men, women, boys, and girls. As such, we need to consider:
THE
BELIEVER’S STRENGTH – Verse #10… “Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
The
Captain of our army is Jesus Christ, Himself!
The warfare we are involved in is spiritual. This is war! We
are to “stand firm.” We are on the winning side!
In fact, we’ve already read the last chapter! We’ve read the last page of the Bible! As such, we know how it is all going to come out! And we win!
One pastor left his church after only
being there 10 months. The reason? He said that he was leaving to avoid being
in conflict. Anytime anyone serves the
Lord in the Church, it is going to be a fight with the enemy, the devil. And sometimes, he shows up in the most
unbelievable places.
How can you avoid the fight? We do so by recognizing that it really is
not our battle. It is the Lord’s
battle! Our source and strength is in
the Lord Jesus Christ! It is only
through the Lord that we are able to become victorious! We are helpless within ourselves. God shares the power of His strength with
His people. We need to learn to lean
on the Lord more and more throughout each and every day of our lives!
The power and might of our strength is in
the Lord! This power that God
shares with His people is shared with us through the resurrection power of
Christ! This is the power that
raised Jesus Christ from the dead! This
is the same power that brings one to life who was previously dead in sin.
To benefit from the powerful strength
of the Lord, one must exercise his or her faith. One must apply him/herself to the work and duty as Christian
soldiers. As such, the true Christian
soldier is determined to do his/her very best in living a truly victorious
Christian life in the Lord. In fact, it
takes a great deal of courage to live successfully as a Christian in such a
world as we live in. Believe me; it’s
well worth it! Next, let’s reflect
together on…
THE BELIEVER’S ENEMY – Verse #12, “2For
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.”
Our spiritual enemy is not mere flesh
and blood. If we were wrestling against
persons of the world of flesh and blood, then our strength would be
enough. We would be able to defeat such
a one. When we were out in the world,
lost, - if a guy would have walked up to us and hit us, we could have just
turned around and smashed him, - if we chose to do so. We were in the world. So was our assailant, as well. However, spiritually speaking, we must never
underestimate the strength and source of our enemy.
Our enemy is not any more human
than the born-again, Spirit-filled Christian no longer remains as just a
physical being. Man, in his physical
state, will not inherit the kingdom the eternal kingdom. When he is born-again, he enters into the
spiritual realm with the Lord. His/her
old sinful state gives way, as he/she is “a new
creation in Christ Jesus.”
So the believer’s enemy is spiritual. Satan and his followers are actively at work
against the Christian world as part of their rebellion against God. Some of the forces of the spiritual enemy
have ranked among the highest angel-princes.
Even so, Christ created them.
They owe their very existence to Him.
They have rebelled against God.
Rebellion is sin against the living, all-powerful, Almighty God! Jesus Christ has already wrestled against
them and has won the victory! So, as
such, it is only through uniting with Jesus Christ that Christians share the
victory!
The Bible clearly warned us of the
nature of such a conflict and of the fearful character of our enemy. It is inexcusable for the Christian to fail
to take seriously the strength and the capabilities of the enemy. No one is immune from the attacks of the
enemy. Even so, though, as Christians,
the Lord has made the provisions on our behalf against such attacks. Now, let’s look at:
THE BELIEVER’S PROTECTION – Verses 11 and 13, “11Put on the full armor of
God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes… 13Therefore
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.”
Notice how Paul emphasizes the
importance of putting on the whole armor of God. A good soldier does not go out into the heat
of the battle with only half of his equipment on. Our battle gear is complete in the Lord. His grace is sufficient!
We are to “11Put on the full armor of God so that you
can take your stand against the devil's schemes…” Satan is crafty and deceitful. His schemes are pitted against us in forms
of multiple temptations such as unbelief, - to sin, - or to conform to the
worldly ways of the unbelievers around us…
The devil’s attacks are subtle. He sneaks in almost unawares to the
unbeliever – little by little. A good
example of this is seen in the changes that we’ve witnessed in the television
programming over the last several years.
Thirty years ago, foul language was not allowed. Suggestive sexual scenes, for the most part,
were very low-key. As the years went
by, subject material and language have grown worse and worse. It started out getting worse a little at a
time. Then before we knew it, it had
gotten out of control. There is very
little that we can watch now that is really clean and decent. There are some, but one has to be really
selective.
Paul
wanted us to know just what the whole armor of God consists of, so he carefully
covered it, point by point. He used the
Roman soldier at his side for the illustration. He listed the various parts of the man’s protective gear,
relating them to the believer’s armor of protection in Christ, as listed in
today’s Scripture.
Paul has clearly shown that a person does not suddenly become
trouble-free at the time of his or her conversion. In fact, that is actually the beginning of a spiritual warfare
that continues throughout his or her natural lifetime.
As we celebrate our independence as a nation at such times as the
4th of July or any day, we need to know that our real freedom is in
Christ, Himself. There is no other
lasting freedom apart from God in Christ, in the fullness of His Spirit.
Are you totally consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ, today? Are you wholly surrendered to Him? Do you know His sanctifying fullness
today? If you and I will put on “the whole armor of God” then He will give
us sufficient strength to overcome the enemy and his worldly influences. We need the Lord’s daily guidance. We need His daily protection. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to
overcome life’s trials and temptations throughout our daily lives. If you still need to seek the Lord in His
fullness for your life, why not totally consecrate yourself to Him, today? Are you willing to “stand firm” for the Lord? If not, you can prayerfully yield and seek
Him in His saving and sanctifying fullness!
May God bless you as you live for Him!
As we pray today,
1.
What has the Lord been speaking to you about, today, from
the truths as found in today’s biblical lesson?
2. How can you best apply these truths in your own heart and life to
enable you to go on in the power of the Spirit, overcoming the enemy’s attacks?
3. What can you share with those who are in your circle of influence
that you feel will be the most beneficial?
For the complete message on today’s Scripture study, go to:
http://www.angelfire.com/nm2/don/Eph6vss10thru20.html
Please note:
You are welcome to share this devotional in your local churches, but I suggest that you personalize it. You do not have permission to publicize it or to make money from it in any form. May God richly bless you as you minister for Him with rich spiritual rewards of seeing many souls saved and sanctified for all eternity! Please let me know whatever helpful results you may get from this!
With Warm Sincerity in Jesus’ Love,
Rev. Don Schink, Pastor-Evangelist
Sonlight Ministries
Tijeras, NM
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