Welcome to the preaching ministry of Tri-City Baptist Church in Chandler, Arizona. Our desire is that God will be magnified through the preaching of His Word, and that Christians will be challenged, strengthened, and edified in their personal walk with Christ. Please take your Bibles with me this evening and turn to the book of Ephesians. We are turning to a familiar passage and a passage that, frankly, could have a lot of different avenues of application. My goal this evening, however, is to encourage us from this passage and help us understand some of the connections that I think Paul has in mind that help us best understand the point, the main point that he is trying to get across. We will be in Ephesians chapter six and the passage about the armor. A passage that is familiar and comes towards the end of this epistle that Paul has given us from prison. Paul in this passage begins, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. be strong." This is not the first time in Scripture that that exhortation has been given. In fact, if you think your way through the Old Testament, there are some significant moments when a man of God has said to another man of God, and of a good courage. I think of Moses saying to Israel and then to Joshua in Deuteronomy chapter 31, be strong and of a good courage. Do not fear or be afraid of them for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Then Moses calls Joshua to him and says to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and of a good courage. And again, Moses says, the Lord, he is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. You're familiar with the passage at the beginning of the book of Joshua, when Joshua himself meets the angel of the Lord, and the angel of the Lord says to Joshua, just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you, nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous. You will give this people possession of the land. Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, then you will have good success. Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I don't know what your thoughts are at the beginning of a new year. We've turned the calendar, trying to remember new dates. We're recalling the good things that God has done in the past year, or maybe still worrying about the problems that last year brought into our lives. We anticipate a year of blessings, and you always wonder, and what's gonna come up in 2024? But at the outset of a new endeavor, at the outset of a new year, the promise of God to his people, stands firm, be strong and courageous, I will not leave you or forsake you. David repeats this same exhortation to his son when he's passing the leadership to Solomon. He says, now my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord. Just as God has spoken concerning you, only may the Lord give you discretion and understanding and give you charge over Israel so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you're careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord God commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be dismayed." David says again in 1 Chronicles 28 verse 20, be strong, Solomon, and act. Do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you. nor forsake you." Be strong. It's significant, I think, that in each of those passages, the strength of the Lord, the exhortation to be strong was directly connected to their meditation on the things that God had already said. That's significant for us at the outset of a year. Where are we gonna find our strength? Well, if you're thinking like Paul, the Pharisee of the Pharisees, who was schooled in the book of the law, who knew the law of the Lord, when he says to the Ephesians, be strong, doubtless, he has in mind that exhortation to Joshua. that exhortation from David to Solomon, be strong in the Lord. He's written us an entire epistle of teaching, of doctrine about our salvation, about what God has done, of exhortations for our behavior. And then he says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. In this passage, we are going to find four commands. There are four commands that Paul gives to us in these verses. One is in verse 10, another is in verse 11, there's one in verse 13, and one in verse 14. Let me read these verses and I want you to identify where those are. Paul writes, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Stand, therefore. We see these four commands that Paul gives us in this passage. My brethren, be strong. Put on the armor. Take up the armor. Therefore, stand. Paul is writing this epistle from prison to the church. He says in Ephesians chapter one, verse one, if you look just over a couple of pages, he is writing to the saints who are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Paul is writing to believers, those who are in Christ. You know the great benediction of chapter one and all the blessings that are given to the people of God. And Paul is writing to these people. He's writing to us. And he says, be strong, put on, take up, and stand. There is an urgency. There is an insistence in Paul's writing. There's something that is there for us to do. Now, is this something we do in our own strength? Well, no, he says, be strong in the Lord. I think of the experience of Gideon. You remember Gideon, right? God comes to him, the angel of the Lord appears to him, and the Lord says to Gideon, the Lord is with you, you valiant warrior. And Gideon's hiding, trying to keep his little stock of grain from the invading armies. And Gideon says to him, oh Lord, if the Lord is with us, then why is this happening to us? If God is really with us, why are we in this problem? Where are the miracles that our father told us about? Saying, didn't the Lord bring us out of Egypt? Gideon had read his Bible. He knew what God had done. He said, I know God is powerful. I know God has worked in the past. If God's with us, why isn't that happening now? And the Lord turns to him and says, well, go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. And Gideon says, you don't know who you're talking to. How am I gonna deliver Israel? My family's the least in Manasseh and I am the youngest in the family. I'm not the one. He sees God's past victories. He sees his own present weakness and then the Lord says to him, but surely I will be with you and you shall defeat Midian. The presence of God is what made the difference and gave a promise of future victory. So Paul is connecting this to the presence of God, to the authority of Scripture, to the relationship that we have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But he's insistent, he's urgent. Why? Why is Paul so urgent about these commands? Well, it's because there are many strong adversaries. He tells us that this is against the wiles of the devil, against, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. I wonder if our enemies were flesh and blood, if we wouldn't find it a little bit easier to fight. maybe more pressing motivation, more adrenaline, more focus, more attention when you see the enemy in front of you, but these are enemies that we cannot see. These are the devil, they are principalities, they are powers, they are rulers of darkness of this age, they are spiritual hosts, that word means armies, of wickedness in the heavenly places. Now in light of all those enemies, we could become daunted, we could become fearful, but that's not Paul's point. Paul actually isn't trying to make you afraid, he's trying to make you aware. Aware of the big picture to motivate you to stand firm in the Lord. This is not the first time in Ephesians that Paul has mentioned the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In fact, back in chapter 3, Paul says, to me, the least of all saints was this grace given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ. He's bringing to light the administration of the mystery, which for ages was hidden in God, who created all things, and there was a purpose. Paul says the purpose was so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. Why is Paul observing that we fight the rulers of the darkness of this age in the heavenly places? because God is at work through the church to put His glories on display to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. They are our enemies, but they are also our opportunity to showcase the glory of God. And if we're fearful, Paul concludes that chapter with this benediction, to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. He says there that there's a power that works within us and he mentions that power here in this passage as well because he says that there is a provision of strength found in the Lord and in the power of His might. We are to put on the whole armor of God and to take up the whole armor of God. Do you see where the provision for victory lies? doesn't lie in you, doesn't lie in me, doesn't lie in flesh and blood, it lies in our God and the power that he provides. If we attempted this in our own strength, we no doubt would fail. In fact, you know the times that you have attempted it in your own strength, and you know how you failed. But this is the reminder Actually, that the fact that we don't war after the flesh is supposed to be an encouragement to us. You don't have to go it alone. This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10, verses three and four. He says, though we walk in the flesh, we don't war after the flesh, because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds. Yes, we have supernatural enemies, but we have supernatural enablement with God-given abilities. So Paul can say, Ephesians chapter one, verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. You see, God has given us everything we need, not only to come to faith in him, but also to persevere in our sanctification. Do we think that He's gonna abandon us to do it on our own after providing us His saving grace? No, this is God's strength, and this is His mighty strength. In Ephesians 1, Paul prays for something. You know that Paul prays for things. Ephesians 1 contains one of those prayers. And he tells us in Ephesians 1, verse 16, I do not cease to give thanks for you and to pray for you. What's Paul's request? His request is found in verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you this spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, so that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened. Okay, what do I need to know? What's the wisdom, what's the knowledge, what's the enlightenment that I need from God for my life? He tells us that you may know what is the, verse 19, exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe. Paul, can you elaborate on the exceeding greatness of his power? What power are you talking about? He says, I'm talking about the working of his mighty power that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand, where? in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. What is the power of his might that Paul has in mind when we are supposed to stand? It's the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. It's the same power that seated Christ at the right hand of the Father above every enemy that we have. Jesus Christ is seated above the devil, above the principalities, above the powers, above the rulers of the darkness of this age, above every member of the spiritual host of wickedness in those heavenly places. Brothers and sisters, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and we have a savior who is above all principalities and powers in the heavenly places. So even though our warfare is spiritual against those in the heavenly places, we are by God's grace well equipped to stand. But the tone of this passage, is not one of tossing it up in the air to wonder whether or not this is possible. I mean, what I've described may seem in the trenches, may seem in the day in and day out of spiritual warfare, this may seem to be impossible. You say, okay, what does God really expect? I mean, does God expect me to succeed or does God just know I'm going to fail? Well, God knows us. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. But do you notice the expectation of success? You are supposed to be strong in the Lord so that you may be able to stand. You take up the armor so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. This is a great hope. God expects us to succeed. God expects 2024 by his grace and in his might to be a year of spiritual progress and spiritual hope and spiritual success. And this is not just happening on the good days. You are equipped to withstand in the evil day. That word evil has a wide range of possible meanings. It could mean a day of wickedness. It could mean a day of temptation. It could mean a day of calamity. He's talking about the trials that you and I encounter. He's talking about the wickedness that we encounter in our culture. He's talking about the problems that we face in interpersonal issues, with others around us, with the governments of this age. It doesn't matter, God has those situations in mind. And Paul says you are equipped to withstand in that evil day. In the heat of the conflict, in the most intense campaign, God expects that you can stand. There is no temptation, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, 13, taken you, but such as is common to man, but God is faithful. He with every temptation, and that's temptations to sin, that's also trials of life. He with every temptation makes the way of escape that you may be able to bear up under the trial or escape the temptation. Now, does that mean we never fail? No, we certainly do. But the armor that God provides is effective for getting up. Just as it is effective for standing. Because this is what God has provided. When Paul starts elaborating on this armor, we are again familiar with the armor that he gives us. you gird your waist with truth. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Each of these pieces of armor has a lot of possible explanations and applications. That's what I meant to say. There are a lot of possible applications that come from each of these pieces of armor. And I wish we had time to go through each of them, but in a one Sunday evening, no, we don't. This would be a great introduction to a whole series of elaborations on each of those. But there's something found in these pieces of armor that I think is especially significant for our hope. Because when Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord, or to stand in the power of his might, this is not arbitrary. This is not merely hypothetical. Because when we put on the whole armor of God, this isn't just the armor from God, this is the armor that God himself wears in the person of the Messiah. basis of our hope is found in the Messiah. Because next to each of these verses, each of these pieces of armor is not just a part of the Roman armor, it's actually a reference from the Old Testament describing what Jesus Christ himself is going to do. For example, Let's walk through these. Isaiah chapter 11. If you wanna turn with me, you're welcome to. We're gonna spend quite a bit of time in Isaiah because all but one of these are taken from that prophet. In Isaiah chapter 11, we read a familiar verse, a familiar passage about the Messiah. We've come out of the Christmas season and so you would expect to hear about the rod from the stem of Jesse, the branch that grows out of his roots. We read in Isaiah 11, verse two, that the spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. We read in verse four that with righteousness, he will judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. Verse five, righteousness shall be the belt of his loins and faithfulness, the belt of his waist. Righteousness, faithfulness, truth are all connected in the Old Testament terminology. This is the idea of integrity. Messiah has integrity. He tells the truth, he does the truth, he lives the truth. That's the framework, that's the foundation around which all the other pieces of armor are tied. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, is true. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus speaks the truth. And so you can look to Jesus and you can see how he wore the belt of truth. This is our Messiah. This is what Jesus has done. We find the breastplate of righteousness further in that book in Isaiah chapter 59. This is an interesting passage because it's contrasting the righteousness of God with the sinfulness of man. Isaiah 59 opens with the words, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor is his ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you from God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. Isaiah elaborates on what those sins were. The sin of murder, the sin of lying, injustice, empty words, speaking lies, covering themselves with a web of iniquity, feet that run to evil, making haste to shed innocent blood, verses that Paul quotes in the book of Romans about the sinfulness of all mankind. When you come to Isaiah 59 verse 15, we read that the Lord saw it and it displeased him that there was no justice. And he saw that there was no man. He wondered that there was no intercessor. So what does God do when the sinfulness of man comes to his ears? What does God do when there's no intercessor to stand between the wickedness of man and the holiness of God? Verse 16b, second half of the verse. He therefore his own arm brought salvation for him. His own righteousness it sustained him for he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. The garments of vengeance for clothing he was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay. Fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. The coastlands he will fully repay so that they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun. Yes, when Messiah wears the breastplate of righteousness, it is a terror to those who do evil. But if you look at verse 20, you find that the Redeemer will come to Zion. And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says the Lord. There is hope for those who turn from transgression. There is hope in the Messiah's righteousness for those who are right with God. God deals with our sins, and he deals with our sins in the person of his Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus wears the breastplate of righteousness, and Jesus never sinned. Jesus, the man Christ Jesus, lived his entire life and never sinned. He endured every trial that the Father had called him to. He endured under every temptation and every tribulation that was his. Our Savior has worn this armor well. And this is the armor that is available to us. If you're in Isaiah 59, turn back just a couple of pages to Isaiah 52, where we see that Messiah is the one in whom we find this great hope. Isaiah 52 verse 7, how beautiful. Upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. He says in verse nine, break forth into joy, sing together you waste places of Jerusalem for the Lord has comforted his people. He's redeemed Jerusalem. He has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our Lord. Where does that salvation come from? Where's the good news that we can proclaim this gospel of peace? It's found in verse 13 of this chapter when we read that my servant will deal prudently. Isaiah 52 verse 13 is the beginning of a servant song in Isaiah that includes the very famous chapter Isaiah 53. That's what the Redeemer is doing. That's the salvation that is available when God's servant wears this armor. We have a great message to proclaim, but that message is also for us to rejoice that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth proclaiming the good news of the reign of God, the kingdom of God, that there is a God who reigns, that is the good news that we must be prepared to proclaim. Now for the shield of faith, we do not find a corresponding passage in the book of Isaiah. But there are three books in your Old Testament that are quoted more than any other. One comes from the Pentateuch, One comes from the prophets and one comes from the writings. There's Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, which by the way, get to this in just a minute, Jesus quoted in every one of his temptations in the wilderness, quoted from Deuteronomy. There's Isaiah, which Paul is making extensive use of here. And from the writings, there's the book of Psalms. I think that Paul is drawing this piece of armor directly from the Psalter. For example, Psalm 18 verse 30 reads, as for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust in him. Notice the connection between the proven word of God and God being a shield to those who trust in him. This is very closely parallel to Proverbs chapter 30 verse five, which says, every word of God is pure and he is a shield to those who put their trust in him. Or Psalm 119, 114, you are my hiding place and my shield, I hope in your word. The connection between the word of God, which we can trust because it comes from God by inspiration and is profitable And therefore, when we respond in faith to what God has said, God is a shield to people like that. Now, there were a variety of shields available in the ancient world. And in fact, Hebrew has a couple of different terms that are used for shields. The shield that's described here is sometimes translated buckler. It's a small round shield used for close combat. It's not the big shields like Solomon made to put on display in first Kings chapter six. It's not the big shields that the Roman military would lock together. This is the buckler, the small shield that you use to ward off the blows and stab them with your sword. So Psalm 115, verses nine through 11, three times declares, you who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. You say, well, how does this connect to Messiah? Psalm 28 verses seven and eight make this connection for us because the psalmist says, the Lord is my strength and my shield. That's the same word as in Psalm 18. My heart trusted in him and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise him. The Lord is their strength and he is the saving refuge of his anointed. The word anointed is the word Mashiach. We transliterate that as Messiah. Or in Greek, the word is Christos. We transliterate that as the word Christ, the title Christ. They mean the anointed. The psalmist, David, is standing in the place as God's anointed, God's lowercase m, Messiah. The king over Israel at the time. And David, the lowercase m, Messiah, can say, the Lord is my shield. He protects his anointed one. The same applies to our Lord Jesus Christ. He was attentive to the word of the Lord. He trusted everything his father said. And so Jesus had the Father as his shield. This is the hope that we have when we just take God at his word. When you read this, you have the very word of God and you can disbelieve it, you can distrust it, or you can take God at his word. And when you take God at his word, he's a shield for all those who trust in him. The helmet of salvation we've already read in Isaiah 59 verse 17. In the face of the sinfulness of man, the Messiah puts on the helmet of salvation. This certainly includes the benefits that we already have from our justification. But I think in Paul's mind, I think in scripture, this concept here is not just looking back at what God has done. This is the hope of the future deliverance. when Jesus Christ returns and delivers us from all the trials, all the tribulations, all the temptations, and we are glorified in his presence for all eternity. That's why Paul can use this same expression in 1 Thessalonians 5a and talk about, as a helmet, the hope of salvation. We enjoy the hope of all that there is to be found in Christ. We have experienced a foretaste of those blessings now, but I think scripture wants us to say, but just wait. Just wait till Christ comes back. Then we'll experience the hope that is entailed in the salvation that we already have as ours. That helps you in your trials. That helps you in your temptations. because there is a future victory that is guaranteed by the Savior in whom you have salvation. Isaiah 49 gives us the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Isaiah 49, another of the servant songs we read, that he has made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand he has hidden me, made me a polished shaft, and in his quiver he has hidden me. We saw this also in Isaiah 11, that passage we started in, where the verse right before we read about the belt of truth, we read that he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked, a vision that is taken right into Revelation, where Jesus comes back and there's the sword out of his mouth, and with that word, he subdues all his enemies. We have serious enemies. They're the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. They're the rulers of the darkness of this age. They're the people who are opposed to Jesus Christ among our fellow humanity. But the word of God in the mouth of Messiah is powerful. Messiah wears this well. And this is the basis of our hope. Because every one of these pieces of armor has been worn by Jesus Christ to full success. And he doesn't keep it to himself. He now offers it to every one of us. Take up to you the whole armor of God. to stand firm in his strength and in his might, having your waist girded with truth and the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and taking the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. What is the posture that we must have for this victory? It's praying and being watchful. Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Watch, he says, and pray. Have we heard that pair of exhortations before? We have, we've heard them from the mouth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we can find both of these instances in the book of Mark. In Mark chapter 14, verses 37 through 38, we read that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane finds the disciples and says to them, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We read in the book of Luke that Jesus had already forewarned them. When he came to this place, he said, pray that you may not enter temptation, and here they were, sleeping. Jesus says to them, why do you sleep? Rise and pray lest you enter into temptation. We need to watch and pray in the face of temptation. Our Lord did, and our Lord stood, even in the garden. But there's another instance in the book of Mark, where Jesus tells us to watch and pray. It's a chapter earlier, in Mark chapter 13, verse 32. Jesus is talking about his own return, and he says, of that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. So take heed, watch and pray. For you do not know when that time is. Peter picks that up in 1 Peter 4, 7 and says, the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. I don't know what 2024 holds, but I do know that it holds trials and temptations, and that I must hold the expectation of the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of those demand that I watch and that I pray. What does 2024 hold? We don't know, but we have the hope in Christ. Although our adversaries are great, God has already conquered them through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, his Messiah. And he makes that armor available through Christ to you today. So what application would we make of that truth? Look to Christ, take up the armor, and use it. Meditate on each of these pieces of armor. Search the life of Christ and find out how he evidenced these things. And then by God's grace, watchfully and prayerfully seek to have the Lord work those aspects of Christ's likeness out in your own life. Secondly, because God encourages and equips and enables you to succeed, you must watch and pray in the hour of testing as you anticipate Christ's return. This is the exhortation of Paul when he says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord.