Stand In Strength

Well, as you might have guessed, we're going to start a new series this week,

taking a break from the Gospel of Luke for just a portion of time here before Christmas.

And this morning, we're going to be looking at Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

We're focusing on a few verses today. But before we get there,

I want you to know this morning that we are in a spiritual warfare.

Okay, I want you to realize that. And I want us to go to our Lord in prayer

again this morning. Lord, I surrender this day to you.

I know that I can't stand on my own strength and no one else here can.

We ask that you would please fill us with your power and remind us,

Lord, that you fight for us.

We thank you for that in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Well, Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 13. Let's take a look together.

Ephesians 6:10–13

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.

This new series is probably guessed again, it's called Stand.

It's a journey through one of the most practical and powerful passages in all

of scripture in Ephesians 6.

And actually over the next few weeks, we're gonna explore what it means to live

with strength, stability, and spiritual resilience in a world that often feels

chaotic and unpredictable.

And I want y'all to know today, Eastwood, this is more than a call to arms.

It's a call to stand, not in fear, not in panic, but in faith. Amen.

And I want to ask you something. Have you ever felt like that you're standing

in a storm that just won't let up? Have you ever been there?

Life keeps swinging. The wind doesn't stop. The pressure doesn't ease and you're

doing everything you can to just stay on your feet.

You try harder. You push forward the best you know how.

You fight back with all that you've got, but you're exhausted,

maybe weary, maybe even ready to give up.

That's exactly how the Apostle Paul felt in Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And as we see in this next slide here, he comes not with a motivational speech

to dig deeper or hustle harder, but with the command that actually changes everything.

What does he say? Look at it.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. In fact, here it says,

standing begins with surrender, not to fear, but to God's strength.

Before you put on the armor, before you pick up the sword, before you face the

day ahead, Paul says to stand.

Again, not in your own strength, but in the strength that only God himself can provide.

And that foundational truth you see on the screen right now,

standing begins with surrender, not to fear, but to God's strength.

And so we're going to discover together today what it means,

Eastwood, to truly stand in the power of the Lord.

Again, our passage Ephesians 6 verses 10 through 13.

Ephesians 6:10–13

And before we go forward, let me just pause for a moment and say this,

I can think of no greater example of someone who stood in the power of the Spirit

in our modern day than Charlie Kirk,

a man who was assassinated this past week because of his beliefs,

and specifically his Christian beliefs, a man who actually debated and was most

popular speaker and debater on college campuses all over this place.

And his life was taken because of the stand that he took.

And I want you to know that's a great example of the forces of evil coming against God's kingdom.

And let me just say today, as we remember Charlie Kirk as well and what he did,

I promise you that his witness and his movement, so to speak,

guided under the Lord because he loved Jesus more than anything.

He shared Jesus with those college students. He spoke the truth to them.

Like so many of us are afraid to do at times.

He took a stand. And if anything else, I want y'all to know today that this

has encouraged me and should encourage you to stand, to stand firm.

You don't back down from the enemy. And by the way, you're gonna learn who the

real enemy is today if you didn't know already.

Y'all, it is time for us to stand. stop mealy mouthing around, right?

Stop trying to hide. Take a firm stand. Everybody knows where Charlie stood.

Everybody knows the love in his heart. Everybody knows that there was not a

aggressive bone in his body other than standing for the truth and loving people.

And I just say that today because I just pray that the testimony for my life

could be one one thousandth of that of Charlie Kirk.

And I can say in our modern day, that is a real man of God.

Well, Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 13. First of all, today we see in this

Ephesians 6:10–13

passage that the strength to stand begins with who?

It begins with God, not you.

Look at verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

When Paul begins here, his final exhortation, Ephesians 6, he doesn't just say

be strong, period, does he?

He says be strong in the Lord. And that distinction, I think,

is such an important one that we can't miss today.

This is not a rallying cry to dig deeper, try harder, or try to muster up some

kind of strength in of ourself, right?

It's a call to lean on a strength that is not your own.

It's a call to lean on God in times of need.

And when all else fails, God is there and his strength is sufficient.

You know, the Greek verb that is used here in this passage for be strong is endun namuste.

It's a passive imperative. It literally means, y'all, be strengthened or be empowered.

Paul is telling us here, this kind of strength isn't something that we create.

It's something we receive.

It flows from our union with Jesus, not from sheer human willpower or manipulation. right?

I mean, after all, I think of the passage, Christ in me, the hope of glory.

You see, this is the constant theme of scripture. Isaiah chapter 40,

Isaiah 40:29

verse 29 reminds us of this. This should be familiar to you.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Aren't you thankful.

2 Corinthians 12, 9, Jesus tells Paul, my grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

In the kingdom of God, y'all, weakness is not a defect. It's an invitation.

It's in our lowest, most vulnerable places that God meets us with sustaining power.

And we see this power y'all over and over

again in our own lives and others lives when we

stop pretending we're strong enough on

our own we finally what we finally open

our hands to receive what only

god can give us it it's when we finally let go and let god give us the strength

amen so if you feel worn down today if you feel burnt out or barely hanging

on you're in the perfect position to stand.

Not in yourself, but in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Well, number two, we see our battle here is not against flesh and blood.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's

schemes, it says in verse 11 of Ephesians 6.

You see, the real war, don't miss this today. The real war isn't the one we

see, it's the one we can't.

Paul makes it clear the enemy isn't your neighbor, your co-worker,

or that person who disagrees with you online. That's not your enemy.

The true struggle runs deeper beneath the surface of our human conflicts.

Our struggle, he says here, is not against flesh and blood.

Paul writes, 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, verse 12.

So often we try to fight spiritual battles with earthly strategies, don't we?

We throw busyness at our anxiety, for example.

We hide behind achievement sometimes to cover our shame.

We reach out for control when we feel the chaos closing in all around us.

But I want you all to know today, no amount of getting at it,

no amount of hustle, can push back the powers of darkness.

We can't muscle our way through this one.

We don't need stronger arguments. We need stronger armor. Amen?

We don't need a louder voice. We need a deeper dependence upon God.

C.S. Lewis actually wrote, there is no neutral ground in the universe.

Every square inch every split second is claimed by god and counter claimed by

satan that's the tension that we live in y'all that's the battleground did you

get it every square inch every split second.

But here's the hope. While the enemy's real, his power is not ultimate.

His power is subservient to that of Christ.

And Jesus has already, Eastwood, already won the decisive victory on the cross. Amen.

Colossians 2.15, disarming the powers and authorities and triumphing over them.

And as we see in this next slide, it reminds us, we don't fight for victory.

We fight from it.

Our battle originates from a place of victory, triumph, and the divine sacrifice

of Jesus' death, y'all, on the cross on our behalf.

Y'all, we are in a spiritual war.

Yes, as Petra saying many years ago, this means war. So when you feel like giving

up, remember this, you're not just caught in a random struggle.

You're engaged in a holy resistance.

And yes, I'm reminded of Skillet's song resistance, right?

A holy resistance, though. And the one who is in you is greater than the one

who is in the world. 1 John 4.4.

Number three, this is so important. Standing requires surrender.

At first, the command to stand firm here, it sounds like a call to personal strength, doesn't it?

And willpower, it really does. But in the kingdom of God, the ability to stand

is not about asserting control.

It's about yielding control.

True strength is found in surrendering our will to God's.

Boy, we need a culture today. We need a church today that surrenders our will to Almighty God.

If you look around today, I think a lot of people, they just don't think we're in a war.

I mean, we're lollygagging around out here sometimes in our world and in our churches.

It's kind of like we spend the vast majority of our time, as one of my brothers

said years ago, either shining our armor or fighting one another.

We don't realize we're engaged in a real spiritual war.

And that first step in finding the strength we need to stand is surrendering our will to God's.

Jesus shows us that, doesn't he? In the Garden of Gethsemane,

facing betrayal, torture, and death, he didn't resist the Father's plan,

did he, or attempt to escape the cross.

Instead, what did he do? He knelt, he prayed, and he surrendered.

Not my will, but yours be dine. Luke 22, 42.

You see, his victory came out, came not through force, but it came out of faithful

obedience to his father's will.

Wow. We need warriors today who are going to stand in his strength. Amen.

We need warriors who are not going to back down. We need warriors who are going

to teach their kids in the ways of the Lord.

Y'all, sometimes we forget, well, you know, I did this, I did that.

Look, your kids, faster than anybody, can tell a counterfeit.

They know if God's number one in your life. They know if God has the priority

in your life. All they got to do is watch your life.

They watch the decisions you make. You tell them whether you believe God's kingdom

is number one or not. It's so evident.

And when we're given that promise, train up a child in the way he should go.

And when he's old, he'll not depart from it.

So many times we forget that we're in a spiritual battle. You know,

that's echoed throughout scripture, though.

This thought here of surrender, because submit yourselves then to God.

Remember this verse in James 4?

Resist the devil and what's going to happen? He'll flee from you.

But I want you to notice the order. Submission precedes resistance.

You see, a lot of us think we try to go in the battle on our own strength and,

you know, it's like, I'm going to resist.

But if you have not submitted first and surrendered, guess what?

You're in your strength, not his. You can't resist the darkness in your own strength.

You must first, I must first surrender to the light.

You see, the paradox of the Christian life, as we see in this next slide,

is the more we let go, the more we're held, the more we surrender, the more we stand.

The more we surrender, the more we stand. In fact, when I am weak,

you know this passage, then I am strong, 2 Corinthians 12 10.

Surrender, by the way, is not passive.

It's the most powerful act of trust.

It's choosing to believe that God will hold you up when you no longer can.

That's what we're talking about today. Then number four, God doesn't call you to fight alone.

He calls you to stand covered. Amen.

Ephesians 6, 13, as we see in this next slide, therefore put on the whole armor

of God or 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.

So again, as we see on this next slide, God doesn't call you to fight alone,

but he calls you to stand covered.

Notice the order there as well. The armor comes after the call to be strong in the Lord.

The armor, don't miss this again. The armor is not our strength.

It's what God provides because he is our strength.

Every piece, y'all, points us back to him.

The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit.

Those aren't man-made weapons.

They're God-given grace. You're never meant, I was never meant to fight alone.

You were never meant to win in your own power. By the way, the call is not to

charge the battlefield, just swinging wildly.

Is to stand covered in the strength, the truth, and protection of God.

Exodus 14, verse 14 says, the Lord will fight for you.

Exodus 14:14

You need only to be still.

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, Isaiah 54, 17.

Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world, 1 John 4, 4.

So today, at Eastwood, if you feel weak, stand.

If you feel overwhelmed, stand.

Not because you're strong enough, but because your Savior is. Amen?

Not because you have it all together, but because you are covered by grace.

The victory again has already been won.

Your job is not to achieve the victory, but to receive it, to walk in it, and to stand in it.

So let me ask y'all this morning, where are you standing today?

Are you standing in God's strength or are you standing in your own strength?

We've seen today that standing strong in the battles of life isn't about pushing

harder, right? Or pretending to be tough.

It's about recognizing where your strength comes from and it doesn't come from you.

As we see this final slide today, we stand not by our own power.

But by being strong in the Lord.

We stand not in panic, but with purpose, armed with truth, righteousness, faith, and salvation.

We stand not through striving, but through surrender, just like Jesus in the garden.

And we don't stand alone, do we? we actually stand covered in the full armor

of God because the battle belongs to Him.

So where in your life today are you worn out because you've been fighting so long?

Where is God inviting you to stop striving, y'all, and start trusting?

In fact, this week, I'm challenging you to do something bold.

Think about it for a moment.

Let go and let God by surrendering.

You let go of the control and you surrender to him.

Stop white knuckling the control. Stop trying to earn a victory that's already

been won and instead surrender your battles to the Lord.

Because when you rely on his strength, when I rely on his strength,

when you kneel and surrender, when you stand in faith, you're not going to just survive the storm.

You'll stand through it. And you know how you'll stand?

Victoriously. Victoriously. Folks, think about this today. Is that you?

Do you realize as you bow your heads for a moment, do you realize that we're

in a battle? Are you even a soldier?

Have you come to the place in your life where you realize you're a sinner in

need of a savior and you took that first step and you surrendered and you knelt

at the cross and you said, Lord, forgive me for doing things in my own way.

Lord, I surrender to you. I turn from my sin. I turn to you.

I know some of you hear this most every week.

But let me tell you something. This is a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church,

and I will never stand up here and not share the gospel with you.

So just get used to it because you know what? We need to go deeper in the gospel.

There's some of us here that still haven't got it.

I want you to think today, are you a surrendered soldier?

Are you just out there flailing around? Or maybe you just don't realize you're on the battlefield.

Maybe you're like old King David who decided he was going to take a break.

What happened to him during that time?

Maybe you haven't realized today.

Maybe you haven't said what this song says. Here in my Lord, send me.

Lord, I've been too afraid to stand up, Lord. I've been trying to do it in my

own power. I've been too afraid to take a stand.

I've been thinking my life is just a waste because, Lord, I don't want to waste

it. I don't want to waste the life you've given me.

Think about today. I know this is maybe morbid to some of you.

But today, if your life was taken, what would it count for?

What have you allowed God to do through you in this world?

You see, it's easy for us to come together sometime on a Sunday morning.

And we should come with joy in our heart. But let me tell you something.

When you come in these doors and you praise God and you lift up your voices

to sing His praises, that is wonderful.

But if you go out these doors and you live your life for yourself and your own

pleasures and your own gain. And you never speak up for God.

You never are engaged in the battle. You're a traitor.

You are not part of His army. There may be some of you today,

God's Holy Spirit has maybe opened up your eyes for the first time to realize,

I've been following the ways of the world.

I've been trying to see the ways I think make sense, instead of just surrendering to God's Word.

And as we stand together with heads bowed, eyes closed, right now is your opportunity.

Your opportunity to surrender to God. Some of you may need Jesus today.

I pray right where you are, you repent. I pray right where you are,

you step out in faith. Let me tell you something.

I know it's hard to step out. I know it's hard to come down this aisle.

But let me tell you, that's part of taking a stand. It's part of saying,

you know what? I need Jesus.

I need Jesus.

You see, we don't want to be ashamed of our Lord and Savior.

Because if we deny Him, He'll deny us. Amen?

We need to stand. We need to stand. I encourage you, if you don't know the Lord,

to take a stand and walk down this aisle.

Repent before Him. Some of you have been coming to church here at Eastwood.

Maybe God has moved in your heart. You know what?

Part of me taking a stand today is coming down here and joining this church

because I want to be a part of the soldiers in this army to serve my King. That may be you.

Somebody else just may have something in your heart today. You need to surrender to Jesus.

Do that today. Don't miss this opportunity. Don't leave this place the same you came in.

Do business with Almighty God. Stand.