You will find my text in Ephesians
chapter 6 and verse 10. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. I have had the privilege in my
life of knowing some extraordinarily strong men and women, strong
in the faith, and the strength is seen in numerous ways, in
different circumstances. My friend, Brother Harry Graham,
you've heard me mention so many times, such a strong, stalwart,
unflinching preacher of the gospel. Shelby and I had a professor
when we were in school. She had him many years before
I did, of course, but we both had him as a professor, Brother
Robert Cox. When he was a young man, he was
tall, strong, and suddenly was stricken with crippling arthritis.
And by the time I met him, excuse me, he was about the height of
Shelby. His body twisted. He never moved
without pain. If he looked at you, he had to
turn his whole body to turn around and look at you. And I never
heard him one time grumble, complain, or even act like something was
wrong. Did you? Not once. Every time
I ever saw him, he was pleasant, smiling. Every word I ever heard
him speak just brought cheer as he spoke, even as a professor. Here in Ephesians 6, God the
Holy Ghost uses the Apostle Paul to give us a stirring, powerful
call to war. And he begins it with our text
in verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord and in the power of his might. You and I who believe
God are involved in a war, a holy war, a warfare raging in our
souls with our own flesh, and a warfare raging all around us
against the world, the flesh, and the devil, against Satan,
against hell, and against all spiritual wickedness. It is a
warfare for which we have absolutely no sufficiency in ourselves. You and I are utter weakness. yet ours is a warfare from which
there's no release while we live in this world. Therefore, we
must find strength, a constant, unfailing source of strength. And that source of strength is
God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. First, the apostle arouses
our hearts to courage, courage that looks to Christ for strength.
He says, be strong in the Lord. He would rally our hearts with
fortitude beneath the banner of our great captain, the Lord
Jesus Christ, lest we should be put to flight by some sudden
alarm or some sudden fearful danger that we face. It's as
if Paul was saying this, trembling souls, fainting hearts, Though
your enemies are strong, numerous, well appointed and skillful,
do not allow them to shake your courage. Be strong in the Lord. It is true we are weak. It is
true we are but few. But the Lord our God is strength,
and the weight of the battle we wage lies not on us, but upon
Him. Not upon our skill or strength,
but upon Him, His wisdom, His prudence, His omnipotence, the
power of His might. Pithy old John Trapp, commenting
on this admonition, gave this word concerning it. Get God's
arm, wherewith to wield his armor, and then you may do anything."
Get God's arm, wherewith to wield his armor, and then you may do
anything. Then Paul comforts our hearts,
assuring us that the ground of our courage is the almighty power
of Christ, our mighty captain, the captain of our salvation.
The apostle is writing to you and me, sinners in this world
saved by God's grace called his saints. You and I who are always
in the heat of the battle and believers like it or not are
always in the heat of the battle. He urges us to begin with the
Lord that we may end with the Lord. You see, there never has
been a child of God who was conquered and defeated by the powers of
darkness. Did you hear me? There never
has been a child of God who was conquered and defeated by the
powers of darkness, and there never shall be one. The armies
of heaven, we read in Revelation 12, are people who overcame by
the blood of the Lamb. And the church of God on this
earth is made more than conquerors through him who loved us. Now
it's very important anytime you read scripture to get the setting,
get the context. I can't stress this adequately.
I can't stress this adequately. No word in this book No phrase
in this book, no statement in this book, no single verse in
this book, no single chapter is to be taken by itself and
interpreted as though it were not in the context in which is
found. You cannot honestly deal with
the Word of God if you don't read it in its context. In this
passage, the Apostle Paul gives us this word finally. He does
not mean to imply that he just happened to think of something
that he forgot to say, now I'm going to say it. But rather this
is Paul's final word regarding everything he's written in the
six chapters of inspiration here in Ephesians, the epistle that
he wrote from Rome. He had carefully described the
blessed eternal truths of the gospel that God has revealed
to us in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has spoken of divine
election, sovereign predestination, Covenant grace, eternal salvation,
effectual redemption, the forgiveness of sins by the blood of the cross
of our Lord Jesus. He's spoken to us about Christ's
suretyship, His engagements and His accomplishments as our surety. He's described for us the Holy
Spirit's work of regeneration in His people. He's spoken to
us about God's gift and operation of faith, the sure preservation
of God's elect by the sealing and keeping of the Holy Spirit
and of Christ's dominion as our King. And then he made specific
application of all these gospel revelations to our lives as God's
saints in this world. You read through these chapters
and you find Paul saying, children of God, honor God by your day
by day life. Give no occasion to the enemies
of the Lord to blaspheme. Live in such a way, not to impress
men, but to honor God, to give no occasion to men who despise
God to blaspheme. Honor God in his house as the
church and temple of God. In this place, God is to be honored
in doctrine, in ordinances, in order, in everything we do. Honor
God in all things relating to one another, forgiving one another,
overlooking faults in one another, forbearing evil in one another,
loving one another. Honor God in your home. Honor
God in your business. Be followers of God as dear children,
ever imitating the Lord Jesus Christ, walking in the Spirit,
submitting yourselves one to another. In everything, giving
thanks, for this is God's will in Christ concerning you. In
this epistle, God the Holy Spirit has given each of us specific
instruction concerning how to fill our station in life. There's
a word here for pastors and for sheep, for husbands and for wives,
for parents and for children, for masters and for servants.
Like a wise general, Paul has arranged his soldiers and drawn
them in ranks and appointed to each one his duty. Duty, duty. We don't much like that word.
Somehow we relate the word duty with law. That ought not be.
Duty is a good word. I married that lady that gave
me specific duties from which there is no escaping. I am a
father that gives me specific duties from which there's no
escape. And I must, if I am honorable in those relationships, fulfill
the duties. I'm your pastor that gives me
specific duties. I must fulfill if I'm honorable
in that capacity as your pastor. Paul tells us, each what our
duty is. And now he prepares us for battle.
He was an experienced soldier. He knew what snares and traps
there are for us to overcome. He knew what enemies have to
be faced. He knew that the believer's life
is a continual warfare with sin, the world, and Satan. And he
knew we would be tempted to give up the fight. in the fears of
formidable opposition and enemies. You see, conflict is wearisome
to people who love peace. Now, some folks love conflict.
It's obvious they do. They dive into it all the time.
But conflict is wearisome to folks who love peace. It wears
you down. It works on your mind. It takes
its toll on your body and weighs heavily on your heart. Therefore,
Paul concludes this epistle with this solemn, stirring challenge. Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord. and in the power of his might. Let all who take up the profession
of faith in Jesus Christ the Lord, let all who take the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and identify themselves as his, first
set down and count the cost. The fact is you must take up
your cross and follow Christ into war. as soldiers enlisted beneath
the banner of the cross. The fight is severe, the battle
is long, the cause is noble, and victory is sure. Therefore,
let us be strong in the Lord. Remember Paul's circumstances
when he wrote this epistle. He was now a prisoner at Rome. But how does this great man,
and he was a great man, how does this great man spend his time
in prison? We read never that he wrote even
a single invective against those wicked men whose malice had put
him in bonds. He didn't spend his time giving
political advice of any kind. He said not a word about governmental
conspiracies or secret societies. This man didn't even spend his
time devising ways to obtain his freedom, but rather this
faithful man was concerned with only this one thing, Christ,
His glory, His gospel, His people, that's all. The great care of
his heart was the care of all the churches. He knew that soon
he must die, and therefore, as the faithful servant of God,
he labored to set the house of God in order before his departure. We read of no dispatches to any
court to procure his freedom, but he wrote many of his letters
of instruction. They're called prison epistles.
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were all letters
written to churches by this man, Paul, while he was incarcerated
as a prisoner at Rome. Paul was no sooner cast into
prison at Rome than he began to preach. Even in prison, he
assaulted the gates of hell and poor sinners were brought out
of the bondage of Satan's prison. How good it was for Onesimus
that Paul was sent to jail. How good it was for Onesimus
that Paul was sent to jail. When God sent Paul to Rome, it
was on an errand of mercy for Onesimus and many others. It
looked like Satan had won the day. It looked like Satan had
won the day. Satan has finally triumphed. Paul's in bonds. Paul's in prison. Now we'll be done with this man.
But there, Paul does his greatest work to destroy the kingdom of
darkness. he had left the Ephesians at
Miletus, never to see their faces again. And he told them, I'll
never see your faces again. They begged him not to go. But
as he left them before his departure to glory, he takes time to leave
one last word with them, by which he would strengthen their hands
and ours to carry on this holy war. Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. It's necessary
for God's saints to be strong. It's necessary for you and me
to be strong, resolute in the faith of the gospel and in faithfulness
to Christ, relying entirely upon the strength of the Lord himself.
Now let's look at this admonition here in three different ways.
First, and primarily I want us to look at this text as an exhortation
to strength. Here is an inspired exhortation
to be strong. Finally, my brethren, be strong,
courageous, confident, bold, resolute, determined. Stiffen
your back. Be strong in the Lord and in
the power of his might. It is true, God's saints are
to be humble, like Moses was. What a strong man. It is true
God's saints are to be self-denying, submissive, and patient like
Moses was. That means strength, determination,
resolve, firmness, courage, confidence. Believers are to show firmness
of mind, resolution, courage, strength, fortitude in all things. Listen to this. For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind. He's not given us a spirit of
trembling. He's not given us a spirit of
cowardice. He's not given us a spirit of runaway, but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind. Believers of all men must be
men. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith,
quit you like men, and be strong. Charles Buck, in his dictionary,
gives this excellent definition of the strength Paul calls for
here. He said, Christian fortitude
may be defined as that state of mind which arises from truth
and confidence in God. It enables us to stand collected
and undisturbed in time of difficulty and danger. It enables us to
stand collected and undisturbed in time of difficulty and danger.
One of my favorite characters in American history is Stonewall
Jackson. He got his nickname Stonewall
Jackson for his courage, Someone asked him one time where he got
his courage. He said, if all men alike believed God, all men
would alike be courageous. But he got his nickname because
when he was in the heat of battle, leading his men in battle, he
stood like a stone wall. This courage, this strength enables
us to stand collected and undisturbed in time of difficulty and danger. The strength Paul is talking
about arises from faith in the Lord Jesus. Peter says, as he
quotes from Isaiah, behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone,
elect precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded. He shall not be confused. He
shall not be shaken. He shall not be forced to make
haste. He shall not run in fear. He
shall not be confounded. Those who live by faith must
be strong and courageous concerning those things that they obviously
know to be the will of God. Whether you're talking about
the revelation of Scripture or whether you're talking about
what you must do in your life as a believer, When you know
something is God's will, the only way you can do God's will
is to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Let the
child of God be convinced of the will of God. Believing God,
he will be strong in submitting to it, strong in obeying it,
and strong in performing it. If you and I would obey God,
we must be strong. courageous, resolute, determined,
unshaken. I'm not talking about strength
we can muster. Far from it. I know better than
that. I'm talking about strength that
only God can give. and strength that God Almighty
gives to us as we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with that
faith that God alone can give us. And yet it is our responsibility. It is our responsibility as much
as it is your responsibility to believe God, though you have
no ability to do it. It is our responsibility to be
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. We must never
rely upon resources of nature, but upon the power of His might,
the vigor of life derived from omnipotence and grace found in
Christ alone. Strong for His service. Strong for suffering whatever
He brings our way that's painful. Strong for fighting the good
fight of faith. Strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, be strong, fear not. Be strong and very courageous
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which
Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right
hand nor to the left. You mark your course and you
just walk in it. Look at that over there. I don't
have time. I'm looking there. Look at that over there. I don't
have time. I'm looking there. I know what God would have me
to do and God give me grace. This is what I must do. I cannot be turned aside for
you or for me or for anything else. When our duty is set before
us, we must undertake it in the strength of his grace, with courage,
with determination, for the honor of God. For the honor of God. David came out to take up battle
against Goliath, and he was mocked and ridiculed. And his brothers
thought he was just lifted up in the pride and haughtiness
and arrogance of his own heart. He wanted to make a show for
himself. And David, as he takes off Saul's armor and picks up
his sling and five smooth stones, he walks out to do battle with
a giant that a whole nation was fearful of. And he said, is there
not a cause? Is there not a cause? Is God's
honor not a cause? Is God's glory not a cause? Is God's name not a cause? Is
God's church, his people, his kingdom not a cause? Worthy of
you and me doing whatever it is God puts in our hands. The opportunity, the means, and
the ability to do. If God has called us to a work,
he'll carry us through it. But we must be strong. courageous,
lest we be turned aside from God's revealed will. The fact
is, if you set your heart to Christ, you set your heart to
heaven, you set your heart to the will of God, you're going
to face opposition. You're going to face danger.
You're going to face conflict, but you must face it with confident
courage and strength. We must meet every difficulty
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. William Gernal,
the Puritan, in his fantastic exposition of Ephesians 6, says
it requires more prowess and greatness of spirit to obey God
faithfully than to command an army of men. God make us strong. Above all
being you and I who are gods must be strong, courageous, resolute,
determined, unshaken in the face of every adversity. Let me give
you some reasons for that necessity. First, our responsibilities are
such that they require great boldness of faith and confidence
in Christ to perform them. The believer must rage this war,
constantly an irreconcilable war against the lust of the flesh
of his own heart. He must walk in a manner singularly
opposed to the world. Singularly opposed to the world,
opposed to every fabric of the world. opposed to every principle
of the world, opposed to every way of the world, in complete
opposition to the world, always swimming uphill against the tide. In this present evil world, we
are called by the Spirit of God to live soberly, righteously,
and godly, adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. like righteous lot in Sodom. I don't know much about that
man Lot, but I know God says he's a righteous man. And that
man Sodom lived by faith in Christ in the land of Sodom, where he
had no companions in faith, not a one. Not a, imagine that. I have a lot of friends around
the world who have a few companions. Had no local church like this,
no other family believers, but they've got a wife or a son or
a daughter or a husband, somebody, but lived in Sodom with no companion
in faith. And he walked with God. God give me grace to live such
a way. Like Daniel in Babylon. Daniel. Strong. Don't read much really
that Daniel said that seems so extraordinary. I don't read much
that Daniel did that seems so great a display of strength that
somehow he's highly to be honored for this and pin medals on his
chest. But Daniel knew what the law of the king was, and came
time for him to pray. You know what he did? He threw his
windows open and went and bowed his head toward the mercy seat
in Jerusalem and called on God. He could just as well have left
the windows closed. But rather, he confidently worshiped
and served God, knowing the cost. The believer must be strong in
the Lord to persevere in his course to heaven, despite every
difficulty, persevere to the end. Certainly when we consider
our own weakness, we must recognize and confess that it takes great
strength and courage from God that we may walk before him.
Difficulties and dangers that lie in our way are more than
we could bear in ourselves. There are many things to discourage
us, our trials, our temptations, our afflictions, our troubles.
Some, oh my God, what a weight of trouble they carry. There are many things to alarm
us in the midst of the troubles. Many things. We've seen others
stronger than we are. Others who appeared more useful
than we are. Others who appeared to be indescribably better men
and women than we are, turn aside from Zion's way. God give us
grace then to be strong. More than that, our enemies are
many, and they're all strong. The wicked of this world mock,
deride, and abuse us. How do you respond to that? I
have folks cuss me and damn me all the time. And I'll tell you
how to respond to it. First thing I want to do is jack
their jaw. That's just my natural instinct. I want to knock somebody's
lights out. But that's never any good, neither
verbally nor physically. What do you do? Just leave them
alone. Just leave them alone. Just absolutely ignore them.
Leave them alone. Leave them alone. God almighty
give you strength to walk with him and leave everything in his
hands. Leave everything in his hands.
Our flesh is opposed to us. Satan constantly roars against
us. Truly the righteous must be bold
as lions, but harmless as doves. We have great need of courage
and strength. Only God can give. Let's take
this exhortation to heart there. Be strong in the Lord, in the
power of his might. Be courageous to do the will
of God. Fortify your heart with the love
of God in Christ. Establish your heart with the
promises of the gospel. Strengthen your heart with the
very power of God, the very power of his might. Now, second, let's
consider the exhibition of strength. Paul's given us this exhortation,
but as he tells us to be strong, it's not only that we personally
may be strong, but that we may exhibit strength for the benefit
of our brethren. We must be strong in the Lord
for ourselves, and we must exhibit strength for the benefit of our
brothers and sisters in Christ. You all know what I'm talking
about in a natural way. If you have a small child and
you remember when the storm comes, tornadoes come and the wind blows
and the sky gets dark and the rain and the trees bend and you
hear all the noise and the thunder and lightning that follows the
storm or precedes the storm and the child's just trembling. If
that child sees weakness in you, there ain't no way in this world
you're gonna calm that child down. But if that child sees
strength in you, that child will snuggle up next to you and be
just as comfortable as he can be. We must exhibit this strength
to strengthen our brethren, to strengthen the hands that hang
down and the weak knees, to strengthen one another. But how are we to
exhibit this God-given strength and courage? Let me show you
a few things that require great strength, courage. resolution,
confidence, dogged determination on our part. It takes great strength
of heart for a believer to quietly bear all his afflictions with
patience and firmness of heart. If thou faint in the day of adversity,
the wise man said, thy strength is small. When God sends severe
trials, when by his providence we must endure great difficulty,
we must by firm faith, knowing that he can do no wrong, walk
with him and bow to him. Job, the Lord gave, the Lord's
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Sin not with your mouth. Don't curse God, but bow down
and worship. Abraham, give me your son, your
only son, Isaac, the one you dearly love. Take him to a man
I'm gonna show you about in three days and sacrifice him to me. Isaac, son, pack some groceries
for a few days. We're gonna be gone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
were commanded to bow down before the King's mighty image. And
they said, King, we don't have to take a vote on this. We're
not going to have a business meeting. I don't care what you
do. We ain't bowing down. How come? Because they believe
God. When we're required to suffer
at the hands of men for Christ's sake. Let us gladly bear our
reproach for his sake. Turn over to 1 Peter 2. I could find many examples of
men, but here's the best example. 1 Peter 2, verse 19. If a man suffers for conscience
sake, that's something to be looked at with honor. If he suffers
because he's just mean, that's another story. But in verse 21,
the apostle speaks of our sufferings and says, For even hereunto were
ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example that we should follow in his steps. What did he do?
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when
he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not. but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. God give me such strength. Great strength is required for
God's saints to maintain the spiritual warfare in which we're
constantly engaged. Those who preach the gospel must
be men of indomitable strength, courage, boldness, They must
declare the truth of God, whether men will hear or whether they
will forbear, whether folks like it or whether they don't. The
saints of God are at war with this world, and the saints of
God, like their pastors, must face their enemies, the principalities,
powers, the rulers of darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness
in high places. ungodly, hell-inspired religion
and doctrine. These we must face with unbending
strength. Unbending strength. And the last
enemy we will face is death. And when the time comes, God
gives his saints strength to deal with that too. To be strong
in the Lord. Because when we face death, We
can do so with confidence, knowing that Christ has abolished its
power. With courage, because for us,
death is just a door of hope. Death brings us into greater
discoveries of the love of Christ and the grace of God than we've
ever known. It will be just once. And for
us, the day that we take our last breath in this world will
be a birthday to eternal bliss and glory with Christ in heaven. God saints. are held calm and
bold, confident and strong in the hour of death because of
the promise of resurrection glory. Listen to what God says by Moses
in his song concerning his people and their enemies at the hour
of death. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness
of thine arm, they, all our enemies, Or maybe he's talking about us,
they. God's people shall be still as
a stone. Till thy people pass over, O
Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased. One
more thing. Our text calls for us to be strong,
to exhibit strength, Now let me show you a few things that
may excite us to strength as we walk before our foes and walk
with God in this world. To be strong in the Lord and
the power of his might. Be strong because God has promised
you strength. God has promised you strength.
Listen to what it says, Isaiah 41. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee. Yea,
I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee by the
right hand of my righteousness. One of the names of our God is
the strength of Israel. We have no strength of our own
to pray, but God strengthens us to pray. We have no strength
of our own for trials, but with every temptation, Christ is a
way of escape. He promised, I will never, no
never, no never leave thee. I will never, no never, no never
forsake thee. Be at peace, everything's all
right. We who preach the gospel have no strength to serve our
God or right, but our sufficiencies of God. We're commanded to work
our own salvation with fear and trembling, but we have no strength.
but it is God who worketh in us both to will and do of his
own good pleasure. It's true. We must persevere
in the faith. We must continue believing God,
but here too, we're weak. We're made to persevere because
we're kept by the power of his grace through faith in Christ
the Lord. How is it that God strengthens
us with his power, with his spirit, with his grace? By his word,
by his presence, by his promises, he strengthens his people. Let
us then rejoice to say of Christ, thou art my strength and my salvation. For whatever God requires, Christ
is my strength and my salvation. For whatever God brings, Christ
is my strength and my salvation. For whatever hell throws my way,
Christ is my strength and my salvation. For whatever foe I
must face, Christ is my strength and my salvation. Oh, bless our
God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard,
which holdeth our soul in life. and suffereth not our feet to
be moved. Oh, may God make me strong like
those heroes of faith of old we read about in the book of
God. Strong like Enoch to walk with God. Strong like Noah to
obey God. Strong like Abraham to follow
him. Strong like Moses to lead his
people through the wilderness. Strong like Joshua to take the
land of Canaan and possess it in the name of God. Strong like
Elijah to defend God's honor. Like David to fight God's enemies.
Like Daniel to have a purpose true and dare to make it known.
Strong like Peter to preach the gospel. Strong like Paul to count
nothing dear, even life itself, except the honor and the will
of God. Strong like Latimer, Ridley,
and Bradford, to be strong in the love of Christ to the end,
strong like Christ himself, to serve God my Savior at any cost,
to do His will, to seek His honor, to serve His kingdom, to set
my face like flint, and not be turned aside from His will, who
is my God. Be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might. Children of God, surely this
ought to excite us to strength. We're sure of victory. Christ has made an end of sin. Christ has overcome the world. Christ has conquered Satan and
greater is he that is in you that is in the world and soon
the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Be strong in the Lord and
in the power of his might. I looked up a hymn by Joseph
Irons just right before I finished getting ready for this evening.
It goes like this. Let Zion's soldiers muster round
the cross to meet the foe. The trumpet gives a certain sound.
Go on to conquer go. The trumpet says the Lord is
nigh. Your strength in him is found. He reigns victorious on
high. This is the certain sound. The
trumpet says the victories won for all the chosen race. Go on
to glory and renown and shout victorious grace. Be strong in
the Lord, in the power of his might, and he will see you through
to the end and to glory. Amen.