Stand Firm 3:
Stand Firm with the Spiritual Armour
Ephesians 6:10-20,
Isaiah 59:17
I. The Spiritual
Struggle
A. Puts our daily lives (and the
life of the corporate church) in the context of the spiritual world. We are in
a spiritual war, not just a physical fight
B. Highlights that our adversary
is consistently on the attack, i.e. in attack mode. MWG: two concepts among many from OT and NT:
accuser (Zechariah 3:1-10) and adversary (Job 1 & 2)
C. Emphasizes that the struggle is
not against flesh and blood (lit. blood and flesh) but against spiritual powers
and forces.
D. The Lord doesn't ask us to
win the big battle, He has already done that. He asks us to stand in the fight.
II. The Spiritual
Reminder
Reminds us that our strength is in the Lord
A. Relational Strength - Access
to Him
B. Resource Availability -
Application of His Power
III. The Spiritual
Stand - Stand Firm then...
A. The three sections:
1. Finally... vss 10-13
2. Stand Firm Then ... vss 14-17
3. And Pray ... vss 18-20
B. The images:
1. The Roman soldier?
2. The Lord as Warrior? Note
Isaiah 59:17
C. The Elements:
Conclusion: Stand Firm
1. with the offensive and defensive weapons at your
disposal
2. in the fight in
the physical world by waging war in the spiritual world
3. when opposed by the accuser and the adversary
4. against a world view contrary to our biblical
perspectives, and against a culture that seeks to demolish our biblical beliefs
5. against the relativism of truth, and trust that there
remains absolute truth.
