SERMON - WHAT’S NEXT? STRIVE TO CONQUER!
Shalom,
We are to be thankful if we
can enjoy the victory through Jesus’ birth and the scarifice of His life for
us. This way, we can experience His provision and victory. Please note that achieving
a victory is not easy-peasy. We must bend our efforts for it. As the proverb
says, “No gain without pain” ─ without sacrifice or struggle, there will be neither
victory nor gain. The Lord knows that life is a matter of struggles. He equips us
with His armor to be strong and tough soldiers so that we may come out as
winners in Him.
To be tough soldiers, the
Lord has equipped us with the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6: 10-20 write, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His
might. Put
on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil. for our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will
be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded
your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the
gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the
shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer
and petition, pray at all times in the spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray
on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to
make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which i am an ambassador in chains;
that in proclaiming it i may
speak boldly, as i ought to speak.”
The
word “finally” in Greek is loipou, meaning
“henceforth = starting from this time. ”
That is to say, what should we do next? What is our next duty? Through the Word
of God we understand that our next job is
STRIVING TO CONQUER!
We once
died in sin and trespasses but made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:
1-6). We were once Gentiles in the flesh but now are of God’s household
(Ephesians 2: 11-22). Having been redeemed and saved, we are obliged to
maintain the unity in the relationships among the fellow members of the body of
Christ, between husbands and wives, between parents and children, and between
masters and servants.
In our
country, the armed forces exist to serve, protect and defend the Indonesian
people against the enemies. In the same manner, the Lord wants us, as soldiers
of Christ, to play such a role. In reality, we have no strength for challenging
warfare. Yet, only in Him do we receive power
and strength to win the battle (v. 10).
Equipped
with the whole armor that God has provided, we, as soldiers of Christ, must
possess three war skills to win a battle:
1.Having a strong defence
“Put on the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places”
(Ephesians 6: 11-12).
Strong
armed forces make a strong nation. And one of the key factors is the existence
of tough soldiers. As soldiers, we deal with strong foes: against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. If we are not strong in
the Lord, we will lose the battle. With the whole (not partly) armor of God, we
are able to take a stand against the enemy.
Besides
wearing the whole armor of God, consisting of the belt of truth, the breastplate
of righteousness, the shoes of
the gospel, the shield of faith,
and the sword of the Spirit, we
are to train ourselves to use it. In the same way, we must live out the Word and
count on it as our strength and protection when the enemies come attacking us to
weaken our faith.
Being
equipped with the Word of God, fellow believers among us, husband and wife,
parents and children, masters and servants can hold their ground and resolve
problems. The Word of God is able to shield our hearts and minds from the devil’s
fiery darts of harsh words so that they cost us no heartaches.
The
problem is: God has given us His whole armor to make us strong but we are not
able or even willing to put it on. We are passive and miss the fighting spirit.
As a result, we lose when multiple problems come attacking us. No wonder so
many marriages end in divorce leaving children “unparented,” many fail in their
ministries, and the list goes on and on.
Be
careful!! The enemies attack both from the inside and the outside as well. Without
a stronghold, defeat is right before our eyes.
Have
we taken up the Word of God? Have we had a stronghold in Him? Or, have we been
defeated by sins and many problems we have encountered this year? If we have
failed, let’s not blame God for He has given us His whole armor as our
stronghold so that we may stand firm in any circumstances.
Now
the question is: Have we put on the whole armor of God? We have heard the Word
many a time. We must put it into practice in every aspect of our lives. Or
else, we will be easily deceived by the cunning trick of Satan, just like Eve.
Satan twisted the Word and caused Eve to doubt God’s Word resulted in the fall.
Husband
and wife must strive to maintain their marriage unity until death do them
apart. In whatever relationships (e.g. among brothers in Christ) we are in, we
must be faithful to the end. The Apostle Paul rebuked the church in Galatia that
had begun in the Spirit but was perfected by the flesh (Galatians 3: 3). They deserted
the Gospel of Christ for a different gospel (Galatians 1: 6-7).
Putting
on the whole armor of God empowers us to take a stand, not only for a short
while but until we finish the race, standing firm triumphantly. Let’s follow in
the Apostle Paul’s footsteps. He strived up to the finish line, fighting the good
fight and keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4: 7).
2. Being able to attack the
enemies
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will
be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians
6: 13). ← outside the quote
What
should we do next? We must use the whole armor of God to resist and defeat the
enemies. In other words, we are not only to hold our ground but also attack the
enemies using the Word of God.
Didn’t
Jesus win Satan’s temptation with the Word of God as His armor, saying, “It is written” (Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10)?
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 write, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to
the flesh, for
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the
destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and
every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ.”
We
must actively use the powerful Word of God and the Holy Spirit as weapons to
resist all kinds of sin such as hatred, pride, disputes, filthiness, disobedience
to the Word, denouncement of the truth, the spirit of saparations, and so on. All
these things must be taken captive and defeated for Christ.
3.Being watchful at all times
(Ephesians 6: 18-20)
Aside
from the ability to take a stand, resist and defeat the enemies, a soldier must
always stay on guard because enemies are roaming around. Following their defeat,
the enemies may stay far away. But they will come back at the right moment when
we drop our guard. After Jesus overcame the temptation, the devil departed from Him, waiting for the right time to
return (Luke 4:13).
Using
a parable, Jesus also warns us that an unclean spirit who has left a man goes through
dry places, seeking rest and finding none. When he later finds the house swept
and put in order
but empty,
he comes back along with seven other spirits more wicked than himself. Then
they enter and dwell in that house (Luke 11: 24-26).
Now,
what should we do to stay vigilant?
Stay prayful
and watchful.
God
has equipped us with His armor but let’s not forget to pray in order to be
watchful.
Ephesians
6: 6:18-19a say,“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for
all the saints— and for me,...”
. Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5: 8). And do not give place to the
devil (Ephesians 4: 27).
Be ready to boldy preach the gospel (vv. 19-20).
We
must be ready to preach the gospel. Confronted with challanges, Paul asked the
church in Ephesus to pray for him that he might be given the boldness to share
the Word of God. In another letter (2 Timothy 4; 2-5), the Apostle Paul reminnded
the young Timothy to preach the word, and stay ready
in season and out of season for
the time would come when they would not endure
sound doctrine.
Then
they would gather teachers according to their own desires to please their ears.
Everyone of us must be ready to preach and share the Word of God. The Apostle
Paul already wrote about this difficult time 2000 years ago. Our current
condition is all the more difficult. Therefore, we must preach the Word in an
outspoken fashion instead of turning it into fables that are pleasing to the
ear.
Do we
really enjoy reading the Word of God rather than other news on social media and
the like? Do we spend more time reading the Bible than other news? How much more?
So again, what’s next? We must be ready to strive
to conquer. Remember, life is a matter of struggles. The Lord has equipped us with
His armor. Let’s put on His whole armor and strive to win a victory. We must be
able to withstand, to resist and to stay alert. In doing so, we can defeat the
enemies and finish the race. Amen.
Ephesians 6: 10-20
By
Lay Pastor Kasieli Zebua
Johor,
Sunday, December 16, 2018
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