Ephesians chapter number six, we will read and or recite together, verses 10 through 20. Ephesians chapter six, verses 10 through 20. The Bible says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, Having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all taking the shield of faith Wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation And the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching therein too with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Praise the Lord. Last week we studied verse number 10, where the Bible says, commands that we Be strong, that is do not have a weak Christianity. God needs his people to have some backbone, to have some fortitude, to have some resolve, to have some substance, some depth to their Christianity, have some power. To have some force, to have some zeal, to have some ardor, to have some fervor. Be strong in the Lord. Now God has commanded and then he provides what we need in order to be strong. He gives us his grace. He gives us his power. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. So last week, be strong. And then this week, our emphasis, verses 11, 12, and 13, is to stand. Verse number 11, we put on the whole armor of God that she may be able to stand. against the wiles of the devil. In verse number 13, wherefore taken to you the holy name of our God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. Having done all to stand, verse 14. Stand therefore, and it's a similar idea to the commandment in verse 10 to be strong. This instruction in verses 11, 13, 14, to stand. To stand means to be on a foundation. Does that call anything to mind in the New Testament? Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. To stand means to be fixed, settled on that foundation to anchor your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. To stand means to not be overthrown or demolished. To stand means to be in a state of fixedness. means to continue or to endure. It means to be fixed or to be steady, not to vacillate. Not up and down, not back and forth, not on and off. To stand means to be in or maintain a posture of resistance or of defense. And to stand can mean to remain upright in a moral sense. God wants us to stand. He wants us to be steady. He wants us to be established. He wants us to be settled. He wants us to be fixed. He wants us to be consistent. He doesn't want us to be blown about with every wind of doctrine. We need to stand. Our standing, just give you some references, finds its basis in the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15, one, moreover, brethren, I declare unto the gospel, by the which also you're saved and wherein ye stand. We stand in the grace of God, 1 Peter 5 and verse 12. We stand by faith, 2 Corinthians 1. Verse 24, we stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, Galatians 5.1. We're commanded to stand fast in one spirit, striving together for the faith of the gospel in Philippians 1.7. In Philippians 4.1, 1 Thessalonians 3.8, the Bible says to stand fast in the Lord. And that fast has the meaning of fasten, tightly connected and attached. We are to stand fast in the Lord. We are to stand perfect and complete in the will of God, Colossians 4, verse 12. We're to stand fast and hold the traditions we have been taught, 2 Thessalonians 2, 15. If our traditions are good traditions, biblical traditions, we ought to hold to those traditions. To stand means to not bend, not to move, not to bow, not to break, don't give up, don't give in, Don't quit and don't fall. Stand, don't fall. Now the devil is trying to knock you down. The world is trying to knock you down. The flesh will drag you down. But God said, I want you to put on the armor so that you can stand. I want you to stand. Don't fall from grace like those in Galatians 5, 4. Don't fall into unbelief like those in Hebrews 4, 11. Don't fall into temptation like those in 1 Timothy 6, verse 9. Don't fall into the condemnation of the devil like those in James 5 and 1 Timothy 3. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3, 17, ye therefore, beloved, seeing that you know these things, beware, beware, be aware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. Where Brother Kyle's teaching, 2 Peter 1, verse 10, it's a great cross reference to our statement, Ephesians 6, 13, having done all to stand, 2 Peter 1, 10, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure. If you do these things, ye shall never fall. Jude 124 says, to him that is able to keep you from falling, to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Understand, there are a lot of Christians, the last days is characterized by apostasy, a great falling away. And it is unfortunate that it seems that the majority of people who grow up like you've grown up, who sit where you are sitting, who go through Sunday school and raised in church, one day they grow, they move on, they move out, and they no longer stand for what they once stood. They no longer believe in what they once believed. They no longer practice what they once practiced. They no longer live the way they once lived. What's the problem? They didn't stand. They didn't stand. God wants you to stand. But in order to stand, there's something you're gonna have to do. Because there are many threats to your standing. So in our passage in Ephesians 6, the Holy Spirit is going to show us why the commandment is that we stand and what we need to do in order to be able to stand. And just like when God told us to be strong, but then he enabled us to be strong, God has told us to stand, but he provided everything we need in order to obey that commandment. So three points I wanna show you from Ephesians chapter number six. First of all, the reality of the battle. Secondly, the necessity of the armor. And thirdly, the coming of the captain. Number one, the reality of the battle. Verse number 11 says to put on the whole armor of God. Well, why would we need to do that? Not just to look cool. All right, this isn't playing dress up. This isn't so we can have some pictures made where we all look like Roman soldiers. Right? Put on the whole armor of God because you are entering into a battlefield. You are entering into some dangerous territory. You are surrounded by an enemy. There are threats. There are assaults. There is artillery. You're going to get shot at. You're gonna get swung at. Somebody's gonna try to take you down. You better have some armor on because you are in a fight. Verse 13, taking you, the whole armor of God. We need to defend ourselves against the attacks that are coming. In verse number 12, the Bible says that we wrestle. Not against flesh and blood. Jiu-Jitsu practice might be good. Cardio, it's not gonna help you in this battle. That is real, okay? We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness world, spiritual wickedness in high places. And it's difficult to see the importance of putting on the whole armor of God if you're not convinced that the battle is a real battle. It is difficult to equip yourself to fight if you're not convinced that the fight is actually real. You know what I'm saying? It's spiritual warfare. But the problem with spiritual warfare is that it's not something you can see. The armor God has told you to put on, it's not something you can hang up in the closet and go to in the morning and strap it on. This is spiritual. This is invisible. This is why we have to walk and live by faith. You can't see the battle. You can't see the armor. But if you don't see the battle, you won't see the need for the armor. if you understand what I'm saying. The battle is unseen, but it is every bit as real as anything you can see. The reality of the battle, come to 2 Corinthians 10. 2 Corinthians 10, we'll be back in Ephesians 6. 2 Corinthians 10, verse number three. Second Corinthians 10, verse three, the Bible says, for though we walk in the flesh that you're living in a human body, we're walking through this life in a disposable container that God has given you to live inside of it. It lasts for a little while and then it'll die and they'll bury it. And one day you'll you'll the immortal, the mortal become immortal, the corrupt will become incorruptible. But for now, we walk in the flesh, but we do not war after the flesh. Okay, God has not called us to be crusaders. This is not a physical army. All right, the church is not a militia group. We do not war after the flesh. Verse number four, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Now, just because we don't have a physical fight doesn't mean we don't have weapons. They're not carnal weapons, but we do have weapons. We do have artillery. We are equipped for this fight that we are in. And the equipment God has given us, it's not only sufficient, it's powerful. Mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Again, God's given us everything we need to fight this fight. Verse five, casting down imaginations, every high thing that is all to the self against the knowledge of God, bringing to captivity every thought of the obedience of Christ. Where is the battlefield? It's right between your ears. It happens inside your mind on a daily basis. And you've got to be equipped to fight that fight because it's real. And it's, you step into it every day that you live the reality of the battle. Come to 1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1 and verse 18. 1 Timothy 1 verse number 18. The Bible says, this charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. All right, so listen, Timothy's a soldier. Timothy's in a war, and Timothy has been prepared for this war, but his training was not how to use a sword. His training was not how to shoot a gun. His training was prophecy. His training was preaching. His preparation was hearing the word of God and equipping himself with the knowledge and the wisdom that is needed to live the Christian life. He said, Timothy, I prepared you. I trained you. Now I want you to go out and I want you to fight. I want you to war a good warfare. Verse 19, holding faith and a good conscience. which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwrecked." Timothy, I don't want you to turn away. I don't want you to turn aside. Timothy, I want you to stand true to what you've been taught. War, a good warfare. Look at 1 Timothy 2, verse number 1. I exhort therefore, I'm sorry, 2 Timothy 2, verse number 1. 2 Timothy 2. Verse number one, thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who should be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The hymn says, a soldier in the army of the king of kings am I. He called me to his colors and for him, I'll live or die. You might not have realized it when you got saved, but you enlisted, you became a soldier that day. I'm a soldier in the army of the king of kings. Verse four, no man that warth entangled himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who had chosen him to be a soldier. Like it or not, Ready or not, you're in a fight. You need to put on the armor. You need to be able to stand. 1 Timothy 6, because the battle is real. 1 Timothy 6, verse number 11. 1 Timothy 6, verse number 11. The Bible says, but thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith. the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, wherein to that are also called as professed a good profession before many witnesses. So I just remind you this morning, it's not that you've never heard this, but we constantly need to be reminded of the reality of the battle. We tend to forget that it's a real thing, that we are in a war, that there is a battle for souls, a battle for your mind, a battle for your testimony, a battle for your purity, a battle for your life. Are you going to stand? Well, you're not gonna stand if you don't realize that you're in a battlefield. If you just walk haphazardly through this life, unaware of the dangers around you, you're likely to succumb to those dangers. If I were to walk across the parking lot aware that it was a minefield, I would walk a lot more carefully than if I didn't know. Alright? And you just need to be reminded, you need to remind yourself, you need to ask yourself if you believe that you are actually in a battle. Number two, the necessity of the armor. Back in Ephesians 6. The necessity of the armor. The commandment is to stand, but there is something that is necessary for us to do in order to be able to stand. And it's pointed out a number of times here in verse number 11, put on the whole armor of God that, that, verse 11, that ye may be able to stand. Okay, the armor enables us, the armor makes it possible that for the purpose of in order to. Here's the reason why I gave this to you. Here's the reason why I told you to put it on because without it, you will fall. Without it, you'll get knocked down. Without it, you'll get knocked down. Without it, there's no hope of standing. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand. Verse number 12, the first word, for. Again, God is pointing to the reason why he told you to put the armor on. I'm telling you to put the armor on for you're in a fight. We wrestle against principalities, powers, so on. Verse number 13, again, wherefore. Again, the reason I'm telling you to take in the whole armor of God is because that without it, you'll not be able to stand. Verse number 14, stand therefore. Stand therefore, I'm calling you to remain fixed, to be steady, to not fall, but you'd better put on the armor because of the things that will make you fall if you don't have it on. You see what I'm saying? What are those things? Verse number 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The necessity of the armor. Why do I have to put the armor of God on every day? Why do I have to realize that I'm in a fight? Because of the wiles of the devil. The wiles of the devil. Wiles as a noun. A wile is a trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception. A sly, insidious, Artifice. Just a trick. Just a scheme. A trap. A snare. And the devil has a lot of them. Isaiah and Samuel were racing in the church, believe it or not, a couple weeks ago. And it was a Sunday afternoon and Isaiah had just learned a phrase. He kept using it over and over. It's hysterical. I was laughing so hard. They were running a race and Isaiah was certain he was gonna win. And this time it wasn't because of his awesome sneakers. It was because he kept announcing it. I got some tricks up my sleeves. I'm not sure what tricks he had up his sleeves that were going to enable him to run a race. I've never, maybe he was just like gonna throw something in front of Samuel, make him fall down, I'm not sure. But the wiles of the devil, he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, okay? He knows and he understands how to trip you up, how to make you fall. He's been doing it for 6,000 years successfully. And when we deny that, it's evidence that we're already ensnared. We've already fallen prey to his deception. Part of the deception is that he's not really all that bad or all that scary, all that menacing, all that threatening. The wiles of the devil. First, I'm sorry. Second Corinthians 2 11 says we need to not be ignorant of his devices. his devices. And it's not that he has to do a lot of different things. He just does the same thing over and over and it keeps working. But we need to be aware of what those things are and put on the whole armor of God to defend ourselves against them. The Bible speaks in 2 Corinthians 11 3, I fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, lest your mind should be corrupted for simplicity that is in Christ. We deceive ourselves when we think the devil's tricked everybody else, but he's not going to trick me. I'm too smart for that. No, that's dumb. You're exactly what we're for. The thing of the standard, they keep us default. OK, the wiles of the devil. He he understands what it takes to make you fall. And you've got to defend yourself against it. The Bible calls him the tempter in Matthew 4, 1 Thessalonians 3. The Bible says he's a deceiver, Revelation 12 and verse 9. It's not that he can overpower you, he can't. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. The devil can't make you do anything. He is our adversary, he's a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour. made of our, okay? He has to have permission. And that permission comes from you. So Ephesians 4.26 says, neither give place to the devil. So the necessity of the armor is the wiles of the devil, verse 11. The necessity of the armor in verse 12 is we wrestle not against principalities, but against powers, against the rules of darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Here's the fact of the matter is that the devil is not omnipresent. You understand what I mean by that? The devil is not everywhere all at once, like God is. God is omnipresent. Psalm 139, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there, the psalmist said, for sake of argument. He fills heaven and earth. He is everywhere, at all times, in every place, God's presence. The eyes of the Lord are every place, beholding the evil and the good. God's omnipresent. The devil is not. That was not an omnipresent being. He is at one place at one time. In the book of Job, he appeared before the Lord and he said, God said, where have you been? He said, I've been walking to and fro throughout the earth. He can only be at one place at one time. And the fact of the matter is he's probably not interested in me personally. I'm really not all that important. Okay. However, that does not mean I'm exempt from the warning in verse number 11, because the truth is that though the devil is not omnipresent, he doesn't work alone. He has an entire hierarchy of cohorts. of associates. He is the God of this world. And when you're entering into a battle, when you're entering into a fight, it's probably helpful to know the strength of the enemy and how many forces are on each side. And verse number 12, listen, we're outnumbered. We're like the We're like the people in 2 Kings chapter 6 where we're in the city and the enemy is surrounding, right? And Elisha asked God to open the eyes of the young man who could only see all of the enemy army, could not see the host of the Lord above them, protecting them, okay? But verse number 12, the reason we need to put the armor on is because it's not just the devil. that we have to worry about. It's not the devil, it's not just the devil that we have to deal with. There are principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world. The whole world is under his grip and against us in opposition. Listen, the world wants you to lose your testimony. The world wants you to lose your purity. The world wants you to become one of them. You're gonna have to put the armor on in order to stand. and not fall. Verse number 13, same thought, wherefore taking you whole are my God, you know, to withstand in the evil day. What evil day? Well, this one. And whoever reads it, whenever they read it, that one. Right. I mean, I'm I'm not that old, but I'm glad I'm not a teenager now. Right. I wouldn't want to have to go to school every day and deal with the pressures that you have to deal with in this society. I wouldn't want to have to do that. But this verse says that if you have the whole arm of God, you can withstand in the evil day. And listen, when this was written in the first century, 64 AD is the date I have in my Bible for the Ephesians, it was evil then too. It was wicked then, too. Man's heart was sinful then, too. There were temptations then, too. The devil was real then, too. It was a spiritual battle then, too. But these people, if they had the armor, they could stand. And us people, if we have the armor, we can stand. That wasn't good grammar, but it's still true. Okay? Withstand in the evil day. I'm not saying that it isn't bad. I just know it's not so bad that it's impossible to maintain your testimony for Jesus Christ. They could stand then, we can stand now. So the reality of the battle, the necessity of the armor, and then finally this morning, the coming of the captain. Point number three, the coming of the captain. We're talking about standing, putting on the whole armor of God, Because the captain is coming, look at Luke 19. This is not really directly stated in Ephesians 6 in our passage. It is implied by the passage, and we'll get to that in future lessons. But Luke 19. And verse number 13, Luke 19. Back up to verse 11, as they had heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was not of Jerusalem, believe, and because they thought the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman went to a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. Who do you think that nobleman might represent? This is Christ in the parable. Verse 13, he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds. Now, who do you think the servants of the nobleman might represent? That's the disciples, that's the believers, that's the Christians, that's us's. Verse number 13, and he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said to them, occupy till I come. Okay, so the nobleman, verse number 12, he went to a far country. But verse number 12, he's going to return. And Jesus Christ, he came, the grace of God that bring us salvation, hath appeared, Titus 2 11. He came, he purchased our salvation, he became our savior, he conquered death, he rose again, he ascended to the right hand of God. He has a kingdom that he will receive that he has not yet received. He has gone to a far country, but before he left, he said, I will come again. and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And he's the captain of our salvation. He's the nobleman receiving a kingdom. And he's coming again. And until he comes, what he's asked us to do is occupy. Until he comes, what he's asked us to do is stand. It would be It would really be a horrible thing for the rapture to happen tomorrow and I give up today. It would be a horrible thing to apostatize right before Jesus comes again. And his coming is imminent. That's a tough word to say. His coming is imminent. It could happen today. It could happen any time. There are no signs that have to be fulfilled in order for Jesus to come and catch away his bride. Listen, you don't want to fall. You don't want to quit. You don't want to give up. right before Jesus comes. He said, occupy till I come. Look at 2 Timothy chapter four. 2 Timothy chapter four. Can I make a confession this morning? I asked for permission, like I'm not going to say it, what I'm gonna say if you say no, but I'm going to make a confession this morning. Hold the Fort is not my favorite song in the hymnal. It's not. For a couple different reasons and I don't hate you if you like it, it's fine. It's a good song in a way. Like the whole idea of we're just trying to hang on until Jesus comes and the enemy is so bad and they're gonna get us like, I don't, that's not necessarily the way I want to look at the Christian life. I want to gain some ground. I want to make some progress. I want to do something for God, okay? But verse 4 is pretty cool. Verse 4, remember that part? Fierce and long, the battle rages, but our help is near. Onward comes our great commander. Cheer, my comrades, cheer. That's the idea here. We need to hold the fort. We need to stand our ground. We need to be faithful. We need to be true because our commander, he is coming again. And when he comes, I want him to be able to say, well done now, good and faithful servant. Stand, stand. but to stand, you got to put on the armor. 2 Timothy 4, verse number 6, for I'm now ready to be offered in the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. Look, Paul said, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me that day, not me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. If you'll keep in mind that the captain is coming, it'll help you to remain standing. 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15. And verse 51, 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 51, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, which is a great verse for the door of the nursery. But that's not what it's talking about. Just trying to see if you understand what I'm saying. We should not all sleep, we should all be changed. Okay? Some of you need your diapers changed by the look on your face this morning. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, what was I talking about? In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the last trump for the trumpet shall sound. Remember that guy walking down the road yesterday? Were you with me? No? Okay, anyway. For the trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised to the incorruptible. We shall be changed. This corrupt must put on corruption. This mortal must put on. We're talking about the rapture. Talk about when Jesus comes again. The trumpet is going to sound. The archangel, the sky will part. Christ will come. Verse 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren. First Corinthians 15 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast. Stand. unmovable, stand, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. The reality of the battle, the necessity of the armor and the coming of the captain, all reasons why we must stand. Remember David's mighty men? There's a catalog, a listing of those mighty men, their exploits. It's in 1 Chronicles 11, it's in 2 Samuel 23. There was one guy by the name of Shammah. Remember him? And there was a piece of ground, the Bible says, full of lentils. There was a bean patch. And Shammah stood, the Bible says, in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines. The Lord wrought a great victory. The hill of beans sermon, if you've never heard it, is worth hearing. Here's this man and all he's got is a field of beans, but it's what God gave him and everybody else is running away. Everybody else is scared. Everybody else has given up. Everybody else is the Philistines are gonna, and he just stood his ground and defended what God had given him, and the Lord wrought a great victory through Shammah, and you and I need to find some inspiration from this mighty man of David, and be mighty men and women of God, and stand against the wiles of the devil, and withstand in the evil day, and stand therefore, but we've got to put on the whole armor of God. And we'll study those pieces here in subsequent weeks. I had a note in my Bible. I think this came probably from Brother James, who had read it somewhere. And it says, a great oak. We got some of those in Florida. We have a sacred holy one right here in the backyard. A great oak is just a little nut that held its ground. A great oak is just a little nut that held its ground. We got lots of little nuts here. If you will hold your ground, maybe one day you can become a great oak for God. Isn't that inspiring? Let's pray. Lord, thank you for being so good to us. Thank you for your word this morning, helps to take it to heart. God, I pray all these young people, Lord, I pray they'd stand, pray they'd remain, pray that they would follow you, serve you, love you, honor you. Not just today, not just this year, but Lord, their entire lives. Helps to be faithful until you come again. We love you, in Jesus' name, amen.