Title: House of Prayer Prayer Gives Strength Ephesians 6:10-20 Aim: Embracing our spiritual union w/god, who is our strength.

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1 1 Title: House of Prayer Prayer Gives Strength Ephesians 6:10-20 Aim: Embracing our spiritual union w/god, who is our strength. Intro: Tried to find a picture of a father/child carrying something together something heavy, where the child is working hard to help dad, but there s no doubt that dad is carrying the load. Here, a father/ grandfather & son/grandson are working together, changing a tire. Who s the strong one? Obviously the dad is. Good picture of our relationship w/god. He calls us to be co-laborers w/him, but the one who s really doing the work is certainly God. If a child is afraid of the dark, that fear is usually diminished if not completely dissipated if mom/dad is there. A child will not be as afraid of a storm or of falling or trying something new, if dad/mom is there. I like this next picture. One of my greatest joys is walking w/ivy or Naomi, their hand in mind. Such a thing gives security to a child. This saying is true: Safe, for a child, is his father s hand, holding him tight. How shameful it is for a child not to be safe in presence of his/her father! And how great is God s judgment on such a one! But a child feeling safe w/father is another picture of our relationship w/god. If we know He is w/us, for us; if we know He is strong & mighty, a strong tower, we have confidence in Him, no matter the storm or circumstance. At least that should be so. Theme: House of prayer. God has called us who are His children to be people of prayer, regularly encountering Him, the living God, & being His instruments/channels thru which others can encounter Him, too. We ve been considering what Tim Keller has called touchstones of prayer, indicators of the genuineness of our prayers, helping us to see if our prayers are on target. We ve learned that prayer is work, requiring time/effort; it is word, conversing w/god by listening to Him as we read His Word, the Bible, & responding to Him in faith; & prayer is balance, not just asking, but praising, confessing, thanking, interceding for others, etc. We ve also learned that prayer requires grace it s all based on the saving work of Christ, which we

2 need to understand. Prayer also requires fear, our hearts engaged in loving awe of God. And prayer requires helplessness. We must recognize & own our weaknesses & total dependence on God. Then, last week, we began to consider what prayer gives. Prayer gives perspective, helping us to see things from God s perspective & be continually realigned w/him. Today, let s contemplate how prayer gives strength, which means both power & ability to live our lives as Christians/followers of Christ do the work He has called us & equipped us to do, & also encouragement & assurance & strength to face & overcome the struggles/disappointments/failures/obstacles of life as we follow Christ. Keller writes of prayer as spiritual union w/god. If I know He is w/me, for me, then I can indeed do all things thru Christ who strengthens me (Phil.4:13). Prayer helps us enter or embrace such a spiritual union w/god. J.I. Packer Prayer is a means to energy. Spiritual alertness, vigor, & confidence are the regular spin-off from earnest prayer Our Scripture text this morning will bear this out. Ephesians 6:10-20 [READ]. In Eph.1, Paul makes much of our being in Christ all that Christ is & all He has done counts for us. Those who are in Christ are blessed w/every spiritual blessing, chosen before the foundation of the world, predestined for adoption, redeemed thru His blood, forgiven, received revelation of the mystery of His will, obtained an inheritance, sealed w/the promised Holy Spirit. Paul then wrote about the wonder of God s grace, thru which God saves us & makes us part of His household. In this passage (6:10-20), I believe Paul has all that in mind as he concludes this epistle. I want to leave you w/this reminder/exhortation: Be strong in the Lord & in the strength of His might. Receive strength for your every day, increase in strength as you go forth every day. That strength &/or might come from one source only: God. Our part is to assimilate God s strength/might. The way we do that is thru prayer. P.T. Forsyth wrote, Prayer brings w/it, as food does, a new sense of power & health The life of every organism is but the constant victory of a higher energy, 2

3 constantly fed, over lower & more elementary forces. Prayer is the assimilation of a holy God s moral strength. We must work for this living. To feed the soul we must toil at prayer Prayer is the powerful appropriation of power, of divine power. It is therefore creative. Paul admonishes us to put on the whole armor of God. To put on is to sink into, to clothe one s self. We are to clothe ourselves w/the whole armor or complete armor the panoplia every piece included. Paul was chained to one or more soldiers/guards at a time. He daily saw their armor, & as he wrote the Ephesian church, this illustration must have come to mind. That s what you need armor, but not man s armor God s armor! Why do we need God s armor? Because we have enemies & we re in a battle for our souls, for the kingdom of God, for the gospel, etc. Paul was concerned that the Ephesian believers be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, to be steadfast & not waiver in the faces of the enemy s attack his schemes deceit, trickery, cunning arts. That word devil (diabolos) means one who is prone to slander, false accuser. We know the devil as Satan, that fallen angel who continually opposes God & seeks to hinder His eternal plan. The way he most tries to hinder God is by attacking God s children. Paul expands upon this battle we re in in vs.12. Our enemy is not other people not our husband/wife, not our bro/sis in Christ, not Republicans nor Democrats, not Whites or Blacks or Hispanics, not even Muslims or ISIS! Each & all of these might be used by the enemy in his devious schemes, but other people are not the enemy! Rather we wrestle/struggle against an unseen enemy: rulers & authorities & cosmic powers of this present darkness, & spiritual forces of evil. It s a spiritual battle in which the enemy is seeking & fighting to render the Church ineffective, to destroy your/my witness, to defeat us in our daily walk of following Christ, to discourage us in regard to our weaknesses & failures, to divide us so that we cannot work together for the cause of Christ. So, Paul said, Take up (in order to carry & use), put on the whole armor of God, in order that you might be able to 3

4 w/stand or resist in the evil day. Today is the evil day, & tomorrow will be the evil day. Paul s desire & God s for the Ephesian Christians & for us is that we might be able to stand not falter, not be knocked down, defeated. What will help us? The armor of God. As Paul observed the Roman soldier day by day, he noticed each piece of armor girdle/belt, breastplate, proper shoes/boots, shield, helmet, sword, etc. Each piece was imp, & the soldier was not properly prepared to stand & fight in battle w/out all of it together. The girdle/belt held the armor together, in place. The breastplate protected the torso, front & back, from neck to middle, including the heart/lungs/stomach, spinal column, etc. The shoes/boots protected the feet & made for sure footing as the soldier marched into battle or stood his ground. The shield was most often made of metal or wood covered w/metal or leather, protecting the soldier from flaming arrows shot by the enemy or sword thrusts. The helmet of course, protected the head. And the sword was used both for defense & offense, attacking the enemy. Paul said to the Ephesians, let truth of the gospel, of who God is, of who you are in Christ, the truth I have taught you, the truth of God s word let truth be like a belt/girdle around you. Stand on the truth, because the enemy will always lie to us. The truth will always be attacked. Did God really say? And let righteousness be like a breastplate for you, protecting your spiritual life/ walk. Believe the truth of Scripture, that the righteousness of Christ is credited to all who believe. In Christ, you stand before God in righteousness. But also believe that God the Holy Spirit is working into your practical life the righteousness of Christ day by day. Remember the truth of the gospel & continually embrace that truth by faith. Satan will attack that truth God doesn t really love you. God won t forgive you anymore. God has not saved you. Stand in the readiness provide by the gospel. Take that truth w/you daily & share that gospel truth w/others. Knowing that the enemy will continually attack w/lies, like flaming arrows being shot temptations, doubts, fears, accusation, condemnation, misdirection, etc. stand in faith, hold up faith, hold on 4

5 to faith, like a shield. Let the truth of God s salvation for all who believe be like a helmet for you, as Satan attacks your mind/spirit. You belong to God! And wield the sword of the Spirit the Word of God the Scriptures to protect yourself from the attacks & to wage battle & send the enemy to defeat. Those who are w/us are more than those who are w/them (II Kings 6:16) Father, Son & Holy Spirit are w/us, w/in the children of God. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world! (I John 4:4). This is the whole armor of God the truth of God, the presence of God, union w/god. Keller: The basic idea is that all the benefits of Christ s salvation pardon, peace, God s love for us that have been objectively secured for us must be personally appropriated for daily life. The assurance of God s love, the promise of access to His presence, the power to overcome our sinful habits, the knowledge of our pardon all these things are abstractions until they are inwardly received for our actual use. They must not only grip our heart but shape our life thru the operation of God s Spirit. But how do we appropriate this truth? Praying at all times in the Spirit, w/all prayer & supplication keeping alert w/all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints Praying in the Spirit means being led by, dependent on the Holy Spirit in prayer. Again, Keller wrote, Prayer is the way that all the things we believe in & that Christ has won for us actually become our strength. Prayer is the way that truth is worked into your heart to create new instincts, reflexes, & dispositions. The hymn writer said it well: Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone; the arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your own; put on the gospel armor, each piece put on w/prayer; where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there. We are brought into union w/god thru faith in Christ. He has made us His own & He is w/us; He is for us. We don t have to walk or work for Him alone He is the One who walks w/us, holding our hand. He is the One who does the work & allows us the privilege to be co-laborers w/him. Prayer appropriates His strength. Be strong in the Lord & in the strength of His might! God has said, 5

6 My house shall be called a house of prayer. Let us be His people of prayer. 6