Thursday, April 30, 2009

the soldier


Are you a soldier? In Ephesians 6 Paul encourages the church to be a convenant soldier.

Stand and Fight- the covenant soldierTruths concerning the covenant soldier
I. Stout hearted (vs10)Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his mightIn this section of scripture Paul tells the Christian to be strong in the Lord. Soldiers should be ready to fight, to serve, and to suffer. A soldier’s armor is useless if his heart is weak. Through out this scripture we are told to stand, another word for this is covenant. This means we must be committed to the cause to be able to stand our ground. (Tom Petty’s "stand my ground") (what are some ways we can prepare to be the soldier God wants us to be? Where does our strength come from? How can we access it)II. Strong Opponent (vs12)Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firmIf we are soldiers, we must have an adversary. Our enemy who we fight is Satan. He his a liar, and a deceiver. He uses people, evil spirits, sin, principles, and other things to battle with. He is strong and capable. Many people and many preachers have said they would like to fight Satan. On your own strength or feelings this would be very foolish. We must realize that this opponent is strong and fierce. Knowing this should intensify the convent. It should make it real. It should inform us. (What types of weapons does Satan use against us? Why should we be informed about the enemy?)III. Well Armored (vs11, vs13-18)Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,Paul now talks about the armor of the soldier. Notice the first item in the soldier’s gear sit the belt of truth. Truth hold it all together. If we are to be all we can for Christ we must be held together with truth. The breastplate of Righteousness is next. This covers the heart. The heart can deceive you and satan uses the heart to make the Christian do many foolish things. Look at Sampson……(give examples if needed). Faith is next and Paul compares it to a shelid. (what are some things a shield is used for? How does this compare with our faith in Christ?) Salvation is used to protect our minds and our head. Salvation is our helmet. And finally we have the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. (How does salvation protect our minds? Why is the word or sword our only method of Offense?) Prayer is mentioned last (Why do you think its mentioned as part of the armor?)

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