Finding the Strength to Stand

Finding the Strength to Stand - Ephesians 6:10-17
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - West Monroe, LA
January 15, 2006

*An F5 tornado can have winds of over 300 mph! The other day I watched part of a show where they were testing building materials for tornado damage. They had a gun that would shoot a 2-by-4 at a cinder-block test wall. That board went through the cinder-block wall like it was going through a piece of paper!

*Sometimes life feels like an F5 tornado. How are you going to stand in something like that? How can I find the strength to stand? We can see right here in the Word of God.

1. First of all, we must look to the Lord. That’s why in verse 10, Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

*I promise you that when it comes to your spiritual life, when it comes to the most important things in life, the only way to be strong is to be strong in the Lord.
-David knew that. In Psalm 18:1-2, he said, “I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

*In Psalm 27:1, David said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

*And in Psalm 19:14, David said, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

*David knew that the Lord was his strength. And now because of the Cross of Jesus Christ, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can be even more sure! We can be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, because the Lord is our ever present source of strength.

*Kent Crockett tells an old story about a pastor traveling on a bus down a bumpy road. A college student was seated next to the preacher, and he noticed that the pastor was reading his Bible.

*Almost out of the blue, the preacher asked: “Are you spiritually ready for the temptations that you will face in college?”

*The young man answered: “I don’t have a problem with temptation. I have strong willpower.”

*The preacher then took a pencil out of his pocket and said: “I can make this pencil stand up on the cover of this Bible even though the bus ride is bumpy.”

*The young man said, “I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t think you can do it.”

“Look, I am doing it,” the pastor replied.

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me you would hold the pencil up with your hand.”

“I didn’t have to tell you,” the pastor said. “Have you ever seen a pencil stand up on its own without someone holding it?”

*Then the preacher let go of the pencil. Of course, it instantly fell over and the preacher said: “The only reason you stand, is because God is holding you up with His hand.” (1)

*We can never stand in our own strength. We must look to the Lord.

2. How can I find the strength to stand? Look to the Lord, but also recognize your real enemy, and we can see him in vs. 11-12.

11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. 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.

*Most people