{"id":26658,"date":"2023-06-08T22:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T05:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ephesians-6_1-9-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-05-23T12:10:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T19:10:48","slug":"ephesians-6_10-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ephesians-6_10-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Use of This Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ephesians\u00a0 6:10-24 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is Ephesians 6:10-24.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:10-12 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n10<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.\u00a0<\/em>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Put on the full\u00a0armor\u00a0of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.\u00a0<\/em>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a010-12: \u00a0Through these verses Paul reveals an important truth:\u00a0 Whenever you find yourself fighting with other people, remember that beneath the surface our ultimate struggle is a spiritual one — not so much against flesh and blood, but against Satan, whose goal is to steal, kill and destroy your life (John\u00a010:10).\u00a0 Spiritual warfare is real.\u00a0 But as we can see in the verses that follow, God has given you everything you need to stand up against every attack of the enemy.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:13\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Therefore put on the full\u00a0armor\u00a0of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 13: \u00a0In verses 13-18, Paul describes what he calls the “armor of God”.\u00a0 He says that if you put this armor on, you will be able to stand your ground against the enemy.\u00a0 What exactly is the “armor of God”?\u00a0 Each part of this “armor” is an aspect of our relationship with Christ that we must hang onto, especially during spiritual warfare.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:14\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 14a:\u00a0 The first piece of armor Paul refers to is \u201cthe belt of truth\u201d.\u00a0 God’s truth is like a belt that holds your life together.\u00a0 So when Satan tries to deceive you with lies, hang on to the truth of God’s promises.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:14\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>…with the breastplate of righteousness in place<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 14b:\u00a0 The next piece of armor is \u201cthe breastplate of righteousness\u201d.\u00a0 Satan loves to attack your heart.\u00a0 He loves to draw your heart away with all sorts of temptation.\u00a0 You need a breastplate to protect your heart against Satan’s heart attacks. \u00a0 That breastplate is God’s righteousness.\u00a0 It’s remembering that Jesus Christ has accepted and cleansed you of all your sin.\u00a0 It’s also believing that you will be happier and better off in the end if you follow Jesus instead of chasing sin.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:15\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 15:\u00a0 When we are not at peace, we’re not ready to take on the challenges in front of us.\u00a0 In fact, every additional challenge only becomes another reason to be frustrated when you’re lacking peace.\u00a0 God’s peace is like a pair of shoes that you wear so that you are ready to go out and step foot into whatever ugly conditions are out there.\u00a0 How do you experience the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace? By stepping foot into God’s presence, surrendering your burdens to Him and being still, knowing that God is with you (Philippians 4:6-7).<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:16\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16:\u00a0 Faith, according to Paul, is like a shield that can extinguish\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>the flaming arrows of the evil one.\u00a0 Verse 16 says “In addition to all this” because you can’t use any of the other parts of the armor of God without faith.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:17\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Take the helmet of salvation…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17a:\u00a0 In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul describes the helmet of salvation as the hope that Jesus is coming again to take us home.\u00a0 When Satan tries to attack your mind with hopeless thoughts, hang onto the hope that Jesus will triumph in the end and take us home to be with Him.\u00a0 That’s putting on your helmet of salvation.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:17\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17b: The Greek word Paul uses for “sword” (Machaira) does not mean a long Samurai sword but a short dagger used in hand to hand combat.\u00a0 The Greek word Paul uses for “word of God” is\u00a0rhema<\/em>, which is God’s word spoken to your heart.\u00a0 That\u00a0rhema\u00a0word is like a sword, a dagger, which you can use to fight the enemy in a specific situation.<\/p>\n

For example, I will never forget the\u00a0rhema\u00a0word God spoke to my heart when I was preparing to plant a church.\u00a0 He said, “You don’t ever have to worry about what to preach every Sunday”.\u00a0 That promise has helped me tremendously whenever I prepare a message to share with people at Thrive.\u00a0 On the day that He spoke that\u00a0rhema\u00a0word into my life, it’s like He gave me a sword — “the sword of the Spirit” — by which I can fight any worry, self-doubt and stress.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit wants to arm you with\u00a0rhema\u00a0words too.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:18\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0 The final weapon Paul mentions is praying in the Spirit.\u00a0 What does it mean to “pray in the Spirit”?\u00a0 It means to pray with an awareness of and a dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power.\u00a0 This is not just limited to praying in tongues, although I find the ability to pray in tongues to be an extremely helpful tool in spiritual warfare and a gift worth asking God for.\u00a0 Even if you don’t pray in tongues, you can still pray with an awareness of and a dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power.\u00a0 Christian, remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you and is here to help you pray (See Romans\u00a08:26).\u00a0 So don’t just rely on your own power or wisdom when you pray, but pray with an attitude of dependence on the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

“on all occasions<\/em>“: I encourage you to pray wherever you go.\u00a0 Keep the conversation with God going in your heart.\u00a0 It’s hard to do that when you’re constantly depending on your mind and strength to help you form words to pray.\u00a0 That’s why praying in the Spirit is so beneficial.<\/p>\n

“with all kinds of prayers and requests<\/em>“: \u00a0Don’t just pray “Help me God” prayers.\u00a0 Take time to communicate with God through various types of prayers, including praise, worship, confession of sins, giving thanks, surrendering burdens and listening to Him.\u00a0 Pray with your mind and pray also with your spirit.<\/p>\n

“always keep on praying for all the saints”<\/em>: \u00a0Remember that “the saints” are not an elite group of Christians, but all Christians everywhere. Don’t just pray for yourself, but get into the habit of regularly praying for others.<\/p>\n

Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)<\/strong><\/em>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,<\/em>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-20:\u00a0 The fact that Paul would request the Ephesian church to pray for him (v19) shows how dependent Paul was on prayer and how we too should pray for our church leaders.<\/p>\n

How about you?\u00a0 Are you a man of prayer, a woman of prayer?\u00a0 Blessed is everyone who takes\u00a0Ephesians\u00a06:18\u00a0seriously and tries to live it out.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:21-22 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.\u00a0<\/em>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-22: \u00a0From Paul’s sending of Tychicus to the Ephesian church, we can learn 3 lessons on how to maintain a good long distance relationship: (1) Go out of your way to keep in contact (v21-22); (2) Let people know how you are and what you are doing (v21); and (3) Be encouraging to the people you’re reaching out to (v22).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ephesians 6:23-24 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 23-24:\u00a0 Like Paul says in verses 23-24, may God give you peace, love, faith and grace and may you love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.<\/p>\n

That brings our look at the book of Ephesians to close.\u00a0\u00a0What was the most important lesson you learned in this powerful and important book?<\/p>\n

Thank You, Lord, for giving me everything I need to fight spiritual battles.\u00a0 Thank You that in Jesus Christ I find my belt of truth, my breastplate of righteousness, my feet fitted firmly in the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, my shield of faith, my helmet of salvation and my sword that is the Word of God.\u00a0 Thank You for calling me to a lifestyle of prayer and for the victory I have in You.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ephesians 6:10-24.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a06:10-12 (NIV)\u00a0
\n10\u00a0Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.\u00a0
\n11\u00a0Put on the full\u00a0armor\u00a0of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.\u00a0
\n12\u00a0For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a010-12: \u00a0Through these verses Paul reveals an important truth:\u00a0 Whenever you find yourself fighting with other people, remember that beneath the surface our ultimate struggle is a spiritual one — not so much against flesh and blood, but against Satan, whose goal is to steal, kill and destroy your life (John\u00a010:10).\u00a0 Spiritual warfare is real.\u00a0 But as we can see in the verses that follow, God has given you everything you need to stand up against every attack of the enemy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26658"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26661,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions\/26661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}