Paul Obviously Knew Something We Don't

In the past several blogs we have been talking about Ephesians 6:10. Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. For us to be strong in the Lord, we first have to be able to identify the areas that Jesus is strong in.

First of all, Jesus was strong in His love relationship with His Father. If you want to reach people like Jesus did, this is what you need to be doing every day. Unfortunately, many leaders in the body of Christ try to build the kingdom of God by building relationships with people. The fault is, that we are tempted to build relationships with people that are easy for us to approach or who have similar hobbies. Because Jesus built a strong love relationship with His Father first, the power of the Holy Spirit helped Him build relationships with hard to reach people. And He captured their hearts on the first try.

For example, he walked by Matthew's place of business, said a few words and was invited to a big party. Matthew became a disciple. They threw an adulteress in front of Him and Jesus saved her life as well as her soul in a matter of minutes. Hard to deal with demon-possessed individuals were calmed in a moment of time. It didn't take Him weeks of appointments. Jesus already had what it took to get the job done. He had the power of the Holy Spirit resident inside of Him.

You have to have a strong love relationship with the Father to go on any further. Verses 11 and 13 of Ephesians the 6th chapter say this, (NIV) "Put on the full armor of God." Here is the greatest soul winner and church planter giving advice to the church in Ephesus. He gives them a glimpse into His life as well as into the life of Jesus Christ. He gives a command and not a suggestion. He leaves no wiggle room in what he says.

We have to come to grips with the fact that we might be walking around unprepared for something. But what? Look at the rest of verse 11. It reads, "so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."  Ask yourself the question. Have you stood up to the devil's schemes or are you falling into them?  Verse 13 reads, "so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground." When rough stuff comes along, do we stand firm or do we start stumbling backwards?

Being strong in the Lord, means that when the devil comes at you, you know exactly what to do, what to say and what to expect. Paul gets to the heart of the matter in verse 12. "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."

Our problems in this world are not with the presidents, kings or dictators. Our problems are not with the blacks or the whites. Our problems are not with the Republicans or Democrats. They are not with illegal immigrants or ISIS. Paul says that our fight is not with the flesh but with the demonic forces that drive them to do their dirty deeds.

Therefore, the answer to the demon-driven problems lies in putting on the armor of God and not fighting with each other. Case in point. You've tried to change your spouse, your children, your parents or your friends for years and have gotten nowhere. You've written letters to the editor about local or federal government stupidity and nothing has changed.

Paul says that you are fighting the wrong battle with the wrong equipment. And he should know. People stood against him and he carried on. People tried to kill him and he just became more successful as time went on. He obviously knew something we don't know. Or should I say, we have been reluctant to do.

The question is. Are you going to be strong enough and tough enough to change enough to turn things around in your life? Or, are you going to let things keep tearing your life up as well as the life of your children while you bury your head in the sand?

In the next several blogs, we're going to get into Paul's simple suggestions that can be a game changer in the life of you and your family. Are you willing to put forth the effort?