Stand Strong

Most people spend their lives fighting visible problems while losing the invisible war.

Ephesians 6:12 “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.”

The question isn’t…“Am I in a battle?”

The question is… “Do I know who I’m fighting?”

Why?

• The enemy always attacks what God values most.
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The Bible teaches that our first ministry is our family.

Eph 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 6: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

The word “obey” is the Greek word hypakouō

It literally means “to listen under.”

You can’t follow God well if you’ve never learned how to follow anyone.

For a child, honoring parents becomes one of the earliest ways they learn to trust God.

Because the family is the first place we learn authority.

• Freedom isn’t the absence of authority. Freedom is living under God’s authority.
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Honor Is Bigger Than Obedience

2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—

3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Paul is quoting Exodus 20:12, where God was speaking to Israel as a covenant people. The principle is this:

• God’s design leads to human flourishing.
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The enemy knows that if he can undermine God’s design for the family, he weakens the foundation from which faith is passed to the next generation (Deuteronomy 6:6–9).

4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

In the Roman world, fathers had patria potestas (power of the father)—the legal authority over life-and-death decisions within the household.

He tells fathers to be careful with the hearts of their children.

He’s warning fathers against parenting in a way that slowly hardens a child’s heart.

One sentence spoken in anger……..One harsh criticism……..One season of emotional absence……..Can leave marks that last well into adulthood.

One encouraging father…One consistent father…One father who points his children toward Jesus… Can alter the trajectory of generations.

Because God designed fathers to reflect something of His own fatherly heart. Children often form their earliest impressions of God through the way earthly fathers use their authority.

“Bring them up…” literally means “to nourish, to feed, to nurture to maturity.”

Prov 22:6 ESV 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Children don’t need a perfect Parents; they need  present ones.

Your greatest authority comes not from your position, but from your example.

Eph 5: 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

The Greek word doulos refers to a servant or bondservant.

The phrase “respect and fear”  translated in other places in scripture as “fear and trembling” was an Idiom that is found in other places in the bible

Idiom: a common phrase or expression with a figurative meaning separate from the literal definitions of its individual words

This phrase appears several times in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 2:3 “I came to you in weakness with fear and trembling.”

Was Paul afraid of the Corinthians? No. He approached his ministry with humility, seriousness, and a profound awareness of his responsibility before God.

Philippians 2:12 “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

“You may work for a company, but you serve a King.”

 

9:“Masters Treat your servants in the same way… Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.”

Now Paul makes the shift to what is a very timley message for Oasis….The power of prayer….

Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.

• You don’t fight FOR victory. You fight FROM victory
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Your life usually moves in the direction of your strongest habits.

Ephesians 6:18 “ 18 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 Lord’s people.

• Prayer Is the Foundation of Every Spiritual Victory
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• Prayer isn’t advanced Christianity. Prayer is basic Christianity.
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• Prayer Opens Daily Communion with God

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Prayer Deepens Intimacy and Builds Trust

Philippians 4:6-7“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer may not always change your situation immediately… But it always changes your perspective.

• Prayer Establishes Holy Habits
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Daily faithfulness produces future fruit.

• Prayer Engages the Spiritual Battle

2 Corinthians 10:3–4 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

1 Cor 15: 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why 21 Days?

Final Challenge

The greatest battles of your life will never be won by willpower alone.

They’ll be won on your knees.

The strength of your spiritual life will never rise above the consistency of your prayer life.