Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take on the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all of this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all of the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.
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This passage is sooooo good!!! Every time I read it I get something new out of it!
It is through the power of God and the Word of God that we can stand firm and fight against the darkness. It is through standing in truth and righteousness that we can withstand the attacks of the evil one. May we never forget this!
I Love the last part of this passage when Paul asks that every word that he speaks would be given to him by the Holy Spirit so that he would fearlessly declare the gospel. He is dependent on the LORD not only to endure persecution, but also in his spreading of the Gospel. He isn't spending his time trying to come up new techniques for sharing the truth...instead he is just following the Holy Spirit's leading. Each moment, he is speaking with the words that God gives him. I feel like I have gone through so many classes, bible studies, or sermons that have been centered around different techniques that are most effective for sharing the gospel...or where we are told specific things to say or do when confronted with a spiritual conversations. I have been given so many times what seems like a checklist for "how to evangelize." But...my question is, why do we keep trying to come up with our own strategies instead of relying on the Holy Spirit? If we really want to teach people how to spread the gospel, we need to be preaching the gospel and teaching what it means to be following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Because if we are all being led by the spirit, then we will be declaring the gospel boldly just as Paul did, not through our own strength, but through the Spirit's power. If we depend on our own strategies and techniques for spreading the Gospel, it will come to nothing. Instead we need to arm ourselves with the full of armor of God and rely completely on his Holy Spirit to direct our every step and provide us with our every word.
