Dwell in the Power of the Holy Spirit at all Times
How to Live as People Worthy of Our Calling • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 22:40
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Main Preaching Theme: Victory as a Christian does not come from physical battles; We live lives worthy of our heavenly calling when we access the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Scene 1/ The struggle of seeing life from the physical perspective!
When we see everything from the perspective of what is physically happening around us it is easy to get discouraged.
The kids might be playing up.
Money is a bit tight.
We have had an argument with a loved one.
The hot water system and the car have broken down.
We begin to realise that we are not as young or as slim as we used to be.
I find that when I have pushed too hard and haven’t taken any time off that I get tired and my perspective on life starts to change.
Rather than seeing opportunities and pathways to move ahead I start to see discouragement and things that might fail.
I want to see a physical result and find myself feeling responsible for everything that happens.
When I reach this point things get dangerous, my whole outlook changes from one of hope to one of fear.
We are all in danger of seeing things from a physical perspective and making a wrong choice.
Of doing something that we will later regret.
We are all in danger of seeing things from a physical perspective and making a wrong judgement about something.
Of missing something really important that was actually right in front of us.
Jesus encountered this sort of problem with the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
They failed to see what was really happening and so missed what God really intended for them.
Matthew 21:1-11 tells us that Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey at the beginning of the Passover festival.
Because the Passover festival was a celebration of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt the crowd of pilgrims would normally celebrate as they approached the city.
The people would sing from the Psalms, there would be shouts of joy, it was a real party.
So when Jesus turned up a natural extension of their exuberance was to link Jesus with their expectation of a coming Messiah.
Today we call this procession Palm Sunday because the people laid Palm branches on the ground as a carpet for Jesus to ride his donkey over.
The Apostle John tells us in chapter 12 of his Gospel that many of the people of Jerusalem had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.
The people were naturally excited and proclaimed Jesus as a king.
They were looking for a physical solution to a spiritual problem.
They wanted freedom for their nation, to be independent of the Roman occupation.
But their problem wasn’t physical, it was spiritual.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem riding on that donkey something unexpected occurred.
41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
In 70 AD, 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, this prophecy was fulfilled; Jerusalem was levelled to the ground by the Romans.
The pilgrims had a wrong perspective, they recognised Jesus as a king but not the king that they really needed.
They wanted a physical result, a Messiah to free them from the Romans, but what they needed was a spiritual result, to be freed from their own sin.
Their perspective was wrong.
And because their perspective was wrong most of Jerusalem rejected their Messiah and the nation paid the cost in it’s destruction
Scene 2/The contrasting perspective is that Victory as a Christian does not come from physical battles, it comes when we live a life that accesses the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-12
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
In Paul’s day it was common to end a letter or a speech with a rousing appeal to action.
These three verses serve that purpose in the letter to the Ephesians, it is the final word of all that has already been written, the last appeal before the close; it focuses on whom God is and what he will do.
Our strength does not come from ourselves, it comes from God.
He is the Lord, the war has already been won, and we simply need to stand in that victory.
It is not a case of us having to advance upon an enemy, we simply need to hold onto the ground we have been given.
Verse 10 is very clear about this.
God takes the ground; he is the one that changes people’s hearts.
We are given the task of holding onto what we have been given.
We love, for we have been given love.
We share God’s word, for we have been given God’s word.
We share the Gospel of hope and salvation, because we have been given the gospel of hope and salvation.
We walk with people, because we have been given the ministry of loving our neighbour.
But it is God who redeems their soul, not us.
So hold the ground you have been given and let God increase it.
Too often Christians fall into the trap of having an unhealthy interest in the area of demonology.
Yes we have a powerful foe whom we cannot see. One who has powers we cannot comprehend and who has legions of demons in his service but we need to remember that the devil cannot indwell a true believer; we do not need to fear demons.
Yes they can oppress and harass, yes they can cause great harm, but let us not make the mistake of having a morbid fascination with a defeated enemy.
In Christ there is victory and with the armour of God we have all we need to stand firm.
While some people spend a great deal of time seeking to work out the ranks and spheres of influence of evil beings, often by referring to the incredible amount of Jewish literature about demons, we need to remember that the Bible as a whole doesn’t bother a great deal with trying to explain such things. [1]
On a handful of occasions, such as Daniel 10, it ties a specific spiritual power to a specific region but that is about it.
So let’s not fall into one of the schemes of the devil which Ephesians 6:10-12 warns us about.
Instead let’s remember that Ephesians is a call to live out the truth that the gospel of Christ has already won the spiritual battle and that we need to stand firm in that victory by accessing the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.[2]
Scene 3/We access the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit when;
We live truthfully
We live righteously
We live peacefully in the security of the gospel
We live by faith
We live in hope of salvation by God’s grace
And we live in spiritual power through the knowledge of God’s word.
Ephesians 6:13-17 says “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13–17, NLT)
As the Apostle Paul dictated these words to a scribe commentators tell us that he was probably chained to a Roman soldier.
Which was a fairly good way of giving some freedom to a prisoner whilst ensuring they didn’t escape.
It also gave Paul an opportunity to witness to the soldiers assigned to guard him.
So as he speaks about spiritual battles the illustration of a soldier’s armour was very relevant.
It is also a picture presented on a number of occasions throughout Scripture in passages such as Isaiah 59:17 and extra biblical sources such as the Wisdom of Solomon 5:17–20.[3]
This armour is not some magical force or power.
It is not some spell you recite.
This armour is in fact beliefs, attitudes and actions which are lived out as the Holy Spirit is invited to have control of every part of our being.
We stand in Him, not out by ourselves.
Think of it like this; there are two ways to climb a lighthouse.
Up the stairs on the inside or by ropes on the outside.
I have worked on the lighthouse on Moreton Island.
Hanging onto the top in 60kph wind gusts whilst trying to repair an antenna gave me a real appreciation for being back inside and using the stairs.
Standing in the control of the Holy Spirit is like being inside the lighthouse.
You can feel the buffeting of the wind and it gets a bit noisy as the wind howls around the outside, but you are in fact quite safe.
It is only when you are silly enough to venture outside and try to climb up the outside of the lighthouse that things go wrong.
Over and over again Ephesians and other books of the Bible tell us to stand firm in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is the idea we need to have in mind when we look at this armour.
It is not about being out on our own; it is about being in the control of the Holy Spirit.
Firstly you start with the belt of truth. (Verse 14a)
As a soldier would gather up their robes and hold everything in place with a belt so we need to hold our lives together with integrity.
The belt also holds the sword and unless we practice truth how can we use the word of truth.
Satan is the great liar (John 8:44), but the believer whose life is controlled by truth will defeat him.
Then you put on the breastplate of righteousness (Verse 14b)
A breastplate is usually made of metal plate or chainmail; it covers the front and back and protects the vital organs.
As Christians we are protected by the righteousness of Christ.
He is the armour that protects us from the accusation of Satan.
In Christ we are right in God’s sight, without condemnation, so we are safe.
As we are righteous in God’s sight so we also need to live righteously.
We are immune from accusation because Christ is our righteousness and as we live righteously we strengthen our faith and build our resistance to attack.
Then you put on the shoes of the Gospel. (verse 15)
The shoes of a Roman soldier had hobnails, basically small spikes to give them grip in battle.
When you have a firm footing you can stand firm.
When the ground moves beneath you it is hard to stay up.
It is the same spiritually, the Gospel gives us peace because we know our standing with God.
Being sure of our significance gives us security when Satan tires to question God’s love for us.
Being sure of our security also gives us boldness to share our security in Christ with others.
Then you pick up the shield of faith (verse16)
The shield of a Roman soldier was fairly large and was made of wood covered in leather.
It was designed to literally stop flaming arrows and a row of soldiers could lock their shields together and form a defensive wall.
Which means that you are not in the battle alone as a Christian; you are part of a whole wall standing against an attack.
The flaming arrows of the evil one are designed to bring doubt and fear, lies and desire for sin into our lives.
But when the shield of faith is in front of us these arrows can’t penetrate.
Then you put on the helmet of salvation (verse 17)
Satan wants to attack our mind; he defeated Eve in the garden this way by getting her to doubt God’s word and then Adam followed that doubt in disobedience.
So our mind needs to be controlled by God.
We need to study his word, understand what it asks of us and what the truth is.
As we grow in grace and knowledge of Christ then we can stand firm against Satan’s deceptions which would have us doubt God.
Finally once all of these are put on you take up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (verse 17).
It is the word of God that Jesus used to defeat Satan when he came to tempt him.
When we know the Scriptures we will be able to correctly use them to not only repel attack but to strike back.
God’s word has power, the power of the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin, to encourage them, to give them hope, to show them Christ.
It is a sword that can reach right into the spirit.
When we have this armour fitted and we know how to use it then we stand in the power of the Holy Spirit and the wind of Satan’s attacks can swirl and howl all it likes.
But we are safe standing in the Holy Spirit’s power
Scene 4/The foundation for this sort of living is prayer.
Ephesians 6:18-19 shows us that prayer is the energy that enables us to wear the armour, to keep on fighting.
Just as trying to stand on our own is like trying to get to the top of the lighthouse by climbing the outside.
So failing to seek the energy that comes from God is like trying to light the light at the top of the lighthouse with the static electricity from a nylon shirt once you get there.
It doesn’t work.
But when you ask for God’s power and his intervention through prayer.
Then you have an endless uninterruptable supply of power.
Throughout the Scriptures we see countless examples where prayer was the power that made the difference.
The armour of God is energised by prayer because the soldier inside needs the energy it provides to keep on fighting.
It is only as you continue your relationship with God through spending time in prayer that you gain strength to keep in the battle.
If you think that you are losing ground and not standing firm then perhaps you have failed to recharge the battery!
We live lives worthy of our calling when we put on the whole armour of God to stand firm against an enemy who is already defeated but wants to cause as much damage as he can in his final battles.
We stand firm when we dwell in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is the way the Apostle Paul lived and even thought he was in chains he was able to see victory (Eph 6:20);
This is the same victory Christ saw through his resurrection; even though the crowds a few days before at the Passover festival missed it. (John 12:23-28)
This is the victory that is ours, if we will just take hold of all that God has provided for us.
Will you stand in the power of the Holy Spirit as you put on the whole Armour of God?
[1] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1952). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1242). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
[3] Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 176). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.