God has an encouraging word for you today. Now, beloved friends, Henry Ford said this. He said, before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.
I want to run that by again. Henry Ford said, and I quote, before everything else, getting ready. Tom Kite is an interesting person, and Tom Kite had some rather remarkable and interesting things to say about golf concerning his pre-shot routine. Now, I want to just say to you, clarify, for people like Ray, Jared and Tip and others, this is before you hit the ball. Tom Kite said, your pre-shot routine is designed to produce an unwavering belief in the shot. Tom Kite is absolutely convinced that what you do before you hit a ball is more important than when and after you hit the ball. Because he went on and he elaborated on this, and I began to think of myself that all the things that Tom Kite, the US Ryder Cup captain has to say about a game of golf, which actually in final analysis is not going to amount to much, we can apply these same principles to our lives as born again believers. These principles can be applied in the workplace, they can be applied in the home, they can be applied on the play fields of life, they are vital and they are significant. He said, concerning his pre-shot routine, he said, first of all, I have to ask the question, am I evaluating correctly, evaluating ourselves?
It's not just saying something, it's understanding something about ourselves. Am I evaluating correctly? Number two, am I lined up correctly? Am I lined up correctly? Am I facing in the right direction? Are my feet where they ought to be? Are my hands placed where they ought to be placed? Is my mind lined up with the things of God? Yesterday, just for very brief moment, I was in one of the shops here and I saw one or two people standing over there and they were doing a couple of things. And I thought to myself, you know, what they're doing is not necessarily bad or wicked, but they appear to me as an outsider to be lined up incorrectly. Sometimes you can look at a person and the way they talk and the places they go to and the things they do and the company they keep, you can assess based upon an evaluation that they are lined up incorrectly. They haven't made a mistake yet because they haven't hit the ball, but when they hit the ball and they are lined up incorrectly, the ball is not going to go where they intended to go. They're going to end up trouble.
They're going to end up in the rough where I end up most of the time when I play golf. And then there was a third question. Am I visualizing correctly? Am I taking in my environment?
Am I looking correctly at what I'm doing? What was Tom Kite saying? He was saying a number of things.
He was saying, first of all, find the target, identify your target, where you are going. Some years ago, I spoke to a major corporation in the United States in Detroit, Michigan. And the executives of that big company said to me, when you come and speak to these executives, I want you to motivate them. We want a higher level of productivity. We want a greater sense of loyalty. We want personal and professional involvement to be inculcated in the people who work for the company.
Basically, they said, please help us to find the target. Second, to assess the distance. How much time and effort is it going to take me to get from here to where I'm going? Number three, factor in the wind. If you're a golfer, you know this, wind is important. And wind is important in our lives, is it not? Because the winds of life are blowing all the time.
Sickness and health, pain and joy. And it's going to affect the trajectory. If you hit a ball and you haven't taken into account the wind, it's going to affect where the ball lands. So assess the wind. And then finally, but not conclusively, select the right club, Tom Kite says. You see your equipment needs to be correct. If you're going to be 250 yards from your target area, it's not going to help you to select a pitching wedge.
Select the club that is appropriate and the equipment that is appropriate in order to enable you to do the job. Now, beloved friends, these are the principles of discipleship that the Apostle Paul endeavors to lay upon our hearts and lives. He rallies the troops and he turns to all of us and to the church at Ephesus and he says, I want to help you to produce an unwavering belief in the shots of life. I want to help you to be able to face and to do everything that God intends in your life and to do it with style and to do it with joy and to do it with strength and to do it with sustenance. And so it is here in Ephesians chapter six and verse 10.
Let's read it together. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand. There's your target in this instance, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and 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. What is Paul saying at this juncture to us? What is he saying to me as a father, as a husband? What is he saying to me as a businessman? What is he saying to me as a parent? What is he saying to me as an athlete? What is he saying to me as a college student?
What is he saying to me in all of the different arenas of life that I find myself exposed to? Two things here at this juncture. Number one, stand firm. Stand firm. Look at verse 10. Finally, be strong.
Remarkable. Paul says if you want to determine your pre-shot existence and if you want to have an unwavering belief in where you're going, and if you want to have absolute confidence that whenever it is you get to where you're going, that you're going to be able to handle and to do that which is well pleasing in God's sight, you need to be strong. That's an imperative.
It's not a suggestion on the part of the Apostle Paul. It is the cardinal reality of the essential message to the church at Ephesus. Paul says we are one in Christ. We are one with Him. His life is our life. His power is our power. His truth is our truth. His way is our way.
And guess what? As a consequence, His strength is our strength. What an unbelievable promise from God. It's what he says, be strong. Stand firm.
This past two weeks, this past week, as in most weeks, there are many sad things that happen. And the Apostle Paul says that as you go, when you get set, when you're going through your pre-shot routine, be strong. Well, the big question is, how do we appropriate the strength? It's one thing to say to us, be strong, but how do you do it? Well, first of all, of course, you've got to give your life to Jesus Christ because He is our strength. Having done that, the Apostle Paul is going to spend some time talking about prayer. Prayer is the key to the appropriation of the strength of God. It is a daily habitual walk with God.
It is talking to Him. It is sharing with Him the deepest inner things that are going on within our hearts and lives. And Paul is going to tell us that if you want to be strong and you want to know the strength of God, talk to Him.
Number two, accumulate and acquire knowledge. Paul is saying something here. He said, you want to be strong in the Lord, study God's Word.
There's no shortcut, folks. It's a discipline. You're never going to get to where you need to be and be strong going to where you need to be if you're not strong in the things of the Lord. It has been said many times, you have a weak theology, you're going to have a weak lifestyle.
If your belief system is weak, the way and the manner with which you conduct yourself is going to be weak. And if you don't have a strong foundation undergirding you, when all these things come along, guess what? You're going to struggle to be strong because there are so many things pulling at us, aren't there?
There are so many things hacking away and nipping away at our ankles and all of us have unbelievable points of vulnerability. We have sadnesses and we have obstacles to overcome. And Paul says, if you want to be strong, pray and acquire knowledge. And then there's a third thing he says, have faith in the promises of God.
And I love this one. You know why I love it so much? Because Paul is saying to us, be strong in the Lord based upon the promises of God. How can we be strong based upon God's promises? The answer is quite simple, because God is incapable of breaking his promise. Did you know that? Now, folks, we are capable of breaking promises.
Many of us do. We do it often. We break promises all the time. But God cannot break his promises.
When God says something, he is absolute truth and he cannot and he will not break his promise. Please forgive the interruption. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word. And he insists, I remind you, we are here for you. It's not just a presentation of great teaching, but it's also a conversation.
And if God has stirred your heart, even in the teaching today in the Book of Ephesians, perhaps there are questions or prayer requests that come to your mind. And you'd like to share that with us, please call us. Our number is 66899 word.
The power of prayer is amplified as you know there's another believer and a group of believers here at The Encouraging Word, praying with you and for you. 89996 keyboard orgy is his email address. That's Don Don at site.
It's TEW online.org. Now back to today's great teaching. So I began to ask myself, well, what are some of the promises of God? Now, if we're going to be strong by standing on the promises of God, what are some of those promises? I wrote down four of them.
Would you mind if I shared them with you this morning? They all relate to the family and our personal lives. Here's one. Listen to this. Found in Isaiah 54 in verse 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be their peace.
That's a promise. There's the knowledge of God. Now, what is the prophet saying based upon God's word? The prophet is saying that God's promise is that if your children are taught the knowledge of the word of God, they are going to experience a life of peace. Now, do you want your children to have a life of peace?
I do. There's one thing I would pray for my children's happiness and peace. I don't want my children to live a life of turmoil. Do you want your children to be in turmoil, have unhappiness and all the junket? I don't want my children, I don't want any of our children to have that. But I'm so grateful for that. You know why?
Because the Bible says thy children shall be taught of the Lord and the result is they will know peace. Here's another one. Proverbs 29 and 15. Now, this is a tough one now, folks.
The ACLU won't like this. The rod and reproof give wisdom. But a child left to himself brings his mother shame. Now, it's a promise of God.
Now, what is that? What God's word is just simply saying, listen, I've got to promise you. If you bring up your children in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ, in a loving home with consistent Christian love, which to me are the three keys of Christian parenting, consistent Christian love. What does the Bible say? The Bible says that your children will not grow up to bring shame on you. But a child that is abandoned and left to himself is no discipline, there's no curfews, no time limits, no parental supervision. If you don't know where your children were last night, you're asking for trouble.
If you're not drawing the line, if you're not loving your children and if they don't know and children will tell you they want their parents to know. The Bible says here's the promise of God. You bring up your child in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when they grow up, they will not bring shame to their mother. Here's another one. James 1 verse 2. Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials. What a promise. Consider it all joy.
How can that happen? We've got some people in our congregation today suffering terribly physically. We've got people in hospital. What's the promise of God? The promise of God my friend is that no matter where you are and what circumstances that in Christ you counter all joy because of the various trials and tribulations that you have to endure. Psalm 118 verse 6. The Lord is on my side.
I will not fear what man can do to me. There's the breakfast of champions right there. I remember some years ago being asked to speak at the Tulane football game in the Superdome in New Orleans, Tulane University. There was one problem. They were playing against Florida State seminars. Did you catch that?
Tulane University, Florida State. Sublime and ridiculous. I mean it's two opposite ends of the and they asked me to come and speak so I chose David and Goliath as my text. That's right. And I remember quoting this verse that the Lord is on my side and I will not fear what man can do to me. I thought God had really answered my prayer until about the middle of the third quarter when Florida State decided to add another 40 or 50 points just to make a point. But listen to that promise folks. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do to me. Someone has said that a woman who can cope with the terrible twos can cope with anything. Amen.
A woman who can cope with the terrible twos can cope with anything. Well, how do you do that? What does he say? God's word says as you go and as you prepare to go stand firm.
Stand firm. But then there's a second thing that Paul says. He says get dressed properly.
Verse 11. He says put on the full armor of God. Get dressed properly.
All of us prepared to come this morning. We, God willing, got dressed properly. No matter what circumstance, if you're trying out for a football team, you get dressed properly. If you're playing golf, you get dressed properly.
Otherwise they won't allow you on the golf course. If you're going shopping, you get dressed properly. But you see, Paul is taking this thing to the entire fabric of our existence. He's not talking just about the physical clothes. He's talking about that which God gives to us to wear right throughout the very lifetime that we exist. In fact, he uses the word permanently, which in the Greek text is the word enduo, which means for endurance, for all time and for all eternity, you put on the whole armor of God.
Put it on and don't ever take it off. What does he say? Paul is telling us about four things that the armor of God, our proper dressing will do for us. Number one, it will give to us companionship. We all need companionship. You see, whether you're old or young, we want companionship. God's word says that if you want to make the right shots in life, you need to have the ultimate spiritual companionship.
But then he takes it further. He says not only will the full armor of God give you companionship, but power, dunamis. He spoke about that in his letter to the church at Galatia. And in Philippians chapter four, Paul puts it like this, he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Well, if you look at verse 10, Paul saying the same thing in verse 10, he says, finally, be strong in the Lord. Philippians chapter four, I can do all things in the Lord. I can be strong in the Lord. How can I be strong?
By getting dressed properly. And when I get dressed properly, I have a lifetime of companionship. I'm able to exercise the power of God. But thirdly, as a consequence, I carry with me the right equipment.
I want to tell you something, folks, that's probably one of the weakest points in my life. My lawnmower broke the other day. It is amazing the lack of equipment that I think that I have.
It wouldn't matter if I had an entire true value hardware store with me. I still wouldn't be able to fix that silly thing. And I've discovered you cannot fix a broken lawnmower with a toothbrush. It doesn't work.
And I know the spark plug that you've got to have things to screw the spark plug off. And then you've got to have a hammer to make the gap the right gap. And I don't know what gap it is, so I just break it.
Then it really doesn't work. Because I have to bang it on the ground. Because I don't have the right equipment, we can carry it on through life. Paul says, listen to me, as a believer, whether you're on the mission field, whether you're at home, whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, God wants to give you the right equipment. So that when those circumstances come, you're going to have at your disposal what God wants you to have in order to get the job done. And finally, he'll give to you a right foundation. You see, getting dressed properly gives you a foundation like the wise man who built his house upon the rock.
When the rains come and the floods rise, the house upon the rock stood firm. That's what Paul is saying. He's not using that analogy. He's not telling us about a wise man and a foolish man. He left that to the Lord Jesus Christ. But here's what God says to us today. Build your house on a rock. Get prepared right so that when you journey through life, you're going to have the companionship and you're going to have the power and you're going to have the right equipment all based upon a solid foundation.
The right equipment and the right foundation. You know, I pray that as you've been listening, just as I have, I've walked with Christ for many years, but yet God has stirred my heart to make some adjustments that I know I need to change to empower His truth. And as we move through this journey together with you, if God has stirred your heart, know that we'd love to pray with you and for you at 866-899-WORD. That number is available 24 hours a day. Jot it down.
Store it in your cell. 866-899-9673. We'll connect with one of us happy to talk or listen or pray. Right now, I pray that you would know that our greatest prayer for you is that you would know Jesus Christ personally. If you've not made that decision, would you open your heart to our pastor and chief encourager, Dr. Don Wilton? Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?
I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin.
I confess my sin to you. And I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.
This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey. If God has moved in your life, won't you let us talk with you and pray with you? 866-899, word is our phone number.
That's 866-899-9673. And perhaps as you've been hearing, maybe even a while ago prayed with Dr. Wilton, it's a time for a new beginning, a fresh start with your walk with Jesus Christ. Let us put resources in your hands that will help you grow. Dr. Wilton has specific resources, whether you gave your life to Christ or rededicated your life moments ago, that he wants you to have absolutely free.
Again, call us and ask for your copies at 866-899, word, that's 866-899-9673. We'd also love to encourage you every day, if you haven't signed up for the free email from Dr. Wilton, on our website at www.tewonline.org, that's www.tewonline.org, we are here to encourage you. And over the last 10 years plus, every single day, friends have given their lives to Christ for the first time, rededicated their lives, and a part of the fruit of that ministry is the fact that we have many people who are partnering with us, both prayerfully and financially. If you'd like to know what that's all about, it's called becoming an encourager. The month of July reminds us to be thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy as citizens of this great country. Romans 6, 18 reminds us that the death of Jesus on the cross has set us free from sin. It reads, you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. We want everyone to be set free from the bondage of sin. We want to proclaim the good news of Christ to all who will listen.
If you join us in proclaiming the good news that Jesus offers us freedom from our sin, we need your support. Become an encourager today. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 to request information on how you can help support the work of the Encouraging Word. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry.
Thank you for listening today. Again, we'd love to have you be a part of our ministry. If you want to discover more about who we are, www.tewonline.org, you'll see our accreditation with ECFA, a financial accountability team that keeps us honest and helps us stay fruitful in the ministry.
And that's why we would invite you to sow into this fertile soil of ministry. www.tewonline.org is the website. Let's connect today or give us a call. 866-899-WORD is the number. That's 866-899-9673. The Encouraging Word
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