Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world.
So that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. But I believe as a church, Kerwin, you have proved to me over and over again that you can take that, that you can take the meat of the word. You agree with that? Say amen.
And, you know, I think that it's good that I don't always have to tell all kinds of stories and all these different things. I just, I want to get to this pulpit and I want to give the word of God. And I want you to be able to have something that you can take and use in your life.
So that's what we're going to do today. I want to. I ask you if you would to help me pray. I um. I'm going to be heading to Jacksonville, Florida.
And um I have um Oh, I don't even know how many years ago now, 20-something years ago, the first wedding that I ever did, the first wedding I ever participated in. Was in Jacksonville, Florida. I drove down there. I'd just been the youth pastor here, not very long at all. Uh so this would have been you know Uh Well, I guess 94.
maybe beginning of 95. And I have a dear friend that he and I grew up as kids. I think we first met when we were six years old. I think he's about a year older than me. And his name's Michael Cooper.
His mom and dad were good friends of my mom and dad. They live in Miami. Went to a church down there that dad preached at a lot.
So Michael and I grew up, just saw each other numerous times over the years. Our families were friends. I'll never forget one time I was at his house when I was a kid and his sister I wanted to say his sister was Debbie. I think that was his sister's name. And it was back in the time where you got handheld video games.
This was the new thing, and I had gotten one for Christmas. We were there seeing my grandparents in Miami, and so I was at the Cooper House. And my mom and dad, everybody was there, and I was on the couch playing the game. And his brat sister, Debbie, decided that she wanted to come in and play my game. I mean, his sister, Debbie, I meant to say it that way.
And so I was playing that game and she just kind of came in, tried to take it from me. And I was sitting there on the couch young enough where my feet weren't necessarily on the floor. And she came and got it. And I just, she took that thing and I just rear back and I, boom, I just kicked her. And I didn't see for about five days.
My dad saw me do that. And that is... That is the last time that I ever laid a foot, a hand, or anything. on a female. I have been ingrained.
that you do not touch a female. You don't hit them. You don't. Kick them, you don't, I don't care what they do. They will test you, but I don't care what they do.
And so at the Cooper House, I learned that valuable lesson years ago. But Michael married a beautiful young lady named Pam, and I had the privilege to be part of their wedding just because we were friends. And um Michael had three boys, I have three boys, and uh they're all a little bit older than my boys, but we kind of have similar lives and Pam has been dying with cancer. And she has been through it once and been through treatments, got a reprieve for a while. But it's gotten very, very bad.
And I just wanted to read, I have knee surgery coming up at the beginning of February, and I need to go down while I can. And this is a time of year where we don't have a lot of meetings. We don't have, I got a couple days that I can do that. But I wanted you to know how to pray. And um He said that Pam spent a week in the hospital over New Year's.
Scans showed that she had a large 15-centimeter abscess of inflected fluid in her abdomen. Which embedded her blood in the walls of her abdomen. It also impacted all of her other levels. She underwent blood transfusions, potassium drips, continued antibiotics. I'm really ringing bad up here.
The reverb is horrible, so I don't know. They also put in an additional drain into her belly. Um to try to drain the abscess. The center home on the fifth. I'm having to administer daily antibiotics intravenously and orally, along with managing and draining her two drains.
They will continue this regimen until February the 10th, if her body can handle, at which time They'll do another scan to see if abscess has reduced. The chemo she did have did not really reduce the cancer, so it continues to grow during this time. Chemo may not be an option going forward. Her faith and spirit is still strong. as we take one day at a time.
And thank God for every moment we have. Trusting and asking. for an understanding of his purpose in this. And thank your church for praying.
So I want you to pray for Pam Cooper and I just um You get to my age. things from years ago mean more to you. And I want to see my lifelong friend. And I want to pray over his wife. And my heart's heavy for them.
So, as we pray for our message today, I want to ask you to help me. to pray for this family. and to pray for our time together today as we Even in the midst of something like this. We somehow have to learn as God's children. to be strong.
in the Lord. How can you be strong? When you're laying on a bed with cancer. How can you be strong? In the Lord.
When you're sitting watching your wife. Deal with this. How can you be strong? in the Lord when some of you have been through what you've been through.
Well, dear friend, may I say this? It's easy to be strong when things are great. But our challenge to the church this year. is to be strong in the Lord. whatever circumstance you're in.
Let's pray. Lord, I love you and I thank you for all that you've done. I pray you would touch Pam's body right now. Bless Michael, bless her boys. A lot of things in life we don't understand.
I've had to watch my mom die with cancer. Lord, I pray you touch them. Help us as a church to realize that Even when we are at our weakest. That's when your strength is the strongest. Lord, you didn't just tell us to be strong.
You told us. How to be strong. I pray you would bless your word today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
I want you to pray for Amber Davis this morning. She had her. surgery on Friday. And they're trying to recover and different things, and sent me a picture of a. funnel Um colander type thing, which I'm familiar with those 'cause when I had kidney stones of all the stones that they got out and there's just tons of them sitting in there that I just, my heart goes out to Amber, so please pray for them.
And the Huffmans too, brother Miss Karen's A dad, brother Crumpler, who lives with them, fell last night, ended up in the emergency room. They had to get stitches, tested positive for COVID. And so the whole family is quarantining today, dealing with sickness and with his hit on the head and things. Had to get stitches.
So if you would. Pray for them. Beginning of our series and our our theme for the year is Be Strong. Be strong. And more specifically, to be strong in the Lord.
Ephesians chapter 6. And before we kind of dig into our verses, I want to give you a little bit of context and a little bit of history. As we jump into it, I want to first give you, as we lay out this passage, you have to kind of, you really have to go all the way back to chapter one, which I'm not going to do, but at the least, chapter five. And what we see first is a clear calling. Clear calling.
Now, notice as you, and I have these verses up. If you want to try to follow, because it's just little pieces, I want you to see that in chapter 5, verse 1, it says, Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. This is what we're encouraged to do: that we are to be followers of God. Notice in verse 2, I can't even see with my tears everywhere here. And walk in love, verse 2, as Christ also hath loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.
Notice verse 3 of chapter 5, but fornication, all uncleanliness, covetousness, let it not be once named among you. Notice verse 6: Let no man deceive you with vain words. Verse 8: Walk as children of light, not of darkness, but of light. I've never seen a day where more of God's children are walking in darkness instead of light. Notice if you would here in verse 11, have no fellowship with The unfruitful works of darkness.
Notice in verse 15, see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools. Don't be fools out there. Be wise. God's given us that ability. Notice verse 16, redeeming the time because the days are evil.
Verse 17: Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. You and I need to be able to determine and decipher and have discernment on what God's will is in our life. Verse 18: and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. These are all commands, these are all things that we are encouraged. You need to be doing this.
You need to do this. Don't be fools. Be wise. Walk circumspectly. Walk as children of light.
Walk in love. Follow. Be followers of God. Notice, if you would, verse 20, giving thanks always for all things unto God.
Now that's hard. Giving thanks always. For all things. To God. Notice what he says in verse 21: submitting yourselves one to another.
That is not easy. But he begins this interpersonal relationship. Notice verse 22: Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as unto the Lord. Verse 23: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. Verse 6, verse 1: Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Verse 5, servants be obedient. Do you understand? All the way down through verse 5, the beginning of verse 6, he gives command after command after command. This is what you need to do. This is how you are a follower of Christ.
This is how we live. This is how we are to conduct ourselves. All the way down to what wives should do, what husbands should do, what children should do, what servants should do, how we are to submit to each other. He goes through all these things. It's a clear calling.
This is what it is to be a Christian. Not one time did he say it was going to be easy. But he wouldn't tell us to do something. If he didn't give us what we need to do it.
So, not only do we have a clear calling, but notice secondly, as we get down to verse 10 and chapter 6, we have a clear command. This is what he says. Finally. My brethren. Be strong.
Now we're just going to start with that, a clear command. Finally, my brethren. Be strong. Based on everything that I've told you to do. It comes all the way down to this.
Finally, my brethren, be strong. Notice first the importance. He says Finally. Yeah. That means this.
This is the key. to everything. Without this, It cannot be done. I wrote it out this way. See what you think about this, those of you that make fun of me for alliterating.
The instructions are impossible without the implementation of this ingredient. Finally, My brethren. I've given you all this instruction. But what I'm getting ready to tell you is the only way it will ever be done. the importance.
Notice secondly the implication. He says, Finally, my brethren. Be strong. Why would he say that you are going to have to be strong.
Now listen to me. This implies something. There is an implication here. For him to tell me to do all this. I am going to have to be strong.
It implies first that there will be resistance. It implies that you're going to have to be strong to do this because someone is going to be fighting. against you. Can I have an amen right there? If you're going to do anything that God instructs you to do, Satan's going to fight every last part of it.
You are going to have to be strong. If you are anything else but strong, it won't be done. It implies not just resistance, it implies a challenge. Listen, if he did say, hey, listen, just take it easy. That means this probably won't be a challenge, but he says, be strong.
Third, it implies difficulty. It means this is going to be difficult. Yes, God told us all the things and how to live and what to do, but you're going to need strength. You're going to have to be strong. This implies that there's going to be resistance.
There's going to be a challenge. There's going to be difficulty. Notice this implies a battle. It means you're going to have to fight. You're going to have to be strong.
You can't fight if you're not strong. You're going to lose if you're not strong. This is going to take Strength. By the way, those of you that have been saved a number of years, you understand. Those of you that might have recently been saved, listen, you're going to find out this is not easy.
The Christian life is not a cruise ship, it's a rowboat. It's difficult. It's a challenge. It's a battle. May I say this?
This battle is going to require strength. It's going to require you to be strong. the importance, the implication, but notice thirdly, the implementation. Be strong. Listen.
Understand what I say when I say this. The problem is, there are so many other options. There are so many other options. than being strong. We can be weak.
We can be apathetic. We can be gullible. We can be undiscerning. We can be confused. We can be timid.
We can be look at me intimidated You see, the problem is there are so many other options, and so many of God's children are taking all the other options right now. Instead of what God said, this is what's going to have to happen. If you're going to implement all these instructions, you're going to have to be strong. May I say today, there's a lot of other options out there, but God says the only option for the Christian to live the Christian life is to be strong. We have a clear command.
Third. We have a clear Definition. All right, God said to be strong, okay? How does that happen?
Well, notice God's definition. of strength. I love this. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. And in the power of his might.
This is what strength is. Notice first, strength must be enabled by the Lord. Be strong in the Lord. It must be enabled. It only comes from the Lord.
Notice secondly, strength must be empowered. By the Lord. And in the power of his might. What's the difference here? I'm going to show you.
It means that for me to have strength, it's got to be enabled by God and it has to be empowered by God.
So what does that mean? Strong in the Lord is the inward. strong in the power of his might. is the outward. Say, preacher, what does it mean?
Listen to me. I am only strong because of his power. Are you with me? Say amen. His power makes me able.
I am strong in him because I know that strength and might and power are only available through him. This means I have no real strength on my own. Look at me. My Please get this. My natural courage is nothing but cowardice.
My natural strength is nothing but weakness. In fact, God tells us, in our weakness, is when his strength is made perfect. Please get this. The N-word is, I'm strong in the Lord. That's the N word.
And the power of his might means because. I'm strong in Christ.
Now I can be strong through Christ. His power is what comes on the outside.
So he must enable me on the inside and empower me on the outside. Everybody with me so far, say amen. Look at this verse. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves.
to think anything as of ourselves. But our sufficiency is of God. who also hath made us age. able ministers of the New Testament. Let me give it to you simply.
These are the only ingredients for real strength. Are you ready? Number one, It's in the Lord. Number two, it's of the Lord. Number three, it's through the Lord.
Number four, it's by the Lord. Number five, there's nothing of myself. That's the only ingredients. You want real strength in the Lord, of the Lord, by the Lord, through the Lord, and nothing of you. That's real strength.
If you're going to do all this stuff, if you're going to follow all these instructions, you're going to have to be strong. But if you're going to be strong, it has to be enabled through the Lord. It has to be empowered by the Lord. He has to do the work on the inside. He has to give you strength on the inside so that he can show his strength on the outside.
Number four. Let me give you this phrase. I think I wrote this down. I want you to see this. I don't write statements a lot.
But I believe it's on here. Brother John was able to put it on. Every day that you and I, every day that we go out and live, breathe, make decisions, work, et cetera. And we do so without seeking his word. seeking his face, Seeking his wisdom, seeking his guidance.
We are saying we have enough strength to do this without him. This is the application. of the information. If you're going to be strong in the Lord, how can you be strong in the Lord when you don't seek in His word, you don't seek His face, you don't seek His guidance, you don't seek His wisdom, you don't ask anything of Him, you don't talk with Him, you don't fellowship with Him, we don't read His Word, we don't submit to Him. How in the world can we say that He's my strength when we're never with Him?
So now from before we have clear instructions. We're almost done. I know you know I'm lying, but I'd just like to say that it gives you hope, okay. Verse 11. Put on.
The whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Clear instruction. This is the definition of what strength is: it's in the Lord, it's by the Lord. It's strength in the Lord and in the power of His might.
So, what do we do? Here are the instructions. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Now, I'm not going to give you a whole series of messages on the armor of God. I've done that a couple of times over the years.
Now, we might reference them as time goes on. Boom. I'm not going to go through that whole thing. But I want you to notice the instructions here. Very, very clear.
Number one. Prepare for the battle. Prepare for the battle. Okay, you're gonna have to be strong. Battle's coming.
That implied that there's gonna be a battle. Be strong in the Lord. So prepare. What does it mean to prepare? Notice how you prepare first is God's armor.
What does he say? Put on the whole armor of God. It's called the armor of God because he prepared it. And he's made it available. We have no armor of our own.
It's not like he says, here's the armor of God, here's a list of your armor.
So I suggest you wear his armor. Look, look at me. Here's God's armor. And we have none.
So, if we don't put on the armor of God, we have no armor, we have no defense, we have no weapons, we have no anything. But just because God has made his armor available, just because he's put it there, we still have to put it on. What does the Bible say? Put on the armor of God.
So that means first, it means God's armor. Second, Satan's schemes. If I'm going to prepare for the battle, I've got to put on the armor of God, God's armor. Notice secondly Satan's schemes that ye may be able to stand against the Wiles, that word wiles. means schemes.
of Satan. Paul calls The devil's work against us. Schemes. Wiles. It indicates that there is a coordinated plan of attack that Satan has.
At us. And if we have not put on the armor of God, if our strength is not in the Lord, if our strength is not in the power of his might, we have left ourselves wide open.
So, part of being strong is to admit you're not strong. and to realize we need the armor of God. of God.
Now. Prepare for the battle. Number two, recognize the enemy. He makes it very clear. Look at verse 12.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
So prepare for the battle, God's armor, Satan's schemes. Second, when you go to war, You got to know who the enemy is. Baptists are horrible at this. We fight everybody except the real enemy. We fight each other.
We even fight God. But the real enemy here, what does he say? He says, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
Now, let me say this first. Wrestling is implies hand-to-hand, face-to-face contact. What does he say? We wrestle. Not against flesh and blood, but we wrestle against principalities, against power.
What does that mean as a Christian? Wrestling is something that cannot be done from a distance. Wrestling is something, listen, you can't stand over there in that corner, and I stand over here and us wrestle each other. That's just going to look odd. Wrestling has to be done in close.
What does it mean? You and I need the armor of God. We need His strength. We need His might. Why?
Because we are in hand-to-hand, face-to-face combat with the power of Satan every day. Yes. up close, personal, hand-to-hand combat.
Now Paul here identifies our enemies. These are your enemies. You need to recognize your enemies. Notice first, he says principalities. This seems to indicate a top level of evil spiritual forces.
Then he says powers. This refers to the general forces of evil attacking believers. Then he says, rulers of the darkness. This seems to refer to the worldwide nature of this spiritual battle. And then he says, this spiritual wickedness in high places.
This emphasizes a battle that is beyond this world, but it has gained position in this world. Look at me. Don't read this verse for we wrestle against Principalities, powers. Rulers of darkness.
Well, we're talking about the President of the United States. What did he just say? We wrestle not against Flesh and blood.
So don't take what he just said and get confused about what he says next. What we're saying is this: Satan's power has infiltrated politics, leadership. All kinds of areas. It's infiltrated our culture, it's infiltrated our news, it's infiltrated, obviously, our media, all networking, all TV, radio, however you want to say it. But we don't wrestle against those people.
The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire for you to know him personally. Would you take a moment to hear this today? Every man is born with a sin nature. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
No matter how hard we try, we're not good enough to obtain God's glory. or to get to heaven. Because of that, sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life.
through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God. But it's only through God's gift salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept him as our Saviour. Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, but God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
All you have to do is receive Christ. by faith as your Saviour. Romans ten nine says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way.
and calling upon his name. Bible says whosoever that's any one can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this. Would you accept Christ as your Savior?
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Kerwin Baptist Church. Dot com. or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless you.
Mm-hmm.
