In the sermon 'Strength in the Face of Mighty Enemies' by Jason Dohm, the core message revolves around Ephesians 6:10-20, emphasizing the necessity for believers to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. The sermon elaborates on the inevitability of spiritual warfare, highlighting that Christians are in a battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil. It underscores the importance of putting on the full armor of God to withstand the schemes of the devil. The armor includes truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. The sermon stresses that strength is derived from God, and believers are to be vigilant, prayerful, and reliant on God's power rather than their own. It calls for an awareness of spiritual realities and the organized, relentless nature of spiritual enemies, urging believers to be prepared for both everyday evils and heightened spiritual battles. The speaker encourages Christians to draw from the inexhaustible reservoir of God's strength and highlights the victory of Christ over spiritual forces through the cross.

Our sermon text is going to be found in Ephesians 6, 10 through 20. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end, with all perseverance and supplication for all the Saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Father what amazing truths, what amazing realities that are ours for the taking.

Oh God may we with greater passion walk in these realities. May this cause such worship, such longing for more of you in our lives. God thank you for the way you defend your people. Such imagery of a fortress, a strong tower. God, but as James said, let us not get lost in worshiping the imagery.

You are the one. It's Jesus, not magic armor, not mountains or special fortresses. It's Jesus, always Jesus. May you be the center of our attention today. May grow our affection for being with you, for walking with you.

Father, empower Jason, with you. Father, empower Jason, God, to be other than himself, or to preach boldly, persuasively, so that we all leave change completely different. Thank you Jesus. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is a strength in the face of of mighty enemies.

If you have mighty enemies you want to know that there's strength available to you. And even strength that is mightier than your mighty enemies, and that's really what the Apostle Paul is communicating to us in the scope of our text today. It's Ephesians 6 verses 10 through 13. The text begins, finally, my brethren, which signals a transition into the last portion of the letter. So we're getting right.

This is really the last topic undertaken in a letter with many topics. And it is a section which deals with the inevitability of facing off with mighty enemies. So the Apostle Paul wants you to know this, it is inevitable that believers will face off with mighty enemies. And if that's true, it's better to know it than not to know it, and go through life not understanding that you will be nose to nose with mighty enemies. Listen to 2 Timothy 3 verse 12.

2 Timothy 3 verse 12, Paul says, Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That's a familiar verse and we're always thinking about the human persecutors, at least when I hear that verse, that's what I'm thinking about. Human persecutors. Well, Paul speaks of the spiritual forces behind human persecutors. And There is warfare on the human level, but it's really not on the human level.

There are spiritual forces of wickedness which are behind all of that. So Paul brings us into that realm in our text today and next week and the week after that. You've heard me say this phrase many times, forewarned is forearmed. To note in advance is to actually have an opportunity to be ready, to be armed for what is coming. So forewarned is forearmed.

Well, Paul goes one better than that, and he hands the believer armaments. So he does better than just telling you what's coming is bad. He actually hands you armaments to arm you for the battles that are coming. So as we come to our text, let's ask for the Lord's help. God, I am acutely aware as I stand here praying to you that I'm an American Christian with all that means.

Some of what that means is that I have a tendency to be sleepy and to enjoy privileges that are virtually unknown in church history, to in some ways have the luxury of carelessness because of all the blessings that our nation has enjoyed for such a long time. And as we begin to see some of those evaporate, It is bringing us face to face with facts that are so much better known in other parts of the world and in other times in history that we really are in a war. We really are facing mighty foes. So God, this is good timing for us. Thank you for bringing us to Ephesians 6, 10-13.

Use it. Use it to make us ready. Let us be forewarned and forearmed with these mighty weapons that are available to your people. Help us not to be sleepier, careless. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Well, we'll divide the text into three parts. So let's begin with verses 10 and 11. Hopefully your Bibles are open to Ephesians chapter 6. Follow along as I reread verses 10 and 11. Paul writes, finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. In these verses we have the instruction and command. It really is both instruction and command. Paul says, be strong in the Lord. So if you're taking notes by filling in blanks on the handout, strong fills in the blank.

Be strong in the Lord. Where are we in the flow of Ephesians? Well, I'm just going to take us back and say all the things I've said many times, which is chapters one through three is doctrine, doctrinal chapters, the teaching of truths revealed from heaven, but especially about the riches of grace, which are the present possession of the believer. Paul is piling up riches to convince all believers that they're rich people. Then there's this big shift that happens for the next three chapters.

In chapters four through six, they're very practical. They're about practice. Paul tells us exactly what to do with all the truths that he taught us in chapters 1-3. What the believer ought to do with the pile of riches that he heaped up in chapters 1-3. The very first verse of that section, chapter 4 verse 1, Paul tells us to walk worthy of the calling.

In other words, you have a calling of riches. Now build a life that is worthy of that. Walk worthy of the calling to riches? And then in those chapters, it unfolds. There are four more walks.

So the walk is your pattern of life, the things that characterize your life. Not a snapshot, not one point in time, but a thousand points in time. What are the patterns and the normal practices of your life? Paul tells us what the normal patterns of life for a Christian ought to look like. Now, if you're in Christ and you have these riches, if you've been convinced by chapters 1 through 3, and you begin to walk by faith, growing in grace, and nurturing these patterns of life that Paul is calling for, walk in this way, these ways, believer.

There is something that you can absolutely expect, you can Absolutely expect to be in the crosshairs of the enemy. You have a target on your back. There are mighty forces that specifically target you as the believer and want to cause you to fall and to bring you down. Paul's final word to his brethren, this last topic of the whole letter, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Harold Hohner, the Greek scholar who I've been following every week and benefiting from because he really helps me to understand the nuance of the original language that this was written in, the Greek, talks about the verb tense here.

And he translates it, instead of be strong in the Lord, he translates it be strengthened in the Lord. And then he says this in his commentary, the passive imperative, he's talking about verb tense, the passive imperative indicates that the believer receives the action of being strengthened. So the believer in this part of the text is not the doer, the believer is the receiver. The believer is not acting but being acted upon. The passive imperative indicates that the believer receives the action of being strengthened And the present tense argues for a customary or habitual aspect of that power or might in the believer.

So He says, based on the nuances of the Greek and the verb tense here, there are two things that we should understand. One is that this is not us acting, this is us being acted upon. We are being strengthened. It's habitual. It's not a one-time thing, but we are strengthened on an ongoing basis.

We must be strengthened on an ongoing basis. This fits what comes right behind it. Be strong or be strengthened, either way is really fine translationally, but it fits with what comes right on the heels of it. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Not be strong in your own might, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Not be strong in your own might, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. The Lord, this is Jesus. The Lord Jesus has this might. He is almighty. He is omnipotent, omnipotent, all-powerful.

The Lord's people draw from that. This is what Paul is pointing us to, is this inexhaustible reservoir of strength to draw from for spiritual war. So Believer, you must know that you're going to be nose to nose with spiritual forces of wickedness. Their desire is that they're filled with hatred. Their desire is only harm and destruction, and they are mighty.

But also know this, there is an inexhaustible reservoir of strength in the Lord who is omnipotent. He is omnipotent. He is all powerful And so there is an ocean without bottom and without shores to draw strength from in the war. This isn't new to Paul's teaching, not even in this letter. I'll flip back to Ephesians chapter 1.

Let's just review a couple of the things that Paul has already said about God and His might, and His might working in the life of the believer. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 19 and the first part of 20. Ephesians 1, 19 and the first part of 20. Ephesians 1, 19 and the first part of 20. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe?

According to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead." So in chapter 1, Paul was talking about the power of God at work in the life of the believer, and it is grave emptying power. So the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in the life of the believer. Just look at the words again. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power? The exceeding greatness.

The ocean without bottom or shores. The inexhaustible reservoir of power that the Lord's people are called to draw upon. Be strong in the Lord. Be strengthened in the Lord. May the Lord act upon you to give you this grave emptying power for the war.

Now, that was talking about God the Father, but it's true of each member of the Trinity. We don't think of the Trinity as three separate people who work well together. That's not the Trinity. That's not the doctrine of God. The doctrine of God is one God in three subsistences.

Again, the Reformers were reluctant to call them persons, lest you think they were three people, three individual people who worked well together. No. The Father has all power and the Son is one with the Father and has all power and the Spirit is one with the Father and the Son and has all power. Look at chapter 3, chapter 3 verses 14 through 16. This is just more on Paul and Ephesians about the power of God working in the life of the believer.

Ephesians 3 verses 14-16. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Now listen to this, verse 16, that He would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man." So Paul has been praying that these Ephesian believers would be strengthened with might. That they would be given this power of God through the Spirit in the inner man. So we have the Spirit here, so we've pretty much touched on all the Trinity.

We've seen Father, Son, and Holy Spirit here connected with the power of an Almighty God. Now look at just look at verse 20 there chapter 3 verse 20. Now to him who was able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. So he just reverts, repeats. There is this mighty power working in us that is able to do All that we think to ask are even the things that we imagine.

There is this expectation shattering power working in the life of the believer. So now we're in chapter 6 and it's just more of the same. And yes, it's wonderful. It is wonderful. This is for us.

This is to us and for us. It isn't us acting to be strong, Be stronger. It is God acting on us to bring this expectation, shattering, grave, emptying power to bear, because we are nose to nose with mighty enemies that hate us and would destroy us. Be strong. What it isn't, self-strength, self-effort.

What it is, drawing from the Almighty power of the Lord. It is there for us to draw upon. So Paul has given us the what? Be strong in the Lord. Now he gives us the how and the why.

How? By putting on the armor of God. This is how you appropriate strength from the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Okay, how do I draw upon those inexhaustible resources of strength and might?

We put on the whole armor of God. Why? So you can stand against the enemy. Being strong in the Lord isn't self-effort, but it isn't entirely passive either. Paul gives us something for the believer to proactively do, put on the whole armor of God.

So yes, we are being acted upon and it is not our strength. Thank heavens. Thank heavens. Would you last a day against these enemies in your own strength? The answer is No, but it's not your own strength that is being strong or being strengthened in the Lord according to the power of his might.

But does that mean there's nothing for us to do? No, that's not what Paul says at all. He says put on the whole armor of God. This is appropriating this power that is available to us. It is one Greek word translated whole armor.

Two words in our translation, whole armor, but just one Greek word or full armor in other good translations. The Greek word since it's one word that we split into two, whole armor, it is pointing to a unified totality. One unit. The whole armor is one unit of equipment for the warrior. The whole set of all that is needed for the war.

Listen to what Matthew Poole says. Matthew Poole was the favorite English commentator of my favorite English commentator, meaning he's J.C. Ryle's favorite, so I read him. Matthew Poole says this, get yourselves furnished with every grace that none be wanting in you, no part naked and exposed to your enemy. So you see what we have here, we have a unified totality, one unit of equipment for the warrior of all that you need for the whole war.

It goes together, It works together. The missing of one piece of it exposes you. So Matthew Poole rightly looks at this and says, get yourself furnished with every grace. Don't have a missing piece. It is intended to be a unified totality, all together, working together.

And a missing piece means exposure and vulnerability. So this is not an a la carte menu. I'll have a little of this and I'll have a little of this. It is designed to go together and to work together and you need it all and when you don't have it all, you're exposed and vulnerable. So what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10 verses 3 and 4.

2 Corinthians 10 verses 3 and 4. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty God for pulling down strongholds. A unified totality, the whole armor of God designed to be together, to work together, to eliminate vulnerabilities and exposure. Not carnal, spiritual, to bring down strongholds, not physical strongholds, spiritual strongholds.

Spiritual weapons for a spiritual war. This unified totality is needed so that a believer may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, says Paul. Says Paul. The Greek word translated wiles is literally cunning arts. Deceit.

Craft. Trickery. Spiritual war is craft to the devil. He studies it. He schemes for it.

He has cunning arts for it. He uses deceit and deception. He uses trickery. The devil is not only strong, He is strong, 1 Peter 5, 8. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

He is as strong as a lion. But he hunts at night, figuratively speaking. He hunts at night, figuratively speaking. He hunts sleeping prey. He hunts vulnerable prey.

He sets traps to ambush his prey. And he's been studying the art of it for 6, 000 years of human history. Brethren, awaken! Awaken! You have an enemy that's been studying as an art for 6, 000 years of human history.

He's brought many down who were stronger than me and you. He's laid many low who were stronger than me or you, because he hunts at night and he found them sleeping. He sets traps to ambush his prey. He is both strong and cunning. Verse 18, two weeks from now, Paul calls for watchfulness.

This all goes together. Now verse 12. So we're back to our text, Ephesians 6, moving on to the next verse, verse 12. Follow along as I reread it. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In this verse, Paul speaks of hand-to-hand combat with wicked, spiritual enemies. If you're filling in blanks on the handout, hand and hand fills in the blanks. Hand-to-hand combat with wicked, spiritual enemies. I take the phrase hand to hand from the MacArthur Study Bible, from a note there, but it fits well. In this verse, Paul speaks of believers, we, and our enemies.

And he calls this combat wrestling. We do not wrestle. It's a very literal translation, very literal. It's wrestling, hand to hand grappling, person to person grappling. So think of close personal combat.

That's what Paul is communicating here. Close personal combat. Not an impersonal indiscriminate launching of weaponry by the enemy at an unknown target. No, you the believer are the target and its close personal combat. A variety of enemies are named.

Verse 11, it's the devil. Then here in verse 12, it's principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and finally spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, What are we to make of the list? What do you do with the list? The devil and these four other categories. Well, let me make two observations.

First, they are external, personal, spiritual enemies. They're external enemies. We have internal enemies because our natures were warped at the fall, so we have lusts that are inclined away from the things that God loves and towards the things that he hates. This is an external enemy. It is a personal enemy.

Not some sort of foggy existence of evil, but beings, creatures, personal, and they're spiritual. You'll not see them, but they're there. They are external, personal, spiritual enemies. Paul says, not flesh and blood. Not human enemies, spiritual enemies.

So immediately we have to acknowledge that we might have mislabeled our enemies. My enemy is him. My enemy is her. My enemy is this group. My enemy is that group.

Here's a note in the Nelson Study Bible. Our real battle is not with human cultists, false religionists, atheists, agnostics, and pseudo-Christians, But with the demonic beings working through them of which even the flesh and blood opponents themselves are sometimes unaware. That's helpful and important. Sometimes they're completely unaware that they're an instrument in the hands of these wicked spiritual forces. If you told them, they wouldn't believe you.

And it doesn't make it any less true. But you've mislabeled. You thought it was the cultists. It's not the cultists. You thought it was the atheists, the humanists.

And it wasn't. It was the spiritual forces of wickedness that influenced them, used them in spiritual war against the Lord's people. Listen to 2 Timothy 2, Listen to 2 Timothy 2 verses 24 through 26. 2 Timothy 2, 24 through 26. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all.

Able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will. This is just more insight from Paul on how all this works out. In this scope of verses, you have the flesh and blood and the real enemy. He does acknowledge that there's flesh and blood involvement.

Those who are in opposition, real people, real opposition, He's not denying any of that. He's just saying they've been taken captive by the devil to do his will. And so how should you be towards these people, gentle, patient? Because they're not the real enemy. It is these spiritual forces of wickedness that are the real enemy.

So that's the first thing. They're external, personal, spiritual enemies. Secondly, these enemies are structured and organized to win. Read it. Read it again.

Read it from our text. I don't know how to unpack the distinctions between principalities and powers and rulers and the spiritual forces of wickedness. You have these four different categories. I don't know how to define any of them really, but I know that the devil is at their head, and I know that it reads like military structure and Greeds like military structure and organizing to win. And winning means believers lose in devastating ways.

It means devastation and destruction in our lives. That they are not flesh and blood enemies, so human strength is of no value in standing against them. They're not human enemies, so human strength won't help. Human strength's of no value in standing against them. In fact, I want to argue that in some ways, human strength is a disadvantage.

Human strength can cause the believer to relax whenever it seems that our natural strength is sufficient for the flesh and blood threats we can anticipate. In other words, I do a threat assessment. I do a threat assessment, but I've mislabeled my enemies. So I'm thinking about him and her and this group and that group. And so I size it up and with the ones that I can anticipate, I say, I'm equal to that.

I can match that. And it makes us careless and it makes us sleepy. Meanwhile, the real threats are mightier than you ever knew. It's not him or her or this group or that group. It is the spiritual forces of wickedness They're mightier than you ever knew and you're not up to that They are unseen And they are structured and organized to win.

And they will never stop until Jesus comes back. They're never not at work. They're never not planning. They're never not working. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Remember Nehemiah, those of you who are here, we worked through Nehemiah. In Nehemiah chapter 4, Nehemiah and his servants slept fully clothed. The enemies were just too present to put on night attire and not be ready even to sleep. The people worked with one hand and carried a weapon in the other. This is the picture.

The leaders sleeping in their clothes, and the people working with one hand, and carrying their weapon in another, always ready. Because they know that their enemies are structured and organized to win and they know what winning means for them. It means destruction and devastation in their lives and in their families and in their churches and in their nation. Verse 13. Verse 13.

Verse 13. Verse 13. Ephesians 6, 13. Therefore, Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. In this verse, Paul gives us the purpose of the whole armor of God, the ability to withstand and stand.

So that fills in the two blanks if that's how you're taking those, withstand and stand. The purpose of the whole armor of God is the ability to withstand and stand. The verse starts with the word therefore because of verse 12, because you have these categories of spiritual forces aligned against you, because of that Paul repeats the instruction and command to take up the whole armor of God. It was put on in verse 11, now it's take up the whole armor of God. He gives us the purpose that you, the believer, may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand.

This Greek word translated withstand means to set oneself against. To withstand, to resist, to oppose. The thought is the onslaught of the enemy and a soldier ready to absorb and withstand and oppose and resist the onslaught. It's war. It is essentially what James says in James 4 verse 7.

James chapter 4 verse 7. Therefore submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist him. Withstand. Submit to God.

Be strong in the Lord. I think these fit very nicely together. Be strong in the Lord. Be strengthened in the power of his might. Submit to him.

Look to him. Draw strength from him. And resist the devil and he will flee from you. You will be able to withstand. Now What does it mean to withstand, quote, in the evil day?

Harold Honer has what I think is a helpful comment. He says, the believer should be aware that they must be prepared not only for everyday evils, but for the times of heightened and unexpected spiritual battles." Heightened, like an increase of intensity in the spiritual warfare. And unexpected spiritual battles. A lion hunting at night. And then, very helpfully, he points us to Luke chapter 4, 13.

This is right after Jesus' temptation. This is right at the end of that section of scripture. Listen to Luke 413. Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time. Now that is withstanding in the evil day.

When is the evil day? It's probably not the same for me as it is for you. I'll have an evil day and you'll have one. Where the devil views it as an opportune time and there's an increase in the intensity and the attack on you because he's hunting at night and he thinks you're asleep in the evil day. So thankful with Jesus there was no opportune time.

There was no opportune time. But the devil, even with Jesus, the devil was looking for an opportune time. This is war is art to him. Now we come to the final phrase, and having done all to stand, listen to 2nd Timothy 4 verses 6 through 8. This is wonderful.

2nd Timothy 4 verses 6 through 8. Paul says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. So he's brought us to his finish line. He can see the finish line. Now verse 7.

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing." This is what it means to do all and stand. To withstand in the whole armor of God, to withstand the evil day and the intensity and the craftiness of the attacks and to stand to hold the ground and then to come to the finish line having done everything that you can in the strength of the Lord and to say, I've fought the good fight, I've finished the course.

Now a crown, Not just for Paul, but for all who loved his appearing. He did it! He withstood! And he did all and he was standing. He rejoiced to see the finish line.

Applications. There are three. I'm going to apply to the believer, then I'm going to apply to the unbeliever, then I'm going to come back and apply to the believer. Number one, to the believer. Unless you're very different from me, things are simultaneously much worse and much better than you've been aware.

I hope you're different than me. This is how I self-diagnosed my own state. Finding that things are simultaneously much worse and much better than I've been aware. I have very often mislabeled my enemies and our enemies, and thought that it was flesh and blood. And it's never been flesh and blood.

In doing so, I've underestimated the real enemies. Because I've often thought, I can match that, but can you match the spiritual forces of wickedness? No, you can't. But on the other hand, listen to what Paul says in Colossians 2, 15. Colossians chapter 2 verse 15.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, We're drawn on the same words here. Having disarmed principalities and powers. He, Jesus, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." He's talking about the work of the cross. He's talking about the work of the cross. He's made a public spectacle of these spiritual forces of wickedness that hate us and are dead set on bringing destruction and devastation.

But you know what? The outcome is determined. The outcome is 2, 000 years old. Jesus Christ through the cross has triumphed. Does that mean you'll never lose any battles?

Not in my experience. That means that Jesus has won the war. Number two, unbeliever. Unbeliever. Imagine if this is true.

Just for the sake of argument, for the application time. Imagine if this is true. Imagine if the devil has ranks under him, against mankind. Imagine how exposed you are. There's only one way to be strong against spiritual enemies.

It's to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. You have no claim on that. But you have enemies that hate you and will hate you until the last breath of your life because you bear the image of God. And they hate God. It is true.

You are that exposed. How can we beg you to flee to Christ? Number three. This one's really sobering. I usually try to end with a happy application, but such as it is.

Number three, to the believer. Listen to what Martin Lloyd John says. There is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents. Yes, and there is rejoicing in hell when any child of God falls or quits or fails to stand. The honor of the faith, the glory of the faith, is in our hands.

Stand, therefore. Lloyd-Jones is no Arminian. Lloyd-Jones can preach the doctrines of grace better than any of us. So he knows that that's only true in a qualified sense. That God really will have his way, that he does all his pleasure, that all his people ultimately will stand because the one who begins the good work in us will bring it to completion.

You don't have to tell that to Martin Lloyd-Jones. He's dead. He knew that better than you when he was alive. The point is we can't afford to live careless lives. Believers can't afford to live careless lives.

There is rejoicing in heaven when sinners repent. And there is rejoicing in hell when believers fall and quit and fail to stand. God help us, help us, help us to be so much more aware of realities that are unseen of realities that are unseen realities so they escape our notice. God, to whatever degree, I've been careless. And it has occurred to me so often this week as I've studied the text and the commentaries, and I've been very careless.

Have mercy. Thank you for having mercy in so many ways. Please forgive me for my carelessness and please keep these truths. Don't let it pass with the changing of texts. Please let us maintain an awareness of the war that's happening, of the mighty enemies that we face so that we'll just run to Christ for strength.

May it be so in Jesus' name, Amen.