Equipped To Stand - Session 2 - Joshua Gruber

Your life has a real fight in it, and one of the greatest dangers is misunderstanding what you’re actually up against. In this session, we explore Ephesians 6:11–12 and take Paul’s words seriously: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” This is not a suggestion, a spiritual accessory, or something reserved for especially difficult seasons. It is a daily call to preparation for a daily battle that every believer faces.

Together, we examine why partial armor leaves us vulnerable and why borrowed armor ultimately fails. God provides everything we need, but He calls each of us to put on the armor ourselves. No one can wear it on our behalf. A parent’s faith, a pastor’s conviction, or a friend’s spiritual maturity may encourage us, but they cannot sustain us when trials come. The session draws a connection to the story of David and Goliath, where David refuses Saul’s armor and steps onto the battlefield with confidence in the Lord. His victory reminds us that spiritual strength is not found in someone else’s experience but in personally trusting the God who fights for His people.

We also explore the foundational truth that reshapes the way we view conflict: we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. The struggles we face are often deeper than they appear. Behind visible challenges lies a spiritual battle that requires spiritual resources. Understanding this reality changes how we respond to opposition, temptation, discouragement, and fear. Instead of fighting the wrong enemy, we learn to stand firm in Christ and resist the schemes designed to gain a foothold in our lives.

Throughout this teaching, we’ll consider what it means to actively prepare for spiritual warfare, how to recognize the enemy’s tactics, and why standing firm in Christ is both our responsibility and our privilege. If you’ve grown weary of spiritual passivity, feel exposed in the face of temptation, or find yourself fighting the same battles repeatedly, this session offers a practical and biblical call to “armor up” and walk in the strength God has already provided.

Come discover how the whole armor of God equips ordinary believers to stand with confidence, persevere through opposition, and live with the assurance that the battle ultimately belongs to the Lord.

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Transcript

Recap Of Strength In The Lord

Joshua Gruber 0:12

For those of you that were here last week, which I recognize a lot of faces, so that's awesome. Evan opened us up last week and it was just absolutely phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. He opened us up in Ephesians, like Pastor just said Ephesians chapter six. Evan started with verse 10, talking about strength in the Lord. Give me a second as I get that pulled up here. Verse 10 says, Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. And uh I did ask Evan before I shared this, but I I gotta share it with you all. I work with Evan. I get the opportunity to work with him, so I get to see him a lot, which is awesome. Um Tuesday last week, he came to me. He's like, Man, I don't know if I can preach on strength. I just I feel so weak. And I'm like, dude, like you of all people. You of all people. Like, that's exactly why God has you speaking on this. Because you have to rely on his strength to get that message out. He's like, man, I'd much rather be listening to a message about the strength of the Lord than giving a message. And he just did an awesome job. I mean, Evan truly walks that out every single day. Who he is at work is the guy you see here. And I mean that. Um, so, anyways, thank you for last week. It was absolutely, absolutely phenomenal. It was very rich. And we're just gonna keep moving right along in Ephesians chapter six, verses 11 and 12.

A Painting That Shaped Faith

Joshua Gruber 1:46

Now, before we read that, I do want to give you a quick little story, personal story. This verse means a little bit more to me. Ephesians 6, 11 is kind of my life's verse, if you will. And so when I was a little boy, about six or seven years old, my grandmother, who has passed away now, she bought me a painting. And I was gonna bring it tonight, but it's kind of big, it's kind of heavy, so I decided against it. But I'm gonna do my best to explain it to you. Um, it's this painting, and it's this little boy, which this is really why she bought it. She thought the boy reminded her of me, which I think it's just because he had a bowl cut, and every kid, every boy in the 90s had a bowl cut. Why our parents did that to us, I have no idea. It's terrible. I'm just kidding. But seriously, bowl cuts are bad. So it's this picture of this boy, this little boy, he's on his knees and he's praying. He's got his hands clasped really tight, his eyes closed, and he's on his knees. And to his right is a sword and a shield. And behind him is a massive angel, beautiful, and he's placing a helmet on the boy's head as he's praying. And below it, on this plaque, is this verse, Ephesians 6, 11. So if you guys are there, we're gonna read that together.

Put On The Whole Armor

Joshua Gruber 3:13

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Verse 12 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. So, like I said, we're just gonna continue this series tonight, equipped to stand. And the title of this message in particular is A Christian's Call to Arms. A Christian's Call to Arms. We're gonna walk through this verse together and just kind of pick it apart. Put on the whole armor of God. So, right off the bat, right at the beginning of these verses, it started last week with be strong. This week we're talking, or Paul is writing, put on. If you notice, these these are commands, these aren't suggestions. Paul is talking to believers here, right? He's writing to the believers in Ephesus. And he is this this isn't if you feel like it, this isn't if you have time for it. This is put on, be strong. Okay, so first and foremost, he is commanding. He's commanding, he's telling us this is an order. Put it on, and not just part of the armor, not just a couple pieces, but the whole armor, right? It's very crucial that we understand it's the entire armor, it's the whole armor. Could you imagine a soldier going into battle with just a few pieces of armor, just a couple pieces? I mean, that could be tragic, right? You're immediately vulnerable, you're open to getting yourself hurt, yourself killed, and your brothers and sisters around you. And it's the same for us Christians. If we don't put on the whole armor, we're vulnerable. We're vulnerable. Because there is an enemy. There is an enemy, he's real, and he's gunning for you. He is, he's coming for us, and if we're not equipped, if we're not ready, if we're not wearing the whole armor, see the Bible says the devil roars around, roams around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. He's just looking for someone, he's waiting, he's watching. He's crafty, he's crafty. And he's roaring, I keep saying that. He's roaming around like a roaring lion, just waiting, just waiting for just a slip-up. So that's why it's so important that we put on the entire armor. It's not enough to just have a piece or a couple pieces, but the entire armor of God.

Why Partial Armor Fails

Joshua Gruber 6:37

Like I was saying, I mean, bringing it into our world, reality, a police officer would never dream of going out into the field without putting on his uniform first thing. When he wakes up first thing in the morning, those pants, that belt with his weapon, his shoes, his boots, his bulletproof vest, he's ready. He's ready. And like that, Christians, it's the same. We have to get ready every single day, every morning, first thing. Because the enemy is persistent. He doesn't take a break. And he doesn't care whether you're in a good mood or a bad mood or what's going on, he's coming. So it is important that we understand this is a daily thing. There is an enemy, and there is a battle, and the battle is every day, every single day. Your story has a villain. We know that. We know that. It's the devil, but the good news is it also has a hero, and his name is Jesus. And he's also already won the war, right? He's already won. When he died on the cross and rose again, he won. He covered all the ground that needed to be covered. It's our job to stand firm, it's our job to hold it and not let the enemy get a foothold any further. But we can't do it unless we are equipped with the whole armor. Again, it's not enough to just have a couple pieces. That is where we're at, chapter six. That's really good. Thank you for that.

unknown 8:32

Like that.

Joshua Gruber 8:33

That's awesome.

God’s Armor Is Not Borrowed

Joshua Gruber 8:35

It's also important to understand whose armor it is, where it comes from. Scripture tells us that it's the whole armor of God. It's his armor. He crafted it. No human, no man, no devil, no demon, God himself. This is his armor. This is what he equips us with, believers. It's his. And it's important that we understand that. It's his that he gives to all those that believe in him, right? And I and why I think it's so important to make this point. It's his that he gives to us, but it's not enough for us to rely on someone else's armor. You can't go into battle relying on your parents' armor or your pastor's armor or someone else's armor, which so often in my own life, I mean, that's what I did, right? I'd hide behind their relationship with Jesus. It's not enough. And going through this, these scriptures and praying about this, as I was preparing, I couldn't help but think of King David.

David And Goliath As A Pattern

Joshua Gruber 9:52

I know Evan referenced him last week as well. I'd be remiss if I didn't as well. The story of David and Goliath. David understand armor. David understood the battle. He understood there was an enemy. And you guys, I'm sure everyone in here knows the story, but I'm gonna go through it anyways. I'm gonna give the Cliff Notes version. So we all know David, little boy, little little shepherd boy, right? Little shepherd boy. We know that David's three older brothers were serving in the army with Saul. And Saul, Saul, Goliath, has got an entire army cowering. This giant standing up before a nation, just pouring blasphemies and hatred. I mean, this is a real enemy, and he's got a lot of people scared. The Bible says 40 days, 40 days, Goliath went on, taking his stand in the day and in the evening, twice a day for 40 days, which by the way, 40 in Hebrew is the number of trial, right? 40 days or 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted or went out in the desert for 40 days, represents trial. So Goliath for 40 days is just pouring out these blasphemes and these this hatred towards God, towards Israel, and had everyone, here comes David, just being obedient, listening to his father. Hey, go take some food to your brothers. So he does it. I imagine he walks in, hey guys, what's going on? You know, all happy and giddy. Everybody's terrified, shaking in their boots of this giant, right? Basically saying, just send one person, just give me one person to fight, and we'll be your slaves if you win, and vice versa, right? David is just, the Bible says, ruddy and handsome. Kind of odd, but whatever. So he's just coming in there and he's just like, hey guys, what's happening? You know, they're like, dude, what's don't you realize what's going on here? So they explain the situation to him. Of course, David's like, What? That's it? Like that guy starts to make a scene, so much so that he gets brought before King Saul. And so King Saul is questioning David, what are you doing here, boy? What are you doing here? We know David was young. He's probably in his teens, maybe 15 to 19-ish. I'm no historian, but we know that because in the book of Numbers, the age for men to go to war was 20 years old. And we know that his three older brothers were there, and he had eight brothers total, and he's the youngest. So we know he's not the age of war. This is a boy. Imagine just some teenage boy. Saul's looking at him, what are you gonna do? What could you possibly do? But David understood the enemy. He knew who the enemy was, he knew the battle, and he knew the battle belonged to the Lord. He told Saul, he said, Hey, he's not coming against you. He's not coming against me, he's coming against our God. He's coming against our God. And so Saul says, Okay, fine, you know what? Go ahead. I got nothing to lose if you you get killed. But here, take my armor. Take my armor. So they dress David in Saul's armor. David wasn't having it. He wasn't having it. It didn't fit right, it didn't feel right. Because it wasn't his. It was someone else's armor. It wasn't meant for him. He wasn't meant to go step out in battle with Saul's armor, so he took it off. And you might say he went out there with no armor. But he went out there in the Lord's armor because the Lord's armor is spiritual armor, it's not physical. David understood this. David understood this. He took Saul's armor off and he grabbed five stones and he put them in his pouch. He grabbed his staff and he grabbed his sling and he walked out to that battlefield. And he walked straight up to his enemy, Goliath, towering over him, just towering over him. Goliath continues to mock him, belittle him. What are you gonna do, little boy? Are you guys serious? You send a kid to fight me? Like Saul said, you're just a youth. Goliath's been fighting since his youth. You have no chance. Goliath's saying the same thing, but he understood the battle. He understood the enemy, and he had his strength. His strength was in God. It came from God, like his armor. So he was able to look his enemy dead in the eyes and say, Not today. Not today. I'm gonna conquer you. God's gonna give you into our hands, Goliath. And sure enough, we know the story, right? Puts that stone in the sling, snipes him right in the head. Goliath comes down, and it's a glorious victory, right? All because David followed these steps. He was strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. And he had on the whole armor of God. I love what David said. He said, the battle belongs to the Lord. The battle belongs to the Lord. And it's no different than it was then, as it is now. Every battle we face, every trial we come up against, God knows. He knows. And he's giving you everything you need to be fully equipped to face that enemy. To overcome the battle. Right? You guys good? It's really quiet. Are you okay? All right. Sinking in? Okay. Very good. So, like David, our strength needs to be in the Lord first and foremost. That was last week. This week we need to put on the whole armor of God. That you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers over present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly

The Battle Is Spiritual

Joshua Gruber 16:40

places. The battle is spiritual. The armor is spiritual. I think it's safe to say that it's very important that we understand the spiritual realm as believers. We have to understand. We have to be equipped in the spirit in order to fight in the spirit. And we don't have a chance. You're kidding yourself if you think you have the slightest chance of heading into battle without your armor. There's a real enemy, there's a real battle, and God has given us everything we need to stand firm. You may have heard it said that if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. I want to push that a little further. If you don't stand firm in Christ, you will fall prey to the enemy. As believers,

Call To Arms And Closing Prayer

Joshua Gruber 17:46

if you do not stand firm in Christ, you will fall prey to the enemy every single time. So this is the Christian's call to arms. Get ready. Stay ready. Armor up. It's time. We can't just sit back and let things happen to us anymore. We can't just sit back and act like everything's okay. Take the passive route. There's a battle to be won. There's ground that the enemy is just trying to take over, and we have to stand. As believers, do you believe it? But God is so good. He's so faithful. And if we rely on his strength and put on that armor, we can stand. Amen. Well, Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you so much. Thank you for your word. God, thank you. Man, for your armor. I pray that, God, right now, you would help us remember every single day, every single day, first thing when we wake up to put on this armor. God, we can't do it without you. We need you. As believers, we need you just to make it through the day, let alone face the battles that every day holds. And we know there's a real enemy. But God, you have overcome. You have overcome. And so we put our faith, our hope, and our trust in you, Jesus. Lord, thank you for everyone here tonight. I pray that you would just bless the rest of this evening. We love you and we thank you. And in your mighty name we pray. Amen.