An Astronaut is ready for the first time to walk in space. He has spent countless hours in simulations. He has already taken off from earth and is now in outer space. He has his space suit on and so he is protected from head to toe against the deathly cold of space. This astronaut seems to be as prepared as he can be, however he does not believe he must use all the tools of protection at his disposal. He feels he can skip a few steps along the way and still come out on top. Therefore as he steps out into space he begins to float away because he did not attach his life line.
Come on pastor, nobody is that careless. If someone’s life is on the line and they have a list of steps they must follow in order to remain safe, you can bet that nobody would skip a step or two and still be in their right mind. Oh sure we have skipped a step or two when putting together an “easy-to-assemble” product and yet we often still manage to come out on top. Yes we can put a puzzle together with a few pieces misses and still end up with a picture we can identify but nobody and I mean nobody in their right mind would risk a life just to avoid a step or two along the way!
That sounds like a rational argument, but I do not believe God would agree. He has seen first hand how his people; his own creation, have skipped His only plan of salvation, simply so they can do their own thing. There are people risking eternal life by rejecting Jesus. Even Christians have fallen into this trap. Jesus says, ‘If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers…” (John 15:6) Yet there are individuals who are willing to see their eternal life saving faith wither by staying out of church and away from God’s Word. In fact we have all followed our own list of do’s and don’ts; right’s and wrong’s over and above God’s own Word because our foolish way of thinking often seeks to cast’s aside God’s wisdom. It is our sin that produces pride within us, enough to trust in what we once heard from God instead of what God wants to share with us today. This is all the more reason why our Lord speaks to us through St. Paul and warns us to put on the full armor of God. He wants to make it quite clear that we Christians are in for one heavy battle; a battle so intense that if we skip just one step we will not be able stand against the enemy much less hold onto victory.
This warning can be found in Ephesians 6:10-18. The book of Ephesians has much to say on what God wants us to do in response to owning Faith in Christ Jesus. St. Paul directs us to seek Wisdom in Christ, to realize that we have been made alive in Jesus whereby we were once dead in our trespasses. St. Paul encourages us to remember how Jesus took us into His own family and that we should remember where we came from and continually give thanks for where we are heading. We are called to live as children of light now that our understanding is no longer darkened thanks to God’s living Word and we are exhorted to be imitators of God in all that we do and say, think and feel. Now, in the last chapter of Ephesians, Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” This is God’s final admonition to us that we keep on seeking to be strengthened not by our own power or efforts but solely upon the BRUTE FORCE POWER of Almighty God.
We are just too weak to fight the good fight of faith on our own. We are up against something very dark and menacing and if left to our own devices we would not stand a chance. What is unique to God is His desire to give us all that we need to sustain this body, this life and this faith. Therefore we must lean completely upon God’s BRUTE FORCE POWER which can best be described as hurricane force winds against a feather. To God, Satan’s attacks are but a feather in the wind, but to us the Devils attacks are vicious if we chose to face him without the protection God wishes to provide.
Therefore our Lord calls us, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Here now is the Lord, the creator of all things, giving to us an armor for the sole purpose of protecting us against the Devils attacks. The Greek word for schemes is Methodeias which can be translated as tricks, lies, doubts or appeals to the old Adam. Revelation 12:12 says, “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.” We are also told that Satan is enraged and is seeking to devour us. He and an infinite number of fallen angels, now demons will seek to destroy our hope in Jesus. Therefore our Lord gives us His armor to protect us. But notice we are commanded to put on the full armor of God. It does us no good to be standing in the front lines with only a helmet or only a breastplate. The enemy would see your unprotected areas and go in for the kill. God’s equipment will provide the strength we need to hold our ground against Satan’s attacks but, there can be no skipping steps. We cannot go into this battle ill-equipped. The Greek word Methadias sounds like the English Word Method and for good reason. Satan has a method, he has a plan to attack. He is no fool. Each attack will be well planned, well timed and when it comes it will be ferocious.
Paul continues God’ warning to us by reminding us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. This does not mean that there is evil in heaven. What Paul is saying is that whenever we reflect upon God’s Word, His promises and anything that deals with our salvation in Christ, there will be Satan and his angels seeking to remove those promises, to cast doubt over them or to take away their effect within your soul. Therefore again God has Paul repeat himself in order to show us how serious God is with this armor. We hear again these words, ‘put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may stand your ground.”
Thank God that He does not expect us to create our own armor. The good news is that this armor is God’s own creation and it has been given freely to us all through Christ Jesus. The armor was worn by Jesus himself and could be seen upon him in the wilderness when Satan attacked and again upon the cross when Satan encouraged Jesus to come down from the cross to save himself. Now this same armor that Jesus used to effectively is ours to wear and all we need to do is put it on, completely, allowing no part of us to be unprotected. When we battle, when we struggle, the Greek word used to define this battle is a tussle. We are to think of ourselves up against a sumo wrestler when we do not have this armor upon us but with the armor we are back to seeing Satan’s attacks like a feather against the BRUTE FORCE HURRICANE STRENGTH POWER OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
We must not forget that our enemies are not weak. They hold top positions, they weild authority, they are spiritual beings, evil angels. These enemies are not going to come and deal gently with us. They are agents of darkness, they do not know God’s Will. They are separated from Him the way we were before receiving the saving gifts of Jesus. It is this world that they rule and if they cannot have eternal life then in their minds, we should not have it either. They are spirits powerful enough in this world to wreak eternal harm. They will bring doubt, causing you to believe that this one sin you keep on sinning cannot possibly be forgiven because you have yet to master it. They will remind you of all your faults and failings and suggest to you that God does not want someone like you. In times of great trial it will suggested that it is your fault why God is punishing you. You lost your job? God is punishing you. You looked at another woman, God is punishing you. You just got bad news about your health? God is condemning you. This is just a portion of the attacks we can receive.
But do not worry for we have the armor of God to defend us and yes, you will notice that all the armor that Paul describes, is for defense. You see Jesus took care of the offense. He already defeated Satan when He rose from the grave and in turn, won for us eternal life. Now God gives us what we need to be victorious as well. It’s all about the defense. The first goal of God is to protect us and the second goal of God is for us to be standing in the end, so let us take a closer look at this armor so we can see just how to use this equipment God has so graciously given.
First, we are to stand firm with the Belt of truth. This belt protects us against the devil’s lies. The devils lies can be vicious. He will try to convince you that God is too busy to care about your problems or that because you have been away from church for so long, the Lord no longer has any interest in you. When you wear this belt of truth, God’s Word can remind you of the Father’s love for you and that that love is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Next we have the Breastplate. God himself is symbolically described as putting on this breastplate when seeking justice. Our breastplate is one of righteousness. It is your acquittal against the devils accusations. Satin will endeavor to point out every flaw, every failing, every mistake and oversight and deem you unworthy to receive the precious Gospel of Jesus. He will rightly point out that you and I are sinners, however this breastplate points out we are Holy in God’s sight, thanks to Jesus and thus we are deemed Righteous.
The boots we wear are made for walking as the country song says. However we are to walk in the Good News of Jesus Christ. We walk in the Good News of His Peace. We are not God’s enemies as the devil would have you believe. He will whisper in your ear all sorts of accusations and horrors of what is yet to come. He will point out your despair and feelings of hopelessness and yet despite all those trials, you can own the peace that surpasses all understanding, thanks to the boots you wear as part of your armor of God.
My wife describes anyone who rides a motorcycle without a helmet as a walking organ donor, she has seen enough cycle accidents to know the importance of wearing a helmet. The same is true in battle as all sorts of evils can come crashing around your head, all sorts of disasters will come at you, especially when you belong to the Lord. The Devil will instruct you that you no longer have any hope, that life is dismal. The one who suffers with cancer and lays in bed for hours at a time will receive this taunt. Yet the helmet of salvation, restores you to the promises of eternal life, won for you before you could ever utter a single word or cry out with your first discomfort. As the hymn (#555 )tells us, “salvation unto us has come by God free grace and favor. Good works cannot avert our doom, they help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone. He is our one Redeemer.
You can see that all of this armor is for Defense, even the last piece which is the short sword. The Sword of the Spirit is sharp as is the Word of God that comes out of our mouth. Satan will encourage you to lean on man’s word, mans understanding and mans strength. He will come at you in close quarters where a spear is ineffective, however the short sword can hold off the enemy. And as Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, ‘One little word subdues him, the devil. Jesus said, ‘It is finished’ and Satan was done for. Jesus says, “no” to the devil and he is eternally bound. With the sword upon us, Satan’s might is doomed to fail. With God’s Word we will stand, for we can do no other.
I think it is safe to say that when the Lord God Almighty offers us His armor for protection, we need it all. We are wise in Christ to know we should not take any short cuts with God’s Word and that daily His armor should be upon us, so that in the end, we will continually be strengthened, and be ready for all attacks as we stand our ground. Be encouraged therefore to pray in the Spirit on all occasions, especially asking God to make sure his armor is upon us as we remain faithful to stay in God’s Holy Word.
Amen
(this is a 1st draft sermon. I did not believe I would have this message complete by Sunday. So here is at least the idea of the message.)
