Paul teaches us that there is a spiritual war that rages for the souls of people who walk the earth. Satan is a con artist. He's the best. The reason people refuse to deny themselves to follow Jesus is because satan deceives them into thinking they don't have to. God and satan are enemies, and the creation of God is the battlefield. It's not human logic that defies God. People defy God based on lies that satan has sown into humanity through the ages, and he is so good at what he does that people believe it makes sense to reject the truth of Jesus.
So a lot of folks walk around denying the existence of satan, even those who claim to be Christian because they have bought the deception of the con artist. It's impossible to read Paul's letter to the Ephesian church, though, and come away with any other understanding than this spiritual war exists, and God has given us some armor and weapons to defend ourselves and fight back.
We spent some time discussing why we use this spiritual equipment, Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, Bible, and Prayer. And today we want to get practical. How do we use it. God cares about the why. The greatest command is to love God with all our HEART, soul, strength and mind. The Bible also tells us that God sees the heart of person, but, what do we see? We see the actions, we see what a person wears, says and does. This is what our kids see and our parents, spouse, friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and church. We can judge what we see, and we typically do, but, God tells us that it's the heart of a person that matters to Him.
This is why it's important for Jesus followers to live as examples of what it looks like to use the spiritual resources that God has given us. This doesn't mean that we have a burden to be perfect. Again, I know I'm saying this over and over again, but, it's the truth. Our motive matters. Many of us want to be perceived as being good Christian people, so we pretend that we have it all together. We don't cuss, or we try not to, at least not around a lot of people. If we have a beer or a glass of wine, we're careful who we drink with, or where we drink, we might even avoid buying alcohol near where we live. And having a beer or a glass of wine isn't a sin, but, someone else might think it is. I've witnessed to folks in a bar, but, I didn't dare tell the church about it. I think the most damning thing about all of this is, there are a lot of church folks who don't trust each other.
The truth is that we all sin, but, in our church you wouldn't know sin exists among us. We generally admit that we sin because we all know the obvious, but, what particularly are our sins? I don't advocate that we ask folks to publicly confess their sin, but, do we hold each other accountable? Is there someone you trust that you can confess sin to, who will ask you the tough questions about your faith, your character, integrity and help you pray through the stuff you struggle with? I'm absolutely convinced that most Christians don't even know what that kind of relationship looks like.
The idea here is that we're not seeking to be good Christian examples for the sake of showing people how good we are. I grew up with a certain mentality that you do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. But that's not the more mature understanding. A more mature understanding is to do the right thing for the right reason. We want to be an example of a person who is desperate for Jesus and knows it. This is where the war in our home begins. When we are unwilling to humble ourselves before God to seek His forgiveness for our sin, then our kids grow up with that model. How many of our kids are growing up with the idea that they need to be good kids for the sake of being good Christian examples for their friends. I think one of the worst things a parent can teach their kid is that they have to be a good example to others just for the sake of being good. That is a lot of pressure for anyone, including ministers and preachers.
I want my kids to understand that they are completely and totally reliant on the gifts of Jesus for every Spiritual thing they have including the gift of their Salvation. Because, like me they sin. Like me they mess up, so they are not burdened to be good examples, however, they are expected to do what every follower does, to deny themselves every day, pick up the cross and follow Him, why? Because they love Him. Because they choose to love Him, not because their mom and dad does. And the reality is that when they love God with all their heart, soul, strength and mind, because they want to, because it's their faith, then guess what? They'll be a good example, just as Paul taught Timothy to be in what they say, in the way they live, in their love, faith, and their purity.
Here are a few brief ways that we can be an example of using these spiritual gifts God gives us in the spirtual war we're fighting, especially in our home.
Truth: First ask these questions. Am I wearing Truth? Do I love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind? Is love the motive for why I do what I do? Every parent has to discipline their children. Because God is our heavenly Father, He does the same. A very simple way to bring the gift of truth to your home is to consistently remind yourself, and your family that because you love God you worship, pray, serve, fast, and read the Bible. Not because you show God you love Him by doing those things, but, you do these things because these disciplines teach you more about who God is, and as you learn and grow you love Him more. You want more of Jesus in your life. You seek Him. You thirst for Him. You can't get enough of Him. You can't talk enough about Him. This is one way to use truth in your home.
Righteousness: Righteousness isn't just about doing the right things, the right way. That's what the Pharisees did. And Jesus routinely condemned them for being shallow and spiritually dead. I wear Righteousness as I love Jesus more than myself. So how do I use this gift in my home? Sacrifice is an integral part of the life of a follower of Jesus. Again, we don't sacrifice ourselves because we have to, we make sacrifices because we love to show Jesus to people.
A great example for what this looks like actually comes from a student in my youth ministry a few years ago. She loved to play softball, but she also ran track and cross country, was very interested in making top grades, and played in band. She was a very busy teen girl. One summer she went to Mexico on our mission trip and it was on this trip during her daily devotions that she was confronted with the truth that she was too busy to be an efficient follower. As she put it she wanted to be more busy doing God things than doing her own thing. At about this time, I started a drama team. Rehearsals were for three hours every Sunday afternoon, and to be a part of this team teens could only miss three rehearsals a semester. She decided that she was going to have to quit softball in order to be a part of the drama team. She was also interested in playing in the teen worship band, and so her priorities shifted, she ultimately quit track, too. She made sacrifices of what she liked to do so that she could do more of what she called, "God things". And she changed her priorities not because she wanted to be a good example, but, because she loves Jesus. Her attitude is a great example of righteousness.
Peace: I wear peace as I'm confident to share the Good News of Jesus with others. I'm going to be very brief and to the point with this one, because it's self-explanatory. We use this gift by enthusiastically sharing the Good News. Who Jesus is: the Son of God. What He did: died for our sins and then resurrected from the dead. And Why: because He loves us. Our peace isn't rocked by people who reject Jesus. Many people will and do reject the truth of Jesus. Even those who claim to be Christians, but, are not willing to humble themselves to His authority as the Boss of everything reject Jesus for who He is. But our peace isn't found in what other people choose to believe or not, even those in our own family. Peace is a gift. A piece of our armor that prepares us to share the Good News with others, especially our family, whether they believe it, or accept it or not.
Faith and Salvation: I wear the armor of Faith and Salvation as I rely on the truth and confidence of my eternal life. I rely on the power of my resurrected Jesus, every day, including when I experience a tragedy, a bad day, or a stressful situation. All of us suffer bad days. We endure tragedy. Our faith and our salvation are gifts from God, essential pieces of our spiritual armor that keep us focused on Jesus. The Hebrew writer says that when we're weighed down, you probably know what that feels like, we take off the weight by "fixing our eyes on Jesus the One who began and the One who will conclude our faith." There is no more power in the testimony of a Jesus follower than pointing our family and others to who Jesus is during difficult and trying times.
One way that Kristi points our family to Jesus is by surrounding our family with Scriptures that she writes on decorative pieces of paper or cards and then she tapes them up around our house as reminders. Jared's hospital room was full of these Scriptures. We need the Word of God to teach us, to remind us of who Jesus is, and we endure as all God's children do as we rely on Him during our struggles.
Our kids will model how we react to these kinds of trials. If we rely on our faith and salvation by consistently focusing our attention on who Jesus is and what He did for us then our kids will see faith in action. If instead, we model, blaming Him, or the church or other people for the stuff we're dealing with, then our kids will tend to model that behavior.
Bible: Do I know what the Word of God says? Do I live by every word that comes from the mouth of God? Can I teach the Bible to others, especially my loved ones? If you're carrying the Sword of the Spirit which is the Bible then your confident answer to these questions is yes.
In the fall we are going to provide practical, easy to use resources through our church wide D-6 curriculum. We're using this material for the purpose of providing this Church family with ideas, scriptures and every day application so that we are all equipped to teach God's Word to others. The offensive weapon we have in this spiritual war is the Bible.
Today is a new day to begin using these gifts. You have today to shift your priorities, to use the gifts of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, Bible, and Prayer in your home and your life. Maybe some of us can agree with Paul who says that achieving perfection is not something he's going to be able to do here on this earth so he says, "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead"
Maybe we need to forget our past, even if it was just yesterday and look forward to what lies ahead as we love God and others and use the tools He's given us to do so.
