Empty Armor
Ephesians 6:18
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/EmptyArmor.html
1. Analyze the enemy - we began this series getting to know Satan and his tactics.
2. Utilize our weaponry - we have now looked at each article of Christian armor.
now...
3. Realize the victory - this happens in our text!
v. 18 Once we are all suited up in our armor, we must realize it's not about us and our skills or tools, but it's all about the Lord...the battle is the Lord's! This is not an excuse to not do our part and utilize the armor...we must work hard at it, like it's up to us, but with the underlying knowledge that it's all up to God!
A sword, a shield, a helmet and such are totally useless if we have no strength to fight with...and the Lord is our strength. We must rely on Him! The arm of flesh will fail us. I CANNOT do all things! Only thru Christ which strengtheneth me!
How old will I be when I finally master this? How many years must I be saved before I stop trying to live the life in my own strength? How many reminders do we need?
Dressing for success in the armor of the Lord is a daily occurrence, and so must be our reminders about where our strength comes from...so must be our battling in prayer a daily habit!
We need spiritual energy, strength, and power with which to fight.
ill.--Little David faced the giant without the armor...but with the Lord!
What good is the Sword in our hand if we don't have the spiritual strength to wield it?
Our feet can look good in the shoes of the gospel, but if we have no spiritual strength to walk the walk then it doesn't matter if we talk the talk. We are to run the race in those shoes, and that takes spiritual strength!
It's one thing to know you have Christ's righteousness found in the breastplate, but the real question is, does anyone else know you have it? They won't if you don't live it...and it takes spiritual strength to live it out loud!
Same thing with the girdle of truth. Knowing and doing are two different things. We know a lot of truth, but do we walk in truth, do we share truth? Not without God's hand helping us!
What good is the helmet of salvation if the noggin inside it isn't actively thinking, or is asleep? Having the mind of Christ takes real discipline that I don't have...I must pray for that kind of power.
Prayer is where we get the strength to fight! The armor is shiny, but it's an empty coat of mail that can only be filled with spiritual strength from the Lord!
Oh that we would put even 5% of the effort that we put into trying to make things happen into praying for things to happen!
In Exodus 17 Joshua and the army is at war with Amalek. Joshua is in the valley with a sword, and Moses is up on the mountain above, interceding in prayer. Both were important, but which was most important? Both are necessary...but which is most necessary?
ill.--prayerlessness is the 'umbrella sin' under which all my other sins stay dry and cozy.
It's really difficult to continue in a sinful habit that I regularly talk to God about! It's not too often that I will fall into a deception of Satan when I'm walking and talking with the Lord! And as for the temptation to do things in my own strength -- why would I do that if I'm daily proving that there's a better way...to pray first, and then work. Pray first, and then serve. Pray first, and then preach. Pray first, and then make a decision.
"Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees."
Prayer not only gives us the energy with which to fight, but it is also the means of communication with our Commander in Heaven. And communications with Central Command is vital in winning a battle.
ill.--the Christian life is much like a football game, because we need armor in this life, and we face a formidable foe, and we are at war. Football is just controlled violence!
The coach isn't in the game, but is vital to it. If he is cut out of the loop, the result will be chaos...but he also needs a leader on the field. He needs someone he can trust. He needs to relay messages back and forth, he needs signals.
Today we get to the line and call a lot of 'audibles,' which is cutting out the coach. How much success will we have in life if we bench our coach?
Communication is vital in the game of life!
In war, if we can undermine communications or knock them out, we can win the victory.
ill.--Navajos
ill.--cracking U-boat code keys
ill.--spying on chatter
We're so big on privacy now we even keep things private from God [as if we could!]
"Oh what peace we often forfeit..."
The devil does all he can to keep us from having a time of prayer. And when we don't pray, our energy wanes, and we have no strength to fight with. Our spiritual batteries need recharged, and we put a lot of emphasis on that happening in preaching services like this, where God talks to us, but that's only half the battle, because God wants us to talk back!
Have communications been cut off between you and God? He isn't the one who hung up!
"Stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone...the arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your own. Put on the gospel armor, and watching unto prayer..."
We need strength to fight with, so we're not just empty armor decorating the castle wall...
v. 18 has 4 'all's:
1. Praying always - pray regularly.
2. with all supplication in the Spirit - pray correctly.
3. with all perseverance - pray persistently.
4. for all saints - pray inclusively.
1. Pray regularly.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
This doesn't mean 24 hrs. a day...that's impossible, and we have other duties and need sleep, etc.
What this does mean is that our heavenly telephone should always be in service, and used often as a first plan of action, not our last resort.
We should never have to start a prayer with "Lord, we come into your presence..." because you never left His presence in the first place!
We should wake up to prayer, and before our feet hit the floor, recognize the One who has given us another day, and as we get up and begin, we should begin it with Him, and not just rush past Him into our day. We have so much to accomplish that we MUST take time to pray. It's time well spent, and since you can't out-give God, do yourself a favor and take time to pray!
Traveling time is a great time to pray and worship. You can waste time with the radio for entertainment, or you can pray for God to fill your armor to fight the battle of this day!
Thru the day, decisions will need to be made, challenges will arise, temptations will present themselves. Walking with God means sharing life with Him, not just Sundays with Him.
We should seek Him even in small decisions, habitually. If we would ask Him to help us find our keys He will remind us that they are in our hand, and by the way, our glasses are on our face!
ill.--when Joshua defeated Jericho, he and the people were filled with self-confidence, and didn't seek the Lord against the little village of Ai...they would be a piece of cake, right? Only a small delegation was sent, and 36 men lost their lives!
Joshua got back on his knees, and God revealed the problem to him, and how to win that battle. And God would have revealed that before, just as he did after, and they wouldn't have died!
ill.--God said not to make a peace treaty with the Gibeonites. They pretended to be someone else and deceived Joshua, and the Bible says...
Joshua 9:14
And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
When we fail to seek the Lord, we are headed for trouble!
ill.--have you ever slept on a horse? It's possible. You can put your feet in the stirrups and hold onto the horn of the saddle, and on a subconscious level you hold on. On a conscious level you are out of it! And if a snake rattles right beneath the horse, he bolts, and you fall off near the snake! [long story]
Maybe you've driven that way as well. Not nodding off, but zoning out mentally unless something happens to awake your attention.
When I think of praying without ceasing, I think it means on at least a subconscious level, you are always in a spirit of prayer, even if you don't actually pray a prayer until something comes to your attention, which should be more often than not!
We do a variety of things all day, but are we cognizant of the fact that God is in the same room, and thinking of us, even when we haven't been thinking of Him?
We need to experience God in life, not just in church!
ill.--when I counsel, I listen to the person on my couch, and I do some talking, but on a subconscious level I am praying, and seeking the Lord's leading, because He can help in ways I never could!
1. Pray regularly...
2. Pray correctly.
ill.--the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to preach, but to teach them to pray!
Most of us are still in pre-school in this matter, with a lot to learn.
We pray to the Father, thru the Spirit, in Jesus' name.
"Our Father, which art in Heaven..." [not dear Jesus!]
But we pray in Jesus' name because that's the only basis by which we can be heard. He is our high priest, and allows us access to the Most Holy Place, the throne of grace!
And we pray in the Spirit, or thru the Spirit.
Jude 1:20
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
The Spirit helps to give us the words, and when there's no words, prays the words without words from our heart with groanings which cannot be uttered!
Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
I have a prayer closet...a special place only for that. And I've stopped rushing into prayer. Sometimes I'll take a few minutes to even begin, while I wait on the Spirit. "Be still and know that I am God."
The Spirit helps when we don't know the right words to say to God. It also helps when we don't know the will of God. We pray so much for our will...we should listen to the next verse...
Romans 8:27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
I'm thankful for the prayers that God didn't answer! I keep old prayer cards, and today I can laugh at the things I prayed for, and God had something better for me! [girls / material things / ease of life / jobs / positions of leadership / finances / people not to leave the church ... maybe they should!]
regularly, correctly...
3. Pray persistently.
ill.--church bell in Kuna. They rang it until you came!
We are below with the rope, and God is above, making the real sounds that go out over the earth.
Some Christians just give the bell an occasion jerk, but to really make things happen, you don't let go until the job is done!
Jesus gave a couple of parables [Friend at Midnight / Unjust Judge] about not giving up praying until you get results, when it comes to things that you know are God's will, such as a person being saved, or you getting victory over a sin. Now, when it's our will, like Paul wanting a healing, you can let it rest if the Lord reveals you need to accept it.
ill.--George Mueller prayed 52 years for a man to be saved, and it happened after he died!
ill.--I was mischievous as a kid, and liked to, with a friend, knock on a front door and run and hide and watch and laugh.
In prayer, sometimes I ring the bell of heaven, and then leave, not waiting or expecting an answer.
One old coot we used to annoy stopped answering the door. What if God did?!
Our timing is not the same as God's. Now, why would God delay an answer to prayer?
• patience - we live in an instant everything world. God wants us to wait on Him.
• purity - when God doesn't grant an answer I know to be in His will, I must stop and examine my life. Are my prayers being heard, or is sin in the way?
Psalm 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Is God pleased to bless me?
• promotion - sometimes God intends on granting our request, but only once we are spiritually mature enough to handle it and receive that answer. [Sometimes God says no, sometimes slow, sometimes go, and sometimes GROW!]
ill.--when your 4 year old asks for a shotgun, you may think ahead to the day when you will indeed give him one...but that day is not today!
regularly, correctly, persistently...
4. Pray inclusively.
We pray a lot about ourselves, but prayer is supposed to be about each other as well. You're not the only one in this war. You may have it tough, but some have it tougher!
Samuel said to Israel, "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." [1 Sam. 12:23]
I pray for each of you. Do you pray for me?
ill.--did you know that the Church of Satan boasts that they actively pray and fast to Satan for the demise of Bible preachers? I think their prayers are being heard and answered!
v. 19 Any success I have had here is because of prayer. The way to have more blessings is thru prayer. Sermon success is a direct result of prayer, not skill. The way I can stay in the ministry is not to feel confident that since I've done it many years so far that I always will...I need your prayers!
And there's as many needs as hairs on heads in this room. Pray for each other, and your prayers for yourself may be affected as well!
ill.--the gnu is an African antelope. When its prey approaches, it drops to its knees. When close enough, it springs to attack from its knees.
We are Christian soldiers, and we can sharpen our skills and have the right tools and armor, but it all begins on our knees! Otherwise, it's just empty armor.
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/EmptyArmor.html
