Sermon 07 January 2001
Ephesians 6:10-18
Who Needs Armor?
Introduction:
Bill once had a job as a truck driver. Twice a week, he hauled loads between Cincinnati and Atlanta. He always stopped for lunch at Joe’s Diner, a friendly little truck stop about halfway between the two cities.
One day Bill parked his truck, walked into Joe’s Diner, sat down on a stool at the counter and ordered lunch. Off in the distance, there was a roar and a cloud of dust. As the roar got closer, out of the cloud of dust came 12 bikers. They parked their hogs and stormed into the Diner. They crowded around Bill and started to snap their fingers in rhythm. Bill just acted like they weren’t there and kept eating. Then the leader of the pack silenced his men, pointed at two of them, pointed at Bill, and snapped his fingers. One of them poured iced tea over Bill’s head, and the other one pushed Bill’s face into his mashed potatoes. Then the two of them pushed Bill off of his stool and beat the tar out of him. Bill never said a word. He got up, brushed himself off, paid Joe for his lunch and left.
The leader of the gang swaggered over to Joe and said, “that guy’s not much of man is he? He didn’t even try to defend himself.”
“No,” Joe replied as he looked out the window, “and he’s not much of a driver either. He just ran over twelve motorcycles.”
Like, Bill we are surrounded. And, like Bill, we need to choose our reaction to our enemies wisely. However, unlike Bill, we are not alone and defenseless, and, as it says in verse 12, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.(New American Standard Bible).
I. Spiritual Warfare
We are at war. Who is the enemy? It is not the non-believer, although occasionally you will meet a person so full of evil and rebellion against God that he or she actually declares himself or herself the enemy of Christianity. The secular media and society work relentlessly to undermine God’s truth, but they are not the enemy either, although they are often tools in his hands. Our enemy is Satan and the spiritual forces of evil. Satan, the deceiver, the accuser, the destroyer, is the adversary of our souls and the souls of our friends and our loved ones. As Paul sounded this Call to Arms, he wanted us to know whom we’re fighting. Our enemy is powerful, but he is also a defeated foe. Beginning in verse ten Paul is concluding this letter. When he says finally, it’s like he’s saying, “okay y’all if your brains have been on sabbatical it’s time for them to come back. If y’all don’t get anything else, get this because it sums everything else up. The main message of the letter to the Ephesians is the need for unity in the Body of Christ, the Church. If Satan can keep us divided, we are not a threat.
In verses 10-11, Paul says, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might .Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Our strength comes from God. To be strong in the Lord is not a one-time deal. Just like physical strength, if we do not continue strive for excellence we will grow weak. If we want to accomplish anything for God, we have to spend time with the spiritual disciplines: Bible study, prayer, church involvement, prayer, fasting, and serving.
Being a Christian is not a learned skill or discipline; it is a vital relationship with our living Lord Jesus. Like any other relationship, if you want it to be deep and meaningful—beyond superficial formalities—it takes time and commitment. Do you set aside time for spiritual training? Are you actively pursuing a deeper relationship with God? Are you helping to build the kingdom? If you are, then you are a threat to Satan and the forces of evil, and he will do all in his power to stop you. That is why Paul says to put on the full armor of God. God is not only our strength—He is our protection.
Do you need armor? Some Christians don’t use the full armor of God. Why?
· They don’t sense danger or recognize the power of the enemy.
· They don’t have all the weapons due to poor teaching.
· They don’t have the necessary training to use the weapons God has provided.
· Too comfortable: too far from the frontlines or they are double agents.
II. Put on the Full Armor of God
As you prepare to engage Satan in spiritual warfare, don’t be intimidated by his influence. Use the full armor of God and stand together with other believers. Through our confession of faith and baptism we have put off our old selves and put on Christ. Now we are called to take up our armor and go into battle. The order in which Paul describes the armor of God is significant…
A. The Belt of Truth: First, a soldier, like the one Paul was chained to when he wrote this letter, would fasten his belt around his waist. The belt a Roman soldier wore was about 6 inches wide, and formed the foundation for his armor. Likewise, truth is the foundation of our armor that protects us from the father of lies. Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. God’s Word is truth, and Jesus is the Word made flesh. One of the factors in the rapid decay of society is the lack of any absolute truth thanks to relative humanism…Satan fights with lies, and sometimes his lies sound like truth; but only believers have God’s absolute truth, which has defeated Satan’s lies.
B. The Breastplate of Righteousness: Next, the soldier puts on the breastplate to protect his vital organs. Satan attacks our heart—the seat of our emotions, self-worth and trust. God’s righteousness is the breastplate that protects our heart and ensures His approval. God approves of us because He loves us and sent His Son to die for us. We are made righteous by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
C. Shoes of Peace: Satan wants us to think that telling others the Good News is a worthless and hopeless task—the size of the task is too big and the negative responses are too much to handle. But God gives us combat boots that enable us to proclaim the Gospel of peace—news that everyone needs to hear. Believers are ready to go into the world proclaiming the Gospel because the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(Phil. 4:7). We can stand firm.
D. The Shield of Faith: Complete reliance on God. What we see are Satan’s attacks in the form of insults, setbacks, and temptations. But the shield of faith protects us from Satan’s flaming arrows. With God’s perspective, we can see beyond our immediate circumstances and know that ultimate victory is ours. We are assured that whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. Faith gives us the strength to stand against Satan with firm courage, even when he uses his most fearsome weapons.
E. The Helmet of Salvation: Satan wants to make us doubt God, Jesus, and our salvation. The helmet protects our mind from doubting God’s saving work for us.
F. The Sword of the Spirit the Word of God: Hebrews 4:12 says, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. A sword is both a defensive and offensive weapon—parry, thrust, counter…It is the only offensive weapon in this list of armor. A sword is only effective if it is used properly. Jesus used the Word in response to the temptations of Satan in the wilderness before he began his earthly ministry. That is our example. When Satan attacks, fight back with the Sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. That is why I started the Grand Sweep, the memory verses…so we can be better equipped to handle the weapon God has provided.
III. Into the Fray—Pray!: Now that we are dressed and ready it is time to go forth into battle. Prayer is like air support…
Verse 18: with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…that verse is a continuation of the thought from the previous verses, it does not introduce another weapon. Paul was not calling prayer a weapon; instead, he was giving the instructions for how to use the armor of God—prayer. We need all the armor because Satan uses many different tactics in his vain efforts to disrupt God’s purposes. So we must live a life of prayer, and as we do we will find victory because…Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Therefore, prayer is not an alternative to preparing for battle but an essential part of it. As we read in 2 Chronicles 32 this morning, Hezekiah made all the standard military preparations, but he insisted that the deciding factor is that God will fight with us. What battles are you fighting? Which ones are God’s battles too? What preparations do you need to make? Repeat to yourself with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.
Conclusion: Do You Need Armor? Do not go into the battle unprepared. Suppose you were in a fight to the death with someone and you held a sword in your hands. In the middle of the conflict your opponent says, “Hey, do you call that puny thing a sword? It doesn’t look like much of a sword to me.” Would you drop your sword and try to fight without it? Or would you stand toe to toe with 12 road warriors without any backup? Of course not, yet many Christians often surrender our weapons to a skeptical world. We go into the fray outnumbered, unarmed, and unprotected. Today, as we gather at the table of our King, know that we can put on the full armor He provides and that He is always with us. We are called to be prayer warriors. We are called to band together as soldiers in the Kings army—the Body of Christ. As you engage in spiritual warfare, make sure you have and use all the weapons God makes available.
Benediction:
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you… Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Go in Peace.
AMEN
