Suit Up!

INTRODUCTION

This has been a great week.

Not enough thanks can be given to Katelyn and Jenny and their families for all the tireless hours - starting really a year ago, but really ramping up these last few weeks in putting together an amazing VBS.

To Rhonda for all her help with music, the video highlights and Recap Video you just watched.

To all who signed up and volunteered in any way and gave money or donations to help us, it couldn’t have been done without you.

And to all the parents who saw it important to give their children this opportunity, to all of you, I say thank you. (P)

[DO SOME OF THE JOKES] and thanks to all who added jokes to my door this week per Rhonda’s suggestion . . .

You know, it’s funny. In a church setting, we don’t often think of suits of armor as being important points of study. When the goal is peace and love, you don’t tend to think of battle and war. (P)

But if you pay attention to what goes on around you, especially some of the difficult experiences you have in life, you know something is going on out there.

We have such an awesome God, yet all this terrible stuff going on - how so? (P) That has become a point of contention for many - how can all this bad stuff happen if we have such a great God? (P)

The answer is what we call spiritual warfare. It is how we identify the true enemy, and the true source of turmoil that goes on all around us. (P)

One of the things you heard the kids share is the reminder that there are two kingdoms at work here. Not only do we have the Kingdom of God, but we also have the Kingdom of evil, the leader of which is Satan. And the closer the people get to God, the less Satan likes it and will try to attack and distract you. Great news is, we know he has no real power because Christ already defeated him on the cross, so when he tries to attack we know how to fight correctly through the power of Jesus and putting on this full armor. . . (P)

You’ve heard these kids talk about the armor of God, which we are going to very briefly pick apart this morning. I have done entire series on the Armor of God before, each piece having it’s own message. But today I’m just going to do a quick recap of each one.

And when Paul talks to the Ephesians in chapter 6 about the Armor of God, he begins with these words in verse 10 and following:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

What is Paul saying is that there is a greater power at work out there. Did you ever find yourself shocked when a seemingly good person does something so terrible? Or when a seemingly terrible person seems to have a moment or two where they blow us away with kindness? Did you ever feel that tug in your own life? Have you ever described yourself as a “good” person? Yet how many people here can honestly say they’ve never done anything to hurt someone else? (P)

I’m not saying that frees us from the responsibility of our actions, because it doesn’t. But I’m saying there is a greater force out there trying to trip us up and keep us from glorifying God in His Kingdom.

And no matter how we try to fight these things, we get tripped up by an obviously strong and mysterious force - called Satan, fighting for our attention with God, who also wants and actually deserves our attention.

And you heard the kids describe these pieces of armor, and they did a fabulous job so I will only mention them again briefly.

1. BELT OF TRUTH

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the belt of truth . . .

It’s funny - that was the first one we talked about this week, so there were a lot of opportunities for the kids to review that one throughout the rest of the week. And every time they were asked what the armored belt does, there was someone that always said, keeps your pants from falling down!

That is definitely true, but that’s not what Paul had in mind. Paul’s idea was that the belt represented this important word called truth.

Much the way that a police officer uses a utility belt to carry all of his or her equipment, a soldier’s belt was important for clinging items to, as well.

They didn’t have tasers, pistols, pepper spray, and the type of handcuffs we have back then, but their belt was still used to hold pieces of protection. Their sword may have often been fastened to the belt. Often they would have rubber strips hanging down from the belt to protect their lower half. If any of these things were out of place, the soldier could be in grave danger.

The same is true with how we embrace the importance of truth. There are two sides, and two Kingdoms that we have to decide who we do belong to. Are we of the truth, or we are of falsehood and lies?

If we are not properly girded with truth, we will be defeated by the power of the lie. Trustworthiness, respect, honor, dignity, and all of those other attributes that are attached or cling to a person of truth are all gone when you choose the other side. A liar doesn’t get very far, for long, anyway.

And the gospel is filled with tens and even hundreds of references to the truth, many of them being used to describe either God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit - every single person or entity in the God-Head is 100% pure, unadulterated truth - no gimmicks or imitations. And anyone who follows God must carry the same attribute.

That’s key to being properly fit with the second piece of armor:

2. BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the breastplate of righteousness . .

Righteousness is simply doing what’s right. And you can’t do what’s right if we aren’t familiar with what God says in His word - where He tells us how to live right. And we can trust God’s word as truth about those standards because it was inspired by God and confirmed by Christ Himself numerous times. However, it is challenging for us to live right all the time within our own power. . .(P)

The breastplate shields some of our most important organs that we need for life. That’s why our first step is to take on the righteousness of Jesus by accepting Him and what He did through His shedding of blood, death and Resurrection, into our hearts, as Lord and Savior. He is what we need for eternal life and, as we take on His righteousness (not our own), we will be able to be more like Him, and we can receive His forgiveness when we do make mistakes, which is only possible because of His sacrifice. (P)

We all mess up in this department - I’m not talking about a need to live as though we walk on eggshells, waiting for a lightning strike when we make a mistake - because God isn’t like that. As those who’ve accepted Christ, we need to ask ourselves, do we spend enough time in His Word to learn what it says and why God’s commands are important? Do we seek to live in a way that glorifies God, and then genuinely seek repentance and His forgiveness when we slip up? When we do, He is always waiting, ready and willing to provide for us His breastplate of righteousness protection over our hearts each day.

3. BOOTS OF PEACEFUL READINESS

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the boots of peaceful readiness . . .

It is worded this way in Ephesians 6 - looking at verse 15:

“Your feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

When we talked about that piece of armor this week there were two understandings of this.

One, these shoes help us to stand firm on the gospel - understanding that gospel means “good news.”

Philippians 1:27 says: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”

Jesus is the gospel, or the good news - that His love for us and sacrifice is what has given us salvation, which we will talk about momentarily with the helmet. He is the good news - that is, the only way to God and His Kingdom. That is a truth that we need to stand firm on. (P)

But that verse also talks about readiness.

When we are getting ready to go out the door in the morning, I tell Nathanael to put your shoes on while Daddy puts his shoes on or Mommy puts her shoes on. And he does. The putting on of shoes means we are ready to go out and do the day’s activities. (P)

Living the life of faith takes action - it isn’t all passive, and it isn’t all defending ourselves from the attacks of Satan. So far most of the pieces of armor we have talked about, as well as the next two, are all about protection. We protect ourselves from the attacks and the lies of Satan.

But the shoes also help us to be ready to go and spread the gospel of peace, which we will talk about shortly. They help us to show that we are wanting to actively live in the truth, strive for righteousness, to be ready to fight this battle for God, and number 4, doing it all while taking up the:

4. SHIELD OF FAITH

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the shield of faith . .

Key words right here in Ephesians 6:16: “In addition to all this (or above all in the New King James Version), take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

The shield is a unique piece of equipment because, unlike all the other pieces that are stationary - your shoes stay on your feet, your breastplate stays on your chest, the belt stays on your waist and the helmet stays on your head, the shield is a second layer of protection - or I guess the first, that can move anywhere to block anything coming toward any part of your body.

But it implies awareness - you are actively watching around you so you know where the weapons are coming from and you know where to move it when you need to.

In the same way faith is this unique component of our spiritual life because it requires a different perspective.

So often we hear the word protection and we think that means nothing bad will happen to us ever, because we are supposed to be “protected.” (P)

But that’s not how it works, even in real combat - ask any veteran who has seen casualties of war despite their armored vehicles and other layers of protection. But faith is that extra layer of defense in which we put our trust in the God of truth - who has never said that we wouldn’t face trouble. But in the realm of eternity in the Kingdom of God, even when people have succumbed to the imperfect earthly life, those whose faith has been put in Jesus can look forward to an eternity in God’s Kingdom.

According to 1 John 5:4: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”

This promise is available despite our earthly imperfection because of the sacrifice of the one who demonstrated godly perfection, and in His sacrifice He has given us the:

5. HELMET OF SALVATION

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the Helmet of Salvation. .

It’s here in Ephesians 6 that Paul refers to the helmet of salvation, but he defines that word in a powerful way earlier in this chapter

Ephesians 2:4–8: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”

Salvation is the most important gift one could ever receive from anyone. And that’s why it is considered a helmet. A helmet protects the most important part of our body - the head, which contains the brain, the organ responsible for all of our biological processes. You can live without a foot, you can live without an arm, you can even live without some of your organs. You can’t live without your brain. If something happens to that, that’s it.

We are going to be attacked by Satan. We are protected in the spiritual realm, but that doesn’t mean our physical life goes without troubles. But whatever you endure in this life, whatever hardships or pains you face, you can overcome. But if you reach the end of your earthly life without Jesus, meaning you haven’t been saved from those transgressions which destroy us, there are eternal ramifications. Our salvation in Christ Jesus ensures that regardless of what we face on earth, including death itself, our eternity in paradise is secure.

And as I mentioned earlier, if we are grateful for that gift from God, and we care about the people in our lives whom we should also desire to have the same gift, then the final piece of armor is drawn from its sheath as we use the one piece that helps us to actively launch our attack:

6. SWORD OF GOD’S WORD

Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Ask for one volunteer from the VBS crew to come up to show the Sword of God’s Word . .

Only a perfect being can provide a perfect standard of living, and that’s what we find in a book that has been inspired by God and confirmed true by Christ on multiple occasions. In His book, we find powerful words of truth and promises from God Himself that power the word being talked about here. When we speak the Word of God out loud, in prayer or with others, we are using the Sword of God’s Word. We are fighting out battles the right way. This, in combination with the five other pieces of the Armor of God allows us to stand in confidence each day as we face whatever battles come our way.

See how it all comes together?

CONCLUSION

The VBS theme for this year was powerful, inspiring and a timely reminder for all of us! We hope you were as encouraged today as we have been! As always, our prayer room is open and available after the service for anyone who would like to strengthen their Armor or spend some time in prayer about anything the Holy Spirit may be nudging you about today. Don’t ignore His prompting . . .

At this time, I’m going to ask Katelyn and Jenny to come up one more time as we have a special thank you for them before the kids sing their last song.