03/23/2025 - I Am Getting Dressed For War

I Am Getting Dressed For War A Sermon by Elder Jonathan Lonon All scriptures will be from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) Recognition: 1. All honor and glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2. My lovely wife, LaBrentha Durham Lonon. 3. Pastor Wayne Mack and First Lady Michelle Mack, and all elders, ministers, and servants of the most high who serve here at Grace Place Atlanta Church of God by Faith. 4. All guest and new members attending in person and online. Thank you for worshipping the Lord with us today. 5. Praise God for all the testimonies of deliverance in our families! Ok, let’s get started with another of my famously brief messages. I promise, this one has less than five closings. (“And ar ar, as close…!) Seriously, this one could be much longer as I sat preparing it and thinking of all the things that are happening in our world, whether geological, political, or sinical, (not just the word as we know it, I’m making a play on “sin” and it’s grave expressions in our time). But I decided to tell the truth AND keep a few friends at the same time! The Word of God will speak for itself today as we look at what we should be doing as the world around us seems to be at a lost for direction and clarity. The Word of God was spot on when it warned us that in the last days perilous times would come. Therefore, it behooves us to get dressed for war as quickly and as often as right now to stand against forces of darkness that would pull us away from victorious living. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 1 of 14 Context on Scriptures and Today’s Message Primary Scripture: I Peter 5:6-9 (CSB) 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. So what should we be doing? Well, there are many things to do to get ready for war, but today I will summarize what these passages, and others we’ll review today, tell me I must always be doing before I wander out into this fallen world: Topic: I Am Getting Dressed for War Introduction Now, I could get real fancy and talk about the regalia of the wonderful military divisions of just the American fighting force. That attire worn by Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine vets. Enemies tremble in their boots at just the sight of the well ordained and outfitted soldier. Regardless of the branch, that soldier is well trained to detect and defeat the enemy in close hand-to-hand combat, or with a (mighty) finger that presses the button to launch a long-range missile. Ooooh, they are dressed to impress! I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 2 of 14 But nope, we’ll save that for another time as we look at traits of the dress for warfare that are common to any warrior. As we’ll see, our battle will require us to fit-up in a different type of gear! It’s not just about how we look, or how proud we are to be a soldier in the army of the Lord, it’s also about continual readiness. Yes, you want to wear it well and you want to turn some heads when you enter the room, but more than anything, you want to prove your readiness by winning your battles. Yes, I want my tights to be rights, but I also want my blades to be sharp, my guns to be loaded, and my aim to be accurate. To have these traits requires constant attention and practice. Instead of a look at the civic dress of natural warfare, I want to highlight two areas of the sacred dress of spiritual warfare. 1. Dressing up Outwardly 2. Dressing up Inwardly As with the art of boxing, there is a preparation in battle dress for body blows, as much or more as there is a prep for psyche blows! I know you see the bullet proof vests, the heavy boots, and the utility belts, pockets, an weapons on that soldier. Just in case you didn’t know, to go with those weapons attached to those shoulders, that boxer is also wearing a defensive cup! So, let’s start with dressing up outwardly… Ephesians 6:10-18 (CSB) 10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 3 of 14 darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Most of us may know this simply as putting on the whole armor. Whole means whole, w-h-o-l-e, or fully and completely covered. Not “whole” drops the “w” and leaves a “hole” (h-o-l-e)! You don’t want to face the enemy of your soul with a hole in your defenses! But wait, Elder Lonon! This (our) battle is spiritual isn’t it? Yes it is! So, doesn’t that make our entire battle an inward one, an internal battle of spirit against spirit? No, not the entire battle! The “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” phrase does not mean that “your” flesh and blood are excluded from the battle you will face. It is a warning that your enemy is not like you (flesh and blood), but is a cunning fallen angel with years of experience at tempting and attacking flesh and blood (humans). Therefore, you, the real you, not some super spiritual being, but the real you that must rely upon a greater power. The real you must follow some instructions to prepare yourself for a spiritual battle that will not only affect your spiritual well-being, but may touch your physical world too! I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 4 of 14 The steps to prepare requires the real you to be humble and follow the instructions of God to get dressed by faith. {Continuing with dressing up outwardly…} You are putting on Christ. You are wrapping your body and your spirit in the armor that can withstand the blows of the enemy and any trained agents he sends your way. His strength is then made perfect in our weakness. This is a bit unconventional for warfare preparation, because we expect to be told to “bulk up” and “take the licking and keep on ticking”! But no, the Lord says, sure, take care of yourself, exercise, and be healthy conscious, but to fight the war against Satan, just put this on AND KEEP IT ON AT ALL TIMES! 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, Truth like a waist belt! Buckle up! Avoid the shame of walking on the battlefield with everything hanging out! You’re exposed! Pull those britches up and tighten that belt of truth! 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, Righteousness like chest armor! In other words, Lord, give me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. Walking and talking and living right protects some of your most sensitive organs in relation to the spiritual. In the natural sense, your chest cavity houses your lungs and heart, which if penetrated could cause other critical systems to fail. Practicing a faithful walk with Christ daily is getting me (and you) dressed for war. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 5 of 14 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. Gospel readiness like a comfortable slip-on shoe – ready to be deployed to tell that truth (about your Jesus) and walk that faith walk at a moments notice! 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Faith that is always activated, versus fear and doubt, so you don’t have to get ready to block the flaming arrows that will be tossed your way in this war. The enemy knows that fiery things will affect your progress (i.e., you’ll be fighting the flames, screaming FIRE, and jumping around distracted), so you must be wrapped in that fire-retardant faith! 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. Salvation came to you by grace through that faith, so now it’s on you to keep your head in the game. Think helmet. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus! Like any warrior, the enemy knows that a good headshot will put down the best of fighters, but the right helmet will make that difficult. Get dressed for war by keeping your mind stayed on the Lord. Isaish 26:3 is a promise from the Lord that He will keep you in perfect peace if you keep your “mind” stayed on Him. The devil can’t get you disoriented and trapsing off into false teachings and stuff! That is what the helmet is all about. Guard what you watch eyes, and guard what you say mouth, and guard what you hear ears. That’s all head stuff, right! 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 6 of 14 In conjunction with the head and helmet protection (i.e., notice the flow of verse 17 from helmet right into the sword…) is the feeding of the mind with the proper nutrients that cause victory because when the Word is spoken, when the Word is heard, and eyes of faith are activated, the evidence of things not seen, the evidence of the power and strength of our God, is realized. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. But, that whole (w-h-o-l-e) contains a hole (h-o-l-e) without prayer. Prayer is your walkie-talkie. It’s your un-severable connection to Father God! Even with your frail, sinful condition, prayer is your bold access to the throne to find grace to help in your time of need. In the heat of war! I am getting dressed for war because I realize this battle is very real and that I cannot win it in my own power. But the outward dress as it is described to us, primarily because it involves some actions we must take that are somewhat visible to us (such as praying, fasting, loving our neighbor in deeds, living a life that shines our light, sharing the gospel, etc., etc.). But there is a side to this warfare that can creep up and cause us to slack off on the armor… So our second point is that because warfare is just as much psychological as it is physiological, we want to get dressed inwardly! There may be many more duties around getting dressed for war inwardly, but I want to address three questions about this inward adornment, since it is certainly a critical part of dressing for war, beyond what others, or we ourselves, can see. First, we ask, “What is this inward dress all about?” Next, we ask, “How does this inward dress work?” Finally, we settle, “Why this inward dress is so critical?” I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 7 of 14 What? How? Why? What is this inward adornment (dress) for war all about? Matthew 22:37-40 (CSB) He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” 37 Ephesians 4:22-24 (CSB) 22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. To gain this battle armor, you’ve got to take off something. You don’t just get dressed over your normal clothes, right? First take off so that renewal can happen, then put on by allowing the Spirit of God to open up to you that outward that you had going on around that sword – we don’t want you to mishandle all this truth – it can cut you if you’re not skilled with it. Many have abandoned the battlefield because they did not understand the truth, which is only spiritually discerned. Yeilding to God’s Spirit is the only way to understand the walk of faith and victory. In the battle of the minds, only the greater mind will win! You need the mind of Christ, the only victor. To the victor goes the spoils in war, right? Christ defeated death and His resurrection is only the beginning because so will you be raised in both newness of life now, but later when He raises those whose lamps are burning and those dressed for war. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 8 of 14 {Continuing with dressing up inwardly…} How does this inward adornment (dress) for war work? Ephesians 4:25-32 (CSB) 25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. Notice that Paul continues in this letter to Ephesus to let them know that saying you love God and love others is not all! That was the window dressing. You know how it is when you get in the dressing room and you start putting things on, right? It looked so good in the display window or on the rack. But in the dressing room, you get all distorted trying to get your arm into that “love your neighbor” jacket! It sounded good, but it’s going to take some work to dress daily for this war. You will have to love God AND love others AND love your husband or wife AND even your enemies! Not “the” enemy, but your human enemies, haters, those no good… (however you’ve been describing them)! You have to stop stealing, talking nasty, and ignoring and grieving God’s Spirit that He keeps sending to your dressing room. Oh yeah, by the way, you’ve got to drop the bitterness, anger, wrath, shouting, slander, malice, etc. (So much for attending political rallies!) Even the I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 9 of 14 fellow saints and friends (that you don’t like), you got to love them for the war gear to fit! How does this inward adornment (dress) for war work, continued? Anyone still want to get dressed for war with me? Cause this isn’t getting any easier! True worship is about to be equated to reasonable service. You have to be sold out to put on this inward war gear! A transformation has to happen for the kind of readiness we need for this fight! Romans 12:1-2 (CSB) 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Then the same chapter and verses as Romans in Hebrews took us deeper into the training and requirement to be worthy of this dress for war with the enemy. Hebrews 12:1-2 (CSB) 12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Say what? Lay aside every hinderance and sin? Keep looking at Jesus? Well, He is our vast strength! And He happens to be sitting next to the Father interceding on our behalf about all the battle details! So, I guess this is how I must get dressed for war! I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 10 of 14 As with any good preparatory activity, the pressure or pressing of the thing that must be readied for use, removes the wrinkles and pockets of deformity that can be a hinderance in the heat of battle. The proverbial continual pressing or sharpening of the blade insures that its’ slightest impact or touch will inflict grave harm to the opponent. Even the soldier must know how to handle it, or it could cause a self-inflicting reminder of its power. Don’t play with God if you’re going to be a real soldier in His army! That Word will come back and cut you, too! So, we’ve seen… What this inward dress for war is all about? And we know now How this inward dress for war works? They only thing left is… Why exactly do I need this inward adornment (dress-up) for war? Well, why don’t we keep going in Hebrews to find out? Hebrews 12:3-4 3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up. 4 In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. You need to shore up your inner man and remind Him that Christ overcame it all. You need this reminder so that you not only get dressed for war, but you go out there and you slay and you stay! You show that I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 11 of 14 ole devil that this is one soul he thought he had. You found Jesus and now you are so glad! Why I need this inward dress-up for war, continued? Romans 8:5-9 5 For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. 6 Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. The goal is to set your mind on the things of the Spirit. As you grow closer to the Lord, read and listen to His Word, learn of Him, your faith will become stronger, your armor will be well-fitted and you will be aligned with the things of God for you, your family, your career, and the people around you that need God in their lives, too! Summary/Conclusion Laying aside the anxiety or the cares that intoxicate our souls and putting on the whole amour of God is what it means to dress for war. Don’t dress up for church, dress up for war. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 12 of 14 Peter, the spokesman of our primary verse spoke clearly about being properly dressed and alert for war. But it is important to remember that Peter himself had real experiences with Christ about personal struggles with fear, faith, and readiness. So in his second epistle he wrote the following… II Peter 1:12-13 (CSB) 12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, Peter says that Jesus also warned him of the dangers of not being wrapped in the armor of God, and being overly confident of one’s own capabilities or expertise to fight an invisible and formidable foe! In fact, I believe Peter is indirectly expressing that Jesus warned me just before I denied Him three times!!! That last bit of armor (Prayer) turns out to have been more important than even the early disciples realized. They slept on it in the garden as Jesus wielded it in His last moments before what would look like a captivating defeat. That little part of the uniform that dresses us completely is prayer! Prayer power is the real covering as we call on the Lord to fight and win the battle. But the key is the directive in the command: we must be steadfast and pray without ceasing. Continual prayer keeps us suited for battle. Continual prayer is how we remain the superpower against our enemy, Satan. Continual prayer brings vigilance for the long battle ahead. Continual prayer brings soberness so that we don’t get beside ourselves and forget who the true warrior is. I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 13 of 14 I am getting dressed for war so that I can run with the One we do all things for, and who does all things for us. He will win this war in the end, but until then, I must always be properly dressed for war. Altar call Return to Service Leader I Am Getting Dressed For War Page 14 of 14