Closing with Encouragement

Introduction

Last week we we talked about Paul’s description of the Armor of God...that he encouraged every believer to ‘put on’ in order to face the reality of spiritual warfare going on in that day...and is still going on in our day.

Our world offers their own version of armor for us to wear...to protect ourselves...

the armor of success

money

fame

The armor of strength

or even vulnerability

Every self-help (or other psychological support services) is meant to build us up and make us stronger to face the world.

Those things aren’t bad in and of themselves...but all of them fail in the spiritual warfare realm.

In the early 2000s, a company called “Second Chance Body Armor” was sued and fined millions of dollars due to the fact that their lightweight...reported bulletproof...vests made of Zylon instead of Kevlar... were found to weaken over time to the point of failure...resulting in several lost lives of police officers.

If we wear armor...we rightly expect it to work. Bulletproof vests may fail...the world’s solutions for spiritual problems may fail...but the written word of God...the armor of God...never fails.

Parts of the Armor

We read last week that we are to put on the full armor of God...

1. The Belt of Truth (v. 14a)

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness (v. 14b)

3. The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (v. 15)

4. The Shield of Faith (v. 16)

5. The Helmet of Salvation (v. 17a)

6. The Sword of the Spirit of truth (v. 17b)

Fully armored up... we probably think we are ready for spiritual battle... but as Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians...he is not done with his exhortation (encouragement) to Christians of his day or ours...

Paul adds ( Ephesians 6:18-20)

Ephesians 6:18–20 NIrV

At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God’s people. Pray also for me. Pray that when I open my mouth, the right words will be given to me. Then I can be bold as I tell the mystery of the good news. Because of the good news, I am being held by chains as the Lord’s messenger. So pray that I will be bold as I preach the good news. That’s what I should do.

We can apply to our lives the full armor of God...be ready for spiritual battle, but all that armor...which is God’s, not ours...comes to us as a result of our relationship with him.

An ongoing...daily relationship with God...is the only thing that keeps us spiritually ready for battle. Ready to face the enemy of our souls who uses the world’s lies to infect our minds and hearts...in hopes of making us believe its lies.

In our political atmosphere and especially in the war in Iran...there is all kinds of misinformation out there...with the intention to deceive. It’s difficult to know what to believe. That’s a natural aspect of warfare...so it is in the daily spiritual battle we all face.

Fill your lives with the truth, church. Read the truth (the Bible) daily...hear truth daily (podcasts, sermons, Christian music)...seek truth...the Lord Jesus...who is the way the truth....and the life...seek him through prayer and petition of every kind...as Paul says...praying in the power of the Spirit.

Prayer is the anchor of God’s armor.

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There used to be a show called “The Weakest Link” where one person was voted out of a group at the end of a question round until only one remained (the winner). Every time someone was voted off...the host would say “You are the weakest link...goodbye.”

The weakest link in the armor of God is the point at which the armor fails. But God’s armor never fails. The only failure comes in our lack of discipline in our relationship with God. Too often we are like Michelangelo’s famous paiting “The creation of Adam”...God extending his hand and adam mindlessly offers his half-hearted attempt at connecting with God. We all must be vigilant and stay awake and alert...daily...in our relationship with God.

Paul is clear that God’s spiritual armor is synonymous with our prayer life. Our relationships.