SunnyBrae Family Chapel #5

Intro:

Welcome back everyone, its hard to believe how quickly this week has gone by. I hope your family has enjoyed each day we have had together and this is it. Our last family chapel. We are going to look at the final piece of God’s armour which is the Sword of the Spirit, which we will see is the word of God.

We need to add the sword of the spiritHas anyone ever seen those videop clips when one of the parents gives their really young child a fake knife and when the other parent seeing the child it looks like they have this sword in their hands and righly sothey freak out and immediately run over to the grab the knife. Have you guys seen those? Some of you parents are propbably thinking that is a terrible thing to do, while others find it hilarous. Our sword of the spirit is sharp and I need someone who can come up and add this final piece of armor to _____ our soldier.

Alright, let me pray for us before I read our passage today.

Prayer

The Text: Eph 6:17-18

Ephesians 6:10–18 NIV

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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Main Point: Sword of the Spirit

Explantion:

God has given us the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This is the only piece of armour that is both defensive and offensive. A Roman soldier's sword was made for close combat, when the battle was right in front of him.

God's Word is powerful because it points us to Jesus. John calls Him "the Word made flesh." As we read and trust the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ, and equips us to stand against the enemy.

I wonder if this sword that God supplies is kind of simialir to a laser tag gun.

Did anyone this week get a chance to play laser tag? Ok for those of you who played laser tag, did any of you just move around and never shoot your gun? The whole time you just continued to let people shoot you but never actually shot them? No of course not, that would be absolutely silly right, the sunnybrae staff gave you this laser tag gun to use in the game.

Now Instead of being in a laster tag game, we have been reminded this week that we are in a spiriutal battle and God himself has given us strength in Him and power through His armour to stand strong in the battle. As part of that armour He has given us a sword to use, which is the word of God. God works through His Word as we trust it, believe it, remember it, and obey it.

Illustration:

Do you guys remember the story of Jesus in the desert being temptated by the devil?

Well, as he was being tempted three didfferent times, he didnt just stand their quitely with nothing to say, nor did he say hold on to that thought as he whipped open his pocket sized bible and ask goggle where he could find a good verse. He was ready and answered each tempatation with God’s word to defend and fight off those attacks.

Before God ever asks us to stand firm against the evil enemies, he has done it first through Jesus. Jesus stood firm through these tempatations, but also through the different attacks, and lies and today stands victorious after defeating death, and give us His strength to stand firm.

Application:

As we come near to the end of our time together and the jounery we have been on this week exploring the armor of God and I think Eugene Peterson helpfully reminds us that this battle is real and that it truly matters. He also highlights one essential response to the battle—something Paul mentions in verse 19.

Here is what Peterson says in the message:

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language Chapter 6

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13–18  Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Prayer is essential for this ongoing battle. And Paul ends his letter by encouraging us to pray on all occasions and without ceasing as our entire life becomes one large prayer to God. But not just prayer for yoursleves, but for your families and our brothers and sisters in the same battle.

Because of that I would love to do something a bit different for our time and to take a few minutes to pray together. So how I thought this could work is each family could partner up with another family and have a couple people in your group pray for each others families and however else God may lead you. and then in a couple minutes I will finish our chapel with a few final words.

Prayer

Illustration:

Their is a story told about a battle near the village of water loo, which is present day -Belgium, On June 18, 1815, as the fate of Europe hung in the balance on a muddy field.

Napoleon had returned from exile and assembled one last army. Across the field stood the Duke of Wellington and his allied forces. Wellington knew he didn't have to defeat Napoleon on his own—he simply had to hold the line until the Prussian army arrived.

For hours, wave after wave of French soldiers attacked. Artillery pounded the ridge where Wellington's men stood. French cavalry charged repeatedly, with thousands of horses thundering toward the allied lines. Entire battalions disappeared in smoke. Soldiers watched friends fall beside them. Every instinct would have been to run.

Throughout the day, Wellington rode along the battlefield encouraging his exhausted troops to keep their positions. Every minute they held on brought them one minute closer to reinforcements.

As the story is often told, messengers galloped to Wellington with desperate reports:

"Sir, The men can't hold much longer!"

Each time, Wellington gave the same simple order:

"Stand firm."

Another messenger came:

"Sir, they are attacking again. The line is beginning to buckle. The men are exhausted. Surely now we must withdraw!"

Once again, Wellington answered with the same two words:

"Stand firm."

Finally, one officer is said to have saluted and replied,

"You'll find us there."

And they were. They held their ground until, late in the afternoon, the first Prussian troops appeared on the horizon. Reinforcements had arrived. What seemed impossible only moments before suddenly became a victory.

My prayer for each one of us is that this will be true for you. You will be able to say the words, you’ll find me there standing firm.

Standing firm,

on the days ahead when you feel tired and weiry

Standing firm,

when you feel defeated and discouraged from the curcumstances you are in

Standing firm, not through your own efforts, but solely in the power and strength of our God.

Let me pray to finish our time together.

Prayer