Ephesians 6 10-20 2006
Pentecost 15
Ephesians 6:10-20
September 17th, 2006
“Call To Arms”
Introduction: We have seen many wars, many battles, many conflicts. Many of you have seen more wars then anyone else, more than anyone who has ever lived. World War I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, the list of major wars, conflicts and battles goes on and on. Some of you know people that fought in wars past. All of us remember Michael and the sacrifice that he made, especially as the Anniversary of his death approaches. War has come close to us, entered our homes and filled us with sorrow. This is the grim reality of life in this world. In it’s wake we pray to God for it to end. We pray for peace and the end of war, the end of all wars.
There is a war that you haven’t seen, at least not completely. We are often deceived by thinking that we live in a world that is beautiful and filled with goodness, that all the bad things that happen to us are the exception rather than the rule. Let me tell you how God sees our world. It is a war zone. The casualties are catastrophic. There seems to be no end to the bloodshed, suffering and violence. There is no peace that is peace between men and each other or peace between man and God. It is the battle between the forces of good and evil, between light and dark. It is a battle that has been raging since the fall of man. This is the reason that all other wars have been fought or will be fought until the end of this present age. This war, this battle is the battle for people’s souls, the battle for your soul.
The sixth chapter of Ephesians, which we just read has rightly been called the Lord’s great call to arms. He calls to Christians everywhere. He calls to you. It is a time to be prepared. It is time for spiritual battle. So God prepares us and calls us to put on the armor of God.
I. Put On Your Armor
A. God provides us with His own armor. God has not only called us to the battle, he has also prepared us for it. He has given us the ability to emerge victorious. If we tried to rely on our own strength and abilities we would certainly give in to the Enemy. We would fail miserably and end up as casualties. Our strength and determination is found in the Lord. In His Armor we find power and courage to fight. His Armor is our sure defense.
B. God’s armor is complete. The successful soldier must have the right armor. We as God’s soldiers are no different. Our success also depends on it. First, our Lord has girded us with the belt of truth. What is this truth? It is that we know that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God. He came in the flesh full of grace and truth. He is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to our heavenly Father except through Him. In Him we worship God rightly, in Spirit and in truth. Second, God has dressed us with the breastplate of righteousness. This breastplate protects the very heart and vital organs of our spiritual life. What is it made of? What could withstand the assault of the Enemy without being pierced through? It is made up of Christ’s righteousness given to us. We have been made right with God through the forgiveness of sins because of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Or sin was taken upon Him once and for all and His righteousness, His holiness was given to us. The Enemy can not attack us with accusations about our imperfections. When we wear this armor of God, all the enemy can see is Christ. It is related that once the devil came to Luther and tried to use the biblical truth of how Christians often fail and fall into sin to create in Luther a defeatist attitude. He presented Luther with a long list of sins which Luther was guilty of; sins of commission (explain) and sins of omission(explain). Then Luther turned to the devil and said, "No, you must have forgotten some, for sure. Think a little harder." Sure enough, the devil thought of some more, and he put them down. "That's very fine," said Luther. "Now write with red ink across them all, 'The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin' (1 John 1:7)." There was nothing the devil could answer to that. When the Devil tempts us, when he leads us to doubt, when he focuses our attention on the troubles of the day, our failures and our sinfulness we too can say to him “leave me alone for Jesus sake”. We can point him to the cross. It is there that the war was one. Victory has been proclaimed through the nail scarred hands of our savior. It has been proclaimed through His crown of thorns. It has been proclaimed in His death and resurrection. There on the cross, He died so that we could live. It is in His cross that we find our glory and the ability to fight the battles that remain.
As we enter into these battles God has shod our feet with the readiness of the Gospel of peace. This means that He has prepared us to fight the battles at any time, at any place. We remember Isaiah’s words, “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
On our heads God has placed helmets of salvation. Without which our faith would be in jeopardy of receiving a fatal blow. The salvation that Christ has won for us is something we posses right now. It is not something we have to wait for. We posses this wonderful gift right now, right here, by baptism and by faith. In our hands God has placed His Shield of faith. There is nothing that our enemy can attack us with. For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. It is your faith in Him that eternally guards you from hell, sin, death and the Satan himself. This is the marvelously complete armor of God.
C. It is given to us for a purpose. With the armor of God we will withstand the enemies attacks, standing victorious against them. The apostle Paul describes our enemy as not being flesh and blood. Rather we battle against rulers, authorities and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. What is Paul saying? Paul is reminding us that our enemy is Satan through whom temptation and evil entered into the world. Filled with hellish wickedness, Satan and his hosts have caused all the moral and spiritual wreck that we constantly see in our world. They are behind the worlds sinful actions, and ours. They are behind all the wars and conflicts that we have seen. We cannot say that the Devil made me do it. We can say that He tempted me, and my sinful flesh was all to willing to follow. So Satan attacks. He attacks us by using this sinful world to enter our homes and our lives. Constantly, we are attacked with lies that undermine morality and applaud self-indulgence and sinful behavior. Satan tempts us to turn a blind eye, to accept, and even to participate in its depravity. The world doesn’t know it but it is under siege. It is blind to the evil power that controls it. We are not blind to his power or the battle that rages for peoples souls. Finally, the Devil assails us for our faith. He accuses us falsely, whispers words of doubt and discouragement. Hmong family… calling Shaman after father’s death, fall of the Sheboygan church.
II. Pick Up Your Weapons
A. How strange it would be to picture a soldier wearing armor but not holding any weapons. It is no less strange to picture the Christian soldier without them. God has not left us empty handed. He has provided the armor and He has given us two great weapons by which Satan the enemy cannot stand against us. We stand triumphant through these great weapons of God. God has given us a mighty sword – The Sword of the Spirit. It is the Word of God. God’s Word is His promise and His power. Satan must flee in defeat when God’s Word is spoken. The same life giving Word, when spoken to distraught sinners, has the power to drive Satan away. “One little word can fell him.” When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert it was God’s sure Word that He used in His defense. Three times Jesus says to Satan, “It is written” and then He says “away with you Satan. God’s Word is our great offensive weapon. We too can say “away with you Satan.” That is why it is important for us to meditate on it night and day. That is the reason we listen to it, confess it, and sing it -- during the week at chapel, in devotions, in Bible study and as we are doing right now, in Sunday worship.
Our second God given weapon is prayer. Every soldier needs a battle cry to speak and shout before going into battle. Prayer is the Christians battle cry. Praying in the Spirit and in the name of Jesus we participate with God and emerge victorious against our evil foes. We are encouraged to pray at all times, with all kinds of requests. We pray especially for peace, not just peace on earth and the end of all wars but especially for peace between people and Almighty God. This peace is only received through God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We pray that all sinners will come home, to their Heavenly Father. And we pray for the peace of the whole world, that all should come to know the salvation that comes through Christ alone.
Conclusion: Every army has elite soldiers, like the Marines, Navy Seals, and Green Berets’. These soldiers are sent into the fiercest battles. They fight long and hard. They are well trained and experienced. God’s army has elite soldiers also. They are here in our midst. We may not see and recognize them all but there are some that we do know and see. While they may seem quite ordinary to us, they are extraordinary in the eyes of God because they have been given and accepted the special task of preparing our children for the spiritual warfare that they will engage all their lives and until Jesus Christ returns. It is our privilege and duty to support these men and women in our prayer and with all support regarding their lives and welfare. They in turn will help us to raise up a new generation of true freedom fighters. They are the future of Christ’s church. They are our heritage. They will continue to proclaim the glorious gospel of true pace and freedom that we share in the forgiveness of sins by which God showers us with His grace.
I challenge you to pick up your armor and pick up your weapons and as the Apostle Paul wrote, “contend for the faith that has been given to the Saints” of God. With our teachers and with our children we have been called to arms. We are all soldiers of God. We will emerge victorious. Though the battles wage on, the war has been won at the cross of Jesus Christ. Evil, death, the devil, and the power of the sin have been defeated. Our God reigns and we will reign with Him through Jesus Christ who continually strengthens us, and gives us His armor, the armor of God to invincible and victorious.