Prepare for the Fight
The Armor • Sermon • Submitted
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Pastor and author
Garrett Kell
shares the following story:
“It was the boy’s first day of junior high.
All was going well until
three older kids took his lunch,
ruffled his hair,
and stuffed him in a locker.
They snarled at his squeals
and high-fived one another
as they walked away.
What the bullies didn’t know, though,
was that the kid in the locker
was the little brother
of the football team’s
starting middle linebacker.
After lunch,
the boy told his brother what happened.
His brother looked him in the eyes.
“Let’s go.”
As the boy came to his locker,
the bullies were waiting for him,
grinning.
But he hadn’t come alone this time.
He came in the strength
of his older brother.
That was the last day
they messed with him.”
As Christians,
we have a dangerous adversary.
Over the past several weeks
we have been discussing
the enemy of our soul
and the various ways
he and his forces
try to dismantle our lives-
by attacking our minds
and our hearts
with his temptations and lies.
The truth is, as Kell explains,
“We face something
far scarier
than getting stuffed in a locker.
Our enemy wants to devour our faith
and drag us to hell.”
End Quote
(Sigh) Wow,
that is quite the statement
but right on the money.
So that leads us to our first point this morning:
1. The enemy is real.
A serious discussion of Satan,
is not a popular topic today.
There is a saying that has been quoted
In books and movies repeatedly.
“The greatest trick
Satan has played on humanity
is to convince us
that he does not exist.”
Western society
has turned him into a myth,
they cover themselves every Halloween
with the trappings of a world
in which they do not believe.
They mock
and make lighthearted reference
to the devil and the gruesome-
and their demon costumes
emphasize their unbelief.
You see,
by convincing you that he is not real,
the enemy is then
free to wreak havoc on your life.
Make no mistake friends,
that the enemy of our souls is real.
As we have learned over the past few weeks,
he wants to tell you
what to think
and subtly
pull to pieces your mental health
with his lies.
He wants to light your fuse
and destroy your relationships
and inner peace with anger.
He wants to tell you what to say.
He wants to freak you out
thus, overwhelming and immobilizing you
with fear.
In short,
our enemy
may not march down the street
or attack your home with a tank,
but his subtle weapons
can be just as destructive:
and lies, misbelief, and temptation,
are his weapons of choice.
Take a look
at the first part of our text this morning
found in Ephesians 6: 10-12 (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.
Repeated 6 times in these short verses
is the word “against.”
Weather you acknowledge it or not,
you are in conflict
against the evil one.
The apostle Paul,
the human author of Ephesians,
is deadly serious
about the potential damage
the devil can do to believers.
Consider for a moment
the damage sin has caused you
or your loved ones.
Is it sexual sin?
The damage of porn addiction on a marriage
or sexual abuse on a child?
Is it alcohol or a drug addiction?
Every one of us
has either been personally hurt
by another’s sin
or have a loved one who has.
Satan is not playing games.
He wants to use addiction, anger,
fear, divorce,
abandonment, selfishness,
pride, and bitterness –
to disrupt, kill,
and destroy families,
friendships, and lives.
Let our Western culture romanticize him
and turn him into the subject of a sitcom
with shows like “Lucifer”…
but sitting in the pastoral counseling room,
listening to those who come to me for support,
I know better.
Satan is not a joke.
As the apostle Peter warns (1 Peter 5:8, ESV),
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Thankfully,
we do not have to face
such a fierce adversary alone.
As Kell asserts,
“Jesus is on a mission to rescue captive souls from a strong enemy (Mark 3:23; Luke 19:10).
Through his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus delivered a mortal wound to our formidable foe (Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8).
He now calls sinners to flee from Satan’s captivity, and align with his everlasting kingdom (Acts 17:30).
He commissions his church to join him in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:18–20).
This means that, when we follow Jesus, we follow him into a war zone.
Though Satan has been decisively defeated, and his future is doomed, he lives for the present.
He still schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11), stalks (1 Peter 5:8), deceives (Revelation 12:9),
ensnares (2 Timothy 2:26), hinders (1 Thessalonians 2:18), harasses (2 Corinthians 12:7),
and attacks us with fiery darts of temptation (Ephesians 6:16).
We wage war against his dark forces, but not with physical artillery (2 Corinthians 10:3–4).
Rather, we are commanded to “be strong in the Lord. . . and to put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10–11).
When we come to the battle, we do not fight alone. We fight in the strength of our Lord.”
Which brings me to our second point this morning:
2. Don’t fight in your own strength
but in the power of Jesus.
Friends,
we fight In the strength of our elder brother- Jesus.
As 1 John 4:4b assures us (ESV),
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
“He who is in you
is greater than he who is in the world...”
The mistake many Christians make
when approaching spiritual warfare
is they spend too much time
focusing on the enemy.
They view spiritual warfare
as a believer’s mission
to dress for battle
and then to go out
and fight evil forces alone
or in their own strength.
Does verse 10 tell us to
“be strong” or to “man up”
and fight on our own ability?
No!
We are told to
“be strong in the Lord and His power.”
The literal translation from the Greek reads
“Be strengthened by the Lord, and in the strength of His might”
Spiritual warfare
is about joining Jesus
in His fight.
He equips,
He empowers,
He leads us into enemy territory
and we get to see Him
lay waste to the enemy.
Therefore,
the key to victory
over the enemy’s attack on your life
is found in Ephesians 6:10 (NIV),
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
where it instructs,
“be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.”
Don’t focus on the problem
or on the enemy,
instead
focus on our victorious Savior.
Pastor Garrett Kell
powerfully explains it this way
“On the wall of my childhood Sunday school classroom hung a poster of a Roman soldier’s armor.
It explained that God’s armor corresponded to what those first-century soldiers wore.
While there are similarities, Paul desires our imaginations to be captured by something far greater than a Roman soldier.
He wants us to see our warrior God, who powerfully fights, “…against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The focus of spiritual warfare isn’t Satan or an imaginary Roman soldier; it’s our Savior.
Paul wasn’t using a contemporary illustration to explain spiritual warfare; he was reminding the Ephesians of the prophet Isaiah’s presentation of our warrior King.
The afflicted take courage because a Spirit-filled Savior girds himself with a belt of truth to speak on their behalf (Isaiah 11:1–5).
God’s people erupt with singing because the Lord is coming with shoes to pronounce gospel peace (Isaiah 52:1–10).
This Savior enters evil’s darkness with a breastplate of righteousness and a helmet of salvation to deliver his people from oppression (Isaiah 59:17).
The Lord’s servant speaks words like a sharp sword, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:1–6).
It is to this Savior that King David flees to be shielded by faith during his enemy’s attacks (Psalm 18:29–42).”
The prophet Isaiah used figurative language to demonstrate the power and authority of the Savior as He engages in spiritual warfare on our behalf.
Brothers and sisters, what is incredible about Ephesians 6:10-17 is that the same armor that the prophets of old identified as belonging to the Lord is now shared by believers.
You and I have access to GOD’s own armor.
It is ours through Jesus- Eph. 6: 13-17, NIV
“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.”
End Quote
This morning
I would like us to focus on verse 16
which tells us to:
3. Make the shield of faith a priority.
Again, verse 16 urges-
“In addition to all this,
take up the shield of faith.”
The Greek word for “in addition”
is pas
it means
“all, every, or the whole of something.”
The King James version
translates pas as “above all,”
(Eph. 6:16a, ESV),
“…above all,
take the shield of faith.”
As he is listing the various aspects
of the armor of God,
Paul gives the shield of faith
a place of priority.
Why?
Because as Dr. David Jeremiah exhorts,
“Faith binds us together
in vital union with God.
Faith is belief plus trust.
It is resting in the person of God
and what He means to us.”
End Quote
The middle schooler from our opening story
faced the bullies with confidence
The second time around,
Why?
Because he had faith in his bigger,
stronger,
and wonderfully capable older brother.
Friends,
faith is essential to spiritual warfare.
You must trust in the power
and authority
of your older brother Jesus.
Jesus is infinitely more capable than you are,
to fight the fight for you.
The second half of verse 16
tells us the purpose of the shield of faith.
Which brings us to point number four this morning.
4. Faith is belief plus trust that extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one.
Eph. 6:16, ESV
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Back in the time
when the book of Ephesians was written,
it was common warfare practice
for soldiers to dip the tip of their arrows
into pitch
and then to light them on fire.
Then when they were launched at the enemy,
the flaming arrows would catch the enemy
or his camp
on fire.
Roman soldiers, however,
started covering their shields
with wet animal skins and hides
to block and extinguish
any flaming arrows shot their way.
Consider for a moment
the devil’s tactics.
His very first attack
was way back in the Garden of Eden
when he tempted Eve to doubt God,
“Did God really say…”
Like his slithering body
Satan twisted coils of doubt
around Eve’s heart and mind
until she questioned
not only God’s Word
but also God’s intentions.
Her faith faltered,
she doubted,
then gave into the temptation
and ate the forbidden fruit.
Satan’s tactics have not changed.
He will lie and deceive,
until you doubt God’s Word,
and until your faith
in God’s intentions towards you,
faulter.
Satan wants you to
question God’s goodness,
His love for you,
and His promises.
Because quite frankly,
without your shield of faith
you are a much easier target.
I am reminded of a 1986 Far Side Comic
that depicts two dear standing in a meadow.
One dear has a bullseye on his chest.
The caption states,
“Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.”
Without our shield of faith,
the Christian is like poor Hal-
a walking target.
And make no mistake,
the enemy’s darts
are fire tipped
and have been crafted
with your name on it.
New Testament Theologian
Peter O’Brien explains,
“The burning arrows depict every kind of an attack launched by the devil and his hosts against the people of God.
They are as wide ranging as the insidious whiles that promote them.
And they include, not only every kind of temptation to ungodly behavior, every kind of doubt, and every kind of despair- but also external assaults like persecution and false teaching.”
End Quote
It is safe to say
that throughout our lifetime,
the enemy of our soul
will launch many thousands
of flaming arrows at the Christian warrior.
Long after they have hit home,
they can continue to burn
and destroy things
like our inner peace
and our relationships.
But you can find safety in faith.
Let your faith shield you
not just from some of the enemy’s darts.
The passage assures us,
that faith can protect us
from ALL the enemy’s arrows.
Point five this morning is this:
5. Connect your shield with the Christians beside you.
The Roman soldier’s shields were crafted
in such a way
as to connect with the soldiers on either side.
Together,
the shields created a wall of protection
for the comrades in arms
who were stronger fighting together
than alone.
The same holds true for Christians today.
Don’t try to fight something like temptation,
depression, addiction,
or personal hardship
all on your own.
We must come together
as a faith community.
O’Brien explains,
“Do you see the critical point here?
This is the shield of faith which by design is interlocked with the soldier next to you.
This is the shield of faith utilized in community- the community of faith.
In our spiritual battle as is true in any combat environment, there is no room for lone rangers.
If you expect to be protected you have got to stick with your group, march with the unit, and live like a family.”
End quote
The Roman soldier’s shield
was more than a defensive weapon.
Soldiers also used them
to push back the enemy
and to reclaim ground
previously conquered by their opponent.
That brings us to our sixth point this morning,
6. Use your shield of faith to take back ground, from the enemy.
Brothers and sisters,
we are called
not only to stand firm
against Satan’s attacks
but to fight back.
To put our shield up
while we are running away
is not the picture that Paul is trying to give us.
The picture he is painting
is one of a soldier,
holding his shield up for protection
while he is steadily advancing
and taking over the enemy’s territory.
When we have the shield of faith
that is anointed by the Holy Spirit
and saturated with the Word of God,
it positions us to move forward in power.
Not backwards as we face off with the enemy.
We will stand our ground
and having successfully defended it,
move forward,
not backwards.
Our faith is supposed to be out front
so that it can cover all.
Our faith was never meant
to be held next to our side,
or behind our backs.
It is meant to completely cover
and protect us
when we are marching forward
to take new ground for the Kingdom of God.
Consider what the Scripture says in 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
When you start using your shield of faith
you are shielded by God’s power,
not your own.
Faith is belief plus trust.
Friends,
I urge you to believe-
to put your trust in God.
That brings us to our next point this morning…
7. Trust God to turn what Satan meant for evil into something good.
For the Christian there is no pointless suffering.
James 1:2-4 declares (ESV),
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
This is a difficult truth to accept
but once you get it-
I mean really get it,
everything changes.
You start to see
how God uses the enemy’s attack
for your benefit.
Paul gives us a wonderful example of this
in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Friends,
I urge you to trust in God’s ability
to turn what the enemy meant for evil in your life
into something good.
Trust God
to not only protect you from the enemy’s attacks
but to turn them around.
When Satan attacks you
trying to discourage you,
instead,
God uses that attack
to develop in you His virtues
such as endurance, empathy,
faithfulness, courage,
compassion, and love.
Max Lucado explains,
“One of the most potentially frightening aspects of being a Christian is knowing that when you put your trust in Jesus,
all of Hell takes arms against you intending evil upon your life.
And, yet what trumps that fear and evil is knowing that, no matter what comes, God is the Master Weaver.
He takes what was intended for evil and reweaves it for good…
God, the Master Weaver.
He stretches the yarn and intertwines the colors, the ragged twine with the velvet strings, the pains with the pleasures.
Nothing escapes His reach.
Every king, despot, weather pattern, and molecule are at His command.
He passes the shuttle back and forth across the generations, and as He does, a design emerges.
Satan weaves; God reweaves.”
Finally-
8. Have faith in God’s protection.
No matter what you are facing,
God will give you just what you need to make it through.
As I invite the praise team up,
I want to leave you with
one more true story.
Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis
were caught in China
during the Japanese invasion in 1941.
The couple lived with their two children
in the inland town of Shenkiu.
The village was tense with fear,
and every day brought terrifying reports
of the Japanese advance.
At the worst possible time,
Dick developed appendicitis,
and he knew his life depended
on making the long journey
by ricksha to the hospital.
On January 15, 1941,
with deep foreboding,
Margaret watched him leave.
Soon the Chinese colonel came with news.
The enemy was near
and townspeople must evacuate.
Margaret shivered,
knowing that one-year-old Johnny
and two-month-old Margaret Anne
would never survive as refugees.
So, she stayed put.
Early the next morning
she tore the page from the wall calendar
and read the new day’s Scripture.
It was Psalm 56:3—
What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
The town emptied during the day,
and the next morning
Margaret arose, feeling abandoned.
The new verse on the calendar
was Psalm 9:10—
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee:
For thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
“Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
The next morning
she arose to distant sounds of gunfire
and worried about food for her children.
The calendar verse
was Genesis 50:21—
Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
“I will nourish you and your little ones.”
An old woman
suddenly came to their house
with a pail of steaming goat’s milk,
and another straggler
arrived with a basket of eggs.
Throughout the day,
sounds of warfare grew louder,
and during the night
Margaret prayed for deliverance.
The next morning
she tore the page from the calendar
to read Psalm 56:9—
When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back:
This I know; for God is for me.
“When I cry unto thee,
then shall mine enemies turn back.”
The battle was looming closer,
and Margaret didn’t go to bed that night.
Invasion seemed imminent.
But the next morning,
all was quiet.
Suddenly,
villagers began returning to their homes,
and the colonel knocked on her door.
For some reason, he told her,
the Japanese had withdrawn their troops.
No one could understand it,
but the danger had passed.
They were safe.
You see,
Margaret’s faith,
was placed in a powerful God
who gave her just what she needed
to make it through…
and He will do the same for you!
Let us pray.