The Armor of God

August 26, 2018 Ephesians 6:10-20 The Armor of God 14th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Children’s Sermon Lesson: Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Key verse: 17. Object: A baseball cap Good morning, boys and girls. I brought a baseball cap of my favorite team with me this morning. (Show the cap.) How many of you like this team? (Let them answer.) What are your favorite baseball teams? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you a story about some friends who loved to play baseball. Are any of you in (the name may vary from community to community) T-ball/Pee Wee/Little League this summer? These friends weren't in a league. They just played often in their backyard. Each of the friends had a baseball cap of his favorite team. Each friend had a glove. Each friend had a bat. Each friend had a ball. Each friend had shoes. Each friend had a shirt of his favorite team. You can see that the friends were ready to play baseball. Before they played, each of the friends put on the clothes I just mentioned and had the proper equipment to play the game. When they had the proper clothes to play the game each felt ready to play. Each felt good about playing. Getting ready to play a game like this makes me think of this morning's lesson. The lesson tells us that as Christians we should put on the armor of God. (As you tell the next part go through the motions of putting the specific garment on your body as you talk.) Here's what this morning's lesson says: Fasten the belt of truth around your waist ... put on the breastplate of righteousness ... put on whatever (shoes) will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace ... take the shield of faith ... take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now you know why this lesson makes me think of getting ready to play baseball. Here's what I want you to remember this week. Christians wear the same clothes as all other people. We don't put on helmets or carry swords. But we should be ready to help make our world a safe and peaceful place to live. We want to be good neighbors. We want to be honest with our friends. We want to share God's love with others. To do that we must be ready. The children playing baseball were ready to play after they put on their caps. Christians must be ready to share God's love by being ready to share it when it is needed. CSS Publishing Co., Ephesians 6:10-20 Common English Bible (CEB) Put on the armor of God 10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. 12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. 13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. 18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. 19 As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan[a] of the gospel known.20 I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say. Footnotes: a. Ephesians 6:19 Or mystery Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible I think that all of us were shocked a few weeks ago when the news reported that 76 people had been shot in one weekend in Chicago. As I read the reports this weekend it appears that 7 people had been shot. When I was in Englewood, I used to light a candle on the altar for everyone that had been shot that weekend. It got to the point when I would have to light a candle every week, because the violence was so prevalent. And as we continue to hear of these statistics, we struggle to explain what it going on. We struggle to find solutions to the problems. I saw on the news last night that there was a violence conference, were they have said that violence is a disease. The violence has been attributed to poverty and lack of jobs. We are all praying that the day will come when we will be able to address and stop violence not only in Chicago, but throughout the whole world. There are indeed explanations for many of the wounds of our world. There are many social ills in our world that need to be addressed and stopped. There is selfishness, greed, and cruelty everywhere. There are many explanations that we have for all of the things going on in the world. But we don’t talk about very much in church or anywhere else, is the underlying reason for violence. Ephesians tells us that we have to realize that there is evil in the world. We don’t like to dwell on the fact that the devil is real, and that the are real effects of the presence of evil in our world. People are getting hurt. People are making poor decisions that affect other people. I am not going to dwell on that point this morning, but there is a point in all of our lives when we realize that what we are fighting in life is beyond our understanding and explanation. but our experience will tell us that there is an active power of evil in the world. Robert Louis Stevenson once said: “You know the Caledonian Railway Station in Edinburgh? One cold, east windy morning, I met Satan there.” We do not know what actually befell Stevenson but we recognize the experience; we have all felt the force of that evil influence which seeks to make us sin. Ephesians says that what we are fighting in life is not people, but forces of darkness and spiritual evil in the heavens. But We are encouraged to fight and to stand up to those things. There is no way that we can totally eliminate the bad things that happen in the world. But we are told that as the faithful followers of Christ, that we can protect ourselves from the effects of these evil things. We are encouraged to put on the armor of God. The armor is not a physical helmet, breastplate, shoes or even a sword. It is the spiritual armor of truth, faith, peace,salvation and the word of God. If we rely on those things in our lives, then we are less likely to be affected by evil. Join the Winning Side! Jim Wallis writes that when the South African government canceled a political rally against apartheid, Desmond Tutu led a worship service in St. George’s Cathedral. The walls were lined with soldiers and riot police carrying guns and bayonets, ready to close it down. Bishop Tutu began to speak of the evils of the apartheid system -- how the rulers and authorities that propped it up were doomed to fall. He pointed a finger at the police who were there to record his words: "You maybe powerful -- very powerful -- but you are not God. God cannot be mocked. You have already lost." Then, in a moment of unbearable tension, the bishop seemed to soften. Coming out from behind the pulpit, he flashed that radiant Tutu smile and began to bounce up and down with glee. "Therefore, since you have already lost, we are inviting you to join the winning side." The crowd roared, the police melted away and the people began to dance. Don’t go away, Paul says. Put on your armor and dance. I am inviting you to join the winning side. John Ortberg, "Roll Call," article in The Christian Century, August 9, 2003, p.16. We are encouraged to be a part of the winning side – Christ’s side. It is interesting that the writer of Ephesians calls evil a ruler and authority. Usually when violence is used, it is used as a form of power over a person. There are 4 kinds of power talked about in the new testament. There is dunamis, like our word dynamite – which is a form of strength. There is kratos – like our word democratic – or ruling power, there is ischus – which is the power to influence others with your actions, The last form of power is energia – energy – which is the power of God. When we put on the armor of God, we are using the 4th type of power – God’s power. Ephesians tells us that the power behind the armor of God – faith, truth, righteousness, and peace – is prayer. We should take everything to God in prayer – waiting for an answer and a solution. I try to have a morning routine to start my day off. I try to exercise for 30 minutes, 30 minutes of devotion, 30 minutes of journaling and 15 minutes of prayer. I don’t do so well with the exercise everyday. But I try to be intentional about the prayer. The prayer makes a difference. I remember when I was at Our Saviour’s - I talked about needing to pray everyday, and the Christian educator said – I can tell the days that you have not done your prayer – you get pretty mean. I don’t know about that, but I know that it does make a difference in how I face the day. Prayer William Barclay, in his commentary, points out that the sign of the Christian is when he or she is eager to be on their way to tell the story of Jesus: his death, his resurrection and his ascension. This is the commitment of being a servant for the Lord. Barclay emphasizes that for servant ministry there are three conditions people must have in their prayer life: (1) Prayer must be constant. It is from daily prayer that we find daily strength and holy guidance. (2) Prayer must be intense. No beating around the bush. When you have a clear message from the Lord about a particular concern, be bold about your prayer life. Be the prayer warrior he has called you to be. (3) Prayer must be unselfish. We must learn to pray as much for others as for ourselves. We must seek a community of believers to pray with us and for us. Together we will know the wisdom of the Holy Spirit as it uses us to be a vehicle of servant ministry. Harry Denman, adapting William Barclay’s Commentary Pray to Gather Strength One time, some time ago, some army troops were participating in a military training exercise in the Mojave Desert. Jim Bolton was on a crew that became separated from the rest of the troops. One of the vehicles in their convoy had lost its traction and had come to rest at the edge of a sand cliff above a fifty-foot drop. The vehicle was hopelessly mired in the sand, and the soldiers in the unit tried to free it several times unsuccessfully. Meanwhile the rest of the company was getting farther away. After another fruitless attempt, when the troops were hot, tired and discouraged, the commander gathered the men together to pray. It seemed kind of out of place for a group of soldiers, and some of the group were uncomfortable with the idea. But after spending a few minutes in prayer, Jim remembers that everyone seemed refreshed. One last time they tried to free the vehicle from the sand, and this time they were successful. Jim doesn't know whether their prayer actually dislodged the vehicle from the cliff's edge or not. But when they took the time to pray, they had a chance to focus their attention on God, relax, and gather their strength. The greatest spiritual weapon we possess is prayer. We can turn to God in prayer at any time. And we can be assured that our prayers will be heard. King Duncan, www.Sermons.com So what is going on in your life? What is it that you need to pray about? We all face evil on some form or another each and every day. Ephesians teaches us that the armor of God is more than protecting us from death, it is what leads us to life. As we live, we can face everyday and everything with prayer. Lets pray. Other illustrations….. When Queen Victoria ruled in England, she had several daughters. And her daughters were just like girls are today. They went to school, and saw the latest fashions, and they wanted to wear their dresses just like the girls down the street. And so they'd come shouting to their mom, who just happened to be the queen of the British Empire. And they'd tell her they wanted to wear their clothes like this and their hair like that. And she stopped them short one day. She said to them: "You are the daughters of the Queen, And the Queen's daughters do not follow fads. They establish fashion!" You know you’ve crossed into some new station in your life when you visit the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and realize as you are leaving that you completely skipped all the paintings. That’s right, the entire Renaissance wing just was not on the agenda. Suddenly it hits you: You are no longer a student, or a tourist, or an art lover. No, you are a parent of small, squirming children who need to see something big, and strong, and hard-hitting. So your museum tour was through the pyramids. Your museum circuit consisted of huge tombs and temples, the mummies and the caskets of ancient Egypt. But perhaps most importantly, you meandered through the mists of the medieval ages. This means rooms and rooms of ancient, awful-looking weaponry, and the Met’s huge collection of all types of “awesome” armor. There are over 15,000 pieces of ancient armor and weapons in the Metropolitan’s collection — dating from 400 BCE, through the heavily weighted years of medieval Europe, and including a huge collection of Japanese implements and armories, from the fifth through the nineteenth centuries. As you wander around the Museum complete coats of heavy iron armor stand at attention all over the place… God’s Armor There is a big difference between striving just not to die, and doing all you can to live a life of purpose and meaning. There are freeways, and factories, and families full of people who are just trying not to die. These people keep going to work, keep going on. But they don’t know why. Weekends and vacations become blurry, frantic “festivals” — parties devoted to trying to celebrate something other than the mere survival of another week, another season, another year. For Christians who feel the (enlightening) protective weight of “God’s armor,” there is a different goal: to “stand firm” and to “keep alert.” Christians recognize there are evil forces and genuine enemies. But Christians know that there is a protective layer of divine love that always offers the safety net of salvation. God’s armor does not so much keep us from dying as God’s armor keeps us alive — alive in Christ, alive to love, alive to hope, alive to peace. Leonard Sweet Don't Take It! Once I was standing in line at a Catholic mass for Holy Communion. The woman in front of me was holding her daughter. In that solemn and silent moment, as the priest recited the words, "receive the body and blood of Christ," her three-year-old screeched, "Yuck! Don't take it mom!" Laurie Manning