INI ^ SDG 14 th Sunday after Pentecost September 2, 2012 Trinity Lutheran Church, Spokane Pr. N. Pfeiffer ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Text: Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. THEME: STANDING STRONG IN THE LORD THE ARMOR OF GOD vs. The Belt of Truth The Breastplate of Righteousness Shoes: Readiness by the Gospel of Peace The Shield of Faith The Helmet of Salvation The Sword of the Spirit, (the Word of God) Always in prayer SOME OF THE SCHEMES OF THE DEVIL Did God really say... You re not good enough for heaven... IF God loved you... His flaming darts: Remember that sin...? Are you sure you re saved? [Remember the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness!] [For yourself, your fellow soldiers, and for your pastor!] Dear fellow soldiers of the cross, fellow redeemed in Christ Jesus, How good are you at listening to and heeding the warnings of those in authority? Take for instance the terror warnings put out by our government. When you hear that the terrorism threat level has been raised, how do you react? Are you more diligent, watching out for trouble? Well, in the days shortly after September 11, 2001 you probably were. The vision of airplanes flying into buildings was fresh in our memory and we were worried that it could happen again. But now, just about 11 years later, if the terrorism threat level were to rise, would you change anything in your plans or behavior? Listen to a warning given to all Christians: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pt 5:8)
The threat is imminent and real. The devil, who could not defeat God, and instead went after the prize of His creation, man, is on the prowl to lead the Children of Light away from faith in Jesus Christ. Paul writes in our text, We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (v.12) The devil and his evil angels are trying to wrestle us away from God. And to do so, he has many tricks up his sleeve. Paul writes in our text of the schemes of the devil. The devil is tricky and cunning. And we are weak! It doesn t take much for us to doubt and disbelieve. Look at how easy it was for the devil to trick our perfect parents into sin, Adam and Eve! Which of us is foolish enough to think that we can stand firm against the schemes of the devil? I know my holy parents in the Garden of Eden couldn t, I certainly cannot either! Thanks be to God, that He has not left us defenseless against the schemes of the wicked one. In HIS strength we can stand against the schemes of the devil. To protect us in our on going battles with the devil and his evil angels, God has given us HIS armor. Armor, which the Apostle Paul calls on us to put on. Put on the WHOLE armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Let us get more familiar with the Armor of God. The apostle Paul uses the picture of a fully armed Roman soldier and compares that to the fully armed Christian. THE BELT OF TRUTH vs. Did God really say...? The first piece of armor Paul mentions is our belt. Verse 14, Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth. The belt was important to the Roman solider because it fastened all his loose clothing close to his body, so he would be ready for action. Think of how hard it is to run when your pants are falling down. With the armor of God, the belt of TRUTH keeps us ready for action. When we are armed with the truth of God s Word and His will for us, we are ready for anything. Armed with the truth of God s Word, we are able to, Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2) Donning the belt of truth, is especially important when we consider one of the schemes of the devil is to make us doubt. Remember how the devil tempted Eve in the Garden. "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" (Gen 3:1) Did God REALLY say...? Are you sure, Eve? The devil tries to get us to doubt the Word of God. Through the false teachings of men - by men adding to or ignoring parts of God s Word - doubt and confusion is placed in the minds of the Christians. Putting on the belt of truth which God has given us in the Holy Scriptures, we will be ready for action. With the belt of truth of God s Word, we will have a response to the schemes of the devil when he questions us, Did God really say...? THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS vs. You re not good enough for heaven... The next piece of armor which God supplies us with is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate was as important to the Roman soldier as a bullet proof vest is for the modern soldier or police officer. The breastplate protects those vital organs in our chest cavity. Those vital organs that we can t live without. Righteousness is something that we cannot live without either. Without righteousness we do not have a right relationship with God and no hope of eternal life. The breastplate of righteousness that GOD arms us with, is the righteousness that comes by faith - the
righteousness of Christ. Because we were not righteous, because we did not live as God had commanded us, Christ came to be our righteousness for us. He lived a holy, perfect life as our substitute. He kept all of the commandments for us. And through faith in Jesus Christ, we are credited with HIS righteousness. Paul writes to the Philippians of the breastplate of righteousness, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Phil 3:9) This bullet proof vest of Christ s righteousness is such an essential piece of the armor of God. It protects the vital organs, the very heart of our faith, against the schemes of the devil. How many times hasn t he tempted you, calling into question your worthiness to go to heaven? The devil points out what we already know - we are UN-righteous sinners, not worthy of heaven. He get us to despair and doubt whether we are worthy of eternal life in heaven. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Know that when you were baptized into Christ, you put on Christ. You were given a greater righteousness than anything you could ever do, you were given the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself - the righteousness of the Son of God! Put on the breastplate of righteousness! SHOES: READINESS GIVEN BY THE GOSPEL OF PEACE vs. If God really loved you... Shoes are likewise very important to a soldier. They keep him ready for action and to be on the move at a moment s notice. To keep us up and moving, God has given us as shoes, the readiness given by the Gospel of peace. The Gospel of peace pronounces to us that Jesus has reconciled us to God. Jesus took the punishment of our sins on Himself and suffered the wrath of God in our place. Through His death on the cross, Jesus has taken away the handwriting of requirements that were against us (Col 2:14). When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter, God was announcing to the world that He accepted the payment Jesus made on the cross for sin. Easter was God s pronouncement of peace. Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 4:25-5:1) No longer is God our angry Judge, ready to condemn us, but He is at peace with us. Rather than an angry Judge, He is our loving Father and we are His dear children by faith. This is the Gospel of peace. God is at peace with us because of what Jesus did. The Gospel of peace makes us ready for action against the schemes of the devil. So often the devil likes to convince us that God is angry with us. When hardship comes upon us - whether it is cancer or stroke, a death in the family or financial woes, fire or natural disaster - the scheming of the devil is to get us to question God s relationship with us. He tried to get righteous Job to do the same. Curse God and die, his wife told him (Job 2:9). But with our shoes on we are ready to move and dodge these schemes of the devil. The Gospel of peace assures us that because of Christ, because Christ rose from the dead, God is at peace with us. Any hardship that comes upon us, comes to us from our wise and loving Father. Put on the shoes that God gives you, the readiness given by the gospel of peace! SHIELD OF FAITH vs. The devils flaming darts: Remember THAT sin... Another important piece of armor that a Roman soldier would have carried into battle was his shield. In Paul s day, the Roman shield was often very long, to protect as much of the soldier s body as possible. The shield God has given us is faith. The faith God gives us is a
shield that protects us. Paul writes that with the shield of faith you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. In the days of bows and arrows, archers would sometimes attack the enemy with flaming arrows. This was done so that if the arrow missed it s target, the flaming arrow would set the area on fire, spread, and possibly defeat the enemy that way. The devil sends many flaming arrows our way. He like to remind us of past sins - big sins and little sins. By reminding us of those sins the flames spread and leads us to call into question our forgiveness. How many flaming darts has the devil shot your way? Take up the shield of faith. Faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Faith which trusts the Word of God, that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1Jn 1:7) Though the flaming darts of the devil cause us to question our forgiveness, taking up the shield of faith they are extinguished, put out, because our faith believes the Word of the Lord, I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. (Is 43:25) Take up the shield of faith which God gives you! THE HELMET OF SALVATION vs. Are you sure you re saved? Our heads need protection too! So often the devil in his scheming causes us to over analyze things, over think things, and wonder whether or not we are really saved. For this reason, God has given us the helmet of salvation. It protects us because salvation was not dependant on us - it was dependant on the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Since we could not save ourselves, Jesus came to save us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Jn 3:16-17) The helmet of salvation keeps our head safe in all circumstances. When doubts assail us, we rush back to the cross and see, did Jesus really die for my sins? We rush to the Easter tomb - did Jesus really rise from the dead? If yes, then we have been saved because Jesus died and rose for us! Put on the helmet of salvation which God gives you. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT The final piece of armor which God gives us is for both defense AND offense. It is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With the sword of the Spirit we are able to defend ourselves from all the attacks and temptations of the devil. And also with the sword of the Spirit we are able to attack the devil. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil? Though He was and is the almighty Son of God, Jesus did not rely on His divine strength to fight of the temptations of the devil. Instead Jesus drew the sword of the Spirit from its sheath and relied on the word of God to defend Himself. "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " (Mt 4:4) "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " (Mt 4:7) And finally, when the devil tempted Jesus to worship him, Jesus went on the offensive with the devil, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " Then the devil left Him. (Mt 4:10-11a) God has armed us with the same sword of the Spirit. But this sword needs to be drawn from its sheath. Open your Bibles. Have daily, Scriptural devotions. Come to Lord s house to hear and learn God s word. Take advantage of our Bible Classes. Draw the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God to defend and attack against the schemes of the devil! PRAY AT ALL TIMES IN THE SPIRIT Finally, Paul writes, Praying at all times in the Spirit, with prayer and supplication. To the Thessalonians he writes, Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess 5:17) Pray constantly to God for help against the many schemes of the devil. Pray for your fellow believers. The devil may be scheming against them to get them to fall and doubt their forgiveness and salvation. With Paul, I would ask that you would remember me in your prayers, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Pray at all times in the Spirit and know that God for Jesus sake hears those prayers. A soldier in a war-zone would be foolish to leave his barracks without his armor and weapons. So too we would foolish to think that we can stand against the schemes of the devil on our own. Eve and Adam could not do it in their perfection. Peter could not do it in his selfconfidence. Let us put on the WHOLE armor which God has supplied us - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of HIS might. Amen.