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August 23, 2009
“Vacation Is Over”
Ephesians 6: 10-20
Sunday, August 23, 2009
For almost all of us, vacation is over. The opportunities to get away, to be tourists, to be self isolated from the forces and news of this world is over for most of us. We are back at work with colleagues who do not share our beliefs. Some of us work for organizations in which the official Mission statements are not in sympathy with our beliefs and personal priorities.
The end of vacation brings us back into the real world, the world that shows many evidences of its fallenness. We who live in God’s grace are living in a fallen world, a world whose systems are corrupted by the servants of the one who tempted Adam and Eve as a serpent.
A few weeks ago as she was giving a presentation to the deacons, Lana Johnston used the term “Spiritual Warfare”. I had not heard that term in a while, which means I have been in close Christian Fellowship mostly with Presbyterians in the last year. We Presbyterians seem to stress the cerebral elements of the faith and shy away from the emotional and sometimes spiritual elements. And if the term Spiritual Warfare is not an emotional and spiritual term, I would not know one.
But the fact that most of us Presbyterians don’t use the term “Spiritual Warfare” does not mean that such warfare does not exist. In fact there are several passages in our bible that speak about it in rather direct terms. One of them is this passage from Ephesians. In this passage the Apostle Paul makes it clear that there are dark, satanic forces at work in our world fighting against us as we attempt to build Christ’s kingdom on earth.
We see them in the enterprises that Lana’s Cooperative house is opposing with its Pornography Awareness event. We see them in the greed that has all but destroyed some of our industries and much of our economy. We see them in many of the battles that we are fighting in denominational structures that claim to be the church.
In this passage the apostle Paul reminds us that there are such forces afoot (as Sherlock Holmes would say) and he instructs us as how to prepare to fight against them.
This is certainly an interesting passage, and one that is helpful for those of us who like to envision things as we learn. Most of us have probably seen illustrations of the armor of God that Paul describes in this passage. It usually appears as a drawing of a Roman Soldier with in full armor with each part labeled with the spiritual quality Paul gave it. The shield would be labeled FAITH, the Helmet SALVATION, and so on.
But because the description of the armor in this passage is so interesting, I think there is a danger in missing something important that Paul wrote at the beginning of the passage before he gave the specifics about the armor.
In the 12th verse we read “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.
First, I want you to notice the plurality of the enemy. Whether his phraseology is listing a number of separate categories or is giving different names to the same group of beings, there certainly seems to be more than one enemy here. In fact, I think it is safe to say that there are more than a few. We have many spiritual enemies fighting us or working against us as we try to labor for Jesus in this life.
I want you to notice especially one category of enemy he lists “the cosmic forces of this present darkness”. That is a very interesting phrase in the light of Paul’s time and culture. You see, Paul lived and worked in the district of Asia Minor of the Roman Empire during the first Century AD.
As far as the people living in that Empire were concerned, they were living in an age of enlightenment. They thought that they had driven out and conquered the darkness of the previous cultures and were now a great improvement on what had been.
But Paul, living in Christ and being enlightened by his Jewish background and it’s Scriptures saw the darkness of the enlightened Roman Empire. Over the ages that followed, many have come to agree with Paul’s opinion. The Roman Empire of the first century was dark and full of evil.
We, judging our culture from our Christian standards and beliefs should be able to see the darkness or sinfulness in our own time and culture.
But we need to be careful whom we blame for the darkness. Please notice that Paul wrote that “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh”. The people whom we might see as being responsible for the sinfulness of our day and who seem to be fighting our attempts to bring more people into the kingdom of God are not our enemies. The murderers, the pornographers, the Terrorists, the Taliban, the Communists, the Republicans, the Democrats, or whomever you see as being responsible for the horrible messes we are in are not really our enemies. Our enemies, the ones who are responsible for the evil in this world are the spiritual beings who are on Satan’s side. When we fight for God and righteousness and truth we fight against them.
Now, not being a fan of ghost stories or the dark side of the supernatural, that is a scary thought to me.
But God has some equipment for us as we go up against them. As Paul thought about how to describe these commodities he used some imagery that was right in front of him. Literally. When Paul wrote this epistle he was a prisoner in Rome, much of the time chained to a Roman soldier in full uniform. The shield was probably leaned up against the wall, but all of the armor of a Roman soldier was right there in the room with Paul.
Paul believed that Christians were given armor to fight the principalities and spirits controlling much of this world.
Our belt is truth. The belt or girdle of the Roman Soldier bound up and tied close to his body the loose fitting tunic worn under the armor. The belt kept it from hanging loose and getting caught on things or tripping up the soldier. Truth keeps us from getting caught up or tripping. Our truth is simple truth. Lies do not serve our master. When we serve God we must be truthful. Little white lies are not helpful.
To protect your chest, your heart, and lungs, you have righteousness as your breastplate. This includes your own righteous behavior that you have learned from Christ, and the righteousness that is given to you by Christ. You can stand up guilt-free before your enemies because Christ has erased your sins.
Shoes are an important part of a soldiers outfit. Without good shoes an army can’t move. If it can’t move, it can’t fight. The battle of Gettysburg in the civil war started as a raid for shoes for the Confederate army.
Our shoes are whatever prepares us to proclaim Jesus as Lord, King, and Savior to others. If you are going to fight the enemy you need to be able to declare who your leader is.
The Roman soldier had a large shield that he could kneel down and hide behind in case of enemy archers. Our piece of armor that we can find shelter behind is our faith. Keep it strong. Do whatever helps you to keep a strong faith. Read your Bible, gather often for worship and fellowship with other Christians. Develop close friendships with other Christians and talk about your faith.
I have never trained for military service but I have in my youth taken boxing lessons, and I know that in order to fight, you have to keep your head up, not down. In order to fight you have to keep your eyes on what is going on. You look down at your peril. Soldiers of all times have worn helmets to protect their heads and eyes and brains when they attempt to see what is going on. Our Helmet is our Salvation - our assurance of eternal life with God in his kingdom. We can face anything in this life when we realize what is waiting for us. Our assurance of our future helps us to keep our heads and our heads up when the enemy seems overwhelming.
Our sword is God’s Word, which in our time is the Bible. The directions of the bible, the good news about Jesus, these are the things we use to hack away at the power of our enemies. That is why Christians need to know what the Bible says and what it means. We have two Bible study groups and two adult Sunday School classes here at Faith church. Sharpen your sword, be a part of at least one of them.
With all of those armaments, there is still one thing that needs to be done. Pray. At all times and for all Christians, especially your leaders, as Paul exhorted them to pray for him.
Vacation is over. The spiritual war of life for a Christian in this world is upon you. Suit up with all that God has given you. Be brave, be Bold, and pray.
Pastor David Horner
Faith Presbyterian Church
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Posted by faithpres at August 23, 2009 05:54 PM