Called To War

 Ephesians 6:10-20


10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 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.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

When one thinks of Christianity and to make the assumptions toward it, you would make the assumption that Christianity is a peaceful belief system.  When it comes to the interaction between our fellow man, yes, it is supposed to be a peaceful belief system. However, when it comes to the spiritual battleground, Christianity is very much a war zone.  Why are we in this constant fight with the enemy?  If you are a Christian, you know what I’m talking about.  It seems that we live every single day under some type of temptation or attack from the enemy and we wonder when he will ever give in.  The reality of it is that he won’t until God finally deals with him for eternity.  

Why does Satan continue to attack us?  The reason why is because he strives to make us as ineffective as possible for the mission of God. Our job though is to stand.  As verse 13 states that having to do all we stand.

In the beginning of these set of verses, Paul reminds us that we are not necessarily in a physical war.  We are in a spiritual war of high places.  These are things we may not be able to touch physically but they hurt and destroy worse than anything. 

In order to protect us from such attacks we are ordered to put on the whole armor of God every single day.  The armor of God is completely defensive in its wear and has some offensive tools as well.  While the armor of God has been gone over many times, I want to do a brief overview:

  1.  Girded our waist with truth:  The belt of truth.  This is what holds all the pieces of our armor together is truth.  The truth of God’s Word.  The truth of our actions.  The truth of the gospel.  Truth should always be placed high in the believer's life.

  2. The breastplate of righteousness:  This chestpiece protects our heart.  It’s not only the righteousness of God and all that He has done for us that we hold close to our heart, but it’s the righteousness that God allows us to do in His power.  All of it comes from the heart.   All righteousness is deemed righteousness not by the deed itself but by the motivation of the heart.  How is your heart?  Do you love the way Christ loves?

  3. Shod our feet with the gospel of peace.  The sandals of the gospel.  We are commanded to go out into the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the only message that will ever truly bring peace to mankind.  Who have you gone out and shared the gospel with lately?

  4. Shield of faith which will quench the darts of the wicked one.   While the shield of our faith will protect us from the attacks of the enemy, shields are very much offensive weapons as well.  Our faith can help us push forward into the enemy lines and storm the very gates of hell.  The Spartans knew this well.  That is why they chose the Hoplite shield over the traditional full shield.  They wanted it for protection but they also knew they could use it to push forward and even to swing at the enemy.  This is how powerful our faith can be.

  5. Helmet of Salvation:  When Satan attacks your mind and tries to fill it with lies, remember that you are saved and have been bought at a price.  You belong to God and His family.  You are a child of God.  A joint heir with Jesus.  Do you understand that because of the shed blood of Jesus that the helmet you wear isn’t any normal helmet.  It’s a crown.  It’s a royal battle helmet.  You belong to the King of Kings.  Remember when the enemy tries to tell you that you are not good enough that Jesus by His blood made you into an elite soldier.  You are more than good.  You are the top of the heap.  All because of the saving blood of Jesus Chris.  We were bought at a price and we belong to Him.

  6. The sword of the Spirit:  The Word of God.  The Bible is sharper than any two edged sword.  The Bible is an offensive weapon cutting through the lies of this world and through the lies of the enemy, snatching people to salvation (faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God).  The Bible can also be defensive parrying the attacks of the enemy and stopping his feeble attempts at strikes against the Christian.  The Bible is fast moving and sharp, ready to cut into everything that holds itself contrary to God.

 

What should our attack position be?  Like many great military bodies before, the army of God has its own strategic positions.  Just like the Spartans had the phalanx and the Romans had the “testudo”  (tortoise or turtle position), the Christian has its strategic military maneuver.  The position is on our knees and the maneuver is prayer unto God.

If we wake up every day telling ourselves, I’m going to let the truth hold me together today, let God’s righteousness and the practice of righteousness protect my heart, go out and tell others the gospel, let my faith protect me and my faith proclaim my love for Him, I’ll remember His saving grace and that I belong to Him, and I’m going to read and share His Word, then you will be ready to face each and every day victorious. 

When the enemy attacks or you see an attack off in the distance, assume battle position.  On your knees soldier and pray.

Semper Fidelis Deo. (God is Always Faithful)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Blueprint For Prayer Part 2

Image
  Matthew 6:11-15     11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The first half of the Lord’s prayer focuses on God, but in the second part, Jesus addresses our need for daily provision, forgiveness, and protection. Notice His words remain centered on the Father, who provides all three.  Give us this day our daily bread.  The Lord is the source of everything we need—physical, material, emotional, and spiritual (Philippians 4:19).  By asking Him to provide our basic necessities, we’re acknowledging our complete dependence upon Him and trusting in His sufficient provision for each...
Read more

Proverbial Wisdom: Secure in Wisdom

  Read Proverbs 4 Have you ever had anyone refer to you as a child?  How did that make you feel?  A lot of times when someone refers to us as a child, we take it as an insult upon our character.  However, in the book of Proverbs, being referred to as a child is a huge compliment.  We see through the pages of Proverbs that God considers us His very children, His very heirs, and He wishes to instruct us as a Father instructs His children.  God gives us reassurance that He loves us and only wants us to follow His instructions because they will guide us and lead us to a good life.  We have security inside God’s very words.  His instructions will give us the wisdom to lead lives that not only honor Him, but will ultimately bring us great happiness and joy.  God’s instructions are not overbearing rules to make our lives miserable, instead it’s the exact opposite.  They are rules to protect us and instructions to guide us into the abundant life...
Read more

Firmly Convicted

Image
  2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.   A person of conviction feels certain that his beliefs are true. However, it’s often the case that the things people believe are based on the current conditions or situations of their life. Then, when circumstances change, their convictions do as well. In other words, it’s not uncommon to find someone go back and forth on issues t...
Read more