Jump Start # 1556

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”

  This week our Jump Starts have been looking at the spiritual battle that we are engaged in. Fight the good fight of faith is what Timothy was told. The battleground of this fierce fight against Satan takes place in our hearts. That is the territory that Satan is after. He doesn’t really care about the state house, the court house, or, the White House. It’s your house, your heart, that Satan is after. He will use anything and anyone to get you. He will discourage your from worshipping God. He will confuse you with false ideas. We will dangle temptation before you to get your eyes off of Jesus. He will present opportunities for you to choose wrong. He will present reasons to justify in your mind the choosing of wrong. The battle is intense. The enemy is likened to the strongest animal in the jungle, the lion. The foolish person won’t be serious about God’s warnings. They will glide through life in a fog believing that there’s really nothing wrong, all the while their heart becomes more and more distant from God. It’s time for shepherds of God’s churches, and parents to wake up and realize how intense and how hard this battle is. Music, friends, TV, social medial are all platforms that Satan will use to get what he wants, and that is the souls of your family.

One of the great paradoxes of the Bible is that we know who wins the overall spiritual war, that is Christ. Satan loses. The Bible ends with Satan being cast to Hell where he will be tormented day and night. The battle is not up in the air. It’s not one that could go either way. Satan loses. God promises that. But, the battle for your heart and my heart, is still on going. While Satan will lose the war, he may conquer me or you. This is why we must be diligent, careful and alert. This is why we must stay close to the Lord.

Our verse today is yet another of the many passages that remind us that we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Here Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the full armor of God. This section has been the source of many sermons, especially for younger preachers starting out. I wonder if we have looked at it with careful eyes.

Three things to notice here:

First, there is the call to put on the full armor of God. The armor belongs to God. We remember young David racing off to fight Goliath without any armor. He tried the king’s, but it didn’t work for him. Unlike David, we must put on God’s armor. Without this, we will become casualties upon the battlefield.

You’ll notice also, that Paul tells the brethren to put on the full armor. Our tendency would be to grab the sword and go. No, don’t do that. You need all of it. God knows you need all of it. Put it on. Faith, salvation, the word of God, righteousness, truth—it is these things that we need to be victorious in the battle.

Second, as Paul, describes what we put on, the order seems out of order to us. If we were soldiers in ancient Israel, sleeping in our tents and the horn blew that the enemy was coming, we’d hop up, grab our sword, shield and maybe helmet and run to the battle lines. That’s how we think. It’s not how God thinks. Paul begins with the girdle that covers the waist. Then strap on the breast plate. Then but on the shoes. Then take the shield and helmet. Finally, get the sword. It would take time for the soldier to dress that way. We might tend to skip a few of these steps. At the end of the battle, those that were fully equipped would be the ones who had survived. Forget the movies, where the hero stands with just a sword and nothing else and he slays dozens of the enemy. Great in the movies, didn’t work that way on a real battlefield. It certainly won’t work that way in your heart.

Third, Paul gives us the confidence that God’s armor works. Three times and in three expressions he shows  the success of the Christian who is armed this way.

• You will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (11)
• You will be able to resist in the evil day (13)
• You will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (16)

You will. You will conquer. You will win. Putting on the full armor of God works. It is what we must have to win this battle over our hearts. So we need to develop faith. We need to walk more in righteousness. We need to understand the word of God. We need to grasp salvation. We need to buy the truth and sell it not.

God doesn’t leave us alone in the battle. He is not sitting idly on the sidelines watching. It is His armor. It is His ways that will allow us to come through this safely.

Maybe we ought to spend more time in our Bible classes and sermons developing the qualities of righteousness, truth, faith, and salvation than we do talking about why others are wrong. There may be a place for that, but too much of that doesn’t help us with the battle we face. Paul told the Corinthians that we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes. We know how the enemy operates. We know his weapons. We know when he is likely to attack. We know…do we? Football teams will study the films of their opponent. They want to know how they play. Businesses will study the models of their competition. They want to know what works. Politicians will study their opponents. But spiritually, too many of us are blind. We are walking through the fields, having a wonderful time, never realizing that just off in the tall grass the lion is watching us. He’s waiting. He’s waiting for the moment we are not paying attention. He’s waiting for us to be alone. He’s waiting for us to drop our guard, to be careless, to make a mistake. Then, in an instant, he’s upon us. Then it’s too late.

Be alert. Satan is watching you when others aren’t. Satan is at work before you get there. Satan is at home before you get there. Satan travels with you on business. He’s waiting for you at the hotel where you vacation. Satan—he wants to rip your heart out and see you cast into Hell.

Be certain, there is a battle going on. It never ends until we leave this world. But then, and only then, we will be done with Satan and the battle will finally be over. Until then, we must be sharp. We must be careful. We must help others.

The lion is watching…do you see him?

Roger