{Prayer}
In his book, Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes, “There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons, but the instructor wanted $5 a lesson. That was a lot of money. I found that it was cheaper to pay the bully, so I gave up karate.”
No one likes conflict, right? For the most part, people will go out of their way to avoid conflict. We like things to be peaceful. We like for people to be happy. So if we can pay the bully to have things remain peaceful, we would rather do that instead of learning how to defeat him. Sadly, this applies to the lives of Christians as well. Many Christians believe it is easier to pay the bully than learn how to defeat him. Many Christians don’t realize that life is being lived out on a battlefield and not on a playground.
At the end of the six days of creation, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). The heavens and earth were complete. Being pleased with what He had created, God blessed the seventh day, made it holy, and rested from His labor. In the midst of a good and perfect creation, life thrived. In the midst of a good and perfect creation, behind the scenes of Adam and Eve’s everyday life … a battle was brewing. An angel, a good and perfect creature, decided that he was tired of being a creature. This angel … he wanted to be in charge, he wanted to be God. So this angel, behind the scenes of the perfection of everyday life, within the perfect realm of God, convinces some other angels to join him in battling against God. And then it happens … the battle begins. A battle, which will literally change the world forever.
St. Michael and the other angels of heaven fought against this turned angel. With the help of God, this evil angel, this dragon, was thrown out of heaven. Revelation 12 says, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth” (12:9).
The good and perfect creation now had a new resident. This new resident moved into and took up residency in the neighborhood of Adam and Eve. If he couldn’t take over heaven, maybe he could take over earth. So the serpent, who wanted to be God, tricked Adam and Eve into believing that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil … they will have their eyes and their minds open, they too will know good and evil, and they will be like God (Genesis 3:4). And they bit. Literally. Adam and Eve bit into the fruit, bit into the lie which Satan was offering.
With that one single bite, the good and perfect creation that God had made was now corrupted. The kingdom of darkness was ushered in and the battle between good and evil on earth began.
Whether we care to acknowledge it or not, and we should care, the devil is real and this battle between good and evil is going on each and every day. Paul says in our second reading, in the verses we looked at this past week at Vacation Bible School, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:11-12).
Notice, this battle which is going on, it isn’t between you and me, it isn’t between you and your neighbor, it isn’t between you and the person who you don’t see eye to eye with on anything … instead, this battle in which you and I find ourselves in on a daily basis … it’s against the dark powers of the world and against the spiritual forces of evil.
Satan and his little minions, and no I don’t mean the little yellow tic-tac looking characters in blue overalls, Satan and his little helpers, they are doing absolutely everything they can to turn you and me away from God. From the moment we entered into God’s family, there has been a target there on our back. From that moment, the devil has been attacking you and me. With every little twist of the Scriptures here, with a little dose of doubt and fear there, here and there, Satan is looking for your weak spot. He wants to find that spot where you begin to question the goodness of God. He wants to find the spot where you begin to question the power and grace of God. And once Satan finds that spot, he is going to do all that he can to expose and attack you. Satan’s ultimate goal … it’s to promise you the world, it’s to promise you that everything will be okay, it’s to turn you completely away from God.
And this is why we need this full armor of God that Paul talks about. This is why we spent this past week at Vacation Bible School talking about the full armor of God. We need the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground (Eph. 6:13). We need this armor of God so that we can withstand Satan’s lies, his broken promises, his false hopes that are constantly being shot our way.
So what is this armor? Paul describes it in a way in which the people he’s writing to would understand it. Living in the midst of the Roman Empire, the people knew what a Roman solider looked like when he was in his full armor. The people would understand needing the belt, the breastplate, needing the proper shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It was an all-encompassing armor. Each part was important for the soldier’s defense against the weapons of the enemy.
This armor, we obviously are not coming to church in, working the factory, the field or the office in, nor are living our lives at home dressed with a literal armor on us. But make no mistake, we need it in each of these places as well as all the other places we go for the battlefield bully, the devil is all around us. For he is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 3:8). He is looking for that weak spot to attack, he is looking for that opportunity to sneak in and strike.
In the midst of all this, the financial guy in me keeps thinking, “Man, this armor, if it’s got to stand up against the devil, it’s got to be good, it’s got to be strong, it’s got to be expensive! Can I really afford it?” The thing is, you can’t afford to not have it. Sure, it may be easier to just roll over and give into the bully instead of getting this armor, instead of following God knowing full well that you and I are going to fail. The devil is going to find my weak spot, attack, and try to lead me away from God. It would be way easier to go that way.
But here’s the thing … the spiritual armor you possess … the cost has already been paid for. The armor you possess, it was paid for, not with silver or gold but with Jesus’ holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. The armor which covers you, it represents both the promise of divine protection and a call to battle. Like a general encouraging his troops, Paul tells us that victory is certain because Jesus has already won the battle, He has already won the war. Being that Jesus is the victor, He has made you and I well-prepared to stand with Him to face any last-ditch assaults the devil may have.
The armor you have, which covers you and protects you, it is not just simply from God … it is God’s very own armor. It is what Jesus Himself wore in battle when He fought against Satan in the wilderness. It is the very same armor He wore on the cross as He suffered the most excruciating and severe attack Satan could possibly muster up. Rising from the dead, Jesus lives to declare victory over sin, death, and Satan. Through faith in Jesus as your Savior, Jesus gives you His armor, His protection. Washed of our sins, saved by Christ, we boldly live our lives in the midst of this spiritual battlefield as Christian soldiers knowing that battle belongs to the Lord and that in the end, we will stand victoriously with Him in the new, peaceful creation to come. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in the promise and peace that God is with you in the midst of this battlefield, now and forever. Amen.
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