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Ephesians 6:14-18a (ESV)

 

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.

 

            For some people, nothing is more fascinating than the concept of spiritual warfare.  Some folks have mental pictures of angels and demons grappling in some sort of MMA octagon, each trying to make the other side tap.  And they all want to know what the secret weapon is that they need to use to really have victory over the spiritual forces.

 

            Of course, when this topic is discussed, one of the most commonly cited passages of Scripture is the one above.  There, Paul get’s into the spiritual beat-down metaphor as well.  Paul talks about our defense against spiritual enemies, and he does so in very real terms that would have been known to the people of his day.  Those terms that Paul uses are warfare terms, as Paul lists out pieces of a Roman soldier’s armor. 

 

            What I think many people forget, however, is that this passage is a big metaphor.  The picture is apt, as God wants us to envision our spiritual struggle against the enemy as a battle.  However, it is possible to take any metaphor, even a biblical metaphor, and get so lost in the metaphor that you miss the spiritual point. 

 

            What does it look like when a person misses the point in the metaphor?  Well, look at a person or group that spends time “praying on the armor of God.”  They might even hold out their hands as if they are holding an invisible helmet before sliding it into place on their heads.  They might pretend to buckle the belt of truth around their waists.  Whatever they do, those who are lost in the metaphor think more about armor pieces than they do about the things that are being depicted as armor.  They will spend hours discussing what all the armor pieces do, and not focus on the things that Paul is really commanding.

 

            So, let’s take just a second to remember what our armor really is.  It is a simple list: 

 

·        Truth

·        Righteousness

·        readiness in the gospel

·        faith

·        salvation

·        the word of God

·        prayer 

 

Look at that list, and see for yourself what it is that will give us victory in the spiritual battle that is raging around us.  None of those things are mysterious.  None of those things require a special spiritual armor seminar.  If you just looked at that list of things and were not thinking Ephesians 6, you wouldn’t even come close to thinking of a soldier on a battlefield or an angel putting a chokehold on a demon.

 

            Why would the above  list not stir you to images of battle?  That list would not make you put on imaginary armor because it is quite simply a list of godly Christian attributes.  These are not secret armor; they are simple summaries of how we are to live in our day-to-day, moment-to-moment lives.  We are to be people of truth, because lying dishonors God.  We are to be people of righteousness, because sin dishonors God.  We are to be ready in the gospel, because God has commanded us to be ready, and because the gospel gives us great joy and courage.  We are to have faith, because without faith, it is impossible to please God.  We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling as God works in us to will and to act according to his good purposes.  We are to hold fast to the word of God, because God’s word is the treasure that is the revelation of God to us.  We are to pray, because that is what God’s people do, and it honors him when we do it.

 

            Do you see the point?  Paul draws this glorious soldierly picture, but the armor is not some sort of secret spiritual stuff.  What Paul is saying to you is this:  Do you want to win the spiritual war?  If so, live as a Christian.  Don’t spend all your time pondering demons.  Instead, obey God.  Follow his commands.  Take the gospel to the nations.  Trust in his word.  These are the keys to spiritual victory, and they are not often found through spiritual warfare conferences.  These keys to spiritual victory are found in regularly, faithfully walking the day-to-day Christian life.

Exodus 1:15-17, 20-21

 

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

 

20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

 

            As part of the horrors that the Hebrews suffered under the oppressive rule of Egypt, the midwives were commanded to murder newborn children.  There was a selection process, and that process was simple.  When a child was born, the women who delivered the babies were to check the sex of the child.  If the child were male, the child was to die.

 

            The midwives, for their part, refused to obey this evil command.  They knew that God would be greatly dishonored were they to carry out such a barbaric practice.  They knew that God wants children to live.  They knew that God strongly commands against murder.  They knew that, even though a tiny baby cannot be a productive member of society without growing, that tiny baby has value simply because he is created in the image of God.

 

                        See any similarities to the abortion debate?  If you don’t, you’re not looking. 

 

            Recently, it was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in many of our churches around the world.  Many pastors preached on the topic of the God-honoring cry to let the children live.  I want to share with you a couple of quotes from John Piper’s sermon entitled “Born Blind for the Glory of God.”

 

“

Let me set up the situation we are facing in America and how today’s text relates to it. There are about 3,000 abortions a day in the United States and about 130,000 a day worldwide. Which means that the horrific, gut-wrenching reality of Haiti’s earthquake on January 12 happens every day in the abortion clinics of the world. And it is likely that if the dismemberment and bloodshed and helplessness of 130,000 dead babies a day received as much media coverage as the earthquake victims have—rightly have!—there would be the same outcry and outpouring of effort to end the slaughter and relieve the suffering.

 

The recent gains in prenatal testing have introduced the possibility to abort children with traits you don’t want in a child. So it is especially common in China to abort girls because of the coercive one-child rule. Most prochoice people in America think that’s odious.

 

So, for example, according to Dr. Brian Skotko, pediatric geneticist at Children’s Hospital in Boston, in a November 2009 article from ABC News, “An estimated 92 percent of all women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to terminate their pregnancies.” This is true, even though, as Gary Bauer points out, there are many “waiting lists of couples ready to adopt children with Down syndrome.”

”

 

            Are we in America so different than the Egyptians of old?  The Pharaoh ordered the murder of children based on nothing more than their sex.  He made this command because he believed it to be in the best interest of his nation.  Pharaoh did not believe that his country could afford the harm that would be done the country if the Hebrew nation were allowed to grow unchecked.  It was not that Pharaoh had a perverted lust for blood; it was merely that he wanted his people to keep their current standard of living.

 

            In much of the political debate regarding abortion, the whole argument hangs on arguments like Pharaoh must have made.  People, after all, deserve the right to succeed in life and not, as then presidential candidate Barak Obama said, be “punished with a baby.” Giving birth to a special needs child or giving birth to a child at an inconvenient time of life could very well change a person’s entire future, their entire standard of living.  We don’t want to do that to anybody, do we?  Sure we don’t’ like abortion, but it is the only way that our people will keep their freedoms intact. 

 

            The Hebrew midwives saw the problem, and so should we.  It is far more important to fear God than it is to battle to keep a particular lifestyle.  It is far better to fear God, even if that causes you suffering in this life, than to put a child to death.  And while you may be able to make arguments as to how other social issues are important, the fact still remains that the intentional slaughter of 3,000 children per day is a great evil that no reasonable person can deny.  If swine flu were killing 3,000 people per day, the nation would move heaven and earth to put a stop to it.  If Islamic terrorists were able to kill 3,000 Americans per day, the people would be screaming for military intervention on the highest level.  And, in either of those cases, if a political candidate told the people, “I want us to focus on other important issues like jobs and the economy,” the people would, or should, so soundly vote down that candidate that no one would ever make such a foolish claim again.

 

            Christians, make no mistake about it, what the Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to do was pure evil, and the very same thing he commanded be done is happening all over our land every day.  Not all who participate in the abortion industry intend evil.  Some don’t understand.  Some don’t believe.  Some intentionally try not to think about what is happening.  But the fact is, thousands of little bodies are mutilated and dismembered every day for the sake of human convenience and sexual freedom.  Let us be like the Hebrew midwives who understood that it is far better to fear God and save lives, even if this costs us at present,  than to murder children and live at ease.

Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

 

            Life can be hard.  Sometimes, life can be brutally hard.  We want to keep those lovely Christian smiles on our faces as we tell those around us that everything is OK.  But, if we are honest, we need to do better.  A false smile means nothing.  What we need is the kind of understanding of suffering that we see right here in the most famous of psalms, Psalm 23.  

 

            What happens here is something hard.  It is the valley of the shadow of death.  This may be the psalmist facing danger or even his own death.  It may simply be him facing a truly dark moment of life, a shadow like death.  But whatever this shadow is, the psalmist is facing it.  In fact, he is walking through it.  There is no shrinking back from death or its shadow.  The follower of God, on occasion, will walk through the pain.  How we handle ourselves in those moments speaks volumes about what we truly believe about God.

 

            Notice also that you walk through the valley.  No valley, no dark place is ever permanent.  Even if the psalmist is walking to his death, as a believer in God, he knows that death is not the end of life, but it is the beginning of a new life.  Like a dark valley, there is light on the other side of the trial.  There is eternity on the other side of death.  There is a new day on the other side of the hurtful, difficult, painful moments of life.  And the psalmist, and any Christian, finds that hope in God.

 

            How, by the way, did the sheep get into the valley of the shadow of death?  He walks there.  In verse three, he was being led down paths of righteousness for God’s name’s sake.  Here, he walks into a difficult, hurtful, frightening time.  Perhaps he walks eve into his last moments of life.  But there is no indication that he is still not following his shepherd.  In fact, we know that the shepherd is right there with him, comforting him.  So, the shepherd led the sheep into the valley for his name’s sake in just the same way that he led the sheep along paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  When we go through hard times, we do not go through them without God.  God is our shepherd, leading us into and out of the valley for the sake of his own glorious name.  Never miss that, or you will miss much of the purpose of your own life’s struggles.  No, I do not pretend to know why God chooses to do things the way that he does in our lives, but I can guarantee that, when it is all said and done, all will be for the praise of Gods’ glory.

 

            The shepherd’s rod and staff comfort us.  Those are the tools that the shepherd uses to lead and protect the sheep.  Sometimes, those are even the tools that the shepherd uses to discipline a wayward sheep.  They remind us that, even when we are going through the valley, God is right there.  He is strong and able to deliver us.  He is powerful and able to protect us from all enemies.  It is not that we never fear, but our fear is actually driven away by his protection.  It is not that we never hurt or are in danger, but we find our comfort in his mighty protection. 

 

            So, are you in the valley?  Do the times of green grass and still waters seem so far in the past that you cannot remember them?  If so, then remember that God is still right there.  If you are in Christ, you have a shepherd who walks by your side through this valley.  He protects you.  He will comfort you.  He leads you, even through the pain, for the glory of his name.  And he will lead you out of the valley to the other side. 

Acts 14:19-23

 

19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

 

            The story of Paul at Lystra in Acts 14 is one of the most fascinating accounts that we read in the Book of Acts, though I seldom hear it taught.  In verses 8-18, we learn that, while traveling with Barnabas, Paul, by the power of God, heals a man.  The miracle stirs the people of Lystra up so much that they assume that the gods had come down to earth in human form.  The people think Barnabas is Zeus, because he does not speak, and they call Paul Hermes, because he appears to be the spokesman.

 

            Things get even crazier when the people actually bring in the priest of Zeus to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas.  Of course, Paul and Barnabas do everything they can to put a stop to this foolishness.  They tear their clothes, signifying that they are horrified, and run into the crowds telling everybody that they are ordinary men who happen to be carrying the message of the one true God.

 

            Then things get even crazier than before.  Other men arrive and stir the crowds up against Paul and Barnabas.  That same group that was just about to hail the evangelists as deities suddenly turns, drags Paul out of the city, stones him, and leaves him for dead.  They actually go from wanting to worship Paul to trying to crack his skull with big rocks in just a few moments. 

 

            What is stunning to me, however, is what happens next.  Paul isn’t dead.  His friends get him out from under the rock pile and dust him off.  Then Paul walks right back into the city of Lystra.  You know the guys were thinking, “Paul, you might have taken one too many of those rocks to the noggin; they just tried to kill you in Lystra.  Let’s go somewhere else.”  But Paul had none of it.  He went back into Lystra.  He then went to the surrounding towns and even made a return visit to Lystra before moving on. 

 

            Now, let me add one more piece of data from Acts 16.  Sometime later, Paul made yet another visit to Lystra on a different missionary journey.  Here is what happened:

 

Acts 16:1-3

1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

 

When Paul returns to Lystra this time, he meets a young man who has come to Christ and who is eager to serve him.  Paul picks up a follower in Lystra named Timothy.  Of course you know, if you know the bible, that Paul’s young friend Timothy would be as dear as a son to Paul.  Timothy would be a true help and encouragement to Paul, even to Paul’s dying day.  In one instance Paul described Timothy in this way:

 

Philippians 2:19-20

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

 

            Don’t’ fail to connect the dots here.  Paul walked back into a dangerous place, an uncomfortable place.  He did so for the sake of the gospel.  Eventually, Paul’s faithful service led to the conversion of Timothy, a friend like no other to Paul.  If Paul runs from Lystra, Paul doesn’t gain Timothy to serve with.

 

            What kinds of things make you turn from your own Lystra?  Is it big stuff?  Has someone hurt you, and so you aren’t going to have any more to do with them?  Has a church member offended you, so you’re going to run to the next church down the street?  Have you embarrassed yourself in front of someone, and so you are going to avoid them in the future?  Or is it smaller?  Is your favorite TV show on, so you are going to try to get out of that phone call with your non-Christian friend?  Have you had a hard day at work, so maybe skipping tonight’s Bible study is in order? 

 

 

            Christians, I’m not going to try to promise you that every time you walk into a hard situation, you will gain an ally like Timothy for lifelong friendship.  What I can promise you is this:  When you do what God calls you to do, even when it is hard, God will be glorified and you will have joy.  It may work well, or the people may throw rocks at you, but, if you are obeying the word of God, you will be doing something glorious.