Last week we looked at the supernatural evil that is evident from the evidence all around us. Click on this link
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So
now we must turn our attention to the supernatural armor that God has given the
Christian to successfully wage war in this supernatural battle.
As I said last week, one of the best-known passages of the
New Testament dealing with this subject of the supernatural is in the sixth
chapter of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. It is here where the Holy
Spirit makes clearest to us what are the defensive gear and offensive weapons
God supplies to us. And it is the wisest AND the safest follower
of Christ who not only knows about the gear, but who practices with them:
Today we focus only on verses 11-12: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His
might. Put on the full
armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the
devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
First, we must know this: We are not alone in our battle. Like the undetectable radio and television waves I spoke of last week, do not wonder for a moment if we are surrounded by undetectable supernatural, godly forces. Not only does the Holy Spirit live inside each follower of Christ, but unseen angels never leave our side.
The psalmist tells us: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them (Psalm 34:7). Hebrews 1:14 assures us God’s angels are “ministering spirits sent out to render service to those who will inherit salvation” And again, Psalm 91:11 “For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.”
Angels surround us. If we could see them, we’d see their swords unsheathed, their eyes watchful, their ears attentive, sent by our Father in heaven, creator of all things visible and invisible, to protect us.
Some of you might remember the story of Elisha and his servant in Dothan. The Syrian king was at war with Israel, and Elisha – the protégé of Elijah – was at the top of his list of enemies. When the king learned Elisha was hold up in the city of Dothan, he sent his army to surround the city. We find the story in 2 Kings 6. We pick up the story in verse 15:
“Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:15ff)
Again, I will say it: You are NOT ever alone. You do not ever, ever, ever walk that so-called lonesome valley all by yourself.
The lyrics of that song – many of you have
heard it sung for years, even in churches across this country – the lyrics of
that song are the most heretical lyrics of any so-called spiritual song I have
ever had the displeasure to listen to:
You gotta walk that lonesome valley
And you gotta walk it by yourself
Nobody else can walk it for you
You gotta walk it by yourself.
Let
me stop here a moment and proclaim to you that nowhere in all of Scripture does
God ever tell His children bought by the blood of Jesus, NOWHERE does God even
hint that we’re alone in our struggles and our trials. Never. Not one verse.
Not one sentence. Not one word.
Jesus walked this lonesome valley
And he had to walk it by Himself
Nobody else could walk it for Him
He had to walk, walk it by Himself.
Are
you kidding me? Even during that 40-days of wilderness trial, the Holy Spirit
was with Him. And just before His capture and subsequent crucifixion, Jesus
said to His disciples: Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the
Father is with Me.” (John 16:31-32)
The lyrics continue to wash over the hurting and frightened child of God like battery acid:
You must go and stand your trials
You have to stand it by yourself
Nobody else can stand it for you
You have to stand it by yourself.
These are surely the most depressive and
despicable lyrics I have ever heard sung in a church. Please, despite your
circumstances, never forget you are never alone in this spiritual battle.
Never.
And so, back to the Scripture in Ephesians: St
Paul tells us, “Be strong in the LORD.” In other words, do not depend on
your own strengths or resources in this fight. We dare not enter this battle
thinking ANY of our own abilities and talents can ever prevail in this
supernatural battle. Many of you will recognize the lyrics of Martin Luther’s hymn:
Did we in our own
strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on
our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ
Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He
must win the battle.
Christian! Resort only to the gear provided us
by the Holy Spirit – the belt, the breastplate, the helmet, the footwear, the
shield, the sword – and prayer. And thus we begin our examination of that
battle gear by looking first at the belt of our armor. Here is verse 14 of
Ephesians six: “Stand firm therefore, having girded your
loins with truth.”
The belt worn by the Roman soldier did more
than simply keep his pants from falling. The belt also held in place his dagger
and his breast plate that protected his heart and other vital organs. If his
belt was not secured against his body, his weapon and the breastplate would
fall away – leaving him defenseless against an aggressor.
That’s why Paul’s analogy of ‘girding our loins
with truth’ is so instructive for us. Truth is the foundation of our faith. Truth
– not philosophical truth, or psychological truth, or cultural truth, or emotional
truth – but Biblical truth is the foundation of our faith. If we let
truth slip away, if we compromise God’s absolute and authoritative truth, then we
lay ourselves open to deadly attack by our enemy.
I can’t tell you how many times during our lives
together when I was under some sort of spiritual attack that Nancy helped me
through the battle by reminding me of some relevant text of Scripture. Likewise,
how often I helped her wend her way through her own spiritual battles by reminding
her of some passage in God’s infallible and inerrant word.
Without the belt of truth that undergirds our
faith we are always in danger of the lurking evil. That’s why Paul wrote to the
church at Colossae: See to it that no one takes you captive through
philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to
the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of
Deity dwells in bodily form . . ..(Colossians
2:8-9)
The Greek work Paul used here for captive has
the idea of being carried off as a prisoner of war. And that is what happens to anyone who gets
seduced by humanistic explanations of the supernatural – they become a casualty
of the war, they become a prisoner of war and lose their ability to stay in the
fight.
Pilate asked Jesus during that trial, “What is
truth?” (John 18:38). And then as soon as he asked the question, he turned and
walked away without so much as a moment’s hesitation.
If Pilate really wanted to know what is truth,
he’d have waited for an answer. But he didn’t, just as so many others through
the centuries have not bothered to hang around for God’s answers, likely
because they didn’t want to hear His answers. And of those who do hang
around, many refuse to humbly and obediently receive what God says.
That was one of the problems among many of the
religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They heard the word – they heard PLENTY of His
words – but they would not receive His word. Jesus touched on the root of their
problem here in John 5:44 – “No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but
you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. (NLT)
So, what is truth about God, and holiness, sin,
righteousness, and judgment? The answer is
captured throughout the Scriptures from Genesis through Revelation. For
example, here is psalm 119:60 – The sum of
God’s word is truth.
Ultimately, Truth is embodied in the Word of
God made flesh – Jesus, who said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6) And in
the Lord’s High Priestly prayer to the Father, Jesus prayed: “Sanctify them in the truth;
Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Christian, the equation is so simple a child
can grasp it. The better you know AND OBEY the Scriptures, the better you know
the truth. Lots of pastors and pew-sitters know the Scriptures. But without
obedience to God’s word, their knowledge is worthless for any good. As St. Paul
warned Titus, such people “profess to know God,
but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and
worthless for any good deed.” (Titus 1:16)
It is God’s truth alone that will set us free –
free from fears and doubts and seductions – and yes, free from sin. The maxim
has been repeated many times over: The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin
will keep you from the Bible.
So, be careful and conscious to hold truth
close to yourself – the kind of Truth that leads to action and a godly lifestyle.
The psalmist asked, How can a young man [or an old person] keep his way
pure?” You’ll find that question in Psalm 119:9. And he immediately
answered the question this way: “By keeping it according to Your word. With
all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” (Psalm
119:9-11)
I’m a little long with this message, so I need
to bring it to a close with a reminder of the four things I hope you will take
away from what I have said here.
First: God is in absolute control of the battle
AND the battlefield. From the front cover of the Bible to the back cover, the
Holy Spirit assures those with eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to
receive Truth – God’s authority over every created thing – seen and unseen –
God’s authority is absolute.
Second: We are never, ever alone in this
battle. Be assured. Be confident: We do not walk a lonesome valley – regardless
of how it seems when life’s storms pummel us. God has not lied to us when He
said, “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Third: Put on GOD’S armor – and never rely on
our own strengths, abilities, talents, education, wealth, or any other things
we might fall back on as protection against the enemy. NOTHING natural, nothing
of this creation, can even be effective against the supernatural. Put on God’s
armor every day when you wake up in the morning.
Fourth: Don’t let anyone seduce you into
thinking we can somehow accurately know truth about sin, righteousness, and
judgment apart from God’s word. Therefore, intentionally seek Him in the
Scriptures. Learn to love truth about God. And set yourself to LIVE what God
says is truth.
Next week we will continue our look of the
other elements of the Christian’s supernatural armor.
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