How to Prepare for Battle. Part 3
How to Fight and win against our enemy by
Utilizing our weaponry
One of the best newspaper cartoons of all time is Calvin and Hobbes. One day Calvin and Hobbes come marching into the living room early one morning. His mother is seated there in her favorite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin’s head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a baseball bat.
“What’s up today?” asks his mom.
“Nothing, so far,” answers Calvin.
“So far?” she questions.
“Well, you never know,” Calvin says, “Something could happen today.” Then Calvin marches off, “And if anything does, by golly, I’m going to be ready for it!”
Calvin’s mom looks out at the reading audience, and she says, “I need a suit like that!”
That’s the way many of us feel as we see the news and deal with life. Sometimes this world seems quite violent, and people seem to be at each other’s throats. A suit like that would help, so we can say with Calvin, “Whatever may come my way, I’m going to be ready for it! Bring it on!”
Where can we get a suit like that? Do they make a suite like that?
Utilize our weaponry – we have now looked at each article of Christian armor.
The devil is strong, but Christians are stronger through the Lord (Eph 6:11).
Ephesians 6:11 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
They have the protection needed to withstand his assaults. The devil tempts, but God provides a way of escape (1 Cor 10:13);
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
the devil tries to take advantage of people (2 Cor 2:11),
2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV) …lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
but he will flee if fought (James 4:7).
James 4:7 (NKJV) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The devil should not be feared, for Jesus is more powerful than this deceiving prince of the demons (1 John 4:4).
1 John 4:4 (NKJV) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Utilize our weaponry – we to have now looked at each article of Christian armor.
Ephesians 6:13-17 (NKJV)
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;
As Paul takes leave of his people, he thinks of the greatness of the struggle which lies before them.
Undoubtedly life was much more terrifying for the ancient people than it is for us today.
They believed implicitly in evil spirits, who filled the air and were determined to work men harm.
The words which Paul uses, powers, authorities, world-rulers, are all names for different classes of these evil spirits.
To him the whole universe was a battleground.
The Christian had not only to contend with the attacks of men; he had to contend with the attacks of spiritual forces which were fighting against God.
We may not take Paul’s actual language literally; but our experience will tell us that there is an active power of evil in the world.
Robert Louis Stevenson once said: “You know the Caledonian Railway Station in Edinburgh? One cold, east windy morning, I met Satan there.”
We do not know what actually befell Stevenson, but we recognize the experience; we have all felt the force of that evil influence which seeks to make us sin.
Paul suddenly sees a picture ready-made.
All this time he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier. Night and day soldiers were there to ensure that he would not escape.
Paul was literally an envoy in a chain. Now he was the kind of man who could get alongside anyone; and beyond doubt he had talked often to the soldiers who were compelled to be so near him.
As he writes, the soldier’s armor suggests a picture to him.
The Christian too has his armor; and part by part Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.
There is the belt of truth. It was the belt which girt in the soldier’s tunic and from which his sword hung, and which gave him freedom of movement. Others may guess and grope; the Christian moves freely and quickly because he knows the truth.
There is the breastplate of righteousness. When a man is clothed in righteousness, he is impregnable. Words are no defense against accusations, but a good life is. Once a man accused Plato of certain crimes. “Well then,” said Plato, “we must live in such a way as to prove that his accusations are a lie.” The only way to meet the accusations against Christianity is to show how good a Christian can be.
There are the sandals. Sandals were the sign of one equipped and ready to move. The sign of the Christian is that he is cagier to be on the way to share the gospel with others who have not heard it.
There is the shield. The word Paul uses are not that for the comparatively small round shield; it is that for the great oblong shield which the heavily armed warrior wore.
One of the most dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the fiery dart. It was a dart tipped with tow dipped in pitch. The pitch-soaked tow was set alight, and the dart was thrown.
The great oblong shield was made of two sections of wood, glued together.
When the shield was presented to the dart, the dart sank into the wood and the flame was put out.
Faith can deal with the darts of temptation.
With Paul, faith is always complete trust in Christ. When we walk close with Christ, we are safe from temptation.
There is salvation for a helmet. Salvation is not something which looks back only.
The salvation which is in Christ gives us forgiveness for the sins of the past and strength to conquer sin in the days to come.
There is the sword; and the sword is the word of God. The word of God is at once our weapon of defense against sin and our weapon of attack against the sins of the world.
Cromwell’s Ironsides fought with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other. We can never win God’s battles without God’s book.
as in the book of Nehemiah.
Can’t live in the will of God living outside the Word of God.
