A sermon preached by the Reverend Scott D. Nowack
 on August 27, 2006
at Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, PA.

Armed and Dangerous

Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it.* 
 

Aqaba in 1917 seemed impregnable. Any enemy vessel approaching the port would have to face a battery of huge naval guns above the town. Behind Aqaba in every direction lay barren, waterless, inhospitable desert. To the east lay the deadly “anvil of the sun”. The Turks believed Aqaba to be safe from any attack. But they were wrong.

Lawrence of Arabia led a force of irregular Arab cavalry across the “anvil of the sun”. Together, they rallied support among the local people. On July 6, 1917, the Arab forces swept into Aqaba from the north, from the blind side. A climatic moment of the magnificent film Lawrence of Arabia is the long, panning shot of the Arabs on their camels and horses, with Lawrence at their head, galloping past the gigantic naval guns that are completely powerless to stop them, for the guns were facing the wrong direction. Aqaba fell, and the Turkish hold on Palestine was broken, to be replaced by the British mandate and eventually by the State of Israel.

The Turks failed to defend Aqaba because they made two mistakes. They did not know their enemy, and they did not have the right weapons. We as Christians today must be careful not to make the same mistakes.

Our passage this morning makes it very clear who OUR enemy is: “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) We are engaged in a battle, a battle for more than bragging rights. We are engaged in a battle that’s life-or-death fight to the finish. A battle fought in the hearts and spirits of each of us against temptation and sin.

As Ephesians 6:12 says, our enemy is not our fellow human beings, but rather it is an entrenched systemic social evil, a deeper evil dwelling in the world. How are we to guard and protect ourselves against this evil? What can you and I do to withstand the influence of evil forces upon our lives and upon the world?

We are up against far more than you or I can handle on our own. We need all the help we can get. We must use every weapon, every tool that God has given us. Like the Ephesians in the past and for us today, we must seek protection from the systemic evil of the world. To do so, we need the full armor of God.

When I think of armor, the first thought that comes to my mind is the suits of armor worn by knights in medieval times. These suits of armor were made of metal covering the knight from head to toe. The suit was designed to protect the knight from sharp arrows, swords, jousts and other weapons of war. There are also armored cars used to move money and valuables safely and securely from one place to the next. These cars are literally gigantic steel safes on wheels with alarms, sensors and locks to prevent burglary and theft. Of course, there are the armed forces of our country, servicemen and women serving and fighting in Iraq travel in armored Hum-vees to protect themselves from harm. For the Ephesians reading these words for the first time, they easily identify this armor of God as the defenses and weapons used by soldiers of the Roman Empire. The armor of God is designed to protect ourselves as Christians as we work for peace and justice in our time.

What does this armor look like? Are we supposed to dress in suits of armor clanging and squeaking as we live our daily lives or drive around in armored cars and Hummers?

Paul writes that the armor of God is “the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit”.

This is quite an outfit! Do we really need all these things? Breastplates? Sandals? Shields, helmets and swords? Yes, to fight the evil cosmic powers of the world we need all the help we can get.

Although we have victory in Christ Jesus over the power of death and sin, there are still unseen, cosmic forces lined up against us that we as Christians battle everyday. These forces are strong and powerful and seductive. They persuade us to turn away from the will of God and the love of God. They convince us to reject the grace of God and follow our selfish motives. These evil forces move us to fixate ourselves on our own desires forsaking those around us, and most of all, God.

We can’t fight this battle on our own strength and power. We can’t do this by ourselves. We gotta have help. We can’t stand against the wiles of the devil on our own strength or smarts. We must put on the full armor of God, not just a few pieces, but the full outfit of the armor of God. We’re fighting a spiritual battle. It’s spiritual warfare against the cosmic forces of this present darkness. To protect us from the spiritual forces of evil, we must learn to use and apply Truth, Righteousness, Faith, Salvation and the Holy Spirit. The Word of God, the scriptures, is also a crucial weapon in our armor. These are the weapons God gives us to protect ourselves and stand against the evil forces of the world, so that the peace and justice of God may prevail.

But let us not forget the most important weapon in our arsenal: the weapon of prayer. Prayer is our best weapon against the cosmic forces of evil. The power of prayer is real and substantial. But this power can only be unleashed if we are willing to use it correctly. Paul instructs you and me to pray at all times. Prayer must be constant. We can’t just pray to God when life has dealt us a bad hand or we’re caught in a desperate situation. We must pray in all times and all situations: joyful times and difficult, challenging times. Prayer must also be intense. We must be alert to the world around us and the injustice and evil that is systemic in our world. We must pray with intensity, with our whole selves, with every ounce of energy we have. For the cosmic, evil forces do not take a vacation. They don’t let up for one moment. They don’t give in easily, so our prayers must be constant and intense to stand firm against everything evil sends our way. Lastly, prayer is to be geared toward the welfare of others, that is, prayers of supplication. Prayer must be unselfish. Paul specifically asks the Ephesians for prayer that “a message may be given to me (Paul) to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel…” (Ephesians 6:19) When we pray for one another, we are indirectly praying for ourselves. The author of Ecclesiastes writes, “While one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A three-fold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) When we pray for each other, we form cosmic connections with one another that are not easily cut. When we pray for one another, we are each protected from the cosmic powers of evil by the armor of God.

My friends, the battle we wage as Christian believers is not with an M-16, it’s with John 3:16. “For God is loved the world he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life.” With the armor of God, we have the powerful advantage of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the gift of prayer to help us become “more than conquerors” in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37). We are surrounded by the armor of God: the truth, the righteousness, the faith, the salvation, the Spirit, the Word and prayer. They guard our hearts and minds from the schemes and temptations of evil forces. The armor of God empowers us to pray and stand boldly and courageously in the face of our opposition, to struggle against the spiritual forces of evil that seek to kidnap us from God. Unlike the city of Aqaba that protected itself in one direction, we are guarded 360 degrees around by the armor of God, so that we may be God’s instruments of peace, love and justice wherever we go; whether it’s in social situations, the classroom, the workplace, the church, walking down the street, talking with our neighbors.

Stand firm and be bold. We know our enemy and God has given us the right weapons to withstand the wiles of the devil. Stand firm! With the whole armor of God, you are armed and dangerous! Amen.

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org