Sermon: "Helmet, Shield and Sword"

4th in the "The Full Armor of God" series.
Delivered July 22, 2007 by Rev. George Antonakos.
Other sermons in this series - 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

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Well, good afternoon once again. We are really almost through our Full Armor of God series. We are going to read Ephesians, Chapter 6 one more time today and next week Pastor Laura is going to share from an Old Testament passage to wrap it up. Some of you may be thinking well, why do we have to read this again? Well let me ask you, if you are in basic training how many times do they get you to do your rifle, right? Take it apart and put it together. You know you want to make sure; you want to make sure you know what's going on in the most important things in life. So I pray that this would; now we are ready to take off and that we will read this again. It won't be like the oxygen mask explanation on the airplane; that it will sink in again in a very deep way. Repetition is learning. So let's pray for the Holy Spirit to do that, to drive these thoughts home. We are going to look at the last three pieces or armor today. But even more than that, I want to challenge each of us to use the armor in a new way. So let's pray:

Lord, thank you for the Holy Spirit that comes to lead us in the truth. We pray that as we read this text again about how to win at the battle called life that we will apply what we learn, and we pray Lord Jesus that whatever battles we are facing you would help us to know that there is hope in you and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.

Okay, Ephesians, Chapter 6:10-20. We are focusing on the last part of this text a little bit more today.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Years ago 20/20 ran a feature in which two very ordinary guys were outfitted with $500 suits, a new hairstyle and a Ferrari and they followed them around as they encountered different people and different shops and that kind of thing and the results were pretty predictable. They wanted to just see how people would interact and what the difference would be as they encountered people who gave this kind of image forth. People were falling all over themselves to be very helpful and responsive, because of the way they appeared and how they were dressed. In the same kind of way we are saying in this series that just as clothes make the person; clothes make the man, and make a difference in human encounters at some level, our spiritual wardrobe makes all the difference in the world in our spiritual encounters. If we understand this armor and what it means and how to apply it, it means spiritual growth and progress. If we don't understand it and we don't apply it, we don't put it on, then it means spiritual stagnation and a sense of defeat. And so, last week we looked at the three pieces about truth and righteousness and peace and saw that Jesus gives us everything that we need to combat those feelings of condemnation that we can experience within ourselves. We were talking about the internal battle last week.

Today I want to talk more with these next three pieces about the external battle, about being more proactive in the battle. The armor is not given for us just to stand our ground, just to ward off problems. The armor is given to us so that we will go forward on the offensive for the kingdom of God; that we will take the message of Jesus to the streets, that we will go forth and invite anybody who will listen to experience the love of God made known through Jesus Christ our Lord. And today some of us are fighting battles that are very challenging and for some of us we are not sure if we can keep it up. For others even if you think you can keep it up, it still gets tiresome and we want to quit or we want to throw in the towel. But today I want to share with you that again in Jesus Christ we can win any battle that we are facing. Now winning, winning means a lot of things, but most of all it provides that sense of stability and calm and center no matter what we are going through. The main idea today is that commitment to Christ requires spiritual initiative, moving forward for Jesus Christ, trying to figure out how to be a good soldier in Christ.

I want to show you a movie clip from "Braveheart". It reminds us that one of the enemies' number one schemes is to make us run in fear from the things that God calls us to face or the battles that are raging inside; we just want to give up and not take God's armor on to deal with them. I think most of you have probably seen it, but if not the main character is William Wallace who is played by Mel Gibson. He's a warrior in 14th century Scotland whose heart is ablaze for freedom and to bring freedom from the oppression of the enemy of the British. And in this scene, he has gone through an awful lot. The British have murdered his beautiful bride and this is what spurred him on to take the fight to them, even though he is strongly outnumbered and even though there is a part of him that is afraid and he is speaking to a lot of people who are really afraid. So let's watch this.

(Movie clip 1 played here - Braveheart - 1:17:15 to 1:18:54)

Where do I sign up? Are you fighting some kind of battle this morning? Some are facing a moral struggle. Some of you are facing relational problems, some financial, some physical. I have been facing a battle or two for these last few months. I have been facing some physical battles and I am really happy to say that because of your prayers and the prayers of others that I am getting on top of some of that stuff. But there is another battle that I keep wrestling with in these days and I pose this question to myself. Is there anything keeping me from fulfilling the mission statement on that wall as we anticipate growth as a congregation? I mean we are in a time, I think most of us who have been around here where we are going to shed one shell like a lobster and take on a another one. Not that the essence of what we do is going to change, but God is going to bring new people. Am I doing everything I can including the use of my time and resources to be prepared for that?

I have been reading a book called "Making Room for Life" by Randy Frazee. He turns a phrase in his book _______ to talk about the challenge that most North Americans face. He says, "I accumulate, therefore, I am." Jesus said, "Be on guard against every form of greed for a man's life, a person's life does not consist of his possessions." Now I don't consider myself to be a greedy person. We have been entrusted; we have been blessed with some resources that can seduce us from greater faithfulness to the mission on that wall. And at a time that is so critical in the life of this church, I don't want to be lagging behind. I want to be there. I want to be ready. You may be battling something in some way today or maybe not, you may be battling something tomorrow, but either way I want you to know this, that that spiritual struggle, whatever it is, is intended to neutralize you and me from the greatest cause on this earth, which is fulfilling the great commission of Jesus Christ our Lord to go and make disciples of all people. Everything about the battle is designed to neutralize you and me, to get us caught up in things that don't make us effective. There are many people today who like some of the guys in this scene who are standing in the army whose like, "Will you fight?" and he says, "No, we are not going to fight." They kind of look like they are ready to fight, but they are not.

Looking at another book called, "The Big Idea" the author starts it by saying and this is a very provocative statement he said, "Don't ever call yourself a Christian again and don't ever ask anybody to become a Christian ever again." Do I have your attention about why he said that? Because of the 250 million people in this country 85% say that they are Christians. And studies completely show that there is no difference between the behavior of people who say they are Christians and those who don't; whether it's how much money we give the cashier if they have given us too much, just as many Christians would keep it as non-Christians. All kinds of things like this; studies just prove this over and over again. And besides all that, besides the people who are neutralized and not really taking the battle to the streets, there are people who have been doing it at one time, but they have been picked off. One of the ways that the terrorists cells say to fight in the war is to shoot for leaders or shoot for people; shoot to mame, not to kill, because when everybody else is affected by how one person gets picked off and comes to their aid then you can kill them all. And so, one of the ways that we get neutralized is when leaders, people who have certain position in the community fall who say that they are Christians.

John Eldredge in his book, "Wild at Heart" reminds us by putting it this way; what man begins his journey asking I think one day after 20 years of ministry I will torpedo the whole thing with an affair. He was picked off. The whole thing was plotted. In this case it was a long and subtle assignment to wear his defenses down, not so much through battle, as through boredom." That is why Paul says we must put on the armor of God. The man who expressed this biblical metaphor was telling us how to win against principalities and powers determined to defeat us. We are in a war for hearts and minds of people. We hear that all the time. He was in chains, but he was asking while he was sitting in prison for greater boldness to fight the battle. He like William Wallace was engaged in a cause so much greater than himself that he was willing to risk everything to gain the most precious thing of all, which is freedom in Christ and freedom for others in Christ as we share with them. And what I share with you today take it to the streets, go on the offensive, be bold. I know the reaction, because my own reaction is like that is too risky. I am afraid I will lose something in my life. Now why do those words sound so familiar? See, the enemy says, "Don't stand out. Don't be bold. Don't make problems by telling people about what they need in Jesus Christ, as you explain what God has done for you." And yet Jesus said the exact opposite. Those who try to find their life, to save their life are going to lose it, but those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

In this second clip from "Braveheart" Wallace challenges those who have been given much. The nobles who have much to lose are still on the negotiating wavelength. He is going to walk in to a room and there is all these guys who are willing to just settle and negotiate, but he appeals to one who has the most resources, Robert the Bruce and he has the most to lose for this greater cause. Listen to what he says to them.

(Movie clip 2 played here - Braveheart - 1:17:15 to 1:18:54)

You can see it in the face of the person that Wallace is talking to, the struggle that is going on. Do I sell everything out for this chance or do I not? We have been given so much to wage this war, let me just remind you of the final three pieces or armor. I am going to try to go through them quickly. The first one in Verse 16 or the next one he says, "In addition to all these things that I have already told you about Jesus, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." This is the only piece of armor that is specifies a usage that's exact. It was probably a full body shield that was made of wood and leather and iron and it was dipped in water for the battle. You had to be strong to hold this armor, because the enemy would dip arrows in tar and light them afire and then they would shoot them and this shield was enabled to extinguish the arrows. It is called the Shield of Faith, but like all the other armor that we have looked at, it is not just about how much faith we have. If I had a shield of faith based on just how much faith I had, it would be about the size of a quarter, okay? It wouldn't be able to do much of anything. But listen to it this way, "Take up the shield of God's faithfulness." That's huge.

The shield of God's faithfulness will cover you every single time. It defends us against the arrows of the evil one. What are the arrows of the evil one? Well in some places it could be persecution. In other places its anything positive that lures us away from the battle. Just ask yourself this question to put it in to a different way of looking at it; what is it that keeps any of us at any time from full blown commitment to Jesus Christ? I mean if we were to sell out to Jesus completely in every way, what is it that keeps us from doing that? Whatever the answers are, those are the arrows, those are the fiery arrows. Well I am afraid I will lose something. I am afraid of what others will think. I am afraid that maybe God won't be able to be there or can't be trusted; whatever they are those are the arrows that God intends to extinguish by lifting up; he is the shield of faithfulness who will cover us as we follow him. And to not do that is what causes us to settle or negotiate and when we settle, we disregard and don't experience life as it was intended to be.

Cal Thomas once said that:

"In our world someone can worship trees, whales or cinnamon toast and no one will bother them at all. But seek to serve Jesus and live a godly life and share your faith, and you will find plenty of opposition."

One of the greatest examples of this attitude is found in a hero of faith who was encouraged to take up real armor, but decided against it in favor of spiritual armor. When David faced Goliath, do you remember what Goliath said that was intended to cause David to run in fear? Here is what Goliath's words were: "Come here you little (pip-squeak) and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beast of the field." Nine feet tall, here is what David said to him, you talk about somebody putting on the armor of God spiritually; "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel who you have defied. You think you are going to give me to the birds of the air, I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel." How is that for a foreshadowing of the great commission? All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's and he will get all of you in to our hands." Whenever we fear loss, or whenever those fiery arrows come think about what that same David wrote only a short time later in Psalm 84:11 and 12; "For the Lord God is a son and a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord and mighty blessed is the person who trusts in you. Trust in him in your battle." That is the shield of faithfulness.

Then the helmet of salvation also reminds us that the battle has already been won. It was the victory helmet; the one when the Roman soldiers came down in their chariots and people saw the helmet. They just didn't cheer on the person wearing the helmet, they cheered because the battle had been won. They were coming back from all of the wars they had been in and they saw them and everybody cheered. Some of you are old enough to remember VE or VJ day after WWII and if you don't remember it or you weren't there alive, you have seen maybe newsreel of ticker tape in the cities and people dancing and jumping in the streets and kissing everybody and it was just wonderful. It was the victory was won and life would be different. And so, Paul is saying, "Let no uncertainty cause your mind to waiver, because we are more than conquerors through Christ whose headdress when he walked this earth was a crown of thorns and he exchanged it for a victory helmet in his resurrection and for those who believe in him, we now sing crown him with many crowns, that victory dress that he has won for us." And so Paul says, "Protect your mind, protect your mind."

And then lastly Paul mentions the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Now the word "word" in that verse does not get translated by the Greek word logos. In John 1 it says, "Jesus was the Word and the Word was with God." That's the logos, the expression, just like a word expresses what's inside; Jesus says the expression of God Almighty. And yet, here it says, "Take on the sword of the spirit, which is the rama of God. It's the spoken word of God. Now this is what Jesus did again; he took the sword and in the wilderness with the enemy he thrusted and parried whenever there was a fiery arrow shooting his way. It is written and he would speak a verse or a word to the enemy and the devil turned and fled. Now don't me wrong, I am not talking about the health and wealth gospel, 'you name it and you claim it'; I am not talking about that. I am talking about the power of God's word spoken in a situation of temptation or difficulty to let it come to our mind so that we can go on the offensive for the kingdom.

And when we combine the spoken word of God and prayer, we are taking it to the streets in the kingdom. If you haven't read Gina's front cover article of "News and Views" read it, because she captured today, the importance of prayer better than I could say it. Here Paul the bold asks for boldness. Is there anybody who seemed like they wouldn't need prayers for boldness? I mean he is just the most bold person. He would do anything or go anywhere or say anything and yet he asks for boldness, because he knows that when we pray something gets set in motion. Something happens in the spiritual realm.

This past Thursday 6:20 in the morning and I am turning off of Cromwell Bridge Road coming up Loch Raven Boulevard and there I see a car broken down on the side of the street. There were little kids staring out the back window. The hood was up and the door was open on the curbside. I go blowing past there and I am thinking that somebody ought to do something about that you know? Maybe I should make a call; no, somebody has probably already called, no, the driver has probably already walked up the street and gotten help; it's going to be okay. So this word in my head, just make the call, just make the call. So I called 911 and there is no answer. There was no answer to 911 and I am like whoa that doesn't fill me with a whole lot of confidence. But then just as soon as I hung up the phone rang, the 911 operator called back obviously I had caller ID and she said, "How can I help you?" and I explained the situation and she goes, "I will dispatch an officer right away."

And so, I take that within a few minutes somebody was on that scene if they hadn't already contacted someone. Now here is what I got to thinking and I shared this with the people in the prayer meeting that morning. Just think about that in relation to prayer. The people in that car did not know; maybe they didn't know that that call had been made and something was set in motion to help them even though they might have been feeling really despairing. You may be here today saying, "What's the use, what's the use, why pray? It is not going to do any good." And you could be just sitting in a broken-down state, not realizing that prayers are already, the messages are already going out. People are already responding to you. You can't see them yet, but they are already responding. God is already doing something. That is the call to prayer that Paul is talking about. Or you may feel that nothing is happening in response to your cries to God for help. How many times do we hear people say "I am not going to believe in God, because he doesn't answer the way I want." He answers in the way that will make his glory known.

I have talked to people who have lost loved ones or losing loved ones, they get mad at God understandably when their loved ones don't get healed and so I always try to say to people and I try to say it to myself as well, pray that God will make us a sign of his kingdom in life or in death whether we live or whether we die, we belong to him. And so, let's pray for that, that this will be a sign of God's kingdom through our lives no matter what we face. No wonder the devil tries to do everything possible to keep us from prayer. And so, like those who heard about Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and went out to re-enlist or to enlist and take up the great cause my challenge to you today is to put on that full armor of God, take on for some of you today its coming to Jesus so that the internal sin and the internal struggle can be taking care of. For others it is saying that God only you can help me with what I am facing today and I am determined to follow you. It makes all the difference. I challenge you to commit yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can bring the freedom in this life as it was meant to be.

We celebrate the victory of the strong man Jesus today. I want to close with two things; a verse and then a final clip from this movie. But look at this verse from Luke 11 verses 21 to 23. Here is what Jesus said when he was once accused of doing his ministry by the power of Satan. They attacked him and said, "You do this by the power of the devil." Luke 11:21: he said this to them in return: "When a strong man fully armed guards his own house his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoil. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters." We celebrate the strong man Jesus who has taken away the armor of the enemy and put armor on us who is his very self so that we can take a stand.

Now in this movie clip a lot has happened. It's the end of the film. William Wallace has died a martyr's death. He has gone to his death in spite of torture shouting the word "freedom." All the time when he went to battle he holds a little handkerchief, which was from his bride who was killed in the beginning of the movie. He holds it as a remembrance of why freedom is so important. And in this last seen Robert the Bruce, the guy who was struggling in that last scene whether to know how to go with this, pro or con, negotiate or not, he is the one now in front and he's just about ready to listen to the voice of someone who is asking him to settle again, watch what happens.

(Movie clip played here - Braveheart - 2:47:48 to end of movie)

Will we live by the Word or won't we? Will we settle knowing that we are going against the Word and find defeat or will we offer ourselves again today and say, "God, where you lead I will follow. What you say I will do."

© 2007, Rev. George Antonakos
Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD 21204 410/823-6145
www.centralpc.org