SERMON: THE LIFE THAT GOD BLESSES

I.  Introduction

          -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 9:1

“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”

          -- one day, a group of frogs was traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit -- All the other frogs gathered around the pit, and looked down at their two friends -- when they saw how deep the pit was and how steep the sides were, they lost all hope -- they told the two fallen frogs that they were as good as dead

          -- But the two frogs in the pit didn’t listen to their friends -- instead, they jumped with all their might, trying to leap up out of the pit -- the other frogs kept telling them to stop wasting their energy -- that it was hopeless and they were as good as dead -- finally, one of the fallen frogs took heed to what they were saying and gave up -- He lay down exhausted and died.

          -- The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could -- once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die -- but the frog in the pit just jumped harder and harder and, lo and behold, he finally made it out

          -- when he got out, the other frogs said, "Didn’t you hear us? -- Why didn’t you give up like the other frog?” -- the frog who made it out of the pit explained to them that he was deaf -- he thought they were encouraging him the entire time he was struggling to get out, and that gave him the strength to do the impossible¹

          -- this morning, I want us to talk about the power of the tongue -- the power of words -- and, especially, the power of receiving and speaking blessings into the lives of those around us

          -- in our day, we take the concept of blessings and curses lightly -- if someone sneezes, we flippantly say, “Bless you,” without even thinking -- the idea of blessing someone has just become common-place and is considered just empty words without true power or meaning -- but the Bible says otherwise -- to be blessed is a momentous occasion

          -- to bless something is to speak life into it -- to speak goodness and holiness into it -- to impart meaning and purpose and goodness into the life of another

          -- that’s why one of the first acts of God to His new creation was an act of blessing -- the Bible tells us that after God created the heavens and the earth -- after He created all the animals and the plants and Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden -- God looked down on all that He had done and saw that it was good and He blessed it

          -- four hundred times in the Old Testament, we see God speaking blessings on people and on nations -- four hundred times, we see the word of God go forth into the lives of His people to transform them and change them and make them into who He had called them to be

          -- the Bible makes it clear that there is power in the blessing from God -- and it tells us that there is power in our blessings to others, as well

          -- that is why the blessing of the father to his children was such an important ritual in biblical times -- when a father spoke blessings into the life of his children -- as he proclaimed God’s goodness and righteousness and providential blessings into their lives, his words formed new life and a new reality through the blessing -- that is why it was such a big deal when Jacob stole the blessing of the firstborn from Esau -- because words had power and the blessing of the father onto his sons carried with it the future

          -- it was because of the power of the blessing that Jacob, when he was wrestling with God before his reunion with Esau, wouldn’t let God go until God blessed him -- blessings, and words, were powerful in the Bible

          -- even in our day, words matter -- the old adage, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is not true -- harsh and negative words can wound deeply and affect the future course of a person’s life -- in the same way, encouraging words can lift up the broken-hearted and inspire others to greatness

          -- we need to realize this truth, and be careful of the words we speak to those around us -- we need to speak words of encouragement and blessing -- and we need to realize that when we bless others, it isn’t just meaningless, empty words, but a prayer for God’s grace and mercy and power to be made manifest in their lives -- by blessing others, we are asking that they would come to know the providential grace of God and that they would experience His presence in the manifold spiritual and material blessings they enjoy

          -- blessings still have meaning and power in our day, and we need to remember and reclaim the power that is inherent in this spoken word

         

          -- that’s why this morning I wanted us to look at this one verse in the familiar story of Noah -- the blessing of Noah by God and his call to bless others, in turn

II.  Scripture Lesson (Genesis 9:1)  

-- now, everyone in here is familiar with the story of Noah and the flood -- as you remember, when men began to increase in number on the earth, their wickedness increased, as well -- in Genesis 6:5, we read that it reached the point where every thought that came from the hearts of men were filled with only evil all the time -- and God was grieved by the presence of sin and evil in what was His perfect creation and decided to start over -- to sweep away all the evil and the corruption from the earth in a great flood

          -- but Noah was not like the rest of the people in his day -- in Genesis 6:9, we read that Noah was a righteous man -- blameless among the people of his time -- and that he walked with God -- and, so, God chose Noah and his family to be spared from the flood

          -- you know the story -- God had Noah build a great ark to keep his family safe and to protect the animals that God chose to repopulate the earth after the flood -- so Noah did everything that God commanded -- and he went in the ark and the rains fell for forty days and forty nights -- and Noah and his family and all the animals inside were saved

          -- after a full year on the ark, the flood receded -- and Noah and his family and all the animals came out -- the first thing Noah did was build an altar to the Lord, and offer sacrifices to Him for His blessings and His protection during the flood -- which brings us to Genesis 9:1

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

          -- now, like you, I know the story of Noah and the ark -- I’ve read this passage multiple times -- I’ve studied it -- I’ve preached on it -- but, if you were to ask me what happened when Noah got off the ark -- what God said to Noah and his family -- the only thing I would be able to tell you was that God told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth -- that God established a new covenant with them -- and that He gave them the sign of the rainbow as a symbol of that covenant

          -- but, you see, I skipped right over the most important part of this verse -- the very first part -- “Then God blessed Noah and his sons”

          -- “then God” -- this is a reminder that it all begins with God -- and it all begins with His word -- for it is only through God’s grace and His blessings that we live and breathe and have life

          -- “then God blessed Noah and his sons” -- just as God blessed Adam and Eve and all creation in the beginning, now we see God speaking His blessing on Noah and his sons -- when God blessed Noah, He imparted His power and goodness and holiness into Noah’s life -- this was a pronouncement of God’s favor on Noah and his sons -- God’s blessing gave them what they needed to begin a new life and a new creation

          -- God’s blessing was like the very breath of His Spirit being poured out afresh onto Noah and his sons -- this blessing washed away the sins of their past -- it washed away the evil that had come on the earth -- it gave them strength and power -- it gave them encouragement and direction -- it let them know that God was pleased with them -- and this blessing ushered in a new creation and a new world for Noah and his sons to enjoy

          -- this verse goes on to tell us that after God had blessed Noah and his sons, He commanded them to be fruitful and to multiply and to fill the earth -- as you hear that command of God, the thing to remember is that God doesn’t bless us to make us happy -- He blesses us to make us a blessing to others

          -- when God blessed Noah and his sons, He empowered them to fulfill His commandments to go forth from that place and to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth

          -- now, it’s easy for us to look at those commands as nothing more than an instruction to start having babies and repopulate the earth -- but there’s so much more than that in what God is telling Noah and his sons to do

          -- before the flood, the world had a lot of people -- the land was literally filled with people, in farms and villages and cities and nations -- everywhere God looked, people filled the earth -- but there was something wrong with those people -- their hearts were wrong -- and that’s why God swept them away in the flood

          -- so, when God tells Noah and his sons to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth, God means more than for them to just make more people -- He means for them to make people in His image -- people who are like Noah -- righteous, blameless, and who walk with God

          -- to be fruitful means that you reproduce the nature and image of God here on earth -- that the fruit you bear reflects God and makes others see God in you and your actions

          -- this command to bear fruit was not just given to Noah -- it was given to us -- Jesus told us that we were to bear fruit, as well

          -- how do we become fruitful?

          1) first, we must be mature -- only mature trees produce fruit -- that means that we are like Noah -- we are in a right relationship with God -- we walk with Him -- we know Him -- we follow His word and His way -- it is only when we are mature in our faith, that we are able to bear fruit

          2) next, we must be nourished -- only trees that are fed and watered produce fruit -- to be blessed by God is to be fed and watered and nourished through Him -- we are fed through the word of God and we are watered with the Living Water of the Spirit within us -- as we walk with God and seek Him in His word and in our lives, streams of refreshing and the bread of life will fill us and nourish us through His grace

          3) finally, we must be strong -- tested and true -- withstand trials and testing in our lives, just as Noah and his sons endured a trial of testing during the flood -- trees that persist -- trees that survive and continue to bear fruit throughout generations -- are those who have been through the storms and the heat and the floods -- these make us strong -- they teach us to depend on God -- and they deepen our faith

          -- next, God tells Noah and his sons to increase in number -- to multiply -- once again, this is not just physically, but spiritually -- we are called to go forth and make disciples of all nations -- to increase daily the number in the church and in the kingdom of God

          -- it was not enough for Noah and his sons to just have children, but they needed to raise children of the blessing -- children who were brought up in the knowledge of the Lord -- who walked in His name and who sought Him in their lives -- who were obedient to God’s commands and who followed Him all their days

          -- that is our mission, as well -- we need to increase in numbers -- we need to share God’s word with those around us -- we need to impart God’s blessings on our family and our friends and those He puts in our lives, so that we will increase in numbers and the church will be made stronger

          -- finally, God tells Noah and his sons to fill the earth -- once again, this is more than just physical, but speaks to God’s spirit going forth and filling the earth with His presence -- Jesus said that the gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth -- as Christians, we are called to carry God’s message beyond our walls to the far-flung places of this world

          -- we can do that as we share God’s word with others -- and we can do that as we share God’s resources with His missionaries, with those who are specially called to go forth into other lands to share the gospel -- right now, the resources from this church are going forth in India as Bill Newcomb is there sharing God’s word and proclaiming God’s blessings to a people living in darkness

III.  Closing

          -- the thing I wanted you to see today is that we need to receive God’s blessings on a daily basis and we need to share His blessings with others by being fruitful and increasing in numbers and by filling the earth with His presence

          -- the power of a blessing spoken into the life of another person is miraculous -- the power of God’s grace poured out into another’s life can change their life forever

          -- let me close by sharing with you a story from Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s book, “In a Heartbeat,”

          -- There is a little-known congressional program that awards internships to young people who have aged out of the foster care system -- these are the kids who were never adopted and have turned 18 and are no longer eligible for state support.

          -- A senator the Tuohys met hired one of these young men as an intern -- one morning the senator breezed in for a meeting and discovered that his intern was already in the office, reorganizing the entire mailroom. The senator said to the intern, "This is amazing—the mailroom has never looked so clean. You did a great job."

          -- A few minutes later the senator saw that the intern had tears streaming down his face.           -- [He] said, "Son, are you okay?" -- "Yes," the intern answered quietly. -- "Did I say something to offend you?" -- "No, sir." -- "Well, what's wrong?"

          -- The young man said, "That's the first time in my life anyone's told me that I did something good."

          -- "A little bit of attention and a kind word—that's how little it takes to affect someone's life for the better."2

          -- God has blessed you -- just the fact that you are here this morning is evidence of God’s blessing in your life -- He has blessed you and called you and empowered you to go forth in His name to carry His message of grace to this world

          -- speak His blessing to those around you -- carry His message of grace to those you meet -- be intentional in doing what God has called you to do -- be fruitful -- reproduce His grace and goodness so that you might bless those around you -- increase in number by sharing His message of salvation to those He puts in your path -- and fill the earth with His praise and with the knowledge of His Son, Christ Jesus

          -- I want to close by praying over you a blessing that I read in a sermon from John Ortberg that really spoke to me -- let’s pray

          -- May the Lord God Almighty, in his mercy obliterate every word, statement, experience, and invisible barrier you may have constructed that is keeping his blessing from reaching your heart.

          -- May the unrelenting love of God pursue you and surprise you with his compassion for you.

          -- May the forgiveness of Jesus Christ restore and renew your hearts.

          -- May the living waters of the Holy Spirit fill you and flow through you to a struggling and broken world.

          -- May God's peace rest upon you, and may the Lord fill you with his joy.

          -- May his joy become your strength.

          -- In the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

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1 Illustration modified from: https://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-bobby-mcdaniel-stories-christianvalues-14489?ref=AllSermonPrep

2 Men of Integrity, "How Little It Takes," (November/December 2010)

http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2010/december/5120610.html?id=90272

SERMON: THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD

I.  Introduction

          -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-18

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

12 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.

13 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.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 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.

          -- In July of 2011, Jonathan Luna, a police officer from Sylvester, was assisting another officer in serving a routine arrest warrant when the suspect took off running -- Luna went after him and, in just a few seconds, caught up with the suspect, tackling him and throwing him to the ground

          -- once they were on the ground, the two men grappled with one another, when suddenly, the suspect grabbed Luna's service revolver and fired a shot directly into Luna's chest -- he jumped up and took off running again, sure that he had killed the police officer, but he was shocked when he looked back and saw Luna coming after him again

          -- You see, Luna was wearing a special type of body armor designed specifically for law enforcement officers -- And, although he was struck at point blank range by a bullet from a large caliber handgun, Luna survived with only a few bruises.

          -- In a news story on WALB TV, Luna said that bulletproof vests are hot and sweaty down here in south Georgia -- especially during our summers -- but that is a small price to pay for life-saving security -- since 1972, body armor and bullet proof vests have become standard gear for law enforcement officers and the military throughout the United States -- and since that time, over 3000 officers have been saved because they were wearing their armor -- in fact, in many precincts, it has become policy that officers are not to go on patrol until they are fully suited up and protected by armor¹ 

         

          -- sadly, though, it is common practice for most Christians to go through life completely unprotected from those who seek to harm us -- as we’ve talked about over the past couple of weeks, we are in the midst of a battle -- a spiritual battle -- with unseen enemies who want nothing more than to destroy us and kill us and annihilate us to prevent God's message from going out and saving lives for eternity

          -- Satan knows that if he can take down one Christian, then he can keep that Christian from being an effective witness for Christ and from growing in grace in their own life

          -- but God did not leave us unprotected -- in John 17, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that we would not be taken out of this world, but that the Father would protect us from the evil one and sanctify us -- make us holy -- by His word

          -- the protection that Jesus talked about is explained here in this passage from Ephesians Chapter 6 -- Paul tells us that we have at our disposal the armor of God -- this is our spiritual Kevlar -- this is our spiritual body armor -- this is how we can stand unharmed against everything that the devil and his minions would throw against us and against the flesh and the worldly temptations that seek to overcome us

          -- so, let’s finish up our thoughts on spiritual warfare from the past couple of weeks by going through this passage together

II.  The Full Armor of God

          -- if you would look back at verses 10-11

Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

          -- Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians as sort of a short-course in Christianity -- although he had spent quite some time with the church in Ephesus over the years, it appears that the church is growing and spreading out and new people are coming to Christ -- and, so, here in this letter, Paul lays out the principles of salvation by grace through faith -- he talks about how Jesus’ death and resurrection created a new body, comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, and how they were one in each other and one in the Lord

          -- he talks about the need for unity in the church -- about using the spiritual gifts to edify and build up the believers as they seek to fulfill God’s calling on their lives -- and he talked about living with one another in this new body -- how love and respect and mutual submission to each other were the keys to growing in grace

          -- but remember that Paul is writing this letter from a Roman prison -- better than most, he understands that the body of Christ is under attack -- that they are in a spiritual battle that is driven by the schemes of the devil -- and Paul doesn’t want the Ephesian Christians to be caught off-guard nor unprepared for the struggle ahead -- the battle is coming -- and they need to get ready

          -- so, at the end of this letter, Paul leaves the Ephesian church with the instruction that if they are going to do what God has called them to do -- if they are going to fulfill God’s calling and be God’s people and God’s church in Asia -- then they are going to have to rely on God’s strength and mighty power -- that is the key to the rest of the passage

          -- the armor Paul tells us to put on is spiritual armor -- it only exists through the power of the Lord -- it is only through Him and His grace that we are given this spiritual protection

          -- we can think of this armor as another type of spiritual gift -- as you know, the Bible says that when we come to Christ, we are given spiritual gifts to build up His church and to do His will

          -- but, contrary to what a lot of people think, these spiritual gifts are not some new talent or skill that is suddenly given to us and that is always with us

          -- instead, the Scriptures say that spiritual gifts are the manifestation of the Spirit within us -- meaning that when we exercise a spiritual gift, such as faith or speaking in tongues, it is not us doing the act -- it is the Holy Spirit working in us and through us -- it is not us, but Him, who is doing it

          -- and it's important to understand this, because if we walk outside of the grace of God -- if we live with unconfessed sin -- if we backslide -- then the Holy Spirit is quenched in our lives and the spiritual gifts cannot be made manifest through us -- in other words, we are not able to function spiritually and exercise these gifts as we used to be able to

          -- it's the exact same way with this spiritual armor that Paul tells us to put on in this passage -- this armor isn't something that is just given to us and that we can just carry around with us from now on because we are Christians -- spiritual armor is dependent on our relationship with Christ -- and, if we walk outside of that relationship -- if we walk outside of His grace -- then we lose the power that protects us

          -- verse 12 [read Ephesians 6:12-13]

12 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.

13 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.

          -- we talked last week about the unseen spiritual world that surrounds us and that affects what we do -- and that’s why Paul reminds us here that our struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against an unseen enemy who is actively scheming against us, as individual Christians, and as God's body, His church

          -- so Paul tells us here to suit up -- to put on the full armor of God -- to stand firm in God's mighty power -- so that we can resist the devil's schemes and stand our ground against his attacks

          -- one thing I want you to see here is Paul's command to put on the full armor of God -- we have to put it all on, or it’s no good -- you can't go into battle unless you are fully protected -- you can't go into battle with chinks in the armor -- gaps in the armor where the enemies weapons can get through our defenses and wound us

          -- do you remember the story from Greek mythology about Achilles? -- according to the story, when Achilles was born, his mother tried to make him invincible -- she dipped him into the river Styx, knowing that the power of the river would make him invulnerable

          -- however, there was one part of him that didn't receive the protecting power -- Achilles' heel -- the place where his mother was holding him when she dipped him in the river -- later, during a battle in the Trojan wars, an arrow pierced that very spot -- Achilles' heel -- Achilles bled to death because he had a chink in his armor -- he was not fully protected

          -- we need to make sure we are fully suited up -- that we have put on the full armor of God -- every piece -- that we are standing in the power of God because the day of evil is coming for all of us -- Eph. 5:15-16 says we should be careful how we live because the days are evil -- even though the sun is shining -- even though all looks peaceful outside -- know that we live in evil times and we need to be wearing the full armor of God because we do not know when the attack will come

          -- let’s look at our armor now

          -- look at verse 14a

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist

          -- knowing that Paul was chained in a Roman prison when he wrote this -- surrounded by Roman guards -- he probably was looking at them and used their armor as the metaphor for the spiritual protection that we need to put on to keep us safe

          -- the first piece of armor that he mentions here is the belt of truth -- the belt was the foundation of a Roman soldier's armor -- the belt secured the other armor and held it in place -- it was used to cinch down the armor -- it was where the sword was carried -- without the belt you could not fight -- it is foundational -- so the first piece of armor that we are told to take up is the belt of truth

          -- remember who our enemy is -- remember how he is described in scripture -- in John 8:44, Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of lies

          -- there is nothing more insidious than someone who lies -- someone who uses just enough truth to hide their deception and who want people to believe something that is not true so they will do what they want them to do

          -- how do you fight a lie? -- how do you come against false teaching and false beliefs? -- you combat lies with the truth -- you bring everything out in the open -- you bring everything out into the light of day

          -- in John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life" -- the truth is a Person -- the truth is Jesus -- and when Paul tells us here to put on the belt of truth, he is telling us to put on Jesus -- that the truth of Jesus is the protection against the lies of the enemy

          -- let's read vs. 14 again

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

-- the next piece of armor that we are told to take up is the breastplate of righteousness -- the breastplate for a Roman soldier was analogous to the Kevlar vest worn by police officers -- the breastplate covered the heart and the vital organs

-- this is symbolically putting on the righteousness of Christ to protect our spiritual hearts -- one thing that we always need to keep in mind is that apart from Christ, we have no righteousness -- when He died on the cross, the very righteousness of Christ -- the right relationship He had with the Father -- the right lifestyle and holiness that He possessed -- His right way of living -- was transferred to us

-- so, once again, we see that by taking up the breastplate of righteousness, we are taking up Christ -- we are putting Him on -- we are standing firm in a righteousness and a holiness that is not our own -- but that was given to us to protect us from evil

-- verse 15

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

-- here we're told to fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace -- what Paul was envisioning here was the footwear that the Roman soldiers wore when they headed into battle -- more like boots than sandals, with cleats to help the soldiers maintain their position on slippery ground and they laced all the way up the shins to protect the lower legs of the soldiers from the enemy’s weapons

-- there's one thing about shoes -- they're not "one size fits all" -- you can only wear shoes that fit you

-- there's a saying among hikers on the Appalachian Trail -- "Hike your own hike" -- that's what Paul is saying here -- we all need to put on shoes -- we all need to protect our feet -- our Christian walk -- our Christian witness -- but we need to wear shoes that fit us and us alone

-- each of us were given different spiritual gifts and talents -- we all have different personalities -- different likes and dislikes -- there are certain things that we do well -- and certain things that others do better than us

-- when we walk forward ready to enter the battle and to carry the gospel of peace into this world, we can only do it our way -- we can't copy anyone else and expect success -- we must run our own race and live out our faith and our own lives as Christ demands -- our footwear must be designed to protect our own individual feet and our own individual walk, or it will not be effective

-- vs. 16

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

-- "in addition to all this" -- King James says "above all" -- take up the shield of faith

-- it all comes down to faith -- that’s the great principle that Paul gives us in this letter -- Ephesians 2:8-9:  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- faith leads to salvation -- faith leads to walking with Christ -- faith leads to believing the truth -- faith informs our Christian lives

-- Paul likens our faith to the shield that the Roman soldiers used to protect them during battle -- the Roman shields were large -- a soldier could hide behind them and keep all parts of his body protected -- the Romans would also link shield together -- forming what they called a phalanx -- an impenetrable wall of protection -- that would keep the entire army from being overrun

-- one other thing that is interesting about their shields is that they were often wrapped in leather -- they would soak the skins in water before a battle so if flaming arrows were shot at them, the arrows would hit the water-soaked shield and be extinguished -- nothing could get past a Roman soldier's shield

-- in the same way, by standing firm behind our faith, there is nothing that this world or that Satan can throw at us that will ever harm us

-- a few years ago, there was a song on the radio by Laura Story called, "What a Savior" -- I heard an interview with her where she explained the story behind the song -- she said that she had a college professor that was just hammering her beliefs -- every day he would come in and try to destroy the Christian faith -- there was nothing she could say that would defeat his worldly wisdom and all his scientific arguments

-- finally, Laura said that all she could fall back on was her faith -- on her belief in Christ and Him alone -- the chorus of this song speaks to that faith -- "Jesus, You are stronger -- more than any other -- Jesus you are higher -- my soul's deepest desire"

-- Laura stood behind her faith -- as the fiery darts streaked towards her from the evil one, Laura stood unscathed because she took up the shield of faith

-- vs. 17a

17 Take the helmet of salvation

-- what do helmets protect? -- they protect your head -- a Roman soldier would no more go into battle without a helmet than he would without a sword because the surest way to be killed on the field of battle was to be struck in the head

-- it's the same way with us -- where do spiritual attacks originate? -- where do temptations begin? -- they begin in your mind -- they begin in your thoughts

-- our enemy knows that if he can control our mind -- if he can sway our thoughts and get us to believe lies about God or entertain thoughts of disobedience, then he can get us to fall

-- the helmet of salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy and enables us to get back up when we fall -- the helmet of salvation makes us sure of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins

-- 1 John 5:13 says, " I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

          -- and 1 John 2:1 says "if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."

          -- if we fall -- if we choose to sin and disobey God -- then we can rise again from our failure and move forward in victory because of the salvation that Christ gave us on the cross

          -- the helmet of salvation reminds us that it was not by works that we were saved -- but by the atoning sacrifice of Christ -- we stand, not in our own strength, but in the mighty power of the Lord and His grace and mercy which was poured out on us at the cross of Calvary

          -- above all else, we have to protect the mind -- and we do that by remembering who we are and that the battle has already been won

          -- look back at verse 17

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

-- so far, all of the pieces of armor that we have looked at have been defensive -- they have been given to us to protect us from the enemy's attack

-- this next piece of armor -- the sword of the Spirit -- is both defensive and offensive -- it not only protects us from the devil's schemes, but it can be wielded with great power to regain the ground that the enemy has taken

          -- the sword of the Spirit is the word of God -- there is no doubt about this -- you need to know this Bible -- you need to learn the word of God and make it a part of you in order to protect yourself and to do what God has called you to do

          -- The Greek word that we translate as "word" here is "Rhema" -- a Rhema refers to a specific word or "saying" -- In this case, it means a specific portion of God's written revelation -- John 3:16 is an example of a rhema

          -- when Paul says we are to take up the rhema of God, he is saying that we should use Scripture to defend ourselves and to resist the devil in our spiritual battles

          -- think about Jesus when He was being tempted in the wilderness after His baptism -- every time the devil came against Him, what did Jesus do? -- He used scripture -- He quoted God's word to the devil saying, "It is written"

          -- what this means to us is that we have to memorize scripture in order to engage the enemy

          -- think for a moment about a real sword -- if I laid a sword out here on the altar and told you to come up and take it and use it in battle today, could you? -- would you know how to use it? -- no -- in order to effectively use a sword, we would have to be trained -- we would have to spend time with it -- be instructed in how to use it -- and then practice and practice and practice

          -- it's the same way with the sword of the Spirit -- Satan is not afraid of your Bible -- he's especially not afraid of a Bible that just sits around and gathers dust -- that's no different from having a rusty sword laying around your house

          -- in order to wield the sword of the Spirit, we have to be in the word -- we have to read our Bible -- know our Bible -- and memorize verses -- rhemas -- that we can use in battle

-- Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you"

-- when the devil attacks, we have to have immediate access to the sword of the Spirit, and the only way to do that is to make it a part of us -- to hide God's word in our heart so we can use it when we need it -- this is the way we wield the sword of the Spirit

-- vs. 18

18 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.

-- we talked about the need for prayer and it’s use in our lives the other day when we started this series of messages, so we won’t go into detail in that again -- if you want to go back and look at that message again, I’ve got it posted on my blogsite -- the link is there in the bulletin

-- but let me leave you with this truth -- Satan doesn't want you to pray -- try to pray and see how many distractions come up -- the Bible tells us that the prayers of a righteous man availeth much -- prayer is powerful -- it can bring hope to the hopeless and light to a dark and dying world

-- even though we know that God hears the prayers of our hearts and knows our thoughts before we ever speak them, we should get into the practice of praying out loud -- our spiritual enemies can't hear our thoughts, but when we speak out in the name of Jesus -- when we pray out loud in the Spirit -- evil flees

-- Paul writes in this verse, "with this in mind" -- with what in mind?

-- Paul is saying keep in mind who you are and who you are standing with -- you are not alone -- you are standing in the full armor of God and in His mighty power

-- Paul tells us to be alert and to always keep on praying for all the saints -- be alert because our enemy is sneaky -- sometimes he comes as a roaring lion -- other times he comes in the back door through divisiveness and jealousy -- anger and unforgiveness -- be alert because we know he is coming -- be alert and be ready to take action

III.  Closing

-- let me close with one last thought -- think for a moment about the armor that Paul says we should put on -- notice that we have our feet covered -- we have our chest covered -- we have our head covered -- and we are holding a shield to protect us from anything that comes against us

-- but notice what is missing -- there is nothing to protect our back -- that means two things for us

-- first, God has our back -- we don't have to worry about what might come behind, because God has already fought that battle -- our past is in the past -- our sins have been forgiven -- and we don't have to worry about them any longer

-- secondly, God didn't give us any armor for our back because He didn't intend for us to turn around -- a Christian is never to retreat -- never to surrender -- never to give up -- we are to get up and move forward

-- Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His church -- against us -- now let me ask you this -- where do you find gates? -- do you find gates coming against you on a field of battle? -- no -- the gates surround that which you are attacking

-- in other words, when Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against us, He was saying that He expected us to move forward and launch an all-out attack on the kingdom of Hell -- we were not saved to hide in our church -- no, we are called to carry the battle forward into Satan's turf -- suited up in the full armor of God and standing in His mighty power -- in order to reclaim this earth and set free the captives that Satan is still holding

-- 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 -- stand firm -- be valiant -- make disciples -- and advance the kingdom of God today

-- let us pray

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¹Illustration derived from WALB news story: http://www.walb.com/story/15724572/sylvester-police-officer-honored

²Sinclair Ferguson, By Grace Alone (Reformation Trust, 2010), p. 68; submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky

SERMON: SEEING SPIRITUALLY

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 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.

            -- for the past couple of weeks, we’ve been watching the third season of the Netflix show, “Stranger Things” -- I am not a fan of scary movies -- I don’t like horror films, and I tend to avoid supernatural shows, especially ones that portray supernatural evil events -- so, I was a little leery of this show when it first came out in 2016 -- but when I learned that the original concept was to create a show reminiscent of the supernatural movies and shows from the 1980s that I grew up with -- shows like Poltergeist, Ghostbusters, and The Goonies -- I decided to give it a chance

            -- if you haven’t seen it, the show is set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s -- Hawkins is a small town, and everything in the show is just so familiar to those of us who grew up in the 80s -- they captured the pop culture and the feel of the 1980s perfectly in this show -- watching it, I’m reminded of what it was like to be young in that time

            -- the series revolves around a group of young friends whose lives get affected by paranormal experiments being conducted secretly in their town by the U.S. Government

            -- not to give too much of the plot away, but in the show, the Government unintentionally discovers a portal to another dimension, called “the upside-down” -- it’s a place that looks just like Hawkins, where these kids live -- the same buildings -- the same trees -- the same environment -- it’s recognizable, but it’s different

            -- the upside-down is dark and scary and just feels wrong -- instead of being inhabited by people, it’s inhabited by evil forces, whose hatred of the people of Hawkins is just palpable

            -- as the show progresses and the characters begin to realize the existence of this unseen dimension in their midst, they move back and forth between the two worlds to battle the evil that is threatening their community and their friends

            -- the reason I’m telling you all of this is not to get you to go watch the show -- but I’m bringing this up because as I was watching the show this week, it struck me how the “upside-down” they portray in this story is a perfect illustration of a spiritual reality that we should all be aware of and keep in our minds as we seek to follow Christ in our day-to day

            -- a couple of weeks ago, we looked at this passage from Ephesians 6 where Paul talks about putting on the armor of God -- our focus in that message was on the need for prayer in our lives and how this was one of the two weapons that Paul talks about as being part of the Christian’s armor -- the second weapon being the sword of the Spirit -- the word of God

            -- this morning, I wanted to call your attention to the opening of this passage where Paul talks about the reason why we should put on the armor of God in the first place, because this is where the spiritual reality I was just talking about is realized

            -- we read here that we are to put on the full armor of God and to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes -- the image that Paul is giving us in this whole passage is one of a battlefield -- of a warrior standing against a foe who is seeking to defeat him -- and that’s a powerful image we need to get firmly fixed in our minds

            -- we have an enemy -- the Bible is clear that we have a spiritual enemy who seeks to kill and steal and destroy -- who hates us with all his being -- -- in 1 Peter 5:8, we read that our enemy is the devil and that he prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour  -- the devil is our enemy and he wants nothing more than to bring harm to the kingdom of God by hurting us or by keeping us from being and doing what God wants us to do

             -- that enemy is real, and that is why Paul counsels us here in Ephesians to stand in the power of God with the full armor of God protecting us from the schemes of the devil -- from the plans of the devil to harm us

            -- Paul goes on to tell us here that, therefore, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers -- against the authorities -- against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms -- and that’s the spiritual reality I want you to get firmly fixed in your mind this morning

            -- there is an unseen dimension that is affecting our lives in this world today, much like the upside-down in the Stranger Things series affected the people living in Hawkins, Indiana

            -- this unseen dimension is there and it’s real -- the Bible tells us that -- but because we can’t readily see it, we tend to forget about it, and focus all our time and energy only on what we can see with our worldly eyes -- so, even for us as Christians, we see reality as being only found in the earthly realm we live in

            -- that’s why when we see evil in this world, we blame it on the source that we can see -- when you hear about violence and crime on the nightly news, you blame it solely on the people who did it -- when we see atrocities or injustice imposed on citizens of a foreign land, we blame it solely on their leaders or their government or their way of life

            -- and because we are only focusing on what we can see with our worldly eyes, when we look for answers to these problems, we only focus on what we can see and touch and feel and do in this world

            -- that’s why this passage from Ephesians is so important -- it is a reminder to us that the battles we face in life -- the true source of all of this evil and injustice and wrong-doing in our world -- is not the flesh and blood we see

            -- it’s part of a larger spiritual battle coming from the devil’s schemes against us and put into place by the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

            -- that’s the reality I am wanting you to see today -- that’s the reality I was reminded of while I was watching Stranger Things -- the people in Hawkins were being faced with an evil that was coming against them, but they didn’t know it -- they didn’t see it -- they could only see what was on the surface -- and, so, they couldn’t do anything about it

            -- it was only the group of kids and a couple of adults in the show who became aware of the upside-down -- this unseen dimension and the forces within it -- who were able to stand against the evil in their midst

            -- in order to take our stand against the devil’s schemes, we must learn to see this unseen spiritual dimension around us with spiritual eyes of faith -- and we must learn to rely on the Lord and His mighty power

            -- if you would, turn over to 2 Kings 6:8-17 and let’s look at another aspect of this unseen spiritual dimension

            -- while you’re finding your place in 2 Kings, let me give you the context and background of this passage -- this passage takes place during the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah -- as you remember, following the reign of Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into two, with the nation of Israel taking ten of the twelve tribes and taking over the northern part of Solomon’s kingdom and the nation of Judah taking two of the twelve tribes and residing in the southern part of Solomon’s kingdom

            -- Elisha has now taken the mantel as God’s prophet to the nation of Israel -- Elisha was Elijah’s protégé -- and when Elijah was caught up to heaven in the chariot of fire, Elisha took up his mantel and his responsibilities to speak God’s word to the nation of Israel

            -- as this passage opens, Israel is at war with the nation of Aram -- but God helps the Israelites in their struggle by revealing to Elisha the schemes of the enemy

            -- look at 2 Kings 6:8

2 Kings 6:8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

            -- so every time the Arameans set up an ambush for the king of Israel and his men, God warned Elisha and the Israelites avoided the trap -- this didn’t set well with the king of Aram, so he decided to capture Elisha -- he found out that Elisha and his servant were in the city of Dothan -- so he sent horses and chariots and a large army to Dothan at night and they surrounded the whole city while Elisha and his servant slept -- the trap was set, and Elisha was about to get caught

            -- verse 15

2 Kings 6:15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

            -- early the next morning, Elisha’s servant gets up, rubs the sleep from eyes, and looks out to see that the city is completely surrounded by their enemies

            -- a vast army is arrayed there to capture Elisha -- men with swords and bows -- chariots and horses -- there was no way for them to escape -- and the servant cries out to Elisha, "what shall we do?"

            -- verse 16  

2 Kings 6:16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

            -- Elisha tells his servant to not be afraid -- there are more with them than there were against them -- he prays and asks God to open the eyes of the servant so that he might see the truth of the situation

            -- you see, just like us, the servant was only looking at things on the surface -- he was only looking at the situation with worldly eyes -- he was completely unaware of the spiritual dimension that surrounded them

            -- so, God opened his eyes, and the servant saw the Lord’s army surrounding them -- the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha, protecting them from the enemy

            -- this is the other side of the story in regards to the unseen spiritual dimension that we live in -- not only is this spiritual dimension like the upside-down from Stranger Things -- filled with evil beings who seek to harm us -- but this spiritual dimension is also filled with God’s angels, who are sent to minister to us in God’s name -- to protect us -- to speak God’s word to us -- to stand along with us in our struggle against the devil’s schemes

            -- the spiritual dimension that surrounds us encompasses all of the heavenly realms -- it includes both the rulers and authorities and the powers of this dark world, as well as God’s angels

            -- Frank Peretti pointed this out in his fiction book, “This Present Darkness” -- in this book, Peretti showed the unseen battles that occur between the spiritual forces of good and the spiritual forces of evil in this unseen spiritual dimension, and how this battle affects our lives in the world today

            -- now don’t get me wrong -- I am not telling you to find your theology or your doctrines from either Stranger Things or Peretti’s novels -- I’m not doing that -- but I am telling you that both of these entertainments portray a deeper spiritual truth that we see in the Bible -- namely, that there is an unseen spiritual dimension around us -- and that spiritual forces of good and of evil are all around us, even though we usually can’t see them

            -- also, I’m not telling you that every evil in our world today is the result of the devil’s schemes -- we have a part to play in that, too -- we bring evil and sin into our lives every day on our own when we give into our desires and seek to meet these desires in ungodly ways -- when we give into temptation and disobey God’s word -- our flesh is just as much an enemy as the devil

            -- but I do want you to be aware of the reality of our spiritual enemy -- I do want you to keep in mind that we have an enemy who actively schemes against us and who works in this world to bring harm to people and to God’s creation -- that there is an unseen spiritual dimension that surrounds us and that we need to be aware of so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes

            -- that’s the take home message for today -- that’s why Paul counsels us to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and to put on the full armor of God -- we need to remember that and stop trying to do this Christian life in our strength and in our own power

            -- when we realize the reality of this spiritual dimension around us, it will give power to our prayers and strength in our desire to walk with God daily

            -- let us pray