Christian Warfare

Ready for Battle – Ephesians 6:11 – 13.

You may or may not remember this event, but a few years ago when the United Nations decided to send troops ito Iraq, it took the Canadian Forces several weeks to prepare before the ships could leave for the Gulf. The same was true of the Americans and British troops, and in face, of all the troops that went from other countries in that coalition.

Why do I bring this up? For this reason, that, in ancient and modern warfare, armies had to prepare before going into battle or else defeat is certain.

The Christian who wants to be a ‘good soldier of Jesus Christ’ must be prepared. He or she cannot and will not overcome the forces of evil unless proper preparation is made. Twice in these verses the Apostle Paul calls draws our attention to this matter of preparation. Twice he says, ‘Put on the full armour of God.’  He will go on to describe each piece of that armour, but, before he does that he gives us this vital piece of instruction, ‘Put on the full armour of God.’

Here is the scenario then. The war has already began. In fact it has been going on since the dawn of Creation when Satan tempted Eve and then Adam. All of us need to be prepared because sooner or later the fierceness of the battle will reach us where we are, and, if we are not ready, we will not be able to stand. We are in a battle, and as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “we can’t contract out of it.”

So then, let us take a closer look at how we can become Ready For Battle.

Consider, first of all:

1. The Importance of Order.

The Apostle Paul issues certain orders here. He tells us: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.’ That comes first. He then adds to that: “Put on the whole armour of God.” These are two vital pieces of instruction and the order in which they are given is important. The first order of business is -

A. The Summons to Courage.

‘Be strong in the Lord…’ We are by nature weak and fearful but there is such a thing as ‘the grace of courage,’ that is, Christ is able to give us the courage and strength we need to face the battle.

Can you imagine how Joshua felt when Moses suddenly died leaving him in charge of a nation of over a million people who had wandered around in a wilderness for forty years? It must have been a fearful thing for Joshua but God appeared to Joshua and said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you…only be strong and courageous.” Joshua was to think of who God was and what God had done and on the basis of that he was to summon up the courage to do the job.

Fifty years ago, my brother and I, as brand-new Christians, were challenged by an elderly lady to go into a large ghetto area in Jamaica and start a ministry for children. Neither of us had any experience in ministering to children but we met several times for the next two weeks and prayed about it. Then we went into the area and observed the children on the streets. We invited other young people to come and pray with us. Finally we went back into the area and asked parent to allow us to have a Bible Club in her backyard. She did and we went on the street and invited children to attend. That one club grew into eight and we moved into an abandoned building. The club grew into over two hundred children and we decided to start a Sunday Morning worship service. That grew into a church and today there are over five hundred attending that church in what was once considered a hopeless area in terms of evangelism.

But did you notice how it came about? We were challenged and we were scared, but before we went on the attack, we strengthened ourselves through prayer. We prayed together and got others to join us

Is there something that God is calling you to do? Before you take a step toward doing it, you must summons the courage by prayer and by joining force with others of the same mind.

B. Strengthen Yourself.

‘Put on the full armour of God.’ You may recall the story of David and Goliath from the Old Testament. Before David went to meet Goliath Saul dressed David in his own armour. David, however, could not go to battle in Saul’s armour. Why not? He was not used to it and it did not fit.

What was David’s armour? David was used to carrying a shepherd’s staff and a slingshot, not a sword and a shield. Later on he would learn to carry a full suit of armour, but not for this battle. He was not yet strong enough for that.

Note the instructions of the Apostle, ‘Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.’ Note what the armour is that you are going to have to wear and carry – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. You are going to have to put on each piece of armour for yourself. No one is going to put them on for you and God is not going to zap you with power so that you suddenly find yourself clothed in this armour.

If, for instance, you are going to carry ‘the sword of Spirit,’ you have to take the time to read, understand, receive, memorize and use the word of God. If you are going to wear the shoes of the Gospel you are going to have to understand what the Gospel is and how to share it with others. No one can do these things for you; you have to do them yourself. That is your Christian responsibility. It takes time and it takes effort. You are to be like a soldier who has joined the army and he is sent away to camp to learn soldiering. He spends his time learning to obey orders, learn to use his armour and ammunition and strengthening his body for day when he has to go to war. So we too must get ready by summoning the courage and strengthening ourselves for that time.

With that in mind, let us move from The Importance of Order to:

2. The Necessity of being Armoured.

Why is it so necessary for us to ‘Put on the full armour of God?’ After all, these things take up so much time. Could we not, once we are saved, just jump into the fray of the battle and leave it to the Lord to arm us? Some people really believe that that is the way to go. They do not think it is necessary to spend time studying the Scriptures, learning to pray, and practicing righteousness. They would claim that all you really need is a supernatural influx of power and you are bound to win the battle. But they are wrong. The armour is absolutely necessary. Why?

A. For defence and protection.

Without the armour we become very vulnerable. For instance, if we are not armed with truth we become vulnerable to Satan’s lies. We hear some seemingly great teaching that is being passed along as truth but is, in fact, totally different from what the Bible teaches, and we embrace it and are deceived. This is the way people are drawn away. They are drawn away by pseud0-christian cults, by secular psychology, by humanistic philosophy, and other things that creep in slowly until it takes root in the mind and lead us astray. We can’t resist these things if we are not protected with the3 belt of truth and shield of faith.

B. For offence and direction.

The Christian has obligations in this to preach the Gospel, to help the needy, and to bring healing to the broken areas of this world. Every time a Christian fulfills one of these obligations, he is striking a blow against Satan and his army. He is seizing territory once controlled by Satan and handing it back to Christ and kingdom.

For many years now I have been involved in working with Pregnancy Care centres in several cities in Canada. I get regular reports on some of the ministries carried out by these centers. I read about Care Closets that provide baby clothes, maternity dresses, car seats, magazines, literature and health information for mothers who want to keep their babies. I read about Shepherding homes where families can live and be helped by another family while they await the arrival of a new baby. I read about Home With A Heart where single mothers can learn about keeping and caring for a home with a child in it. I read about Post-abortion teams that help women to cope with a past abortion and so on. Every time I read one of these stories I am reminded that these centers and the people who work there are striking a blow against Satan and his hosts. But they couldn’t do it without first strengthening themselves by training, learning, and praying together.

We’ve looked at ‘The Importance of Order,’ and ‘The Necessity of Armouring.’ Lastly I want us to look at:

3. The Character of Soldiering.

We are to put on the ‘full armour of God.’ That is, we are to put on all of it. Each piece has been personally chosen by Christ for a special and definite purpose and it covers every area of need in the battle. You and I, therefore, cannot pick and choose what parts we need because we need it all.

Many Christians have problems in this area. Some would like to take up the shield of faith and exercise faith in many areas of life. They want to believe God for great things, but they don’t want to take the time to take up the ‘Sword of the Spirit’ which is the word of God. Others want to take the ‘Shoes of Salvation’ but not the ‘Breastplate of righteousness.’ In other words, they want to preach or teach or share the Gospel but they don’t want to have to live a practical life of holiness.

Well, the truth is this, if you only take up part of the armour and leave out others you will never win the battle against Satan and his demons.  The character of the armour is this, that is piece is attached to the other and is dependent upon the other and if you try to put one on without the other, you become vulnerable and will be defeated. This, I dare say, is the reason so many Christians fail in the battle of life.

Closing: In bringing today’s message to a close, let me remind you once again that the enemy we face in this Christian life is not flesh and blood, but a powerful and dangerous spiritual personality.

The way of victory is decided by God, not by us.

Professing Christians have sometimes devised formulas that promise us victory over the enemy but we need no man-made formulas. The Scriptures are very clear in this passage as to what we need. The way to victory has been decided by God. He summons us to courage and strength, and He calls us to put on the armour He has provided.

The rest is up to us. Armed with faith, righteousness, truth, the Gospel, salvation and the word of God, we are headed for victory. Without any of these we are headed for defeat.