Trade in Your Old Gear, Part IV

I was out of town visiting a dear friend. Good to be back! Let's get back to the gear we put on for spiritual warfare.

Standing versus Snoozing

Standing is essential in warfare. It gets the job done: It helps us to "be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. " (Eph. 6:13)

What good is armor if once you are fully outfitted, you become so relaxed that a snooze sounds very appealing? Armor implies warfare and standing implies a willingness and a confidence to face the enemy. So, a “snoozing soldier” is a contradiction in terms, like “jumbo shrimp” or “honest politician.”

We are outfitted to stand. We are not outfitted to fight—the ground we stand upon has already been won by Jesus:

• "When Jesus had tasted it, he said, ‘It is finished!’ Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." (John 19:30 NLT)
• "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:57 NIV)
• "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
• "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:13-14 NIV)
• "In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." (Col. 2:15 NLT)
• "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’" (Matt. 28:18)

When we stand on the ground already won by Jesus, what is our role? We are the Body of Christ and we walk in His ways, doing the work that He has called to do:

• "I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself." (Eph. 1:19-23 NLT)
• "For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:6 NLT)

That’s why you are geared up, standing and ready with eyes on Jesus. You are His instrument on this earth. You are taking people back from the dominion of darkness…one soul at a time, through His power and might operating in you.

Why Our Gear Doesn’t Work

Snoozing out of complacency is not the unpardonable sin. If you are caught asleep at your post, confess and move forward: "Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, ‘Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’"(Eph. 5:10-14 NIV)

Christ is the only Light. He is the One that reminds us of our task and lights our way through it. He is the One that illuminates the sin in our hearts. He is the One, through His kindness, Who leads people to repentance. To put it another way, we are the messengers and He alone is the Message.

Prayer versus Pride

Wait a minute. Prayer isn’t armor. True, but look what Paul says, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…" (Eph. 6:18)

Let’s do a quick comparison between prayer and pride. It’s a good self-check for any soldier:

• Prayer humbles. Pride mumbles.
• Prayer says, Send me, Lord! Pride says, I am truly the best person for this job!
• Prayer waits on the promptings of the Holy Spirit: Tell me what to say and do, Lord. Pride says, I got this! Boldly in I go, knocking others down.
• Prayer says, The results are in God’s hands. Pride says, What? Not yet? Why are you taking so long to decide?
• Prayer says, I am the Lord’s servant. Pride says, The Kingdom can’t work without me.

Prayer is the attitude we have while wearing His armor. 

We pray in the power of His Spirit. How can we do this? Jesus spoke of what the Holy Spirit will do when He is given to the believer: 

• "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them... But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:15-21 & 26-7 NIV)

Jesus further explains the role of the Spirit:

• "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you." (John 16:7-15 NIV)

Wow. The Spirit of truth dwells within us, gives us life and peace. We learn more of the Father and of the Son. Prayer is ultimately about a relationship with God. It is a conversation and what better way to animate and sustain that conversation than with the Spirit of God living in us?

When we don’t know even what to say to God, the Spirit is doing it for us: "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." (Rom. 8:26 NLT)

We must stay connected with others enough to pray effectively for them. We must be on guard to keep our hearts free from sin: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

Pride is the attitude we have while wearing our armor. We pray according to our wants and desires. We are connected with others just enough to feel superior to them. Our guard has been let down so our hearts are slowly being poisoned by pride: "The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?’" (Oba. 1:3 NIV)

We claim the Spirit is talking to us, but then do we go through the Word to make sure what we heard lines up? God’s spoken revelation is not going to contradict in any way the words or principles of His written revelation. The Spirit in us is truth, the Word is truth and Jesus is truth. We pray with that confidence and stand on that solid ground.

Why Our Gear Won’t Work

The greatest way to stay humble is to pray. Prayer says: I need you Lord. I can’t do this on my own. It’s Your armor, Your power, Your strength. I am serving You and operating effectively only because of You.

Pride, being part of the flesh, cannot serve the Lord without mixed motives. Yes, we want to serve Him but we like how it puts us in the center.  Pride is Satan’s playground. If pride creeps in to what you are doing for the Lord, Satan is gaining a toehold. If you don’t repent, this will lead to a stronghold.  

A soldier with Satan becoming more and more embedded in his or her heart will soon be as useful as a screen door on a submarine. And just as fatal.

Trade in Your Old Gear, Part III

The Helmet of Salvation versus The Helmet of Doubt

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) are life-altering. Spiritual TBI’s are equally as devastating: The blow of doubt can cause serious damage to our faith. Doubt can alter how we see God and how we are to live in Him.

We are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind: "He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27 NIV)

We need a helmet to protect us and not just any ol’ helmet. It must be the Helmet stamped with the word “salvation” in big red (the blood of Jesus) letters. If doubt is one of Satan’s favorite weapons, then the Helmet of Salvation is essential to ward off his blows.

The Shield of Faith is good for warding off the long-range missiles Satan sends, the ones you see coming. Perhaps getting laid off, being gossiped about, being misunderstood, or getting rejected are some of the fiery darts flying your way. They come at you and up goes your Shield of Faith. They hit your Shield with a fiery thud.

But the Helmet of Salvation implies the enemy has gotten close enough to whack you with a blow you did not see coming. These unexpected blows demand strong protection. Our salvation is just that: strong protection. Satan probably thought he had it made in the shade when Jesus was on the cross: "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 2:8 NIV)

But Jesus died to secure our rescue from sin and death by being our sacrifice for sin and overcoming death itself.

Satan stopped laughing that Sunday morning when a gentle breeze swirled inside an empty tomb.

Consider this: We have been wearing our Helmet of Salvation for a while. But the cultural pressure on us to be more tolerant, more open-minded, can be overwhelming. Some time back, we accepted with a child-like faith the salvation Jesus offered; now, in our ever-progressive world, we feel an open mind might be a better way to go.

So, we trade in our strong, battle-tested Helmet of Salvation for the much lighter and no-brainer Helmet of the Open Mind. Satan sees our weakness and here he comes...

• Whack! How can you insist that Jesus is the only way to God?
• Whack! How you be sure that the Bible is accurate?

Our head starts to hurt. Then, seeing the dents, we get a new helmet: the Helmet of I Am Trying to Stay Open... 

• Whack! How can you claim that Jesus died for the world?
• Whack! Are all other religions wrong?

Now, our head really hurts. Then we put on the Helmet of Doubt. It looks sturdy, doesn’t offend anyone and it tells everyone that we are not going to make any rash decisions that limit our intellectual horizons... 

• Whack! Jesus is fine for you, but we are all on the same path to God.
• Whack! The Bible is just a collection of stories and is no more inspired than other stories in other religions.
• Whack! You need to think for yourself.
• Whack! You are so superior to all those sheep out there. (But do you notice how that deep discontentment just won’t go away?)

Satan is never going to stop with the head blows. He wants us out of the battle altogether: we have either walked away from our faith or we are so demoralized in sin and shame we no longer fight for what is right.

We must keep our Helmet of Salvation on, seeking through God’s power to possess more and more the mind of Christ: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:16)

The Helmet given to us by God is the only one that can withstand Satan’s onslaught.

Why Our Gear Won’t Work

Our salvation was secured by Jesus on the cross. He seeks daily, through our experiences and our thoughts, to transform us into His image: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." (Rom. 8:29 NIV)

God wants us to be more and more of what He intended for us all along, before we were derailed by sin: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18)

We can only be transformed by the renewing of our mind if we are secure in the knowledge that He died for us: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Rom. 12:2 NIV)

We must equally be secure in the knowledge that He now wants to live in us: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20 NIV)

No other helmet will stave off the blows of the enemy.

The Sword of the Spirit versus The Pool Noodle of Excuses

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. You can’t use it unless you know it. You can’t stand on the promises of God if you don’t know what they are. You can’t whack Satan back if he parries with half-truths and you don’t know the whole truth.

Time in the Word is like sword practice. You only get better as you use it. But if you are not prepared in the Word, do you grab The Pool Noodle of Excuses? I am too busy to read the Word! I don’t understand it! I don’t think it’s culturally relevant! It’s a bit out of date! It’s not translated correctly!

OK. The next time Satan throws his darts your way or slams down on your helmet, you give him a shellacking with that Noodle. When he’s done laughing, watch out.

We must be prepared to fight Satan by countering his accusations with the Word of God. We stand on the Word alone. We are not to stand on our knowledge, experience or how many years we have been a solider. If we stand on our strength alone, with pride as our driving force, we will have a false sense of security. We will then venture out into territory for which we are not prepared.

An unprepared soldier is a delightful target for the enemy. The enemy will use friends, family or life itself to give us a whack and send us reeling.

The day will come when people, even those who sit in church, will prefer to have their ears tickled by the culture: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Tim. 4:3 NIV)

The culture is not about truth. It is about feeling good. If your Sword is gathering dust, your Noodle of Excuses will be about as useful as a carwash in Seattle.

Why Our Gear Won’t Work

Satan’s attacks focus on slaying God’s character and thus His promises. If our knowledge is blunted (limited) or weak (pool noodle-like) we will not discern the lies when they arrive. The only good sword is one that is sharp: "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb. 4:12 NIV)

The Sword’s job is to divide the truth from what is false. Satan attacks us to injure and destroy us; the Sword of God is intended to cut away anything that stands between us and God. It’s painful to have those beliefs and behaviors cut away, but in the long run, we will be freer and deeper in Him. Why? Because anything that compromises or diminishes our walk in Him leaves us less and less in the light of His power and strength.

Satan injures us so we will stay in the dark. God heals us so we will stay in the light. It’s our choice.


To be continued...

Trade in Your Old Gear, Part II

Gospel Shoes versus Gospel Slippers

Shoes are for walking: “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” implies well-made shoes and a readiness to go. How often have we said, “Wait! I am coming! I just need to get my shoes on!”

Bad shoes mean disabled soldiers. Think about how painful even a short walk becomes with a nasty blister; how a hole in your shoe lets water in, making your feet cold; how shoes that are too small make your feet ache; how shoes that are broken down will injure your feet and you can’t walk or run for a long time until you recover.

The Gospel isn’t just about sharing words. It is about walking alongside someone, understanding their pain and trying to do what is best in the situation. It’s being in the mud and the blood of the battlefield. Satan leaves quite a trail of destruction as he moves through this planet. That’s where we come in.

The Gospel goes out, because the lost don’t always come in: "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" (Matt. 18:12 NIV)

You go where the need is. The need is out there, because that’s where the wounded are.

The Gospel means shoveling a neighbor’s driveway; helping a friend of a friend move; watching a toddler while a young mom gets her hair done; going and picking up the person you invited to church. The Gospel means movement. Shoes that are well-made (well-grounded in the Word) and a willingness to go (Lord, send me!) are a far cry from Gospel slippers.

Slippers are comfy and are meant to wear at home. If your Gospel is comfy and only found inside the walls of your church home, then how will people hear the Good News?

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Rom. 10:14 NIV)

Why Our Gear Won’t Work

Wearing footgear that is not intended for outdoor use is useless. Not being prepared to go out and share the Good News is useless to the Kingdom of God. If our feet get pierced (we fall pray to Satan’s deception) because of shoddy footwear, we are sidelined. Let our shoes take the hit: God’s Word is strong enough to take all that Satan and the world can throw at it.

The Shield of Faith versus The Shield of Christian Culture

Faith in what? Is it in our faith? In Jesus? In our denomination? Our pastor? Our leaders? I know what you are thinking: “I have faith in Jesus Christ!” But, here’s the test: Where do you run when life and the enemy throw fiery darts at you? Do we raise Jesus’ Word in front of us, or do we raise something else?

The Shield of Faith means we believe those fiery darts will be quenched by the power of Jesus. We do not doubt that our faith will hold.

Jesus used the parable of the man who built his house on the rock using His words as compared to the man who built on the sand, using what the world says. The rain and storms hit both houses. Only the one built on Jesus and His words stood the battering. (Matt. 7: 24-27)

So, when we raise our Shield, we are showing that we trust in Christ alone. Not just in our faith, or a faith in faith, but faith in Christ, His love and His provision. Such a soldier believes that Shield will extinguish the darts (the lies) of the enemy and it will hold up battle after battle. That’s why it’s raised. The very act of raising it shows the soldier’s confidence in its capacity. It is faith is action.

A shield, sitting in a dusty shed somewhere, may look fine. But this Shield must be raised, wielded and never left behind. Why? The more it is used on the battlefield, the greater its value to the soldier. Every dart that is extinguished will increase the soldier’s confidence in the Shield.

Faith that is battle-tested is strong. We have learned that Jesus never leaves us, gives us strength and helps us fight the battle. So, as we face a new battle, we remember how He has been with us in the past: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, [your enemies] for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 3:16)

But, if we raise the Shield of Christian Culture, now we have a problem. Why? Our confidence will be short-lived, because this culture is short-lived. It changes all the time, following after the dictates of Christians who don’t want to offend anyone. These Christians appear to believe that because the world and Christianity have had a falling out, it’s up to them to fix the damage. They compromise the Word and apologize for its perceived “intolerance.”

Many Christians are training with the compromised Shield of Christian Culture as opposed to the Shield of Faith grounded in God’s Word. Culture changes, trends and ideas come and go, but: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." (Is. 40:8)

Many Christians today take their cue about what is right or wrong from the larger culture. It’s as if morality is determined by the 51%, not by God’s Word. If enough people in church think that the Biblical position on an issue is too outdated, uncompassionate or insensitive because the larger culture does (and being relevant is the goal, not the truth) then out comes the Christian Cultural Shield. It’s so much lighter and easier to handle.

But, once out in the battlefield, we notice a curious thing. The darts do not go out. They grow stronger and stronger. This Shield becomes more and more battered. It doesn’t stand up well to the lies that the enemy is directing at us. So, we run to the next Shield, the next compromise, hoping it will be able to just dim or divert the darts and not offend the other side. But that doesn’t happen. We lose faith in this Shield. Soon, Cultural Shields are scattered all over the battlefield. None of the compromises have worked. The world continues to grow hostile to Christianity. Why is that? "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

The enemy’s plan is to make us doubt faith in general; doubt that we are at war; doubt that our side is the victorious one and doubt that we should even fight. He whispers that perhaps we need to lower our Shield altogether and not be so hung up on God’s Word: Embrace the other side! Faith is far less satisfying than a group hug!

We are at war. Period. If we lay down our Shield of Faith in God’s Word and His Son, replacing it with the well-intentioned but totally misguided idea that we must accommodate the culture and its trends, the enemy’s darts will come, no matter what we are holding. Our compromised shield will not be able to stand under fire. And you? Perhaps the better question is: Regular recipe or extra crispy?

Why Our Gear Won’t Work

Faith is not something we try to psyche ourselves into or work hard to feel deep in our souls. This Shield is a gift from God Himself: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8-9 NIV)

Jonathan gave David his garments and his weapons to show that they were in covenant with each other. (1 Sam. 18:3-4) We have been given God’s armor to show that we are in covenant with God.

If we set aside this Gift and walk out thinking it’s all good because we are now culturally relevant and tolerant, one day we will be on the sidelines, nursing a broken heart and wondering how it all went so wrong. The world will be one step closer to Hell and we helped.

The old saying that “If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” then it is maintained by compromise.

To be continued...