Reflection: "Living a Courageous Life"Last week, I encouraged you to live a “thankful” life,
but this week we’re looking at living a “courageous” life. One quality that we don’t like about ourselves, as human beings, is our willingness to engage in war. Throughout history, we’ve killed each other in the name of our nations, our religions, or many other vague ideals. No other species on the planet kills their own kind in the same numbers that we do. Human beings engage in war on each other unlike any others in the plant or animal kingdoms. Because we humans are so warlike, some have an interest in the weapons of war, creating newer and better ones. In generations past, it was knives, swords, and spears, but now we’re interested in guns, bombs and aeroplanes. An occupation synonymous with past wars was that of the blacksmith. Many of you will know someone named Smith and they are named after that famous village smithy. The smithy was the person who manufactured the weapons for war, made of iron and steel. But every smithy knew that there were two kinds of military arms: defensive and offensive. Armour to protect life and weapons to take life. I’m pretty sure that most of us wouldn’t describe ourselves as soldiers, fighting battles, but that’s exactly how Paul describes us all, in his letter to the Christian people around Ephesus, two thousand years ago. We tend to think of soldiers as people who fight other people in battles. People who wear armour for protection and who carry weapons of war. But the type of warriors that Paul is describing here, are people who fight against the forces of evil, personified by Satan and his fallen angels. We know that this war has been going on since Adam and Eve were first tempted in the Garden of Eden and it’s shown no sign of abating over all that time, so we must remain vigilant and ready to take our places in the front line. Even though most of us would call ourselves “reluctant” soldiers for the Lord, we can’t afford to be complacent and just leave it to someone else to protect us, because evil forces are working on us every day and we must be vigilant. Luckily for us, we’re not just left to our own devices in these battles. We have been well equipped by God with both defensive and offensive items. True Christian strength is not of the body, but of the spirit - measured in faithfulness, trust, and perseverance. Any knight who’s ever worn a suit of armour would know that they need to put on ALL the pieces of armour. How foolish would be the person who didn’t protect their head, shoulders, arms, hands, legs as well as feet. Paul advises and motivates us to put on the whole armour of God, to use all the resources we have, to protect ourselves from the cunning onslaughts from the powers of evil. Satan is keenly aware of where we are most vulnerable and he’ll always attacks us where we don’t have any protection, where we don’t have any armour. But how do we apply Paul’s lesson, and analogy about the armour, to those of us who live in Australia at the beginning of the third millennium? Firstly, we have to understand that we’re living in a battlefield and that we’re engaged in a vicious warfare. Paul tells us that we’re fighting with the powers of darkness, the powers of evil, that live inside and around us. Inside, we’re fighting with our own egos, our own selfishness. We’re not merely fighting battles with alcohol, or drugs, or gambling, or other material pleasures. The Bible says that we’re also fighting with an external force, greater than ourselves - the very powers of darkness. Who do you think causes all the wars around us and has done so throughout all of human history? Who causes starvation in the world, where the majority don’t have sufficient food and water, yet all the while there’s plenty of food and water available? It’s the powers of evil. It certainly isn’t God who caused all these enormous devastations around the globe. The power of evil is insidious, it’s global, and there’s no place to escape it. So, Paul gives us another, alternative, battle plan. Paul talks about Christians living in a real world, one filled with evil and injustice. But we’d be wise to put on the whole armour of God when engaging in battle with the evil one. Paul then lists seven qualities, seven pieces of armour that we can benefit from. In biblical times, the number seven was seen as a symbol of wholeness, the whole armour, the full suit of armour. Paul tells us to first put on the belt of truth -truth in all relationships, truth about God and God’s love, truth in our relationships with our spouse, our children, our parents, our grandparents, our neighbours. Finally grasping the truth about ourselves – that we need to live truthfully and not to live a lie. Then, he says to put on the breastplate of righteousness. Right relationships, healthy relationships, good relationships with all those around you and even with yourself. Be in right relationships and not wrong and demeaning relationships. Paul then says to put on the foot protectors of peace. In other words, don’t go looking for a fight with yourself, your family, or others. Try to work through the legitimate conflicts that are always found between people and nations and ethnic divisions. Try to be a peacemaker, working hard for peace and aiming towards peace in all relationships. Next, put on the shield of faith, trusting that God is with you, strengthening you for every situation you’re facing. You can’t prove it to anyone else, you can’t prove God’s inner strength, you can’t prove eternal life. But you’ve been given the gift of trust and you must trust in your inner spiritual self. Then, put on the helmet of salvation. What a gift it is, to know that you can be saved - it’s a gift from God. Next, put on the sword of the Spirit - that is, the Word of God - because there’s power in the Bible. The words of Jesus, Paul and the Old Testament are not merely words printed on pages of a dusty book that we pull out when we have the occasional Bible study, no, God’s words are living words, intended to live in us. We learn them, memorize them, recite them spiritually in our brains, so that God’s words are constantly inside us. And finally, Paul encourages us to put on praying in the Spirit. There isn’t a piece of armour mentioned with this seventh quality, but the quality is just as important. Do you sometimes have a problem with focussing on your prayers and curse your wandering mind? Like all good habits, we need to persevere in our conversations with God. Praying in the Spirit is another great resource, another piece of armour. But no suit of armour is worth anything without a good heart beating inside. So where do you get such armour? At the armoury, of course!!! No, not the one at Newington, near Silverwater, but at church, with the people of God. From the people of God, we learn much about life, and we take from these people the qualities we need for life. From the church, we learn about faith… and right and good relationships… and peace… and trust… and salvation… and the Bible… and praying in the Spirit. These qualities actually can be found in God’s armoury. And so, Paul clearly and wisely says to us today: Put on the whole armour of God, so that you’re able to stand tall in the day of Jesus Christ. In order for you to be strong, in order for you to fight the good fight of the faith, you must put on faith, righteousness, and salvation and you must use the gospel, which is the Word of God, and lastly, you must pray. So, I challenge you to pray, be faithful, trust in the Lord and rest in his provision for victory in Christ. It’s your decision and it’s up to you to act - to live that courageous life. I encourage you to put on God’s armour and prepare yourself for the fight that is the rest of your life. Pastor Rick
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