Sunday, August 26, 2018

Prayer is Our Weapon / Based on Ephesians 6:10-20 / Delivered on August 26, 2018 to CCH


Prayer is Our Weapon / Based on Ephesians 6:10-20 / Delivered on August 26, 2018 to CCH
Hymns: Onward Christian Soldiers, My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less, Jesus Loves Me


Ephesians 6:10-20
6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
6:14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
6:15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
6:16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
6:19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
  

Happy Sunday to you!  I am Darci Strutt McQuiston, a Lay Servant of the United Methodist Church up on the hill from here.  It is my joy to be with you all today. 



The scripture for today could lend itself to a children’s skit with all of its armor metaphor.  I can envision a child with armor too big struggling to stand firm.  It is an image that can bring a smile, yet the truth of this scripture is much more serious.


The three ideas I’m pulling from the reading today are:
We are in a battle
We can’t face it without God
Prayer is our weapon


We are in a battle
Of course, the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” came to mind when I read this scripture.  I envision a physical battle from the hymn with the cross at the head of the line and banners flying.  Yet this passage reminds us that we are not fighting a human foe.


6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.


We are fighting a nonphysical unseen force.  In scripture God is described as light.  This battle is against a present darkness, which is the absence of God.  Evil is fighting against what is good.  The battle ground is within our heads and within our hearts.


It may be nonphysical, but it is a battle to be taken seriously.  Some may not believe in the supernatural nature of spiritual forces named here.  Maybe it would help to see it as those other nonhuman things that we need to battle against; addiction, prejudges, depression, apathy.  Those things that keep us in unloving darkness. I see casualties as young lives are cut short because their life isn’t recognized as precious by another, or as depression gives way to believing a person’s own life is not worth living.  The battle may be mental, but the results are quite physical. 



Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US with nearly 45 thousand dying each year.  For each suicide there are another 25 that attempt it.  It is the 2nd leading cause of death in Wisconsin for people between ages of 15 and 34.  Losing a fight against addiction will ultimately kill.  Drug overdose killed 72 thousand in 2017, and 88 thousand died in alcohol related causes.  Murder is fewer with around 15.5 thousand reported in 2016, which is the most recent data I could find.  This is the cost of not valuing life.  The battle within our heads and hearts is deadly.


I see a battle ground as friends and family fight over beliefs that are leaving love cast aside as both struggle with what they feel is “right”.   Life may not be lost in this case, but Jesus’ call to love one another feels like it is falling on deaf ears.  How can we fight this unseen foe?


We can’t face it without God
6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.


6:14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
6:15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
6:16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


We don’t battle by killing.  We walk through the battle field proclaiming the gospel of peace.  When we feel hopeless we keep faith that God loves us.  That is our shield.  We remember this present time is just a passing moment because we have been given adoption through Christ into God’s salvation.  The “you” in this passage is in plural form.  We are to stand together in this world as we depend on God’s grace.


God’s truth, not our belief of truth, is the belt that holds the scabbard with the sword of the Spirit.  The Spirit’s responsibility is to remind us of what Jesus taught as the truth of God.  



Prayer is our weapon
Most of this armor is for defense.  The only weapon described is a sword, the sword of the Spirit.  The method of attack described was prayer.


6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
6:19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.


The sword of the Spirit was called the word of God.  The form of “word” used indicated the spoken word.  Prayer for those sharing the good news Jesus taught was the way Paul told the Ephesians they could fight these unseen evils.  People needed to hear this good news.  They need to know they are loved and their life is precious in the sight of God.  We need to see each other as God’s creation, God’s loved children, and revere all life as sacred.  People aren’t born knowing this.  They need to be taught.


We are not all gifted or called to be evangelists, but this scripture is a call to arms to support those that are gifted and called, with your prayers.


I don’t like to think about war or battles.  I don’t like to think about fighting at all.  It brings up images of planes hitting the twin towers of New York and many recent attacks for the sake of religion.  Christianity has a dark history of killing for the sake of the Gospel.  This is not the request of this passage.  God seeks reconciliation with His children, not their death.  Our love of God is demonstrated through our love shown to others.


The truth of the inner fight hit me as I worked on this message.  I felt myself sinking into a sadness as I thought about family and friends that are part of those statistics.  I have lost people to suicide.  I have lost people both from drug overdose and alcohol overdose.  I don’t like to think about war or battles but looking at the numbers of people who die after losing their private inner battles is a reminder that to love my neighbor means I need to recognize the strength of those inner forces.  My sadness reminded me this passage is instruction for me. 



Armor is effective only if it is put on before entering the battlefield.  Our relationship with God must be strong in advance of the negative pull within our head or heart.  We who are gathered here today have heard the good news.  That needs to permeate our being.  We are God’s children.  We are loved.  We are not going through this life alone.  Our life is sacred.  The life of the people around us is sacred.


To make a difference in the lives of those who have not yet heard this good news, we need to pray for the people that will bring the word of life to them.  Some of you may already pray for those of us who volunteer to lead worship here.  If you don’t, I humbly ask you to begin that practice.  Pray for me.  Pray for the person coming next week and the week after.  Pray for the church leaders of Hudson who bring the message of God’s love each week to their congregation.  Pray for this message to reach those that are fighting with feeling hopeless and unlovable.



The final hymn we’ll be singing today is one of simple love, “Jesus Loves Me”.  Jesus loves you.  God is love.  God will never leave you or forsake you.  When it is time to sing, sing it as one who knows this is the truth.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves you.  Life is precious because it is a gift from God.  I pray your shield may be strengthened.


Amen






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