August 16, 2009, Summer Salad Lunch

Lesson: Ephesians 6.10-17

Sermon Title: The Whole Armor of God

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INTRODUCTION

Cranky Lawnmower (1)

A preacher was making his rounds to his parishioners on a bicycle, when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower. "How much do you want for the mower?" asked the preacher.

"I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bicycle," said the little boy.

After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, "Will you take my bike in trade for it?"

The little boy asked if he could try it out first, and, after riding the bike around a little while, said, "Mister, you've got yourself a deal."

The preacher took the mower and began to try to crank it. He pulled on the rope a few times with no response from the mower. The preacher called the little boy over and said, "I can't get this mower to start."

The little boy said, "That's because you have to cuss at it to get it started."

The preacher said, "I'm a minister, and I can't cuss. It's been so long since I've been saved that I don't even remember how to cuss."

The little boy looked at him happily and said, "Just keep pulling on that string. It'll come back to ya."

  1. Keep pulling on the rope of the recalcitrant mower and it might come back to you.

    1. You think that you might need some protection against such an action?

    2. What might you use?

    3. Mark Twain once said:

      4. "There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice."

    1. There has to be more than that!

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MAIN BODY:

  1. Consider this: What kind of protection do you have?

    1. You need insurance.

      1. Don't get caught without it.

      2. As told by Herb Miller, Connecting With God: 14 Ways Churches Can Help People Grow Spiritually (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 69.

A popular Texas newspaper columnist, George Dolan, tells this story:

An insurance man, who also owned some farm acreage, said that all the cotton in his county had been wiped out by hail.

A friend said, "Your crop was insured, of course."

"Well, no," the insurance man answered sheepishly.

"Your neighbors' crops weren't insured, either?" the friend asked.

"Most of them were."

Playing a hunch, the friend asked, "Who'd they get their insurance from?"

"Me," the insurance agent said miserably.

      1. "Are you in good hands?"

    1. What does it cost?

      1. If you listen to the insurance commercials like the one that is produced by Progressive Insurance, you might come to believe that they were giving it away.

      2. Obviously they are not.

    2. What does it provide?

Helga and I were living in Mukwonago when our home was burglarized.

We had a flat sum of insurance that did not pay for all that was stolen.

So when we renew our renter's insurance, we purchased full replacement value.

      1. That would really help in case of a natural disaster or a fire.

      2. A Charlotte, North Carolina, man, having purchased a case of rare, very expensive cigars, insured them against ... get this ... fire. (2)

Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of fabulous cigars, and having yet to make a single premium payment on the policy, the man filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the man stated that he had lost the cigars in "a series of small fires."

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigars in a normal fashion. The man sued ... and won.

In delivering his ruling, the judge stated that since the man held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable, and also guaranteed that it would insure the cigars against fire, without defining what it considered to be "unacceptable" fire, it was obligated to compensate the insured for his loss. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the judge's ruling and paid the man $15,000 for the rare cigars he lost in "the fires."

Now, this is the funny part:

After the man cashed his check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used as evidence against him, the man was convicted of intentionally burning the rare cigars and was sentenced to 24 consecutive one-year terms.

        1. This is an urban legend. It makes for a good story.

        2. When you stop to think about it, he received his just rewards.

        3. He would have better served if he had had a different type of fire insurance.

  1. What is needed is insurance against overwhelming forces with which we are not able to contend, and against which there is no human insurance.

    1. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

      1. On the cable system there is a DIY channel.

      2. It provides ways of accomplishing many tasks.

      3. This is something you cannot do yourself.

      4. You need help.

      5. It is like the man who was "Walking to Town." (3)

A fellow was walking along a country road when he came upon a farmer working in his field. The man called out to the farmer, "How long will it take me to get to the next town?"

The farmer didn't answer. The guy waited a bit and then started walking again.

After the man had gone about a hundred yards, the farmer yelled out, "About 20 minutes."

"Thank you. But why didn't you tell me that when I asked you?"

"Didn't know how fast you could walk."

        1. God is not impressed with out foot speed.

        2. God is impressed with our recognition of our need.

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  1. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

    1. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh.

      1. You might want to argue with this conclusion because it appears that our struggle is sometimes against flesh and blood.

      2. What we struggle with is what is behind the enemies of flesh and blood.

      3. Behind the evil human force is the force of the evil one.

    2. This is why our struggle is described as against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

      1. This is the same power that Christ struggled.

      2. You can read about his temptations in the wilderness.

    3. 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.

      1. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist.

        1. If you desire to know the truth listen to the words of Jesus.

        2. and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free," (John 8:32. NRSVA).

        3. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, (John 14:6, NRSVA).
          Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth, (John 17:17, NRSVA).

        4. Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice," (John 18:37, NRSVA).

        5. Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the New Testament writes:

          6. "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth of God; unless this be known and conscientiously believed no man can enter the spiritual warfare with any advantage or prospect of success. By this alone we discover who our enemies are, and how they come on to attack us; and by this we know where our strength lies; and, as the truth is great, and must prevail, we are to gird ourselves with this against all false religion, and the various winds of doctrine by which cunning men and insidious devils lie in wait to deceive."

      1. Put on the breastplate of righteousness.

        1. The breastplate of righteousness means the principle of righteousness

        2. It can stand for the practice of righteousness, or living a holy life

        3. It signifies God's method of justifying sinners; and it signifies justification itself.

        4. Here it may imply a consciousness of justification through the blood of the cross; the principle of righteousness or true holiness implanted in the heart; and a holy life, a life regulated according to the testimonies of God.

      2. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

        1. People usually wore sandals.

        2. Here the Greek warrior wears shoes to protect his feet.

        3. The good news is the gospel of peace.

      3. 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.

        1. Faith is a word we use to describe a relationship with God as with a person well-known. The better we know him the better the relationship may be. Faith implies an attitude of trust in God that allows us to believe what God says, accept what God offers and do what God asks without reservation. This is why faith is the only requirement for heaven. (4)

        2. Faith is God working from the inside out. (5)

          3. A six-year-old boy was helping his mom with the spring gardening. The mother was absorbed in her work. The boy was exploring the miracle of growth. Suddenly the boy picked up a daffodil bud, sat down, studied it with his two little hands and tried to force it into bloom.

          Results: (1) disappointment (2) a mess.

          Terribly frustrated he said, "Mommy, why is it that when I try to open the buds it falls to pieces and it dies? How does God open it up to be a beautiful flower?

          Even before his mother could answer, a broad smile came upon the child's face, and he exclaimed, "Oh I know, God always works from the inside."

      1. Take the helmet of salvation.

        1. Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1.15-16

          2. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life, (Timothy 1:15-16, NRSVA).

          Do you remember the old song Jesus Saves by Priscilla J. Owens

          We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Spread the tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Bear the news to every land, climb the mountains, cross the waves;
          Onward!           'tis our Lord's command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

          Waft it on the rolling tide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Tell to sinners far and wide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Sing, you islands of the sea; echo back, you ocean caves;
          Earth shall keep her jubilee: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

          Sing above the battle strife: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          By His death and endless life Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Shout it brightly through the gloom, when the heart for mercy craves;
          Sing in triumph o          'er the tomb: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

          Give the winds a mighty voice: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Let the nations now rejoice: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
          Shout salvation full and free; highest hills and deepest caves;
          This our song of victory: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

    1. And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

      1. The word is the Word.

      2. The word is the revealed scriptures.

      3. Give me the Bible

  1. You need them all.

    1. You need them all, all the time.

    2. You need them all, all the time for a life time.

    3. Any lapse leaves you vulnerable.

      1. You have heard of Achilles heel.

        2. According to a myth arising later, his mother had dipped the infant Achilles in the river Styx, holding onto him by his heel, and he became invulnerable where the waters touched him -- that is, everywhere but the areas covered by her thumb and forefinger. It is not clear how the waters of the Styx, which silenced the gods for one year, could confer immortality; or how Thetis could gain access to them; or how Peleus would accidentally discover the project.

        1. The use of "Achilles' heel" as an expression used for "area of weakness, vulnerable spot" dates only to 1855 (Merriam-Webster). It derived from the Greek "Achilleios pterna" (Greek: ) literally meaning Achilles' heel.

        2. Achilles died by receiving a poison arrow in his heel.

      1. You may not have heard of Balder.

        1. Most of the stories about Balder concern his death. He had been dreaming about his death, so his mother Frigg extracted an oath from every creature, object and force in nature (snakes, metals, diseases, poisons, fire, etc.) that they would never harm Balder. All agreed that none of their kind would ever hurt or assist in hurting Balder.

        2. Thinking him invincible, the gods enjoyed themselves thereafter by using Balder as a target for knife-throwing and archery.

        3. The malicious trickster, Loki, was jealous of Balder.

        4. He changed his appearance and asked Frigg if there was absolutely nothing that could harm the god of light.

        5. Frigg, suspecting nothing, answered that there was just one thing: a small tree in the west that was called mistletoe.

        6. She had thought it was too small to ask for an oath.

        7. Loki immediately left for the west and returned with the mistletoe.

        8. He tricked Balder's blind twin brother Hod into throwing a mistletoe fig (dart) at Balder.

        9. Not knowing what he did, Hod threw the fig, guided by Loki's aim.

        10. Pierced through the heart, Balder fell dead.

    1. It does not take much to leave one vulnerable to attack.

      1. Sometimes it is one small word

      2. Sometimes it is a cranky lawnmower.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. There once lived a king much beloved by his subjects. He ruled a little kingdom tucked away in a corner of Europe.

    2. One day an army came and overran the castle, making off with half the treasury. The king decided he had to increase taxes to make up for his losses, and called in one of his wise courtiers to ask how to tell the people the news without inciting a revolt.

    The wise courtier suggested the king explain the theft as a tragedy for the entire kingdom and appeal to their spirit of sacrifice and support for the kingdom. The king did exactly that, and the people responded. Actually, the king had to do it twice after a second invasion took more of the treasury. But apart from some grumbling, the people responded in heroic fashion.

    But then the neighboring army raided the kingdom a third time, and this time they took all the king's food and all the queen's jewels. "What can I do this time?" the king cried.

    The wise courtier hesitated and then said, "I think it's time for your highness to put the water back in the moat."

    1. It's time, to put the water back in your moat.

    2. It's time to put your intentions to good use.

    3. Take it all, the whole armor.

Amen!

1. Mikey's Funnies [funnies-owner@lists.MikeysFunnies.com]

2. From Fred Lyon, via e-mail.

3. The Good, Clean Funnies List [gcfl-info@gcfl.net]

4. A Graham Maxwell, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA

5. Dr. Wayne Beneck, First Congregational Church, Coaldale, PA

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