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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Take Unto You |
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Ephesians
6:13 Twenty-first
Sunday after Trinity October
24, 2010 We
have been looking at an important Scriptural teaching over the past
several weeks. We have been
looking at the Biblical teaching that knowing Christ is the greatest joy a
person can ever experience. When
I say "knowing Christ" I am talking about something that goes by
many names. It is often
called "faith," or "salvation," or even just,
"being a Christian." And
each of these names is appropriate, as long as we know we are not just
talking about going to Heaven. We
are talking about a whole-life orientation which finds in God, as He is
revealed in the Bible, the highest joy and peace that a human being can
ever find, and which orients our lives around God and His love forever.
In a sense, joy in God is the meaning of Trinity Season, and much
of the prayers and Scripture readings teach and exhort us to find our joy
in God instead of the passing trinkets of earth. Today
I want to talk about something that may at first seem at odds with the
idea of joy. So I want to
emphasise at the start that there is a vast difference between mirth and
joy. Mirth is a momentary
pleasure. Joy is a
satisfaction of the soul. Mirth
depends on outside stimulation. Joy
comes from within, from a peace given by God, based on the realisation
that God loves you and is directing your life to bring you into His
absolute peace forever. Knowing
God always gives joy but seldom gives mirth. It
often happens in this world that peace must be purchased through war, and
the same is true in the realm of spiritual things.
There are powers and beings that are enemies of good, who will not
live in peace, and will not let you so long as you attempt to follow
Christ. There can be no peace
until they are met and defeated. In recognition of this, the Bible says,
"Take unto you" (Eph. 6:13).
"Take unto you," here, has two meanings.
First, it means to take up spiritual warfare as a calling.
Second, it means to actually go into battle. Let's
talk about taking up spiritual warfare as a calling. The Bible is talking specifically about taking up a calling
to spiritual warfare as a soldier takes up a calling to the profession of
arms. It means something like
what we might mean when we say someone has joined a branch of our military
service. So the Bible is
saying to every one of us, "Join up."
"Enlist." This
verse is a call to arms. I
think one of the greatest difficulties a minister of the Gospel of Christ
has today, in America, is convincing the comfortable and prosperous people
in the Church that we are actually at war.
Need I remind you that there are people in this country, maybe even
in this county, who want to take away your right to live a Biblical,
Christian life? Need I remind
you that the reigning powers in most of the denominations,
"associations," and "fellowships" of Christians and
churches have exchanged the real Gospel for something that is less
"offensive" and more "culturally acceptable?"
Need I remind you that most church leaders actually oppose Biblical
Christian faith, and ridicule anyone "foolish" and
"ignorant" enough to believe the Bible?
Beyond this human opposition stand spiritual beings and powers that
want to destroy your faith and your joy in Christ, and to use you to
destroy someone else's. Your
enemy, the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
He wants churches to desert the faith.
He wants nations to fight. He
wants cities to crumble and orphans to cry in the streets.
He wants to destroy your home, your family, your country, your
church, your life, and your soul. The
Bible says we "wrestle" with principalities, powers, the rulers
of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
Dearly beloved, I assure you, they
know we are at war. While
we amble along, half-heartedly, unwilling to devote ourselves fully to
God, unwilling to let God be anything more than a crutch or an opiate, the
forces of evil are active. They
seldom make a frontal attack, for such open attacks might awaken the
Christian and the Church. They
prefer sneak attacks and infiltration.
They are like termites, hidden and secretive, but devastatingly
effective, destroying your "house" from the inside out. "Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God."
We need to grasp the fact that all Christians are soldiers of
Christ. To be a Christian is
to be in the army of God. When
you take your place as a believer in the Church you are enlisting. You are taking up the calling of arms. You have answered the call to arms. The second meaning of the words, "take unto you" is "join the battle." When you answer the call you prepare yourself for battle. You train, you exercise, you practice with your weapons, and you put on your armour. The next step is to go into the fray. That word, "wrestle" in verse 12 does not refer to a sport. It refers to all out, no holds barred, life or death, kill or be killed, hand to hand combat. Who wrestles, according to this verse? "We wrestle." We who belong to Christ, we who claim His blood as our peace with God, we who name His name as our Saviour and God, "we wrestle." Or do we? Do we resist the devil? Do we resist temptation? Do we take our own selves in hand and make ourselves do right? It is a known fact that the Christian's worst enemy is usually his own self. We are often willing to impose scorn and rebuke on the weaknesses of others, yet unwilling to deal with our own sins. This cannot be. Rather let us turn to ourselves, take ourselves in hand, and join the fray by fighting against the enemy within. Let us no longer indulge our passions and coddle our feelings. Let us be ruthless about hunting down sin, and destroying it in ourselves. And let us look to God for our help. I ask you today, and exhort you, join the battle. Don't spend your time sharpening your sword. Use it. Stand against the darkness. Don't spend your time looking at your armour, put it on and march against the foe. In this way you "take unto you the whole armour of God."
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