When people know war is coming what things do they do to prepare? And the soldiers how do they prepare? What happened if people did not take their training seriously? {They or their friends might die}

So, the war arrives and your in battle. On one side of the valley is your army. Across the valley, you hear your opponents growling, ready to cut you to pieces. You look around at your "comrades in arms", and next to you is this fellow {At this point a paper drawing of a man in underwear is displayed}}.

We laugh at him because we know wise soldiers do not do battle naked and unarmed. Today Paul tells us; "We are at war! Get clothed for it! Don't be naked!" He says that right now a great battle is going on. And it is not against human beings but against "The Principalities and Powers". Strange talk for a mainline church, but to our peril we have ignored what the bible calls "The Principalities & Powers". Let's look at what is meant by this term;

Basically they are; the forces behind human institutions. Those forces in human life that have a power of their own. Let me give an example;

Business, Government, Institutions: You change the people, but the organization stays on operating the same. As if it had a spirit of its own. And indeed it does. Or you work within an organization and there is a feeling about the place. Sometimes positive, and sometimes negative, or both at the same time. Organizations all have a spirit.

Nations: You drive into the US and it feels different. There are forces and powers driving the US to behave very different from Canada. Or other nations have forces that drive them. Some would say this is the sum of all the humans within, but Paul is pointing to something more than this. That there are principalities and powers that drive these institutions.

The Bible says that the Principalities and Powers were created by God to serve humanity, but like us they are fallen. They act against God; they sin. Like us, more often than not, they serve themselves rather than God. Who here has recognized a business, government, or institution that has stopped being a force for good, and turned towards protecting itself, serving itself, and becoming an inhuman force? {wait for hands}

The bad news is that every human system is fallen in some way; engaged in what Paul calls "spiritual wickedness" or the "wiles of the devil". We've all run into them too. We might not use this language. We might call it, "dehumanization", "a place that makes you feel small", "it chips away at you.", "The system grinds you down."

We all encountering forces that keep us from full humanness & turn our hearts from Jesus. Paul calls us to be prepare to stand on the day of evil, lest we fall. Know that you need the power of God in order to face the principalities, in order to stand and especially to pick us back up when we fall.

Expository look at the passages using a full size paper doll as visual aid

So what does Paul say that we need from God to help us stand. To keep us from being chopped down by "systems" that often dehumanize and destroy; What do we need in this battle?

Belt of Truth

Interesting that he starts here; the "powers"castrate or neuter us; sap our vitality. Make us into a drone bees. They make us believe lies so that we will remain passive, quiet and never "rock the boat".

But the truth is that God wishes us to be full of life, power for living, joy, strength to challenge lies and falsehood. God wants us to challenge falsehood and injustice. Look at the trouble that Jesus caused when he told and lived the truth of God!

Breast Plate of Righteousness

What does a breastplate protect? {your heart, your core organs; your liver};

Put on the breastplate by being a community that strengths right relationships as best we can. Not tolerating back stabbing, and gossip. And phone lobbing. Nor lying. But rather work things out together. Faithful Christians help build each other up. We must ask God's power to help our community be a healthy place where people in the core of their being are not sapped and burned out, but rather energized by being part of Christian community.

Then as we battle principalities and power, the strength of relationship with God and with the Church protects our hearts from breaking, and our organs from failing. We then will have a strength that is beyond what we can muster for ourselves.

Shoes to Proclaim the Gospel of Peace

Shoes are made for what? {walking} For activity, and in this case Paul is talking about proclaiming the Gospel of Peace. Shoes to "make you ready" to proclaim the Gospel of Peace. Paul uses a strange image here, "Warriors for Peace". There is a Christian denomination that gets its name from the text we are looking at this morning. Who are these soldiers for Jesus? {Salvation Army} Look at them, they are models for actively proclaiming the peace of Jesus. We must "walk the talk"; We need to ask God to give us shoes for the journey.

Shield of Faith

We need faith in God to protect us from what Paul calls "flaming arrows of the evil one." Who here has not at times felt beaten down by all the trouble that is flung at us through life? {Wait for hands}. Without seeking God's help we can die of hopelessness due to the flaming arrows that are shot at us throughout the years. {Is that true?}

The Helmet of Salvation & The Sword

The helmet is the final protection for warriors. It is knowledge of the saving power of God certainly gives strength to those who do battle. Knowing that we are not alone in this battle against the principalities and powers gives us protection. Knowing what God has done helps us to see what God is doing and will do.

But what about the Sword of the Spirit; which is the Word of God. All the other images are defensive. This one is offensive. The one which has the power to attack the enemy. Who or what is the Word of God that Paul is talking about? {No; Bible, Yes; Jesus Christ} We do have a weapon against which to defend against and to attack our enemies. It is the Spirit and presence of Jesus Christ! And he does do battle with his enemies. But what does that mean? When Jesus encountered enemies what did he do? {Loved them; challenged them; converted them; transformed them}

We are called to attack our enemies with the love of Jesus & with his Spirit of Grace. Not to destroy them, but to love them into new life. Jesus Spirit calls us to pray for & to heap kindness on our enemies; to love them into new life, s that the love of Jesus breaks the power the principalities have over our enemies and they are freed by God's love.

Paul says; "Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication." Learn how to pray, your spiritual health depends on it. Prayer all the time. Pray all day long. When you get up, when you eat, when you shower, when your going to work, when your doing the laundry, when your coming home. When your going to bed. Pray, pray, pray! As a community, let us not do anything without connecting with God in prayer. All groups in the church, pray, pray, pray.

To pray is to draw on the strength of God. For amid the battles we face in this life, some of them we will win and others we will lose. But as for the war that is going on, we know the outcome. In the war of God's love against the forces of death and destruction; what wins? {God's Love} That's right. Let us be a church that is prepared so Christ may use us to be witnesses to his way of life. Our lives depend on our being well trained and ready!