Suit Up - Conclusion

So we've reached the conclusion.  My Avengers references are over.  As M28 is all about discipleship maybe it's time I tie all this up with a nice discipleship bow.

My first post for this blog was Discipleship 101.  A disciple is one who grasps things that are separate.  Puts them together.  Things like ideas.  We would call this a student.  You teach a student how to add, then you give them numbers to put together.  You teach a child how to build with Legos then you dump a tub of them on the floor and watch them build.

Things that are separate being brought together.

Discipleship and following Jesus is not about separating things.  It's about bringing separate things together.  It's about bringing food to someone who is hungry.  Medicine to someone who is sick.  Mourning with someone who has lost.  It's about bringing Jesus to people who don't know him.

Think about that for a moment.

You'll have to go into Enemy territory to get to those people.  Let me be very clear here...those without Jesus are not the enemy.  Remember this battle is not with flesh and blood.  Enemy territory is pretty much everywhere.  Because the Enemy is: rulers, authorities, and the powers of this dark world. (-Ephesians 6:12)

So Suit Up and join in the battle.  Enter the enemy territory.  It's at work.  It's your backyard.  It's the movie theater, the grocery store, the bank.  Discipleship will not happen if we stay at home, or with in the confines of our "HQ's" whatever they may be.

Don't get discouraged either.  Sometimes response will be immediate and miraculous.  Like an overwhelming victory.  Other times it will be like the Battle of the Somme, and require us to dig in and learn to endure.  Short victory or long siege, you need your armor and weapons. 

One last thought.  This armor doesn't have protection for your back.  There is no retreat.  Remember Jesus has already won...we just have to stand.

Be encouraged, take heart, He has overcome the world!


grace, peace + hope
-Jesse


Suit Up:
Part 1 - Belt of Truth
Part 2 - Breastplate of Righteousness & Readiness from the Gospel of Peace
Part 3 - Shield of Faith & Helmet of Salvation
Part 4 - Sword of the Spirit & Prayer  
Part 5 - The Enemy & The War

Suit Up - Part 5

In case you missed out on the first 4 parts I give you the "Easy Catch Up List"

Part 1 - Belt of Truth
Part 2 - Breastplate of Righteousness & Readiness from the Gospel of Peace
Part 3 - Shield of Faith & Helmet of Salvation
Part 4 - Sword of the Spirit & Prayer 


So what is the point of all this armor?  What is this war we are in?  Let's look back at that verse in Ephesians.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

-Ephesians 6:12

Our fight is not with other Religions.  Our fight is not with Politics.  Our fight is not with other Christians.  Our enemy is not someone we can see and set cross-hairs on.  It's not someone we can track down in a safe house.

The Enemy

Look who/what Paul points out: rulers, authorities, and the powers of this dark world.  Yet they are not flesh and blood.  Also...the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  So we have a war on two fronts.  The intangible powers of this world, and evil in the spiritual realm.

Intangible powers of this world?  Look around and you'll see them.  Things like fear, hate, oppression, selfishness, godlessness.  These things are everywhere and we have been conditioned to accept them simply as the way things are.  Where did Jesus tell us to live subject to these powers?  Exactly, nowhere.  These powers are tools of the Enemy.  Satan.  The Devil.  Lucifer.

He is the true enemy.

We cannot win this war. 

The good news is, we don't have to.


The War

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

-Ephesians 6:13  

We don't have to win because it is already won.  The story is written.  Jesus wins.  We just haven't finished living the story out.  After you have done everything, to stand.   We have to hold on.  We have to persevere.  All our armor and weapons are built on the strength of Jesus.  Truth.  Righteousness.  The Good News.  Faith.  Salvation.  Spirit.  Prayer.

Get to know Jesus.  Pray...listen to him.  Learn his voice from reading Scripture.  Build your relationship with him.  Trust him.  It's not about feelings and callings.  It's all done, we just have to make it to the end. 

We have a clear and present Enemy. We have been given our arms and are equipped. There is open lines of communication to Jesus. But we do not fight to draw blood. We do not fight to kill.

We fight on our knees in prayer.  We fight in worship with song and how we live.  We fight in actions by serving others.  We fight by laying down our lives for Jesus.


What does any of this have to discipleship?  We'll wrap that up tomorrow in the final post.  Until then,

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

Suit Up - Part 2

Alright, so the Belt of Truth is on.  Let us continue to suit up!

The Breastplate of Righteousness

"...with the breastplate of righteousness in place,..."

The breastplate covers and protects our vital organs. Not least of which is our Heart. Paul is telling us that we cover and protect our heart with Righteousness. How do we get this Righteousness?

"...the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it."

-Romans 9:30-31

Through faith in Jesus, in what he taught, lived, died and resurrected for, we can be covered with Righteousness. It is defined as: 'acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous." How do we do that? How does that protect our heart?

We strive to live upright, morally, virtuous...we do so by living like Jesus, and having faith in Him that he is the ultimate example of righteousness. This protects us because Jesus didn't do things that would hurt his heart. He wasn't sneaking around doing things that were questionable. He didn't talk back to his parents. He spent most of his time seeking God. The rest of the time he was teaching what he knew to others, helping them, caring for the poor, healing the sick.

And isn't that exactly what he told the disciples (and us) to do? And look what word is used at the beginning of this verse:

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

Matthew 25:37-40

When we seek to serve others, and not ourselves, we guard our heart by living in righteousness. Righteousness that comes from Jesus.

Readiness from the Gospel of Peace

"...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

Peace. The Gospel or Good News of Peace. It's the story of Jesus. What he accomplished on Earth, through the Cross and Resurrection.

Paul says in Ephesians 2:14-18

"For he himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."

So this piece of weaponry is not as "obvious." The readiness comes from the Good News, the Cause if you will. The whole story of Jesus. By knowing it we should be eager to share it, eager to move and proclaim it. We should not be content sitting still in our office chairs, pews and recliners! We should be ready to move to go when the opportunity comes to share Jesus.

We should know that story inside and out. Not just in our heads, but our hearts. To know what Jesus did for all mankind and for us individually. Know your story. Let it be ready to share with others so that they can encounter (maybe immediately, or in time) Jesus, and be restored to the Father.

Belt, Breastplate, Gospel...back for more tomorrow!

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

Suit Up - Part 1

This weekend "The Avengers" opened in theaters.  As a comic book and movie fan I really enjoyed this movie.  It's a hodge podge team of heroic individuals that have to come together to stop a maniacal villain from conquering the world.  Each member has different skill sets and abilities that they contribute to the whole.

One of my favorite moments (not a spoiler) is when Captain America asks a potential member of the team if he has a suit (Cap has a patriotic uniform, Iron Man is a techno-suit of armor, Thor has a mythical type of armor, and there are a few more that I'll leave out.)  War is breaking out and it's time to fight, time to get the suits and do battle.  When the character responds with a yes Cap says, "Well then, suit up."

That's the same thing I'm saying to you.  Cap said it.  Barney Stinson says it.  And a bloke named Paul said it thousands of years ago:

"Suit up."  (my paraphrase)

Did you know that as followers of Jesus we are called to war?

Well, we are.

But we are not called to fight with guns and bombs. We do not fight against other people, or religions, or nations.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

-Ephesians 6:12

But we do have an enemy. The Enemy. He's been our enemy since the beginning in Eden. He's been working against God ever since. Jesus said this in John 8:44

"...He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

There are many other places in the Word that give other descriptions of the Enemy and his character. One other I'll mention here is also from Jesus

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."

-John 10:10

So we know we are in a battle. We know who are Enemy is. What now?

We take up arms.

Paul lines out in Ephesians 6 what these arms are. (verses 10-18)


The Belt of Truth

"...Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,..."

The belt. It holds everything together. And what does Paul call it?

Truth.

"A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like" is one of the definitions in the dictionary. But truth being verified, is not where it stops for us. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life..." So for us, Jesus is Truth. Jesus is a verified or indisputable fact. He is what holds everything together.  He holds us together.

So if we are buckled with truth, we must live in truth. Lying does not become a follower of Jesus. We must live out what we claim to be. If we are Christians, let us be Christians. And to do that we have to know who Jesus is. How?

Well that's coming up later.

Check back Monday for Part 2!

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse