“Rocky Top Religion: Part Three

Required Equipment”

Ephesians 6:14-20

What do you do when you have to make a big decision? What can you do when you’re facing a major crisis? What should you do to get the most out of life every day? What do you do to find true success and happiness?

These are questions everyone asks, and if you are like me, you may have spent a good portion of your life trying to come up with your own answers. Read a good self-help book. Analyze the impacts. Get some education. See how everyone else is doing it, then go and do likewise.

Many, if not most of us, have tried to face the everyday challenges of life on our own strength, by our own wisdom, and with our own native skills. And maybe we’ve done okay so far.

Or maybe we haven’t.

My father was a very successful husband, parent and businessman who thought he was doing just great. And then, through a series of events, he discovered a level of life that was much deeper – and higher – and wider than anything he’d ever imagined before. If you had told him there was something better than what he had, he’d have told you you’re nuts. But after he made the discovery, he would say that what he once thought was success and happiness, was only a shadow of the joy and power and fulfillment of the life he came to discover.

Maybe you’re not as happy as you could be. Maybe you’re not as strong and in control of life as you think. Maybe your success isn’t all that successful now that life has moved on a little bit – like my friend George who retired as a police officer after 40 years on the force. A month later, he went back to the station to say “hi” to the folks, but the young patrolman at the desk didn’t even recognize him, and wouldn’t let him in. George was crushed – as most of us are when we discover the truth that human success, and happiness, and strength have a way of fading away over time.

And so we’re left once again to ponder the questions, “What do I do to make this big decision?”…”How do I face this major crisis?”…”How can I get the most out of every day life?”…”How can I find lasting success and joy?”

The answer, of course, is found in the Gospel of Jesus. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-burdened,” Jesus said, “and I will give you rest.”

That word rest, you know, is the word Sabbath. And Sabbath means complete peace, and security, and strength, and wholeness, and happiness in God. So when Jesus offers us rest, what he is saying is this: “Come to me, and I will help you make that big decision…I will guide you safely through that major crisis…I will teach you how to make every day a special day…I will lead you to success and joy that last forever!”

That’s quite a promise of what Jesus will do for us! Everything you and I have ever wanted out of life is offered to us in the Good News of Jesus Christ!

But what does it mean to come to him so that these new resources can become available to us?

Well, the simple answer is to believe in Jesus, and to put your trust in him. But to help us understand more directly what it means to believe and trust in Jesus, the bible gives us some action words. And some of the best are found in Ephesians 6 where Paul describes it as putting on the armor of God.

You probably have the passage memorized by now, since we’ve been reading it for the past three weeks. And I think it’s kind of an appropriate passage for us to deal with now that it’s football time in Tennessee. To successfully play the game of football, you need some equipment. In the same way, God provides us with some equipment that will help activate the power of God in our lives.

Last week, we talked about the belt of truth. Today, we’re going to start with the chest protector. Paul calls it “the breastplate of righteousness.” Now, a breastplate protects your vital organs. So Paul’s characterization of this piece of equipment as a chest protector tells us how very important it is. So when you’re trying to make a big decision, or facing a great crisis, or wanting to get more out of life, or seeking lasting success and happiness, the first piece of equipment to put on is righteousness.

Now, this is not what you think it is. Righteousness has nothing to do with following moral codes or being nice. It is certainly not acting like you’re better than everyone else. That’s self-righteousness. But righteousness is different. It simply means being right with God. In other words, if you really want the best life you can have, make sure you put God first.

A very successful businessperson I once heard speak at a conference said that, in his business career, he never made a decision without first running it by God. How would God feel about it? Is it in keeping with God’s will? Does it uphold God’s values? Does it bring God’s hope to others, and the world?

Well, once he was asked to do something by the powers on high. He says that, as he prayed about it and sought God’s wisdom, he didn’t feel good about it. It was contrary to how he felt God would want him to act. So he went to the powers on high and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I just don’t feel right about it.”

The powers-that-be said, “You WILL do it…or else.”

So he accepted the else. And he says that, though that decision brought hard times into his life, God never let him or his family down. Their needs were met – often in seemingly miraculous ways, and hidden doors were opened. He says it was nice that he eventually earned even greater success, but cautions that it doesn’t always work that way. He says he could have ended up flipping burgers, and he was prepared to do that. But what gives him the greatest joy is that one day, he overheard his little son talking with a friend who asked why his daddy didn’t work at that place anymore. And his little son said, “Because my daddy followed God.”

How would the world be different if every child could say that about their dad…and their mom?

And how could your life be different if you always put God first – ahead of even …golf? Oh my! Ahead of self. Ahead of money. Ahead of spouse. Even ahead of family? What would happen if you put God first in your life?

Well, you’ll find greater happiness! Peace! Contentment! Power! Security! You’ll receive all the things you want out of life! That’s why Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…and all these things will be added unto you.”

That’s the chest protector. Now come the shoes.

When I was a kid, I used to love when my parents would take me out to get new sneakers. When I got home, I couldn’t wait to jump out of the car and try them out. It seemed like I could always run faster and jump higher with new sneakers. Have you seen the shoes basketball players wear these days? They look like rocket ships! I think if I had a pair of sneakers like those, I could do all that slam dunking too! Or maybe not! But shoes do make a difference!

So after putting God first in your life and building a good relationship with the Lord, the second thing to do is to chase after the Gospel of peace!

I think one of the truly great messages of the Christmas story is the proclamation by the angel hosts to the shepherds saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward all!”

Many of us have grown up with destructive ideas of God. We are preoccupied with the thought that the world does not live up to the standards of God, and therefore God is angry at the world. Coming out of that belief-structure, when something bad happens to us, or someone we love, we wonder if God is punishing us – or them – for some sin. This is why misguided people say that AIDS is God’s judgment on homosexuals, or someone else’s tragedy is their just reward.

Some people think God is mad at the world.

But God isn’t mad at the world. John 3:16 tells us God is in love with the world. And God isn’t mad at you either. God is head over heels in love with you whether you think you deserve it or not.

And why is it important for you to put on some new sneakers and chase after this Gospel of peace? Because God wants you to learn how to love and be loved. You know, some people come to God because they think God hates them. They come out of fear and guilt, not out of love. And they make the worst Christians! They are judgmental, critical, negative people who find themselves unable to connect with others who are going through hard times. They stay away from sinners because, you know, if they were eat with tax collectors and sinners, they might catch something.

So Paul says, “Put on a new pair of Nikes.” Put on the kind of sneakers that chase after people with God’s love. God’s love always seeks healing, friendship, reconciliation, justice, forgiveness, and hope. You see, “God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

When you focus your life on becoming whole - in love - yourself, and on bringing healing – in love - to others without exception, God will rush in and give you power and joy.

So we’ve got on our chest protector and our shoes. Now we need a shield to protect us against temptation. Paul talks about how the devil likes to sit back and shoot flaming arrows at us to distract us. Remember how he did that with Jesus in the desert? But, like Jesus, we need to guard ourselves against being blinded by the devil’s pyrotechnics.

And the piece of equipment that will help us do that is faith!

The book of Hebrews says that, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In other words, faith means aiming our lives at destinations we can’t see right now, but that God has called us to.

God came to Abraham and Sara when they were about as old as some of us here today. God said, “I’m going to give you a baby and a land of your own, make you a nation, and bless the whole world through your descendents.” Abraham said, “But Lord, all I want to do is work on my putting!” And Sara said, “Abraham, you haven’t putted in years!”

But God put out a vision for the future, and Abraham and Sara – after a time of struggle and doubt – decided to believe God, and went out to achieve the dream. That, the bible says, is what faith is – believing in God’s vision for the future, and going out to seize it long before you can see it!

Now what about these flaming arrows Paul talks about? Well, the darts that keep us from moving toward the future in faith are always the realities at hand that whisper that we’d better not risk it.

As our church family right now prayerfully deliberates about God’s future for our church, we are bombarded by flaming arrows. Where will the money come from? Where will the people come from? Where will the energy come from? How can we accomplish what seems like a far-fetched dream when its hard enough just taking care of present realities? Thhhhhunkkkk!

And not just in churches, but with people, too. That child of mine, someone says, is so messed up and lost, he’ll never straighten out! That neighbor of mine, so caught in the grip of grief, will never be happy again. That friend of mine, so far away from God, will never find salvation. This world of ours, so full of violence, will never learn peace.

Into our lives every day fly the flaming darts of the devil that we mistakenly call “reality”. And these apparent realities make us question and doubt the possibility of the future God has promised if we’ll follow him. They say, “Don’t do it! That’s not realistic! Don’t risk it!”

So the only antidote is faith. One of the truly great and powerful tools of life is lifting your eyes above the apparent reality to catch sight of a higher vision – God’s vision – for our church, for your child, for your neighbor, for our world - and then trusting God so much that you are willing to risk everything to go and turn the dream into reality. Someone once said that faith is, “Attempting something for God that is so big that, unless God intervenes, it’s bound to fail!”

That’s faith! And when you put it on, the bible says you’ll experience miracles!

Chest protector, shoes, shield. Then comes a helmet of salvation which, of course, means to guard your thoughts with the knowledge that God is in the business of salvation, and that there is nothing that’s going to happen to you today that you and God can’t handle together. And along with that helmet comes a sword, which is the word of God. Paul does not mean the bible per se here, but rather that God always keeps his word. So when God promises you that life and joy and strength comes to those who do justice, and show mercy, and who aim their lives at the kingdom of heaven, you can take God at his word. And armed with that sword, you can make a huge difference in the world!

And now we’re completely dressed in the armor of God, but there’s one more thing we need to learn to do. Pray. Paul says, “Pray about EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME!”

When I was growing up, I remember times when things were a little shaky in my life. My Little League batting average was going down. And down. And down. I wasn’t sure what to do, but my mother said, “Pray about it.” She was always saying that. Having girlfriend trouble? Pray about it. Figuring out college plans? Pray about it. Don’t have enough money to go out this week? Pray about it. My mother believes in the power of prayer!

If you saw the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, you’ll remember that the father believed that Windex could fix and heal anything. Well, for my mother, it wasn’t Windex, but prayer. And we used to tease her about being a religious fanatic because her stock line was always, “Well, I think you should pray about it!” But over the years, that piece of advice has become very important to me. Like my mother, I pray about everything. And when I do, the creativity of the Holy Spirit is stirred within me, and I find myself strengthened to make the decisions I need to make, and to accomplish the work I’m called to do.

The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. Shoes of the gospel of peace. The shield of faith. A helmet of salvation. And the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

This is required equipment for the Christian. And I invite you this week to pick up one or pieces and try it on for size! Put God first in your life! Focus your efforts on being a healer! Seek God’s vision for the future, and go for it! Trust that nothing’s going to happen to you that you and God can’t handle together. Learn to take God at His word.

And all the while you’re doing that….PRAY! All the time, for everything and anything, PRAY!

For when you do, God’s strength becomes present in your life. And you can make good decisions, negotiate deep crises, squeeze the most of life, and find the happiness you’ve been looking for, and that God wants to give you!

Okay, team, I think hear the whistle blowing. Are you ready to face the big game? We’re well-equipped. And we’ve got a great coach. Are you ready? It’s football time in Tennessee!