Pastor Rich's sermon, Sunday, February 16, 2003

Pray in the Spirit…
Be alert and always keep on praying.

Today’s passage reiterates last weeks passage of scripture,

Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.

(Romans 8:12) We cannot ignore these passionate appeals from Paul. His advice is absolutely essential as we prepare for war.

As the US government is busy getting allies. As the US argues it’s case before the Security Council of the United Nations. While it activates and deploys units of every branch of the military to the Middle East we must,

Pray in the Spirit
Be alert and always keep on praying.

I don’t know what your reaction is to the warnings and instructions that are being given about duct tape and plastic sheets and about stocking your pantry shelves with at least a 3-day supply of food. Maybe some of you have been down to the Army and Navy store to purchase your gas mask. Whether you laugh or sneer at these reports or take them serious that’s up to you. One appeal that should be taken serious is Paul’s

Pray in the Spirit…
Be alert and always keep on praying.

If you think we are preparing for a war with Iraq and against terrorism you are wrong. We are preparing for the wrong war. We have been at war long before Saddam Hussein, long before Desert Storm, long before Viet Nam or Korea, long before Adolph Hitler.

The war we are fighting is the war that Paul talks about. We are fighting a spiritual war. If Saddam Hussein is the devil, as some people believe, no amount of earthly military force will defeat him. If we kill Saddam, if we kill Bin Laden, there will always be another Saddam, another Bin Laden, and another Hitler.

We have been at war since Adam and Eve bit the apple. The battlefield isn’t across the ocean in the Mid East. The battlefield isn’t in the small country of Korea. The battlefield is right here. We are faced with an enemy we can’t see. This enemy is just as difficult to spot as a terrorist. The war against this enemy is just as frustrating as the war against terrorism.

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

If we truly want to win this war, then we need to heed the truth of God’s word. When Israel was faced with evil, God’s Word to them was,

Not by strength,
not by power,
but My Spirit.

Therefore we must listen to Paul's advice and prepare for war accordingly.

Put on the full arm of God,
so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground.

No military in the world can compare to the power and strength of God’s Spirit.

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

The belt of truth is God’s Word. The Bible is the True Word of God. No book has been scrutinized and has stood the test of that scrutinizing like the Bible.

Breastplate of righteousness. This breastplate of righteousness must be the righteous of Christ. Our righteousness pales in comparison to that of Christ. We must seek what is right in God’s eye’s not our own.

Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. We must be ready to bring God’s Word of hope, of peace, of light to this dark world. The world needs to hear God’s Words of hope and it is our responsibility to bring to them.

Shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The shield of faith is our absolute trust in God, in God’s authorship, in the fact that God is in control.

Helmet of salvation. We are very busy seeking ways and preparing to save our earthly temporary lives, but what are we doing to prepare to save our eternal lives.

Jesus is the way,
the truth and the life;
no one comes to God
except through Him.

Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Spirit of God, the living Word of God is our defense. It is the only weapon that you and I need to defeat the enemy.

Along with putting on the full armor of God,

Pray in the Spirit…
Be alert and always keep on praying.

It is time to stop feeding our fears and start feeding our faith. This is the way we must prepare ourselves for war.