Thankful

There is a scene in the movie "Luther" where the title character requests a visit with Frederick the Wise. Frederick was personally responsible for saving Luther's life, when the Pope had finally had enough of his writings against the church, by hiding him away at the Wartburg Castle. Frederick was a collector of relics which he thought were highly valuable - pieces of the cross, chalices that Jesus had drank from, skulls of dead popes - things like that. Through Luther's teaching, writings and rants, he came to realize that his relics were worthless and the sight of them represented a lifetime of trying to buy God's favor, as well as others trying to buy his allegiance.

While in Wartburg, Luther began translating the New Testament into German. In the scene I am referring to, Luther meets Frederick face to face and gives him the scriptures in his own language. This elderly man understood that in his hands he held a history changer - the Word of God in the hands of the common man would forever change the church and the world. He trembled with fear at what fury Luther would bring upon himself, but accepted the gift. Then with the joy of a child in a candy store, he opened the cover.

Whether or not this is a true account, it got me thinking. How could I possibly live without the Word of God? How different would my life be if I couldn't read it, study it, pray with it for myself?

Wow. Hard for me to imagine. Scary even.

So, I thanked the Lord for the men who translated the Word into the vernacular, who gave up their life so that I could sit and study and teach women's Bible study from my home.

I thanked the Lord for the men who printed the Word in secret, off crude presses, in secluded places at the risk of death so that I could sit and study and teach women's Bible study from my home.

I thanked the Lord for men and women who died hiding the Word in their homes, when owning a common language Bible was illegal, so that I could sit and study and teach women's Bible study from my home.

And then I wondered what risk I would be willing to take to spread the Word...

The Full Armor of God - Special

One of our favorite words in life is "special."

Not sure you agree? Well then, take this little quiz:

Would you rather buy something at the general price, or at the special price?

When you go to a restaurant, do you want to hear the day's specials?

Have you ever watched a news special or a Christmas special?

Have you ever been drawn to check out a blue light special? (For those of you who grew up with a K-Mart in town...)

Have you ever used a special coupon, went to a store specifically for a special offer, attended a special showing, donated for the special olympics, ordered a breakfast special, received a You Are Special card or thanked a soldier for his service in the special forces?

Special.

The thesaurus says that special can be exchanged with exceptional, unusual, singular, uncommon, notable, noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, unique, significant, momentous, specific, and more words of that timbre.

So here's my real question for you this morning: If a "special" gets us excited, why aren't we more excited about special revelation?

We've looked over the past two weeks at the full armor of God. We have concluded that basically everything we need to battle the enemy is found in the Word of God. And yet, we still find it difficult to use. We live as though general revelation is enough for us to know God, while special revelation sits untouched in our homes. And, in addition to ignoring or avoiding it ourselves, we don't share the good news with those around us.

When's the last time you found a great special and didn't tell anyone about it?

Bottom line, we have the exceptional, outstanding, inerrant, inspired, significant and highly special revelation of God Himself. We need to use it and we need to share it. Within the Word is found everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (II Peter 3:1). So let's dig in and put on the full armor of God.

This isn't just any old armor.

This is special armor - in this world, you will find nothing that compares.

The Full Armor of God - The Sword of the Spirit

"...And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:17

The final piece of armor you are to have is the only piece that is offense, rather than defensive. Up until now, you have put on protective gear - shoes, breastplate, helmet, shield. But now you are to grab a weapon. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

This sword is the Word of God - it is "...living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) (I figured I may as well just use a description straight from the Word itself.)

So picture this - you are in the midst of a battle. Your shoes are firm and gripping, your body is well protected from head to toe and the fiery arrows of the enemy are bouncing off your shield. And then it happens. You lung forward and plunge your sword into...

Into what?

Into the enemy.

Jesus used the Word to battle against Satan when He was in the wilderness. He was weak, tired and hungry and Satan chose that time to attack. The Word was completely sufficient to defeat Satan's temptation and make him leave. This story was given to us to teach us the obvious implications of knowing God's word and using it during times of temptation. I have worked with many women during times of great trial, and have encouraged them to hide the Word of God in their hearts so that in the midst of the storm, the Word could bring comfort, focus and even ward off Satan's arrows.

So knowing the Word is definitely a way you can be proactive in the battle with Satan. But what if your enemy comes in a different form. What if your attacker is human? According to Hebrews, the Word of God is able to cut deep into the heart of man and judge his thoughts and intentions. This is not something that we are able to do - we can't hear the thoughts of men and determine their intentions.

But God's Word can.

And when it does, usually one of two things happen. The enemy retreats and plans its next attack. Or the enemy falls in surrender to his knees. Imagine that - you are under attack, you use the Word of God against the enemy and they submit to His lordship. What a victory that would be!

So once again, Paul emphasizes in his letter to the Ephesians that they should not go into battle unprepared or empty-handed. They need to have the Word, holding up their garments, protecting their hearts and minds, covering their feet and finally on the tip of their tongue, ready to share in the heat of the battle. The Word will help you assess your enemy and may even change your enemies' life.

The full armor of God basically sits on your counter in your house. God has completely equipped you with everything you need to know in order to have victory, not only in eternity but here on earth. Have you realized that you've had everything you need at your finger tips? Do you know the Word well enough for it to be considered useful in battle? Are you in a church that aids in the equipping process? Are you surrounded by friends whose armor is well worn?

So, the final question is this: what are you going to do about it?

Invitation