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CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
Ephesians 6:14–17 NIV
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
CONSIDER THIS . . .
The armor of God is the image of God. Can we call this the foundation for doing battle in the power of the Spirit? Today’s text helps us build on that foundation, first by revealing the nature of the full armor of God:
Truth. Righteousness. Peace.
Faith.
Salvation.
The Word of God.
These unseen supernatural realities can protect us. Note I did not say they will protect us but can. We bear some responsibility in this matter; more on that in a minute.
First, we need to be reminded of why we need protection. The previous text laid it clearly before us with one addition from our present text.
The Devil’s schemes. The rulers.
The authorities.
The powers of this dark world.
The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The day of evil.
The flaming arrows of the evil one.
Who knew we had so much working against us? Though many do not believe in a personal evil being, Scripture seems clear. If Paul is not convincing, hear the apostle Peter: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV).
Now, hear the apostle John: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8b NIV).
Then there’s Jesus himself, who taught us to pray, “deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13 NIV).
One question I have is: Given all these threats, why doesn’t God just put the full armor on us himself? Wouldn’t that be easier? I suppose the same question could be posed concerning salvation. Why doesn’t God just save everyone irrespective of any response on our part?
Human beings have response-ability. We are not robots. We have the freedom of will to act or not act. The doctor can prescribe life-saving medication, but the patient must put it in their mouth and swallow it.
Paul is explicit in his instructions: “Put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:11 NIV). What does that mean? Truth is like a belt holding everything together. Righteousness covers us like a breastplate, protecting the core of our being. Peace enables us to move with ease. Faith is like a shield and the Word of God like an invisible sword.
Note the way the text calls us neither to an offensive posture nor a defensive one. Three times in the previous text and one time in this one we see the same word repeated: stand. We are not responsible to defeat Satan. Satan has already lost. Our calling is to put on the full armor of God and then to stand firm.
It reminds me of the great exodus when Pharaoh’s army pursued the Israelites to what appeared to be a certain death with their backs to the Red Sea. Listen carefully to Moses’s words to the people: “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again’” (Ex. 14:13 NIV).
One more observation. The armor of God and the image of God have in common the Son of God. Jesus is the truth. He is our righteousness. He is our peace. He is our shield and our salvation. Indeed, he is the Sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God in human flesh. To put on the full armor of God can be nothing less than clothing ourselves in Jesus Christ, bearing witness to his life within us. After all, the battle is not ours but his. In that spirit, let’s give the great Martin Luther the last word today, from the second stanza of his immortal hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His Name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who must win the battle. Thank you that he is our sword and shield, our righteousness and peace, our truth and salvation. Fill us with your Spirit that we might be clothed, inside and out, with Christ. And teach us what it means to stand firm and behold the deliverance of the Lord. In Jesus’s name, amen.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
How have you understood the concept of the “full armor of God” in the past?
In what dimension of the armor do you feel as though you have substituted your own strength for the Lord’s?
What might it look like for you to actively and intentionally put on the armor—even in a daily way?
SING
Today, we will sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (hymn 35) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
P.S. Would you PLEASE do me a SOLID (aka favor)?
Friends, as we come to the closing week of the Ephesians series, I would so appreciate some feedback from you. Would you take three minutes and respond to these three questions? And I’ll also ask you for your input on how we handle Sundays as we pray about our longer-term rhythm with the Wake-Up Call. I know you are busy. So seize the moment and do it now—please.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
John David (J. D.) Walt Jr. is the Sower-in-Chief for Seedbed and the pastor of the Gillett Methodist Church in Gillett, Arkansas.
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7 Responses
Hello. Please don’t give up Sundays . I know a few of my friends that don’t want to go to Church for many different reasons, work schedules, Home bound people that can’t or won’t go to Church but will listen to the seed bed. Seed bed is very important to touch many people.
Please keep Sundays. You are a part of the pregame warm-up. Consider bringing in the Holy Spirit stories on Sunday. You and your dad just start out my morning with praise and joy that follows me down the church hall to the altar on Sunday mornings.😇
JD, after reading other’s comments on the Sabbath, I agree that you should take Sundays off. Thanks for all that you’ve done and said in my life. You Inspire and challenge me and stretch my mind and faith. May the Lord bless you!
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions . . .” (Ephesians 6:18)
Praying in The Spirit (In Tongues) is Indescribably Powerful!
If you are hungry to be more aware of and surrendered to the real presence of the risen Jesus Christ, I recommend the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. I accepted and began to regularly use that gift when I was twenty years old. It has and continues to enrich my life daily in glorious ways.
All Christians don’t speak in tongues, but I believe that God has made that gift available to any Christ-follower who wants it. It is humbling to think about speaking words that you don’t know that can sound like babbling. But if you will get past the fear of embarrassment or deception, the experience itself is magnificently life-revolutionizing. Praying in tongues always supernaturally stirs up my passionate love for Jesus.
The gift of tongues is miraculously received by faith, not by merit or by effort. A great example of receiving a miracle from God is Peter walking on water. When he saw Jesus walking on the water, Peter said: “Lord if it’s You tell me to come to You on the water.” (Matthew 14:28) Jesus replied: “Come.”
The gift of walking on water was offered to Peter. At that moment he had to decide what to do with Christ’s offer. Peter could wait for Jesus to move his legs, or Peter could move his own legs and step out in faith onto the water.
When Peter put his faith into action and shifted his weight from the boat to the water, a miracle happened. At that moment Peter didn’t sink. He walked on water. The miracle wasn’t that Peter walked. The miracle was that the water held him up as long as he kept his eyes and faith on Jesus.
However, when Peter thought about what he was doing he became afraid, doubted, and began to sink. Then cried out: “Lord, save me.” Jesus responded to Peter’s request by reaching out and holding him. Then Jesus and Peter walked back into the boat together.
Praying in tongues is very similar. Every Christian doesn’t want to speak in tongues. Some passively say, “If God wants me to have that gift He will give it to me.” However, the Bible says, “You have not because you ask not,” (James 4:2-3) and “Ask and you shall receive.” (Matthew 7:7)
When the disciples began to speak in tongues, the Bible says: “They began to speak as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4) Notice who did the speaking. The disciples began to speak. They didn’t refuse to move their lips and try to hold back the strange sounds.
The King James Version says: “They spoke as the Spirit gave utterance.” The disciples spoke but the Holy Spirit gave them the words. It’s the same for you. To receive the gift of tongues, you have to move your own mouth and trust that when you do God will release an unknown language from within you.
The proof is in the application. You’ve read this far. If you want this simple and humble gift that will revolutionize your walk with Jesus, then here’s how you can receive it:
1) Humble yourself. Set aside all self-righteousness. (James 4:6) Ask God to search your heart. (Psalm 139:23-24) Listen quietly to Him. Acknowledge, renounce, and ask forgiveness for pride (James 4:6) and for any wrong behavior or wrong thinking that He reveals about you. Allow Him to forgive you and cleanse your heart. (1 John 1:9)
2) In the same way that Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on the water, ask God to give you the gift of tongues.
3) Then do what Peter did when he walked out of the boat and on to the water. Leave your comfort zone and speak (move your lips and make a sound) but not in your language. At that moment the rivers of living water that Jesus spoke about (John 7:37-39) will begin to flow from your innermost being as words you don’t know pour out of your lips. You will suddenly be intensely aware of the presence and reality of the living Jesus, and you probably won’t want to stop speaking. (I spoke for hours when I first received the gift of tongues.)
4) Pray in tongues every day. Refuse to quench or stop using the gift God has given to you. If you spoke in tongues in the past but don’t do it in the present, ask God to help you stir up the gift that He gave you back then. (2 Timothy 1:6) Step out in faith and begin to frequently pray in tongues.
5) Rely on God. If you trust Him, He won’t give you a counterfeit gift. He won’t let the devil give you fake tongues. Have confidence in Jesus’ words: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11) Hallelujah! All glory to God and to Him alone!
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer say ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:14-19)
I can understand and respect you taking off on Sundays.
Please don’t give up Sundays! I have been listening daily to the Seedbed for years every single day. It’s part of my day I look forward to.
JD, prayerfully consider what is best for you. You need balance in your personal and spiritual life.
Sundays can be Sunday worship at your church via the internet for those who don’t do church or can’t go to church.
I am okay with you not doing The Wake-Up Call on Sundays. Shabbat Shalom