spirituality

Becoming a Speech Master (Sermon September 13, 2015)

James 3:1–12 (NRSV)

http://www.waterperrygardens.co.uk/

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ² For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. ³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

What do people say about you? A simple question that depending on your age, or current circumstance may be something encouraging or devastating. It is ridiculous really how much weight many of place in the words that people speak to and about us. It is ridiculous but we cannot help ourselves. People talk, people listen, we are concerned that maybe what people are hearing might be untrue or even worse the truth we do not want others to see. The spoken word.

How we speak to others and how we speak of others can reveal a great deal about the character of an individual, and even the community in which individuals participate in. Yet do we really consider what the words we speak to those around us are doing?

James the brother of Jesus speaks a great deal about the words that we speak for a reason. The words that people spoke got someone very close to him killed. Have you ever considered that our words could be taken to that level? That concept struck me over the course of this past week. I spent a great deal of time contemplating speech, words, how words can be perceived and how they could be twisted. The spoken word.

All week I have scrolled though news feeds, viewing picture after picture, editorial after editorial of people urging us to remember a day fourteen years ago. It is a day most of us will never forget, a day where the foundations of a mighty nation of people were shaken, a day where we were faced with a very grim reality. How often have we considered what was spoken around that event?

I do not want us to brush this to the side but I want us to consider it fully. That day happened because people spoke words carefully strung together to drive emotional response that may or may not have been true, they spoke these words in such a manner that those who heard the words would not question the validity of what was being said but would believe. People were blamed for the situations that others found themselves in, guilt was professed, a solution was proposed, and promises were made. This was done over the course of a lifetime, and slowly through the use of carefully manipulated words people within a community were moved to such a degree that they felt it was not only permissible but a righteous requirement to kill.

Now on the flip side of the equation, words were also spoken, words that assessed blame, guilt was announced, sentences were carried out and promises were made. Carefully formulated words that were spoken in a tone, manner, and location to move people in such a way that they would feel that it was not only permissible but a righteous requirement to kill.

How many of us have considered how much power the spoken word has over people. The spoken word can encourage an individual to strive for greatness, or it can feed primal instincts of survival. Yet so often words are spoken with little regard. This is why James says that not many of you should become teachers. Last week I said that James was probably the most controversial book of the New Testament and this is just another example of why this controversy is there. For most Christians in the protestant branches of the faith we have an understanding that every person that is a disciple of Christ is a priest of a minister. That every man, woman, and child has the ability and directive to spread the Gospel of Jesus. Especially among the Friends traditions, of which for most of its history did not have an office for a position in the church meeting of Pastor. Because we have a strongly held belief that we are all called to be ministers.

Not all of you should become teachers. I have to admit that this statement does not set well with me, because I firmly believe that if God wants something to be said or done He will empower that person or group of people to act. Because the words did not set well with me, because they challenged my understanding of what I thought to be true, I studied what was going on. I must study because I might have missed something important and it is my responsibility to seek out answers. Does James just come right out and say that not everyone should preach the Gospel? Did James say that there is an ordained office of teacher that we must submit too? The short answer is yes, yes he really did say that, but that is not the total answer.

All too often we fail to fully hear when words are spoken. We catch a part and if the words do not fit well with our preconceived ideas we stop listening and often if we were just able to listen to the second half of a sentence we would have found an explanation for the perceived discrepancy. James says not all of you should be teachers. The word we translate as teacher in the ancient world does not only mean Pastor, even though it is often used in that sense. The word used is probably more clearly understood as skilled master.

In college I took a couple of semester of Taekwondo to fulfill a physical education requirement. I learned a great deal in these classes, I moved up in stature among the community of students, but I am not a skilled master. I should not be a teacher of Taekwondo, because if I were to claim to be a teacher of Taekwondo someone might get hurt because there is much more I would need to learn. I can however assist the master in teaching those that have not yet made it to the same level I am at. If you have ever hired skilled laborers, there are various levels of expertise: apprentice, journeyman, and master. A master plumber, is more skilled than the apprentice because they have spent many hours perfecting their trade and skills. The Master plumber is the one that trains those beneath them and the one that we feel the most confident with. The other levels we probably would not even call. With this in mind not everyone should be considered a skilled master. Does this mean that an apprentice plumber cannot fix a leak in your pipes? Does it mean that a yellow belted Taekwondo student is incapable to defend themselves in a fight? No it simply means that there is more that can be learned from others. Not all of us are master teachers, but we can assist people along their journey to the place where we are.

Why are most of us not able to be teachers? Discipline, or more accurately disciplined speech. I have just illustrated that the spoken word can be used to manipulate people, to move them to do things that they were incapable to do before, this can be either positive or negative depending on the will of those speaking. James says that the tongue can be like a small fire that consumes a forest, or a deadly poison that can become a curse to those that hear. Discipline is key. Fire is not always a threat to the environment, in many ways fire is a necessity for the health of an ecosystem. This is why ranchers and scientists have continued to utilize this primitive tool when managing range lands of the prairies. Fire is also a powerful tool that can be used as a method of controlling unwanted weeds within croplands as well. But we all know fire, when not controlled, is dangerous. At this moment there is currently 1.6 million acres of land being burned by 33 uncontrolled fires in the American west, communities are threatened, families are being displaced, and lives have been lost.

Now let us consider poisons. What is a poison? A poison is a compound that can cause illness or death. These poisons can be naturally occurring or they can be compounds manipulated by man to produce some sort of desired effect. Many things could be poisonous if they are used improperly but under disciplined care many poisons can actually be lifesaving elements. Something as simple as Visine which can be used to lubricate dry eyes if used improperly can cause severer illness, and something like rat poison if used properly can manage cardiovascular disease. So fires can promote or destroy the environment, and chemical compounds can promote or destroy life, how are you using your words?

Not all of us should be teachers, or more accurately not all of us should be considered speech masters. This does not mean that we cannot encourage those around us to follow Christ. It simply means that we should be very aware that we need to have discipline when we speak. One of the most recognizable traditions of Friends worship is that we utilize times of silence to encourage communion with God. During these periods of Silence we not only hope but expect that the Spirit of God will speak and move us as individuals and as communities. This can be a powerfully spiritual experience, but it can also be a place where people can cause great spiritual harm. During those periods of silence no one really knows what might happen, we just wait in spiritual limbo. It can be awkward at times, it can be enriching, it can be rest for your souls, or it can be convicting, and during this time anyone can speak. There is an old proverb that states, “Do not speak unless you can improve the silence.” I do not know where this comes from, or who originally said it, but it is profound. Just because words are not being spoken does not mean there is a void of concern or activity. But the idea that words should improve the silence points to the fact that what we say should be out of discipline. Or as James says earlier in his letter to the church, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” Silence allows the words to settle before they are reacted to, it allows one to consider fully what has been said so that when we respond it is not out of anger but out of the desire to improve. When we are able to listen before we speak and to discipline our speech to improve those around us we can control the burns, instead of causing wild fires. When we are quick to listen and slow to speak we are better equip to administer healing balms instead of poison.

Just as a Taekwondo master spends a lifetime in practice, just as a musician spends years practicing an instrument, just as a doctor spends time in study, and plumbers fine-tuning their skills we must practice the discipline of speech. Jesus taught us this through his life and his ministry. Throughout the scripture we are told that He made it his custom to worship in the synagogues, that he would withdraw to the isolated places to pray, and that he would go out to the community to minister though teaching and healing. This I have often called the Holy Rhythm, but it is simply a life of discipline and devotion. It is no different than a doctor learning their trade, or any other skill humanity has mastered. This holy rhythm is a life devoted to the Kingdom of God. We have incorporated this in our mission as a church to be a people loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with other. This is a call to a different life, a different life style, a lifestyle that does not look at personal gain but community improvement. It is a lifestyle where we listen first and speak only if we can improve those around us, by pointing them to the source of true hope.

As we enter into this time of Holy Expectancy consider the way you have used your words this week. Have they been used to improve those around you, or have they caused harm to the environment? You may also want to ask God how to help you in this area and just sit in the silence until you can improve it with your voice.

Dead Faith or Living Communities (Sermon September 6, 2015)

James 2:1–17 (NRSV)

Lord, that I might see!
Matyas Church
Budapest, Hungary

Warning against Partiality

2 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? ² For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷ Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

⁸ You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁹ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹ For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith without Works Is Dead

(Cp Gen 22; Josh 2)

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷ So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Of all the books of the New Testament, James is probably the most controversial. I find that very odd because it is one of my favorites, following the Gospel of John. I should rephrase that as being it is the most controversial in the western church and particularly the ones from more protestant variations. The Eastern Church loves this letter mainly because the eastern cultures have a different perspective on many things. I mentioned last week that this book was written by James the Brother of Jesus, and many have argued that James and Paul might have been having a debate while they penned their letters to the churches, while other scholars simply believe that they were speaking to two very different cultural perspectives. I tend to lean more toward the latter. I say this because I have visited a more Eastern influenced culture and found that they think, speak, and act in different ways. Their culture is more community focused than what we have come to know as the west.

East and West, I do not want you to think that I am speaking of current events when I say this. In ancient times we all know that the kingdoms of Israel were conquered by the empires of Assyria and Babylon, and were later assimilated by Persia when it conquered Babylon. All of these empires came in from the East. Then Greece from the west began to push from the west across the Persian Empire, pushing the Persian Empire to their farthest Eastern boarders known today as India. After a time Israel gained their independence from Greece forming the Hasmonian Dynasty which ruled for 123 years until Rome was asked to assist the nation in a civil war becoming a puppet kingdom under the leadership of Herod. Under the Greek and Roman leadership Israel began gaining more Westernized ideas, these ideas were what prompted the revolution from which they gained their independence for a short time. But for most of its existence, Israel has had a very eastern perspective, this is not surprising since Abraham was called out of the city of Ur, which was a prominent city of the Sumerian Empire the first major empire of the Middle East from which Babylon and Assyria emerged.

So we have these Eastern and Western ideologies working among the people of Israel, James was a leader of the Church in Jerusalem while Paul was writing to a cultural perspective that did not have the Eastern influence and was strongly influenced by the Greco-Roman philosophies. When Paul writes his letters to the people in the west they think and speak differently than the people James writes to in the East. This is important to consider because as we contemplate and study scripture the cultural perspective is important. Jesus was born and lived in a timeframe when the East and West were both influencing the area Rome called Palestine, much of the struggles that Jesus mentioned were issues revolving around ideologies that clashed between the two perspectives, and James writes to the people that continued to live where the East met the West. Of these influences the role of the individual within a community were the greatest struggle, mainly which is more important the community or the individual.

This has been a struggle within the church from the very beginning. As Paul moved west taking the Gospel of Jesus to the courts of the Roman Emperor, he was taking along with him a very eastern minded religious perspective, where the community took on a greater importance than the individual. Which was very contrary to the ideas of the west. And as the western ideas of individualism pushed East James was reminding the believers that they could not neglect their community. This struggle is most vividly seen in the passage we read today.

“My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” Israel was founded on equality. No one tribe was seen as greater than the other in respect to their inheritance. Each tribe was given land in accordance to their numbers. There was no favor was given. It remained this way until the people began to desire a king to fight for them. Favoritism is not from God, favoritism deems that one individual is greater than another. God warned Israel about this saying that a king will demand your sons and daughters, your produce and your flocks. Why because the king has the right do to their position of ruler over the people. Now once they had a king, your position in respect to the king gave people status over others. No longer were the people equal but they were guided by the rules of favoritism and hierarchy. People begin to strive to find favor with the king, to rise in favor, where does this leave everyone else? There can only be one king, the community begins to take a back seat when the king is not God.

The Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of men. In God’s eyes we are all equal, no one person is greater than another. It is the kingdoms of men that cause oppression, it is the kingdoms of men that rule over other and demand allegiance. But the kingdom of God calls us to love Him with all we have and to love our neighbor. This is what James calls the royal law.

“So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” The concept of mercy comes out of justice, which come from the concept of equality. Mercy or justice does not take into account favoritism, it does not put one person higher than another but all members of the community are held at the same level. To live merciful lives we must look outside of ourselves and treat those around us as equals. Mercy and justice build the community where judgement based on favoritism cuts it away. James urges us to become a people not just of faith but of mercy.

This is where the controversy comes. Most Evangelicals hold very tight to the premise that we are saved by faith through grace, not by works. This is a concept that was strongly held at the time of the reformation and continues today. James says, “What good is it.” And people like Martin Luther tense because he goes on to say, “Can faith save you?” This is not so much about theology but theology in action. Remember James is writing from a perspective that the community of great importance. He gives an example that faithful looking at those in need and saying to them have faith and stay warm and fed. Yet these people need clothing and food. Can God provide? Absolutely! But what are we as a community telling them? If only you had enough faith then all your needs would be provided for. Our faith is not magic, we cannot command God to grant our wishes and call receipts down from heaven. No salvation happens when the community of faithful live lives of mercy. When we see those in need we as a community pull together and help them.  

James speaks of this from observation. He saw this lifestyle lived out before him and at first he totally rejected it. Yet something changed. He saw his brother make it his custom to worship, he saw Him withdraw to the isolated places to pray, and he observed Jesus minister to the needs of those around him. He saw all of this, he saw it move people that once lived on the fringe of society back into life. He saw people once left for dead in the leper colonies restored to the community fully cleansed from all that society rejected. He saw blind eye restored, withered limbs refreshed, and the dead come to life. He saw this and it scared him, it scared him because he thought he was better than these people. If Jesus his own brother is restoring those people where does that leave him? It scared him because he had worked so diligently to be seen as righteous, yet to his own brother these beggar were equals. He also saw that as Jesus’ followers grew in number things began to change the oppressed were no longer living as oppressed because the community took care of them. Each person as they followed Jesus added to the community.

Then he saw something even greater. The leaders were losing favor so they began to plot. James then was fearful for other reasons, if they kill his brother would they then seek me out? He began to openly rebuke Jesus, calling him a mad man because he was afraid that if he did not speak out judgement would then hit him. But Jesus did not cower. He looked out to the crowds and said that they were his family. Jesus died on a cross, he was buried, and then he rose again. He even spoke with him. James like the others did not know what to do or to think, but on the day of Pentecost Peter spoke up and thousands believed, and so did he. They began to live the lifestyle of Jesus and greater numbers were added daily. They lived that holy rhythm of worship, prayer, and ministry. Faith did not save James, it was the community of faithful living by the royal law, that brought him to the feet of Jesus the author and perfecter of faith, not just faith but mercy. 

Friends we can live by faith or mercy, we can live by judgment or grace. We can claim to have the right answers or we can help others take steps toward Christ by helping them see beyond their current circumstances. James does not say faith is out of place, he merely says faith without action, faith without movement, is dead. He is saying that often God is calling us to be the answer to the prayers of the naked and hungry, we are called to be the answers to the prayers of the hurting and the broken. We become those answers if we become people of mercy, when we become people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit and living the love of Christ with others.

As we enter this time of open worship, I encourage us to consider and examine our lives with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Ask ourselves if we are bringing glory to Jesus through our lifestyles, and actions? Are we becoming answers to prayer or are we simply pushing people away? And are we willing to change direction as James did?

Putting on Christ (Sermon August 23, 2015)

Ephesians 6:10–20 (NRSV)

Praying Hands
Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, OK USA

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵ As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

When we began this series in Ephesians I am sure we learned many new things. The first being that the letter was not written to a Gentile majority but largely focused on Jewish people from an Essene perspective. But I hope that the main thing that we have learned is that there are always things that seemingly divide a group, but that in Christ we can come together and see the kingdom of God built around us.

As I have studied this letter the past few weeks it has been as if I have read it for the first time again. For the first time in a long time it is as if the words Paul wrote so long ago have spoken directly to my heart, causing me to look at things from a different perspective. The Ephesian Church is a church that is on the verge of a complete and total split. The members are lining up along one side or the other, looking at those around them and casting judgement on things that have little to do with the church, but mainly focused on differing perspectives. One side is focused on a three hundred year heritage built on tradition, while the other seeks to open the doors up to an emerging future. The Ephesian church has found itself at a cross road of history, the ending on one age and the beginning of another.

This is why I find it so fresh and new as I have been studying it these past few weeks, because I can imagine myself in the midst of the conflict. I can see myself on either side of the issues holding fast to the ancient traditions or embracing the exciting future. I can imagine myself from the perspective of either faction within this ancient church because there are aspects of these very struggles that we face today. The future is often cloaked in a fog, we only get a glimpse of it through the misty waves as the Spirit moves like the wind. But Paul tells them that we are not at war with one another because we are all the same, he reminds both Jew and Gentile that we are all born into the same condition and remain in that place until the community seeks to bring us in. Paul reminds them that the struggle should not be between Jew and Gentile but instead we should be laboring to bring people into the community through the power of God that has been given to us by the Spirit through Christ.

I want us to consider this struggle as we reflect upon this passage. I want us to remember just how tense and raw the emotions can be when a church is on the brink of splitting in two. I want us to remember this because Friends we have been there, I may very likely say that we are there right now. We can identify with this ancient church because we too are struggling to find our way into this cloudy future, a future that so many people throughout our society claim is post Christian. Paul knows that this ancient church is in the middle of a fight and that is why he writes the way that he does. Put of the armor of God!

I want us to stop for a moment right there because I want us to just consider how out of place this passage really seems. For the past five chapters Paul has encouraged this church to live in the love of God with each other because we are all members of one another, because we have all been joined together through Christ, he has urged us to sacrifice ourselves, give ourselves for the sake of the Gospel, and then he speaks about putting on armor for a fight? We have all read this passage out of context for probably our entire lives. Many of us have grown up coloring pictures of the armor of God thinking it is just wonderful, maybe we have even made costumes and dressed up in the armor claiming to be soldiers for God going out to do battle in the world. But I really think if we read this passage in light of the rest of the letter we would see it for what it truly is, a literary play on words that should cause us to think.

I say this because Paul begins this segment by saying, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Many, if not all of us, totally forget the first sentence of the passage, because we are too busy arming ourselves to fight. We are too busy and too focused on the struggle before us to actually listen to the words being said. We are so busy trying to demonize those that might have a differing view, or we might think has a different view that we totally miss the most important statement of this entire passage. Be strong in the Lord. This passage has very little to do with battle. It in fact is telling us to be clothed in Christ.

When we look at this passage from this perspective, we can begin to see things a bit differently. But why would Paul use such imagery if he is merely speaking about putting on Christ and not gearing up for battle, you might ask? For the very same reason most children stand amazed when they see a convoy of military vehicles driving down interstate or see a formation of jets pass overhead. The image of power and strength is great. But he again reminds us that this struggle is not between us, it is not between flesh and blood. We are not at war against our fellow human beings, the battle is more abstract. He says put of the armor of God because our struggle is against rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers.

It is very easy to misunderstand what these three things are, especially when two of the three are pretty much synonyms in our language. The word that is translated rulers is actually a term in the Greek that means the supernatural forces that are behind the unexplainable. The word authorities is the governing systems that can be just or unjust, systems of human behavior that encourage or exploit. And cosmic powers refers to the forces of nature. When we understand what these forces are it basically proves that the armor of God has very little to do with warfare and everything to do with our ability to survive in a seemingly crazy world.

Back to the armor. I mentioned that imagery of the military power is striking. It catches our attention and leaves us standing in awe. I remember attending an airshow at the air force base in Wichita as a child, being able to climb up and look into the cockpit of a jet, to touch a round that would be fired from one of the massive machine guns, and hearing the sound of the engines after I saw the plane pass quickly before my eyes. There are very few things that can show the strength more than these weapons of war. But Paul is telling us to put on Christ, which is an armor that is far more powerful than these.

If you want to move beyond these petty struggle and stand firm against the evil forces at battle all around us we must clothe ourselves in Christ. And it begins with a belt of truth. This idea of truth is not just facts. It is a lifestyle of truthfulness, a lifestyle of integrity. We should be centered on reality and authenticity, not playing games and putting on a show. If we want to see the kingdom of God being expanded throughout our community it begins with each of us being honest, humble, and vulnerable with one another. This is one of the foundational aspects of the Christian life, and one of the most important pillars in the Society of Friends.

Next comes the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate is one of the most visible and largest of all the pieces of armor in ancient days. But what is righteousness? In past generations we understood this to be holiness, and holiness can quickly morph into legalism. But righteousness is loving justice. The most visible aspect or the Christian life should be focused on the most visible aspect of the life of Christ. Jesus was all about justice. He was all about loving those around him and encouraging them to enter into a better lifestyle. The breastplate of righteousness is living a lifestyle of encouraging those around us to live the love of Christ with others. It is standing up in the defense of the exploited and helping those in need. It has more to do with right actions than right answers. And those outside of the community should be able to see this in all that we do.

Shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace. There are several things wrapped up in this aspect of armor. Simplicity so that we are able to move freely and readily. As well as a testimony of peace, meaning that we value the life of all people and seek unity instead of conflict. But most of all the gospel, the good news which is the message of reconciliation and access to God. To put on the shoes of Christ we position ourselves to hear the voice of the Spirit and move to act upon His leading.

A shield of Faith. Is more than just protection, but the assurance that though we may face trail we are on the right path. It is the ability to believe, trust and entrust our lives fully to God, moving forward into the valley of shadows and doubt without fear. Coupled with this shield is the helmet of salvation which like faith points to deliverance. Placing our trust not in ourselves but entrusting every aspect of our lives into the hands of God carry us though.

And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. I want us to think of this for a moment. Paul is telling us to put on Christ, to reflect Christ. All of these aspects of armor are visions of protective strength. Absolutely none of it is from ourselves but is the Lord, and His strength. Then we come to the sword the only actual weapon. Friends this is not our sword we do not wield this sword, just as we are not the armor but all of which is God. We do not convict, we do not judge, we only go where God calls us and bear witness of him as we reflect his life though ours. The Spirit is the one that wields the knife.

We are struggling but it is not against each other and it is not against other human beings either. The battle is against things beyond our control, so we cannot wield the weapon because we do not know how to use it. We only bear the armor. Living lives of integrity and truth, showing and being the love of Christ to others as we stand against injustice and stand for righteousness. Living lives of simplicity so that we can freely and quickly move into action as we share the gospel of the kingdom and promote unity and the sanctity of all life. And walking forward with our lives fully entrusted in the hands of God. If we bear the armor in the world of darkness the Spirit will do its work, God himself will take down the rulers, authorities and tame the cosmic powers that threaten humanity. And we bear this armor if we live the lifestyle that Christ taught us. A lifestyle where we withdraw often to the isolated places to pray, where we make it our customer to join together to worship and encourage one another, and go out into the world to minister to the needs of our community.

Putting on the armor of God is nothing more than living the lifestyle of Christ. It is loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit and living the love of Christ with others. As we enter this time of open worship and holy expectancy I pray that we will realize that the battle is not ours to fight, that we are not enemies but members of one another, that we are all equal in the eyes of God, and that if we are willing to live wearing and reflecting the life of Christ in all we do we will see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.