This Is Not A Drill

"This Is Not A Drill"
Ephesians 6:10-12, 18


Are there evil forces in the world that are real and powerful beyond our comprehension?  Is there a cosmic battle going on?  I don’t know about you, but seeing these words from Paul about “...the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age” with which we are contending, always kind of scares me.

I kind of poo-pooed all this “wicked spiritual forces” stuff until college.  I was a sociology/philosophy major in college.  I took a class for sociology called “Deviant Behavior.”  My semester paper was on Satan worshipers.  I interviewed a couple of witches, who had become Christians.  In their past life, they were witches who were in charge of a coven of 13 witches each.  Some of the stories they told me about conjuring up spirits and stuff made the hair all over my body stand on end.

If we’re in a battle, as Paul says we are, we have to understand exactly what we’re up against.  This is not a drill.  We aren’t just practicing or rehearsing.  The battle has been joined.

People in most cultures formed mythic tales about evil and evil’s existence.  Especially the Greeks.  Homer told the legend of when Ulysses came to the island of Circe, the daughter of the sun.  Ulysses climbed the hill and saw in the center of the island a palace surrounded by trees.  He sent half his men and a commander to see if he could find any hospitality there.

When the men approached the palace they found it was surrounded by wild animals.  They had no idea the animals were really men, now changed into beasts by Circe’s spells.  Hearing the soft sound of music within the castle, Ulysses’ men made their way in--except the commander Eurylochus, who suspected danger.

Once in the castle, Circe served the men with wine and other delicacies.  When they had eaten and drunk their fill, she waved her hands over them and they were immediately turned into pigs.

Hearing what happened to his men, Ulysses went down to rescue them.  As he was going, he was met by Mercury, who warned him of the dangers of Circe.  When Ulysses would not be persuaded to turn back, Mercury gave him a flower, the fragrance of which he was to inhale.  By doing that, Ulysses would gain the power to resist all of Circe’s sorcery.

Armed with the flower, Ulysses entered the palace.  Circe entertained him as she had his crew.  When he had eaten and drunk, she waved her hand over him saying, “From now on, seek the sty and wallow with your friends!”  But, protected from the spell by the flower, Ulysses drew his sword and forced her to release his companions and restore the others around the castle to their human form.

To think there are evil forces waving their hands over individual Christians, and over congregations is a disconcerting thought, to say the least.  Looking at all that’s going on in main-line denominations across our country, there certainly does seem to be some Circe type spirit that is creating confusion, division and distortion.  Even in our own Presbytery of Southern Kansas, there are congregations imploding, and a systemic dysfunction in handling it all.  It does make you wonder about “...powers...of this present darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness…” as Paul termed them.

As we have been given this great opportunity for ministry with the $100,000 gift by God and the amazing generosity of the giver, we, in our excitement, must be on the lookout for evil forces that will be used to disrupt, weaken, or water down the ministry we will create focusing on 3rd to 6th grade children.

How do we do that?  Mercury gave Ulysses a flower to undo Circe’s spells.  Paul, in these verses, says we have something much more potent than the aroma of some magical flower.  We have an awesome resource that will not only protect us from the evil forces in the world, but also do battle with that evil;  not just resist, but take the battle right in the evil power’s face.  That gift is prayer.

Paul uses three related words that let us know how amazing prayer is.  Paul wrote, “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.”  Let’s look at those three words and see what they mean for our praying power and our fight with evil.

First, “Be strong…”  Find your strength in the Lord.  This word that Paul uses describes how a believer, or a congregation, is made strong, or given power in the Lord.  It’s not a way you strengthen yourself, as if by doing a bunch of spiritual push-ups you will get strong.  This is an endowed strength, Paul says.  So instead of just saying, be strong,” what Paul is literally saying is, “Be made strong in the Lord.”

Whether you realize it or not, when you gave your life to Christ, you were made strong in him--he gave you a strength that is only his to give.  You have had it all this time.  Isn’t that amazing!  You’ve been made strong in Christ, and you realize that strength and use that endowed strength every time you pray.

Secondly, Paul wrote about being in the strength of the Lord.  This word Paul used describes not just strength as power, but supreme, superior, overarching power.  It is real, Godly strength that can utterly destroy any other power.  It is a strength of such magnitude that victory is assured every single time.

It’s the kind of strength that the boy David talked about when facing Goliath with a sling and a handful of smooth stones.  David said, “The Lord who saved me from the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37)

Do you hear it in David’s voice?  It isn’t a cocksureness in his own ability.  It’s the personal knowledge of the undefeatable power of God.  In fact, the word Paul used for strength can also actually mean “victory.”  Let’s put that in the verse, so it would read, “Be strong in the Lord, in the VICTORY of his might.”

Our strength in prayer is not our own cocksure way.  It’s based in God’s victorious superiority over all powers.  When we pray, we aren’t praying in the spirit of anxiety about these woeful powers, principalities, and unearthly forces.  We are praying in the already won victory of our cosmically supreme God.  That makes all the difference in our praying.

The third word is might.  When we think of might we think of prowess and sheer force of strength.  But this word that Paul used literally talks about a kind of might that is shown in ability or capacity.  Not our ability and capacity, but God’s.  God’s capacity becomes our capacity.  God’s ability becomes our ability, as we immerse ourselves in prayer.  Think of the ways capacity is used:  capacity crowd--so many people a place is filled up; a cup filled to capacity--you can’t pour one more drop in there.  Capacity is the point at which you can’t fill a container any more it is so full.

Alan and I have breakfast together out at Ricks every Thursday morning.  Our waitress is alway Lori.  Before Lori, it was Lori’s daughter Chelsea.  Alan drinks coffee.  I don’t.  But every Thursday morning, Lori becomes a picture of God for Alan, because she keeps coming by filling up his cup.  He drinks some down.  She comes by and fills it back up.  No matter how much he drinks, she puts more in.

So Paul is asking us to imagine the capacity of God.  Imagine the overwhelming immensity that makes up the capacity of God.  Imagine the innumerable abilities that make up God’s abilities.  That is God’s might.  Now imagine God’s might in you, in our congregation!  The fulness of God’s capacity and ability is, through Christ, in you, in us.  When we pray we are being refilled to capacity with the capacity and ability of God!  We use some of God’s capacity and ability, our cup starts getting a little low; God comes by and fills it back up with his immense capacity.  Doesn’t matter how much you use, God fills you back up.  Means you don’t have to worry about getting too low, or using it up, or protecting what you’ve got.

Be strong in the Lord, in the strength of his capacity and ability.  Can you imagine it?  It blows my mind just trying.

Three amazing power words.  But not just words.  They are power qualities that everyone here has, in Christ, as you pray.  “...be STRONG in the Lord, in the STRENGTH/VICTORY of his MIGHT.”

Against these three amazing God words, the devil only has one word.  The one devil word is “stratagem.”  The sad thing about we Christians is that we end up concentrating too much on the one devil word and not on God’s three prayer words.  The stratagems of the devil.  Other translations use words like wiles, craftiness, devices, tactics, schemes, and tricks.  I like the word stratagem because it describes an intentional plan used to deceive an enemy in war.  It’s all the devil’s hocus pocus, waving his hand over us, thinking he can turn us all into pigs, and overpower God’s praying people.

Stratagem is a word that at one time meant a way, a path, or a road.  In the first verse of the first Psalm, David sets the agenda for all praying that will follow in the Psalms:
How blessed is the one who does not take the counsel of the wicked for a guide,
or follow the path that sinners tread…

That word "path" is the same word from which stratagem comes.  The devil is trying to deceive us into following his path, not Gods.  The devil is trying to get us slowly and gradually off the straight and narrow, and onto his path that leads to destruction.  The devil is trying to lure us off of God’s three power worded path.

I keep coming back to the book, Pilgrim’s Progress.  The main character, Christian, is making his way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.  At one point, he’s traveling along and the path became difficult, rocky, making walking hard.  He sees there’s another path not too far away.  It’s pleasant looking and smooth.  It’s running parallel to the path he is on.  He decides to take the smooth path, since it’s close to the one he’s on.  But gradually, the new smooth path veers farther and farther away from the original road to the Celestial City.  Christian ends up coming to a castle named Doubting Castle.  There lives a giant named Despair.  Christian becomes a prisoner until he is freed.

That’s the stratagem of the devil.  Trying to shift your feet, lure us away from the right path onto his path leading only to doubt and despair.  The devil is trying to shift our attitudes and conduct through the power of his deception.  He’s trying to lure us into his stratagem rather than claim God’s power, might and strength through prayer.  Without God’s power words there are only rationalizations for falling into the trap of the devil’s stratagems.

Like the overweight business executive who decided to shed some extra pounds.  He took his new diet seriously, even to the point of changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery.  One morning, however, he arrived to work carrying a gigantic piece of coffee cake.  His staff scolded him, but his smile remained almost angelic.  “This is a very special coffee cake,” he explained.  “I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning.  There in the window were a host of goodies.  I felt it was no accident, so I said a little prayer: ‘Lord, if you want me to have a piece of one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking place right in front of the bakery.‘  And sure enough,” he continued, “the eighth time around the block, there it was.”

When we are faced with some challenge we think we ought to pray.  Usually somebody says something like, “Let’s say a little prayer.”  As if praying is some little thing, some kind of formality or good luck charm to cover our bases before the battle.  “I guess we better say something to God,” we think to ourselves, “just in case.”  But there are no little prayers, when we realize, as Paul did, that prayer takes you into the strong, strength, and might of the presence of God.

Before a great battle, Napoleon would stand alone in his tent.  One by one the marshals and commanders of his armies would enter, grasp his arm in silence, and go out again.  Doing so fired them with fresh courage and renewed willingness to do battle for France.  I think now is the time for us to slip into God’s tent in prayer, grasp God’s hand, just touching the awesome presence of God for the challenge that lays before us.

I would like you all to go into that prayer tent often in the coming weeks.  Pray for our congregation as we seek to discern God’s will about this opportunity for ministry we’ve been given to touch the lives of children in our community--children whose lives could turn out very differently because of the ways they will be touched by our church and our ministry.

This kind of vision and strength can only be gained through our amazing inner fellowship of prayer with God.  Only through the strength and the might of God in prayer will we be able to change the devil course that may also be exerted against these children.

Wouldn’t we all desire the day when the devil’s scouts came back to him and reported, in complete frustration, that we--both individually and as a congregation--were found to be a hopeless cause; to hear the demons come before the devil and say with long faces, “I’m sorry, O evil one, but that Pratt Presbyterian Church is a hopeless case.”  Because a hopeless case in the eyes of the enemy means the prayerful victory has been won--we have been made strong in the Lord, in the strength of his might!