Born On a Battlefield

A sermon by Pastor Dale Wolcott

Presented May 13, 2000

Seventh-day Adventists Believe...By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church. Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion in water and is contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance of sin. It follows instruction in the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of their teachings. Fundamental Beliefs, p. 14.

This sermon immediately followed the baptism of five youth. The sermon was directed especially to their attention.

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Nathan, Jeff, Andrew, Eric, and Kristi,

You are very, very fortunate young people. Have you ever thought about how lucky you are that:

There are very, very few young people in the whole world that were born with the blessings you were born with!

So that's a lot of good news! Now I want to give you some bad news: When you were born again, you weren't born into such a peaceful place as when you were born the first time. When you were born again today, by water and the Spirit, you were born onto a battlefield!

The Bible says this little planet is the battlefield of a great war that has been going on between God and Satan for around 6,000 years. It's almost over, but it's not over.

And when you take a stand for Jesus, you take a stand against Jesus' enemy, and since Satan hates Jesus, and now you've said you belong to Jesus, guess what? Satan hates you! Note Ephesians 6:12 - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Now I don't want to make this sound too scary, because Jesus is stronger than Satan is, and we know who's going to win this war!

But you, by yourself, are not stronger than Satan. So here in Ephesians 6 the Bible tells you what you need in order to survive on this battlefield.

Look at verse 13 - "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

About the time young George Washington was chopping down his cherry tree, and the first pioneers were trapping beaver in Michigan, the Lakota Sioux Indians in Minnesota were moving out of the woods onto the Great Plains, learning how to ride horses and how to hunt buffalo. The Sioux were such fierce warriors and such expert horsemen that they pushed out all the other tribes who had been living on the Northern Plains; the Arikara, Mandan, Crow & others, and soon became the dominant people in that whole area.

One of my Lakota friends in South Dakota used to tell me stories from those days before the white man came, when warfare was done much as it was in Bible times with bow and arrow, spear, shield, and hand-to-hand combat. My friend told me that when a Lakota brave was especially eager to prove his manhood, he would go out onto a battlefield in the middle of a battle, lash his ankle to a sapling in the open field and shout a challenge to the enemy. At the end of the day, if he was successful, he would still be standing, and everyone would honor him as a true Lakota Warrior.

On this battlefield that Ephesians talks about, we don't need to go looking for a fight.

Satan is the one who has picked a fight with us, right? But today, Kristi and Eric and Andrew and Jeff and Nathan, today you've taken a stand, right? And so, sometime within the next few hours, or days, or weeks, Satan is going to attack you. And this will go on until Jesus comes back. So how are you going to stand the attack?

In verses 14-17, the Bible lists the equipment a Christian soldier needs on this battlefield we've been born on. Let's read it, and then I want you five to model this outfit for us, try it on, and then hopefully we will all remember to use it every day.

Ephesians 6:14-17 - "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

There are six pieces in this outfit let's look at the very first one. The first part of the armor is a belt. In Bible times everyone wore a garment called a tunic (we'd say it looked like a dress). Even soldiers! When you wanted to do some heavy work (like fight in a battle) you would grab the back of the bottom hem of your tunic, pull it up between your legs in front, and tuck it in your belt. If you didn't, you would probably trip over it and stumble. So what is the belt that keeps us from stumbling in the Great Controversy? TRUTH. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." He also said, "I AM the way the Truth and the life." So kids: Know the truth, and tell the truth.

And now we're ready for the full armor, let's begin with Nathan. Here is a breastplate for you. What is the Christian soldier's breastplate? RIGHTEOUSNESS. That's a big word, let me give you an easy definition. "Righteousness is love." [Mount of Blessings, p.18] Jesus' love for you, and your love for Him. Why is breastplate so important? It guards your heart. Kids, keep loving Jesus with all your heart! Satan will have all kinds of things, even people, to steal your affections away from Jesus.

As you grow up, part of God's plan for you is that you will look for somebody to love, somebody to spend your life with. Guard your heart; be sure you share it only with somebody else who also has a heart for Jesus. Spend time with Jesus every day; stay in love with Him! That's how you keep the breastplate on.

Ready now the third piece of armor? Andrew, I have something for you, very important for a soldier, the footgear. A soldier's got to be ready to go anywhere, and if he's going to go, he's got to have combat boots! What are the combat boots in the Great Controversy? The Bible says, "PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE."

You fight Satan with good news about peace! Satan wants to immobilize you, but when you've got Jesus' good news in your heart, you're ready to go wherever He calls you. And don't be surprised if Jesus calls you to be a missionary someday. Don't let Satan fool you into thinking the gospel is bad news, or that it's "too hard to be a Christian." Jesus is GOOD NEWS ABOUT PEACE!

The truth is, it's people on Satan's side who have the hardest life. Keep your boots on--keep telling other people about the Good News--which is one of the most important ways to keep from becoming a crippled Christian.

Now Kristi, I have the fourth piece of armor for you, the "shield of FAITH." This is the one it says we should take "above all." This is the most important piece in the outfit. Why is this the most important? Actually "above all" could mean "in front of them all," or "on top of them all," this is the movable piece, the front line that protects all the other pieces. You see, Jesus' love is guarding your heart (remember, "righteousness is love"). But the Bible says that "righteousness" comes to us "by faith," by trusting Jesus. And how do you know you can trust Jesus? You can't trust somebody unless you know them and you can't know somebody unless you spend time with them.

The most important weapon you can have on this battlefield is spending time each day with Jesus. I've talked to each of you about this. Please, please, please, take time every day to listen to Jesus, not just family worship, but your own personal quiet time. Get a devotional book. Start reading the Bible through, starting with New Testament. That's how you pick up the shield of faith every moment, to fend off all the fiery darts Satan will try to throw at you.

I want to speak to parents at this point not just of these new members but those of you with littler ones too: quoting from Our Little Friend, Beginner Lesson for March 11, 2000, "Our example is the most important tool we have to influence our children. If we say please and thank you, so will they. If we're honest, they will be honest. So let your children catch you reading your Bible and praying in private devotions."

There's only one way to take up the shield of faith, to build a strong faith that will be equal to the worst Satan can throw at you, that is to spend time with Jesus.

Jeff, now I have something for you, the fifth piece of armor, the helmet. Why is a helmet so important? It guards your head. You don't have to be a soldier to know about helmets. Anybody that rides a bicycle or a motorcycle or even plays Little League knows about helmets. A head injury is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a person.

I used to get calls in the middle of the night to come to the emergency room when people had been thrown off a motorcycle or out of a speeding vehicle, and if the head trauma was too severe, the person's brain would start swelling and unless the doctor could somehow get that swelling to stop, the person would die or have permanent brain damage.

You know what one of Satan's most effective weapons against smart, intelligent well-educated young people like you is? He will try to get your head to swell up. By that I mean, he will try to get you to think that you can figure out how to live a good life by your own brain power. He'll try to get you to think you're smart enough that you don't need God. That's a lie, but a lot of people believe it. Some people get such severe spiritual brain damage that they think they are smart enough to criticize the Bible and figure out what's wrong with the Bible, and take things from science to "prove" that the Bible is wrong. So the Bible says, put on your helmet, and what's the helmet?

SALVATION. You can't save yourself. You're not smart enough, not strong enough, and not big enough. You need Jesus to save you. Don't ever forget it, kids. Wear your helmet!

Well Eric, you get the final piece of this outfit. "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the WORD OF GOD." When Jesus battled Satan face-to-face in the wilderness when He was so hungry, do you remember what Jesus said to Satan all three times? "It is written."

When I was your age we used to play a game called "sword drill," ever play it? The leader called out a Bible text, and the rest of us would find the text as fast as we could. Then, the first one to find it would stand to his feet and read the verse out loud. It was a good way to learn where the books of the Bible are and to use our swords!

You need to know your Bible better than you know the major league sports teams.

You need to know the Bible stories better than you know Nintendo or Game Boy.

And always remember the Bible is a book about Jesus! Something else about this sword, the sword is the only offensive weapon in your arsenal. I'll let you think about that one.

Almost 500 years ago a young man named Martin Luther discovered a Bible chained to a pillar in a monastery in Germany. In that Bible, he found Jesus. Jesus changed his heart. Martin Luther put on the breastplate of Christ's righteousness. The good news about Jesus brought peace to his heart and he put on the shoes and went out and started telling everybody about Jesus. He took the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and began telling the world that the only way we can be saved is by faith in Jesus.

Satan got angry with Martin Luther because God was using Martin Luther to start a great revival and a Reformation that was spreading all over Europe, today in history books it's called the Protestant Reformation. One day Martin Luther was put on trial for his faith in Jesus. He was brought into the king's courtroom with hundreds of the most powerful people in the kingdom and the people in charge told him, "You must recant, say you're wrong." Martin Luther's only weapon was the Sword of the Spirit, God's word hidden in his heart. He said: "My conscience is bound by the word of God . . .. Unless someone shows me in the Bible where I am wrong, I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand," he said, "and I can do no other. So help me God." And God did help him, and millions of people came to know Jesus because Martin Luther had put on the armor and took His stand.

Young people, you've taken a stand today. "Therefore, keep on the whole armor of God, that YOU may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." One of the best ways to stay on your feet in the great controversy is to invite others to come to Jesus.

(Addressing the whole congregation.)

I've asked the young people to lead us in a responsive Scripture invitation as we conclude.

As we all participate in this reading, I want to invite anyone who would like to prepare to be baptized to come forward while we are reading. Maybe you've already made that decision, renew it for the encouragement of the young people. Maybe you've made the decision today, or maybe you're making it right now, come while we read together:

Responsive Scripture Reading

INVITATION TO JESUS' WEDDING BANQUET

From Matt. 22:2, 9; Rev. 22:17; Isa. 55:1-3; Rev. 19:6-9 & 22:20 (New King James Version)

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain King who arranged a marriage for His son.

Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"

And let him who hears say, "Come!"

And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Ho! Everyone who thirst, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come and buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live.

Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly!"

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!