Sound the Alarm. Remove from Harm. Equip and Arm.
/Three things God dropped in my heart this morning as I spent time in His Word. As stern as they seem, they’re three things I believe every Christian must learn to do and teach others to do, too. They encouraged and challenged me. If you are a Christ follower, I pray they do the same for you...
Sound the alarm. Don’t grow weary or be silent. Stay alert and on guard.
Remove from harm. We are not saviors, but we can be harbingers.
Equip and arm. (Ephesians 6:10-20) God equips us with His whole armor. Each piece plays an important role in the battle plan. It is not enough to just know about it. We cannot live without it. Armor up, and teach others to do the same.
As I was reading in James 4 this morning, I was reminded that as believers, we cannot be “friends” with the world. To be a friend with the world is to be an enemy of God. It’s adultery. I’m not being hyperbolic. That’s what the Word says. (James 4:4) We can love our neighbors (Mark 12:31) and even love our enemies (Matt 5:44) without getting into bed with them. As Christians, we are to be set apart. To be set apart is to be different from the world. The ways of the world and the ways of the Word are not the same. We must live by God’s standard, lest we be enamored by the world’s glamor. We cannot be Christians in name only. We must bear fruit (Matt 6:17).
We are either following God and living by His Word (walking with Him) or we are chasing things of this world (turning our back on Him). We cannot do both.
As I read the Word this morning (James 4 and Ephesians 6 specifically), I couldn’t help but think of a time years ago when God illustrated these truths for me through a real life experience. When our oldest son was young, maybe 2 or 3, we had just returned home from somewhere that he had gotten a balloon. If you’re a mom, I’m sure you remember those days well, or maybe you’re living them now. We had on street parking at our house in town, so we were teaching him to get out of the car on the side of the sidewalk and house as opposed to getting out on the side of the street. We had gotten him out of the car and he was standing on the sidewalk with his ballon, when suddenly, he let go of this prized possession. Instead of taking off into the air, the balloon hovered low to the ground and danced down the sidewalk and out into the street. Like most toddlers would, Joshua naturally just chased after the balloon. And this is where the split second scary situation transitions to the slo-mo “Chariots of Fire” pace as my husband raced to the rescue shouting, “Stop!” He saw a car coming down the street straight toward this oblivious little boy enamored by his runaway balloon, and this father did everything in his power to...
Sound the alarm. (Shout.) Remove from harm. (Pick him up and carry him to safety.) And equip and arm. (Talk to him about future dangerous situations.)
Sound the Alarm:
My husband had to yell to warn my son. Folks, we are in the “yell to warn” stage. The hour is late. The enemy is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
We can’t politely say in our soft spoken, not meant to harm or alarm voice, “Oh sweetie, please don’t run out in the road, there’s a car coming that might hit you.” We have to shout and get loud. Raise our voice like never before, “MOVE, RUN, GET OUT OF THE WAY!”
We do this well when someone is physically in danger, shouldn’t we do it all the more when eternity is at stake? So many are spiritually in danger of spending eternity separated from God. Shouldn’t we be shouting from the top of our lungs the Gospel Truth that God loves them so much He sent His son to set them free. Oh Church, we have work to do. It is high time we sound the alarm. There are so many people chasing the things of this world right into the oncoming traffic of the enemy.
Niceties will not save anyone from the dangers of worldly ideologies. Preaching the The Gospel Truth BOLDLY is the only thing that will set captives free.
Remove from Harm:
Once we have their attention, we must show them the way to safety. We have no ability to ultimately save anyone. Jesus Christ is the only one with the power to save, redeem, and set free, but we can come alongside them, encourage them, study the Word with them, pray with them.
We cannot just say the right things (sound the alarm), we must do the right things, too (remove from harm) in order to…
Equip and Arm:
Ephesians 6:10-20 lays out the battle plan and the armor accessible to all believers. It prepares us. It protects us. It places us safely under the authority of the Lord’s army. We can ignore the war, pretend there’s nothing to defend, and duck and cover merely dodging the fiery darts the enemy sends one after another. We can think to ourselves “this too shall pass” when in fact, as long as we live in this world, “this too shall last.” We are in a war. A battle for souls. A war that is that is raging because it is a war that has been waging since the beginning of time. And the enemy will stop at nothing to take us out. His tactics are not new. He has no creativity, only destructibility. He steals, kills, and destroys. (John 10:10)
That’s why we must put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” ~ Ephesians 6:10-20
Who’s with me? Who’s ready and willing to sound the alarm, remove from harm, and equip and arm? Our King of Kings and Lord or Lords, the Commander of the Heavenly Armies, the One with all Authority calls you and me to be Battle Ready, and to equip others so they are battle ready, too.
Let’s stop chasing things that lead us astray and into harm’s way. Let’s start following Him, the One who is the Way so in His presence we can safely stay.
Sound the alarm. Remove from harm. Equip and arm.