Pastor Dan Eddy

Ephesians 6:10-20

“Firming up the Faith”

with Confo Creed from Josh Noel

10-30-11

Over seven years ago I started as a student at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. It was a life changing decision for Berta and me to leave a career, our families, and start a new life again as a student in a Master of Divinity program.

I will never forget the first day of orientation. After the morning session we assembled in this historic hall for a luncheon on a bright beautiful summer day where the students could rub shoulders with the professors that they may eventually have for a class or two.

And I will never forget one of the professors that came over to greet me was Dr. Dale Meyer. He’s a celebrity of sorts in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. You either know him well or you don’t. For 15 years he was the main speaker for the radio program called The Lutheran Hour, on-the-air since 1930. A show broadcast on hundreds of radio stations, reaching a US audience of almost a million listeners a week.

So here I get to meet this Emmy and Peabody award winning celebrity. By this time, he had retired from The Lutheran Hour and was a professor at the Sem. And he has his unbelievable baritone, bass voice (reference to Josh) that commands attention.

And so we were eating and laughing, and he’s asking me about my family and I’m inquiring about his and then he said something I will never forget: “You know Dan everyone comes to the Seminary with faith but a few leave without it.”

“Come again?” I said.

“Everyone comes to the Seminary with faith in Jesus Christ but a few leave without it,” He said.

“At a seminary,” I responded.

Some student can’t make the cut. They can’t hack the classes, the field work, the cross-cultural and institutional modules, the challenges to their faith. It gets to be too much and they not only drop out of the seminary. they leave the church. They leave their faith behind.”

Wow…my idealistic mind was spinning and my mouth was open and nothing was coming out, which you can imagine is a rare occurrence for me.

Dr. Meyer was warning about me about the dangers ahead in my life, and that if I was going to make it through the seminary to be a pastor, my faith was going to have to be a lot stronger. It involved more than book knowledge; it involved firming up my faith in Christ.

In his concluding thoughts to the Church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul implies that the same thing could happen to them. Paul wrote these Holy Spirit inspired words while he was in prison and he’s telling the believers “I’m still hanging on there stronger than ever, and I want you to be as well. It is necessary for your faith so you don’t walk away from it.”

Martin Luther was imprisoned in two castles for his own safety…a marked man for standing up for the truth…starting the Reformation but that’s when he translated the Bible for the first time in the local German language.

So Paul is saying despite the overwhelming challenges to life to continue being strong in the Lord, to keep being empowered by God’s Word. The Lord wants to clothe you with God’s full arsenal of weaponry.

You’re thinking “Come on? Is the world today really that hostile to our faith in Christ?”

You bet. Just this week alone the Selectmen in the Massachusetts town of Upton (hold up The Boston Herald) prohibited believers in Christ from assembling to pray in the town’s common area, something I have done in our own Scituate town common. Muslims are protesting and suing Catholic University in Washington because classrooms and other areas have crucifix in them. They want them removed because they say the Crucifix are interfering with their prayers. A pastor’s life is on the line in Iran because he dare profess with his family the saving power and loving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

No doubt illness and disease challenge our faith in Christ, but Paul is sharply contrasting those with the real enemies which can be governments, cultures, and even supernatural forces beyond our understanding. Satan’s power lies in all of those whether you believe he’s real or not. In fact, he’d prefer you not believe he exists. That’s when he’s the most powerful in your life. These forces can work blatantly or subtly in our lives.

However, fear is not the way to respond. Running from the faith is not the answer. Paul is saying let the Lord keep you strong. Let Christ Jesus equip you for battle. Don’t let your faith in Christ be invaded and occupied by these evil powers. Don’t give up and don’t give in.

This is a very appropriate text for a First Communion or Confirmation Sunday, because it’s really easy for young people to think that at some point in life they will simply outgrow God, like you outgrow clothes, dolls, or an imaginary friend.

This idea is promoted when many in our culture will tell you that God is an unnecessary crutch to lean on; that Church teachings are enslaving; the Bible is a book of myths; that the only thing is important is that we love each other…after redefining what love is; that there are many ways to Heaven, and certainly there is no Hell. Science and human reasoning are superior to God’s knowledge as expressed in Scripture.

Don’t let your defenses down to accept these teachings. Otherwise, the “I know better than God Syndrome” takes over. The “I know more than Christ Virus” invades your heart. Arrogance leads to faith in oneself…with a sense of false security and false humility as you stop listening to Christian parents, teachers, pastors, and other believers in Jesus.

I don’t know if you know this but Josh is an athlete. He loves to play soccer and quite good at it. So in preparation for today’s confirmation we had a discussion on muscles. And Denise is a great swimmer. Both understand that muscles are built when you work them out. They get torn down, will be sore, but they eventually get built up stronger. And if you don’t use muscles they get smaller and smaller and eventually wither to nothing. Use the muscles or lose them.

Your faith in Christ given at our baptism is your spiritual muscle. It was given to you. You didn’t choose to have it. It was given to you. And this muscle of faith is fed and strengthen in His Supper. Use this muscle or lose it. And when you lose the muscle of faith you lose being forgiven of your sins; you lose the power over death; you lose eternal life. There’s a lot at stake here; that’s why Satan is after you. Don’t wait for the enemy to capture you, let the Lord put on his armor on you today and keep it on you for the rest of your life.

And we don’t fear because this text is saying that the Lord’s strength is passed onto you through the Word so you can stand strong against Satan.

This Word of God is expressed as the armor powered by the Holy Spirit; creatively spoken in this text as “belt of truth”, “breastplate of righteousness,” “shield of faith,” “helmet of salvation”…all things given to us because of Christ.

And if you think about it…all these are attribute of Jesus who described Himself as the Truth, is the righteousness of God, who gives us faith as we benefit from His salvation.

Jesus put on the whole armor of God when He was nailed to the cross. He is the Truth that whips Satan’s lies. His righteousness guards us from the sin condemning us. The shield of faith protects us from the flaming arrows of Hell.

His endurance in suffering and in death showed with His victory over the grave.

It’s one thing to hear these words from a pastor; it’s another to hear that from somebody who sits right in the pews most every week. Josh, please come up here to share your testimony of what Jesus means to you.

Josh:

I walk onto the stage. I hear people clapping but I do not acknowledge their presence. I sit in my seat and lay my music out on my stand. Taking a deep breath, I hold my instrument up to my mouth, ready to play, and look up at my conductor. The crowd abruptly falls silent and the lights dim. Wasting no time, we begin to play. We start strong and show the audience what we have been rehearsing for months. After about a minute of playing, the band transitions into a phrase building up into the solo section. I begin feeling butterflies in my stomach. I know this is my moment in the song. With trembling hands, I clumsily fumble with my music, hastily get up from my chair and set my stand aside so I can set up my little station at the front of the stage- the solo area. Legs already shaking, I take deep breaths in preparation of my improvisation. I feel ready to perform though terrified to play my first note. I look out into the crowd as I always do before my solo breaks and have a sudden revelation. I know God is out there in every one of those seats watching me; supporting me. He comforts and calms me, giving me the confidence I need to play well. Seconds remain before I must begin. Feeling the Lord in my presence, I no longer feel fear, but a great passion within me which I project loudly and clearly to the crowd.

The Bible tells us that “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” - James 1:12 NIV. This is the verse I chose for my creed. I initially hadn’t had an idea of what I wanted to base my creed off of, so pastor gave me a small booklet containing countless verses, each one under a specific topic. I flipped through the table of contents looking for a topic that I thought would suit me and I found my verse under the topic perseverance. I felt this would suit me because of my dedication towards playing my instrument. I believe that with hard work comes perseverance, but hard work alone will not allow you to succeed. To succeed, you need faith in Christ. I have faith that Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I could live in this sinful world without being corrupted by the Devil. The Lord tests my faith every day in many ways through subtle decisions that I must make. Though I may not pass each and every test He gives me, I try my best to succeed and in the end hope to persevere through my love of Him. My love of the Father also gives me extra motivation to pursue my talents as a musician, as opposed to one who plays and instrument for selfish reasons and with no faith. In the future, I hope to spread God’s love through performing for others and share the happiness I receive from playing the saxophone in the process. Many aspects of life are like a performance. Mistakes are only human, but the overall product is what counts. In future gigs, I may have many encores, but at the end of my life, I will receive the one and only grand finale; Heaven.

Pastor:

Thank you Josh. Never forget the prize: Heaven, because Josh and Denise your faith in Christ is going to be challenged greatly over the next decade or so. And as many of us will tell you it will be challenged for the rest of your earthly life.

So in practical terms here’s how Christ’s armor is put on you; here’s how we are clothed for battle.

1. Keep studying Scripture. The more you know God, the better you see Him in your daily life

2. Look the dangers in that can entrap you in our world, in our culture, in our schools, at work, and even in our homes. These include drugs, pornography, peer pressure, greed, and cheating. Don’t be scared, be prepared for the challenges. Fear is no where to be found in this text.

3. Pray for wisdom…then look for ways to apply God’s Word to your life today, knowing what to follow and what not.

Remember it’s Jesus through the Holy Spirit who is empowering you, so you can stand up against the forces who want to destroy your faith in Christ.

And you are not expected to do that on your own. We work together as a team, an army, a community of believers. We work together firming up each other’s faith in Christ. The time, talent and treasures God gives us here are to fight against the Devil, to defend the faith of others, and to win more for Jesus. It’s a passion for living unlike anything we experience in life. And Pastor Schipul is going to elaborate on that in this morning’s Bible study. Believe me, the way you live your life firm in the faith is an encouragement to others, who are struggling, who are letting down their defenses.

I was talking to Diane Herth this week and I love this illustration she gave to help us understand how the Holy Spirit uses our weekly gathering together to firm up our faith in Christ. She said that a fire stays strong when the kindling wood stays together but once an ember jumps out of the fire to be all on it’s own it soon loses it light and energy, and dies. That’s what happens when people leave their faith; leave the church.

God’s blessings to you both and to all of you that you may let His Word and Sacraments in the community of His church firm up your faith to be strong as you face the challenges in your life. Amen.