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As many of you may know (or maybe not, if you’re not a fan), there is another Star Wars movie coming out next week.  Ok, now since in NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM DOES THIN WITHIN ENDORSE STAR WARS, then…. what in the galaxy, far, far away does this have to do with eating 0-5?

Well, a while back, my pastor did a sermon series about putting on the full armor of God.  He entitled it “Spirit Wars”.12289551_10153796867651079_5613164851751776929_n

My pastor is a huge Star Wars fan and so with this movie coming out, he used the analogy of Star Wars to how we are in a spiritual battle. This led us thru putting on the whole armor of God.

I had heard many sermons and read a lot of blogs, book and articles about this subject. However, I had NEVER heard it quite this way before!

Being a Star Wars fan myself, I was intrigued.

So, in case you are not familiar with it, here is the passage from Ephesians 6 that we are referring to here:

14 So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One.17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.

Here’s the armor in (Star Wars) summary:

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(ok…so yes, I added the shield. And…ok, these guys were bad guys if you know anything about the Star Wars movies….but work with me here.  We’ll pretend that this one is a strong believer in Christ!)

Now, I could write on and on about this whole armor but we don’t want me to write several blog posts here in one!  So, I want to focus on my favorite sermon from my pastor’s sermon series and that is the Sword of the Spirit.

Of all the pieces of the armor, did you notice that the Sword was the only thing that is an offensive weapon?

 

Take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Ephesians 6:17

When my pastor preached the sermon about this aspect of Ephesians 6, he asked some of the children to dress up to illustrate how the characters used the light-saber to battle one another.

If you know anything about Star Wars, you know that the main weapon of choice is the light-saber.PicsArt_12-01-09.58.22

The “bad guys” have red light-sabers
and the “good guys” have white. This illustrates how evil is always ready to battle us with weapons of deceit and lies.

If the good guys just stand there and never take out their light-sabers, they will surely be cut down by the bad guys!

In the picture you see the good guys don’t have their light-sabers in hand, but what you don’t see is they have them on a table right beside them.  When our pastor said the word, the good guys grabbed their sabers and began to fight (and of course the good guys won!)

We have the Sword of the Spirit (our white light-sabers) available to use at any time.

Our “Sword” could be reading God’s word each morning, quoting memorized scripture or using “Truth Cards” (which are index cards or a note card app on your phone with scriptures written on them for quick reference).

So, what are we battling? 

What are the “bad guys” or the “Dark Side”? It is the evil of this world.  The evil within…. those lies… of defeat, dieting, poor body image, feeling like a failure. 12321625_10153804385571079_7452286617039464187_n

Yes, this is the “Dark Side”! We are pulled by its deceptiveness and what we think might be power or beauty or strength or _______________(insert your temptation here).

12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

So, let’s think about this.

If I am feeling defeated or ugly or unworthy, I am listening to the lies of the “Dark Side” and not drawing on the power of God’s truth. I am not drawing on the strength that His Word can give. I am not using my sword!  I am just like a good guy who is standing there allowing the bad guy to cut me down.

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!  God has given me HIS strength and power.  He has given me His word to use.

So,  let’s use this mighty weapon God has given us!light saber

Meditate on the word. Use your scripture truth cards. Pray the word and speak the word.  WIELD THE SWORD!  Use your light-saber!

What about you?  Have You picked up Your light-saber?  Your Sword? What do you need to change to be in the Word more often?

Use your weapon!  Cut down the enemy with the TRUTH.