Each day we are in a battle. Thankfully, God promises to equip his people for all the struggles that come our way. Join host Matt Popovits as he interviews Pastor Chris Kennedy to discuss how God protects us in the midst of spiritual attacks and how we can develop our spiritual muscles to endure life’s difficulties.

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Welcome to engaging truth. I'm your host, Matt Popovits. And with me on the program today is pastor Chris Kennedy. He's the pastor of shepherd of the Hills Lutheran church in Antonio, Texas. And he's the author of a brand new book entitled, equipped the armor of God for everyday struggles. Pastor Chris, welcome to engaging truth.

Pastor Matt, thank you for having me. I'm honored to be your guest.

Oh, well, we're excited to have you, um, you've written this new book and, uh, like I said, the title was called equipped the armor of God for everyday struggles. Uh, so let's just pretend that our listener is not familiar with some of this church or new Testament terminology, uh, that you mentioned in the title of the book. So let's just assume that and with, with that assumption. And so I'm gonna ask you a question, what in the world is the armor of God?

Well, that's a great question. I'm glad you asked it and we're not assuming more than we should. So there's a wonderful passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Ephesians chapter six, and it speaks of the armor of God. And it's really a way of teaching about how our faith helps us in the struggle against evil. And we believe in a, a personal force, the devil or Satan, who is working against us and working against God's purposes. And so St. Paul in a creative way, he takes different pieces of armor and links them to facets of the faith, whether it's, uh, faith or hope or truth, whatever it might be. And in that way, he's communicating to his original readers and to us that God gives us what we need for our daily battles.

So let, let me back up a little bit and, and touch on something you said right at the beginning, which is that we believe that there's EV we being Christians believe that there's evil in this world and that there is, um, there's evil personified in the terms of, uh, of, of the devil. Um, does that mean that, that people of faith believe that they are actually fighting a battle every day with forces that they, they can't see? Like we like people believe that

Some people do. And I see the Bible teaching us that, uh, there's a lot of different interpretations about evil and how it works. And if there is a devil, I know there's a lot of different understandings of that, but the way I read the scripture and, and the way that, uh, I've been taught to read the scripture is that that's a very real fact. A lot of times we're blind to that fact, uh, maybe we're occupied with other things or we're so consumed with what we can see, what we can feel, that we may not be aware that there are deeper forces at work, but the Bible speaks in many places, not just in Ephesians six, but elsewhere that there are forces is that we can't see that are at work just as we can't see God. We also can't see the opposing forces. They're not equal and opposite to God, but there are also unseen factors at work. And so, uh, from a reading of scripture, you know, I see the Bible teaching that, that very clearly, that there is a spiritual war going on in, and we're right in the middle of it.

So what's some of the evidence of this, uh, of this, this battle that's going on. That we're right in the middle of, uh, in other words, how do, how do these opposing forces to God, uh, mess with us?

How do they mess with us? That's a great question. Uh, some might see this in mental battle, but I see it more spiritual than mental. Although the, the mental is a part of it. Uh, the devil and his forces, their goal is ultimately to pull us away from God. Uh, it's spiritual warfare. So, uh, the goal is to, to crush your spirit, to lead you into the, and so a lot of it has to do with the, the thoughts and the way that that affects our faith. So, you know, you didn't just have a bad day. No, you had a bad day and it's all your fault and you're worthless and God is not on your side and those kinds of things. So it's, it's the leaving lies. And, and those lies pulling us down into a really dark place.

I mean, it sounds similar to, what's described in the book of Genesis and the, the, the earliest parts of the Bible, where, where, where Satan is actively trying to convince Adam and Eve that God is not good and doesn't have their best interest in my, and that they can't trust him and that they should kind of follow their own instincts and follow his, uh, uh, believe his lies. Right. Is that, am I under something there?

Uh, it's, it's one in the same ancient bow. Yeah. He was the one who was causing mischief in the garden of Eden. And he's still up to his old ways. Book of revelation says his time is short, so he doesn't get to do this forever, but he's been doing it a very long time and he's, uh, quite skilled at what he does.

So then what the book of Ephesians tells us and what your book, um, I'm sorry, what, what your book highlights is that, um, is that there is a, a way in which God protects us from this battle, right?

Absolutely. That's the kind of God we have, he doesn't just leave us on our own defend for ourselves. That's really the, the beauty of the Easter message that we just celebrated, uh, that, that God steps in for us. He stepped in by giving his son in place for us and that through his son and through faith in Jesus, God gives to us everything that we need for the spiritual battle. He loves us so much. He doesn't just leave us on our own, but he intervenes and he supports us in all of our struggles. So,

So what are some of the things that, uh, Ephesians chapter six talks about in terms of how God equips us for this, this unseen, but very real battle that we face every day?

Sure. Well, Ephesians six walks through the different pieces of the armor of God. And so it links different pieces of armor to things like truth, um, which would be the counter to some of the lies or the distortions that we may believe. It talks about righteousness, which is a very deep concept of our standing before God and really our worth, uh, talks about peace. And, uh, we know the opposite of that. We know anxiety, we stress. And so God gives to us his gift of peace, Ephesians six talks about faith. Being able to trust in someone who is stronger than we are and who resources us, uh, talks about salvation. And really everything's based on our salvation, the fact that Jesus died for us and he rose again, we have every reason in the world to believe that God's not gonna let us down, but he's gonna help us in our struggles.

And then also Ephesians six talks about, uh, the sort of the spirit, which means we're not just gonna sit back and take blows, but we're going to strike back with the word of God and counter the lies in the sections with the truth. And then, uh, it really rounds out in Ephesians six by talking about prayer. Uh, that prayer is a weapon that God gives to us to help us to persevere in our struggles when we pray, we persevere. And as we persevere, we keep on praying for ourselves and for others. And so Ephesians in a very creative and dynamic way gives us all of these different beauties of the Christian faith. And it's a very encouraging passage as it lays all that out for us.

Tell me more about prayer as a, as a weapon in and of itself. Um, that that's a kind of a fascinating idea to me and to some of our listeners. They've never thought of prayer in that, in that way. Uh, tell me more about that.

Yeah. You know, I've been drawn recently to a passage in, uh, second Corinthians, I believe it's second Corinthians chapter 10, verse four, where it talks about, uh, how we're engaged in a spiritual war. And therefore we fight with spiritual weapons. And so the, the weapon has to match up to the attack. We're not being attacked physically so much in spiritual warfare as it is spiritually in ways we can't see. And prayer is where we are at work in that unseen realm. Um, one of the best ways to pray is to pray scripture, to, to pray God's thoughts back to him. And so you're taking the word of God and, uh, when our prayers align with scripture, then we're simply reflecting truth back to God. And so there we are spiritually wrestling with God on our side and, uh, there's power in prayer. And why is there power in prayer? Because the one who hears our prayers and receives them is powerful. And so prayer is really very much a way to access the all powerful God to reach out to him and to invite his strength into our lives. because

The scriptures promise that, you know, when we call out to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, God, the father through God, faith in Jesus Christ empowered by the holy spirit, that even if our, our prayers might seem, you know, simple or, um, you know, eloquent to us, mm-hmm that, that God always promises to answer, respond to those prayers, right?

Yeah, absolutely. I was doing some reading on prayer recently and Martin Luther's large catechism, and he talks about prayers, a response to God's command. So God tells us to pray. We pray in obedience to him. And it's also a response to God's promises all upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you. You will honor me. So there's a promise of deliverance when we call out to God. And, and so we respond to his command, we respond to his promises and we entrust the results to God.

So when we talk about the, the armor of God that's listed in Ephesians chapter six, mm-hmm , there are things like the, the helmet, the, the, the, the breast play, the sword. Is there one that, that is a favorite of yours and why?

Oh, what a great question. , you know, I said in the book that, uh, all Texans should be drawn to the belt of truth, cuz we like our big belt buckles. So we should all appreciate that one. Uh, it's kind of, I guess it's like picking favorite kid. How do you pick a favorite piece of the armor? Right, right, right. But I mean, I'll start at the top. I think the belt of truth is really foundational because, uh, the devil's chief tactic is deception twisting the truth in introducing lies to our minds. And so that one to me is just a great one to start with really foundational. Um, also I wanna mention as well in talking about the belt of truth, one of the things I learned in studying up on that one is that I expected for there to be more passages that talk about the devil's deceit.

But in fact, what I found was the Bible talks more about self deceit mm-hmm and that was just really eye opening to me that, uh, the, the, the human heart is deceitful and darkened in itself. And so that just, uh, helped me in my own self-awareness to say, you know, I've, I've really gotta look to scripture for truth. I can't always rely on myself, uh, apart from what the Bible is saying. And so the belt of truth for me, uh, was just a really great starting place. And I can see why it was put first in the list in Ephesians six.

So, you know, we get the sense if you, if you read through Ephesians six that, you know, God, God gives us these gifts. He, he, he puts the, his armor on us, right. If, if we are his, his baptized, believing children, this, this armor is ours. Right. We don't have to go find it and, and earn it. And, uh, like, like in the video games, like my, my son likes to play video games and the more you fight, the better armor you get. Right. Okay. But you start with nothing. Yeah. This is not like that. Like, like we, like, as his baptized children, we, we enter the game fully equipped, fully protected, and yet there is an active aspect to it. Right. Like, you know, um, you, you have armor on you because you're in you're, you're going to actively engage in something. Right. Um, so as much as it's passive, it's given to you, this armor, this protection, it's also active. You you're meant to kind of wield it, use it, right. All that said, talk about the, we're talking about the belt of truth. How does one make use of proper use in this battle of the truth so that it's protecting you and upholding you and, and keeping you, uh, keeping you, uh, walking in step with God's will and God's way isn't in his promises.

Great question. How do we, how do we use the armor? How do we, uh, build up our spiritual muscles might be another way to think about it. Uh, very practical question. I would say on a couple levels there, one is to be familiar with the truths of what the scripture says about different topics. But ultimately, uh, one thing that I found is just having a good understanding of who you are and your own identity, because I feel that that's where a lot of times the devil will seek to hurt us the most is in our own identities, whether it's puffing us up with pride or weighing us down with guilt. So knowing who, who you are. And I think about the baptism of Jesus, when the voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love with him, I am well pleased. And then right after that is when Jesus went into the wilderness and he was tempted by Satan. So as God's son, he was armed with that foundational truth of, you know, this is, this is the beloved of God. And then that truth was arming him for each of those individual temptations that he was facing. And so who you are in Christ, uh, being able to establish that for ourselves. I, I feel like that's, that's the baseline. And then from that, we seek to grow in our knowledge of screw and what God said is real and true.

Yeah. Because if I, if I know who's, I am so to speak that, that then, and, and, and the one that I belong to is God himself who loves me and can protect me if I know who's I am, then I can, I can stand pretty confidently in, in just about any scenario. It doesn't mean I, I won't have, you know, you know, fear or anxiety, um, that I'll be, you know, completely peaceful, but, but I can have some semblance of peace no matter where I am so long as I know who's I am. Right.

Amen. Absolutely.

And I think part of what's happening in Ephesians six, correct me if I'm wrong, you you're the one who, who wrote the book about the book, but part of what's going on in Ephesians six is, is Paul reminding the hero of who you are by describing us as, as decorated in this armor. Right? I mean, we, we are the ones who have the truth. We are the ones who are righteous. We are the ones who have salvation. We are the ones, um, who, who have peace. We, we, we, this is who we are. He's as much as he's telling you how to be protected, he's telling you that you are protected because of the one who's wrapped you in this armor. Or am I reading too much into it?

Well, I just wanna say amen to everything you're saying.

oh, so, so I'm on a good track. Good.

Absolutely.

Yeah. So, so it's a, it's about as much just re in, in, in some sense, remembering that you are protected in this and choosing to see the, the armor that's wrapped around you and the one who, who who's, um, who's leading the charge of your team versus solely the, the attacks that are coming your way. Right?

Absolutely. Yeah. We don't wanna be blind to these realities. We don't wanna be blind to who our enemy is. We want to know that, uh, I believe it was CS Lewis who said, you know, you can err, in one of two directions, you can either think too much about the devil or too little about him. So you can obsess over him or you can be oblivious and then be open to his attacks. So that's one side of things, but we also want to be aware of who our defender is, who our shield is. Um, you know, God promised Abraham, I am your shield. Uh, God is the one who, who is our armor and wraps the armor around us. And, um, you know, as David declared in his battle against Goliath, the battle belongs to the Lord. It's really his battle. And it's, it's Christ in us and working through us that helps us to, to fight those battles. So, um, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

So what's the word of, of, of comfort to someone who is listening right now and who is just feeling attacked on all sides, uh, is feeling beat down, uh, depressed. He's feeling like man, the you're right, pastor the battle is real and I'm taking all the bullets and I'm just, I'm, I'm feeling, I'm feeling utterly tattered and torn by this fight. That's going on? What, what's the word of hope to that person?

Well, the word of hope, first of all, is that, uh, I think you're speaking about it in a way that matches with scripture. You're not just saying life is rough. You're saying I'm in a battle. So you're already aware of that. I think that's the first step is understanding the true nature of the problem. And then, um, to remember that you're not alone to hang in there to persevere, to never give up. I really think we have to have that fighting mentality. I think the fighting mentality can be a little foreign to us as Christians because, you know, Jesus said, bless her to peacemakers. And so we may think that we're supposed to be peaceful and gentle at all times. And that's true when it comes to dealing with other people. But when you're dealing with the enemy of your soul, it's also time to develop a fight.

And, uh, you know, not, not to adopt a posture of, of weakness or a victim mentality. Yes, life is hard. Uh, absolutely. It's hard, but you have the God of the universe on your side and he equips you and he embolden you and, and you could make it through this. You will make it through this with the Lord's help. I would certainly say that, uh, without even knowing your circumstances specifically, I know that if God is on your side, if you have faith in Jesus, you're gonna persevere in one way or another, because I know God, and I know he doesn't just leave his children hanging. He doesn't leave us defenseless. He comes to our aid. He always has. And he always will be. And in the book of revelations we see who wins, God wins. Yeah. He wins in your life. And so I, the reason why I have confidence for listener is because I have confidence in God. And I know this God, he's the one who sent his son and raised his son from the dead. Yeah.

Speaking of raising his son from the dead, that's what, you know, Easter speaks a lot to the despair that, that, that, you know, certain people might be feeling right now because Easter is a glimpse of the end. Right? I mean, it, it's the decisive victory in the middle of the battle. And it's a glimpse of the end of the battle, right? Like, because Jesus Christ is crucified and risen. That's the decisive victory. Like we, we, we know the winner now. It's like, Dday once Dday was over, everybody knew the winner, right. Even though it took a couple years for the war world war II to actually formally end, everybody knew how it was gonna go once, once bday was done. Right. And, and with Easter now having happened, the decisive battles fought and won. Jesus Christ is victorious over sin death in the devil for us on our behalf. And then a day is coming down the road where that victory is actualized in every possible way for us. Um, and so Easter tells us that, uh, the, the end is the end is written. And it's good for, for those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Even if you feel like you're on the ground getting kicked by the bad guy right now.

Absolutely. I could not agree more. And, uh, I really appreciate you bringing in the relevance of Easter to all of that, because that's really what it comes down to is the victory of Christ. So, you know, you and I, we don't have to win the victory over the devil cuz that's already happened. Jesus is the victory. Our job is to resist not to defeat because the defeats already in the hands of our Lord. And so we can definitely take comfort in that and, and see how Easter is really at the center of all of this.

Yeah. That's a great distinction. That's really helpful. Our, our task is to resist evil. Jesus Christ has already defeated it. Yes. Yeah. And, and then he will give us strength to persevere in resisting evil and, and its temptations, including the temptation to have no hope, including the temptation, to feel like to buy the lies that the enemy still tries to sell us. Cuz he's so he's so insistent on that, right? That

Is the tempt absolutely. To, to buy into the lies or to have no hope. Um, we have the truth of God's word and we have hope that goes on forever and ever as long as Jesus is alive, hope is alive and Jesus is alive.

That's great that you gotta tweet that. That's a good one. That's really works. As long as Jesus is alive. Hope is alive. And guess what? Jesus is alive Absolut. That's great. So, so pastor Chris, where can people go to, to pick up this book and to, and to read it and to learn more, uh, about the, uh, the armor of God? Well,

You can always drive to San Antonio and I'd be happy to give you a copy of the Hills, but you also can go online, uh, cph.org, that's Concordia publishing house. So cph.org and then amazon.com as well. And, uh, you can probably just key in, uh, equipped and my last name Kennedy and it'll pop up pretty quickly. Um, so I'd love for people to check it out and uh, if you like it, uh, write a review, that's always really helpful or tell somebody else about it, but, uh, yeah. Would love for you to get ahold of it and hopefully be blessed by it.

That's great. So amazon.com, cph.org, and the name of the book is equipped the armor of God for everyday struggles. And the author is pastor Chris Kennedy of shepherd of the Hills Lutheran church in San Antonio, Texas, pastor Chris. It's been, it's been great to talk with you about this and, uh, thanks for being on the show today.

Hey, pastor Matt, thank you so much for having me. It's been a great conversation. Uh, the time has flown. Thank you so much for including the me today and, and blessings to you and all who serve with you on your radio program.

Hey, thank you so much. You're right. The, the time does go by fast, especially when you're talking about really great things like this, uh, the truth that God equips us for the battle we find ourselves in and not only does he equip us, he's already fought it and won it. Our task is simply to endure by the strength of his spirit listener. Thanks for, uh, for tuning in with us. Thanks for your time and your attention here on engaging truth. We hope you'll join us next time.

Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 68, Cypress, Texas 77, 410, or visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook at evangelical life ministries. Thank you. I.