Living the Christian Life... is like a Contact Sport –– Be prepared!

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PART ONE

There's a very good reason athletes who play the game of football wear protective uniforms with pads. It’s plain old FEAR! Fear of being seriously injured! If you’ve played the game, then you well know that injuries are most likely to affect tender parts of the body, so helmets and pads are worn to protect those vulnerable regions.

In many ways, managing the Church, shepherding the flock and living a Christian life is a lot like the hard-hitting sport of football. The history of a congregation usually reveals where injuries are most likely to occur. Your life-style and priorities reveal your personal vulnerabilities where you are most likely to be spiritually injured. Yet because we’re dealing with the “church,” the body of Christ, we often disregard the real need we all have for protective padding to protect against injury – spiritual injury caused by our fear and the deceptions of Satan.

I want you to think of the need to protect yourself much like the football player does with a padded uniform and helmet. Think of the roles and responsibilities each person has in the local church family and compare the potential for contact or conflict and the equipment needed to protect yourself from spiritual injury.

You know that FEAR is Satan’s greatest offensive strategy against you. You can take his FEAR advantage away by equipping yourself with protective equipment. In Ephesians 6: 10-18, the Apostle Paul presents the “Armor of God.” We’re going to relate that description “top – down” to the typical injuries you'll most likely sustain as part of a congregation of the body of Christ, if you’re not wearing the “playbook” recommended gear.

The Body Part: The Head
The Protective Device: the Helmet of Salvation
Many Christians today are using a "one size fits all" approach to protecting the head of our body. When the “head” is the primary source man uses to navigate and proactively steer life in harmony with the will of God, it needs serious padded protection. What sorts of head injuries can we expect? One very big one.... an overabundance of disjointed unclear and just plain wrong doctrine taught by well meaning but poorly equipped teachers of the Word. Flawed and incomplete teaching bashes your head and leaves you stunned and dazed. When you’re stunned and dazed, real truth is harder to comprehend and decipher from the falsehoods so prevalent in the world today. Head injuries among Christians are very common. The wrong stuff filters in easily and quickly and the truth seems to get trapped in pockets of pride that whisper an intoxicating, melodious message of humanism and relativism to the all important brain inside your head. Things like....“don’t worry about this, you know best, just do it, think it, feel it and of course believe it.” For example, the movies The DaVinci Code and the most recent addition Angels and Demons, have done serious damage to the heads and brains of many people not equipped with proper protective head gear. How to protect one’s head is simple....take up the helmet of salvation...put it on your head and don’t take it off, ever. The helmet comes with a set of flawless instructions, easy to read and understand, that will allow you to program an equally intoxicating, melodious message to your brain of absolute truth and eternal prosperity, if you just keep the helmet on your head!

The Body Part: The Chest and Torso
The Protective Device: The Breastplate of Righteousness
Many Christians have never considered this pad all that important. The purpose of chest protection is to act as a defense barrier for the upper and central chest-the upper torso area of the human body. The chest cavity houses vital organs that sustain your life …. your lungs and your heart, not to mention masses of important tissues and veins and arteries of the circulatory system. A severe blow to the chest can kill you. A severe blow to your heart or lungs can also seriously damage you spiritually. You can be hurt by the words and attacks of others who you thought were your Christian brothers and sisters and be wounded in the deepest part of your being, the heart. You can gasp for air, trying to catch your breath, but no air comes. You become disheartened, broken hearted, broken in spirit, much like a broken vessel in pieces on the ground. You can’t seem to get that deep breath of satisfying spiritual refreshment that fills your lungs with joy and gladness in being Christian and serving the Lord. Without protective padding for the chest and torso, your heart and lungs may be functioning okay from day-to-day and maybe even pass a physical exam, but come game time, or when troubles come and persecution rears its ugliness to club you in the chest to get at your heart, you will fall flat on your face from lack of proper preparation. Love is the best padding for the chest and your heart. Forgiveness is the fuel for the soul, which is anchored in your vital heart and lungs. Master love for one another, for all brothers and sisters in Christ, freely forgiving them for whatever they may do to you and you’ll have the padding needed to withstand the blows to your chest, heart and lungs. You will protect yourself from serious spiritual injury and you’ll maintain your competitive advantage against the evils of this world. As the scriptures say is Isaiah 59.... He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head.... The chest and head are pretty important body parts to protect and it seems logical that we would think to protect these vital areas with impact resistant protective padding. Love and forgiveness – don’t forget to cultivate them and wear them daily!

The Body Part: The Waist and Hips of your lower torso area
The Protective Device: Belt of Truth
Ever been kicked it the stomach or the groin? Hurts big time doesn’t it! This area houses our stomachs and intestinal regions. We can’t live without these important body parts and any injury to these areas of the body can also be life threatening. No Christian can be successful in walking with the Lord without padding protecting these areas. However, too much padding could slow you down and inhibit your flexibility and mobility. The key is to know how much padding you need and what your risk of injury might be. The likely injury – you begin to see the body of Christ and God’s imperfect people as problems. You may begin thinking in a legalistic way, resorting to rules and regulations in the hopes of controlling others. You are not seeing the “grace” of our Lord and how He moves people from one level to the next... albeit some slower than others. You spend time looking for problems, and eventually you have a real bad case of indigestion. You may say to yourself, “I can’t stomach this anymore.” Protecting this area of the spiritual body requires discernment and balance. You need to know that protecting the head and heart are of little value if you fail to protect your waist regions. Ephesians 6 recommends a simple but no doubt very sturdy belt for protection... Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist....Truth is critical to protecting the head and the heart. The “belt of truth” will shield you and yet allow you the movement to flea from the untruths that permeate our carnal culture and society. Remember, protect yourself with God’s Word –– his Truth –– it’s the right protection for spiritual mobility.