Worship and the Forces of Evil - Part 3

At the end of the book of Ephesians, we are encouraged to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (6:10-11)."  Paul reinforces what I discussed in my last post, that the devil and his demons are actively involved in the world around us.  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (6:12-13)."

I believe that the things we choose to do, what we sing, what we pray, how we interact during our worship gatherings can be a significant part of putting on that armor of God.  The "belt of truth" is the first piece of armor listed.  Matthew Henry notes that truth in the analogy of a belt, holds all other pieces of armor on the warrior.  Like the belt analogy, one would think that truth would be central to any element of a worship service, but sadly, truth is often compromised, whether it be in a sermon, song, prayer or in the conversations that people have with one another during fellowship.  When truth is not proclaimed and upheld, Satan's deceptive tactics can abound.  When that happens the flock can go astray or people that come seeking never actually find the truth.

Here's an example of how the battle can take place when truth is boldly proclaimed in a worship service.

Consider the hymn "This is My Father's World."  This hymn declares that this world belongs to God, that He made it all, and that His creation was made to praise Him, to give Him glory.  To someone battling with or even believing Darwinian evolution theory, hearing this hymn confronts the lies that there is no God, that everything happened by random chance over an unmeasurable/undeterminable amount of time, and that man is his own god, etc.  Or how about someone that has been watching the news and hearing the latest awful thing that has happened in the world, their own life has been going really badly, and they are doubting that God is in control or are starting to think He has forsaken us.  The last lines of the song affirm that "though the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet."  When we declare the promise of God that the tribulations will occur, but that Jesus is coming back and making all things new, restoring the creation that He made, we can refute the whispers of the enemy that all hope is lost.  It doesn't mean that the wrongs go away, but it puts everything into the perspective of truth, and if we continue to remember the hope of Christ's return in our worship, we can grow in unity with God's promises and be strong against attacks, whether in our minds or in the circumstances of life.  

Another example, there are great creeds that we can declare to together like the Apostles Creed. In this creed we affirm that God is one, existing as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We share that Jesus actually came in the flesh to earth, was crucified, and rose again and that He is coming again.  I know someone that believes in God, but not eternal life.  Hearing this creed would strike at that.  If a mormon were present, they would hear that Jesus is one with the Father, not separate, and that He is the only Son (as opposed to their belief that Jesus and Satan were brothers).

Those were just a few examples, but as you can see, especially if you keep imagining the possible scenarios, being intentional about declaring the truth in our worship can serve to guard against and/or replace the lies that the enemy has put into people's minds or is trying to discourage them with.  The truth declared might just be a much needed reminder, or it might be something totally new that a person had never been told before.  Either way, it contributes to putting on the armor of God so that we can be left standing when the spiritual forces of evil try to battle against the way, the truth and the life that we know is found in Jesus Christ alone.