Dress for Success
August 23, 2009
Rev. Dr. Mark Lansberry

Text: Ephesians 6:10-20

After Dr. Wilbur Chapman had preached his first sermon at the great Wannamaker Church in Philadelphia, an old gentleman waited to speak to him alone. The old man said, "You are pretty young to be pastor of this great church. I am afraid you won't succeed. But you do preach the gospel, and I am going to help you all I can."

Dr. Chapman thought to himself, "Now this old man is a crank." But the old gentleman continued: "I am going to pray for you that you may have the Holy Spirit's power upon you, and two others have agreed to join with me."

Years later, as Dr. Chapman remembered that day, he said, "I felt better when he told me that he was going to pray for me. The three prayers became ten; the ten became twenty; and the twenty became fifty; and the fifty became two hundred. They met before each service to pray that the Holy Spirit would fill their preacher and touch every worshipper."

Dr. Chapman said, "It was easy to preach, a real joy. Anybody could preach with such conditions. We received 1,100 into our church by conversion in three years, 600 of which were men. It was the fruit of the Holy Spirit in answer to the prayers of those people."

Dr. Chapman concluded, "Church members have much more to do than go to church as curious, idle spectators to be amused and entertained. It is their business to pray mightily that the Holy Spirit will clothe the preacher and choir with power and touch every worshipper."

That same series of miracles, and many more, can happen here at Trinity. We are not dependent, first and foremost, on the preacher or on the buildings or on parking or on a team of staff and volunteer leaders. The real key is the power of God, and the way to unleash that power is through prayer.

You may remember the story in the Old Testament that we looked at earlier this summer in which young David, the shepherd, is going out to face the giant Goliath. Saul, the king, places upon David his own armor - his breastplate, his sword, his helmet. One version of the Scripture says, "David tried in vain to go." Saul's armor was too heavy! The little fellow couldn't move! So David took Saul's armor off and went out to face Goliath with God's armor.

"You come at me with sword and shield," he says to Goliath, "but I come to you in the name of the Lord God of Israel. He will give me victory this day." You know the outcome. The young shepherd boy defeated the giant warrior.

I wonder if Paul had that story in mind when he wrote our scripture lesson this morning. He advises all of us to go out and face the world wearing the armor of God! And while Paul is writing these words, he's got a chain around his right wrist, and the other end of the chain is attached to the left wrist of a Roman soldier. Paul mentions that chain in verse 20. He says that he's an ambassador in chains. And that means that he's chained to a Roman soldier. And being a good preacher, Paul draws from his own experience and uses the Roman soldier as a sermon illustration - the soldier's uniform more precisely.

For a Roman soldier, "putting on the whole armor" meant more than just strapping on his own kit. It meant being part of a unit and counting on the comrades on his right and left. While a Roman soldier's individual armor and weaponry of sword and spear might protect him in a one-on-one fight, it was designed to be most effective when employed in the context of the whole legion. The Celtic and Germanic tribes who faced the Romans on the frontier would have been awed at the sight of a nearly impenetrable phalanx or wall of shields bristling with spears facing them across the battlefield. If the Romans maintained that formation, they were nearly impossible to defeat.

The same thing is true for us at Trinity. If we put on the whole armor of God as David did and maintain our formation of working together and praying together, God will give us the power we need to be successful. We will be impossible to defeat.

If we just want to attract crowds, we could invite Elton John to sing. If we just want to get people excited, we could send them to a ball game. If we just want to raise money, we could hold raffles and give door prizes. But if we want to make disciples of Jesus Christ, mature disciples, and mobilize disciples for the transformation of the world - if we want to be the church - it will require the power of God. It is through prayer alone that such power is ignited. That is the armor of God.

The great truth here is that whereas we can do the easy tasks of the church on our own, the really tough tasks require prayer. Prayer is the God-approved way to ignite the church with Holy Spirit power. What confidence God has in us that he allows us the privilege of prayer! God has made us essential allies in the redemption of the world. There are some things God wants to do in His world that are almost impossible for God to do unless we pray. Speaking in Old West terms, we are God's deputies, and our six-guns are prayer. Or, to switch the analogy, we have been delegated to providing the wiring or conduits through which the electricity of God's power flows. We are spiritual electricians! And that wiring is prayer.

Frank Laubach, that great man of faith who taught literacy and prayer, said this: "In prayer you do not turn God on. You open your life and the lives of others to God. God is yearning to use you as a channel of his love and power. For goodness sakes, make yourselves available!"

Today can be a red-letter day in the life of Trinity United Methodist Church. This may be our most important weekend of 2009. God is yearning to use us as a channel for God's love and power. I am calling for at least 70 of you to join me in praying for at least 15 minutes a day for the ministries of our church - not for ourselves, our families, our friends, our nation - but praying for the ministries of this church. To spend at least 15 minutes a day in prayer for our expanded Wednesday night program that will feature Alpha as well as other small groups; for our fall revival this year which we are calling Hope is Here and features the Big Fish Story from Denver, Colorado as well as preachers from our own city; for the Chrylalis flight this September; the Women's Walk to Emmaus in October; the Men's and Women's Walks next Spring; and of course, for our regular Sunday morning worship services. Pray that God will fill our sanctuary each Sunday morning and each Wednesday evening.

I am convinced that if at least 70 Trinity members are regularly engaged in praying for our ministries who have more faith in God than they do in fear, more faith in God they have in their problems, more faith in God than in the preacher, more faith in God than in themselves, more faith in God than they have in the almighty dollar, more faith in God than they have in politics, more faith in God than they have I the principalities and powers of this world, we will ignite this church with the power of the Holy Spirit. I am calling for 70 members who have faith that the God who parted the waters of the Red Sea can also part the waters of adversity that threaten us; faith that the God who turned fives small loaves of bread and two fish into enough to feed five thousand people can provide abundantly for our every need; faith that the God who raised Lazarus from the dead can fill our church with new life and vision; faith that the God who conquered sin and death on the cross is more powerful than the devil. If we can get 70 members who have more faith in God than they do in the devil to pray fifteen minutes a day our ministries we can ignite this church with a mighty after-burn of spiritual power.

If Trinity is going to win new disciples for Jesus Christ each year, this will require prayer. If Trinity is going to be a mighty center for transformation in Las Vegas, this will require prayer. If Trinity is going to help God revitalize and grow the United Methodist Church, this will require prayer. James said, "You have not because you ask not." Jesus said,"Ask and will be given you." Paul said, "Pray without ceasing."

Arthur J. Moore was one of our greatest United Methodist bishops. He was pastor in some of our largest churches. It was said that at least one person was converted every Sunday that he preached. One Sunday morning about fifteen minutes before a worship service, a friend from out of town dropped by Dr. Moore's office. After they greeted each other, the friend asked Dr. Moore this question: "what is key to this church's amazing effectiveness?"

Dr. Moore said, "Come with me." He took the visitor to the church basement where a prayer meeting was in progress. Seventy people were praying fervently for him and the worship service was about to begin. When these people had finished praying, they quietly entered the sanctuary and took their seats. "Now," said Moore, Watch where they sit." "What do you mean?" the visitor asked. Moore replied, "Where each of them sits down is such a center of warmth that anyone frozen in sin who sits near them is liable thaw out before the service is over."

Would you be willing to be one of God's hot spots in Trinity's sanctuary? Just imagine what God could do with over 70 of us serving as conductors or conduits of the only power on earth that can save souls, transform lives, and change entire cities!

Now, while we listen to this song, please pray and determine whether you will commit yourself - really commit yourself to pray for fifteen minutes a day for the ministries of the church. This is a time for authenticity. If you cannot or will not make such a commitment, please remain seated. If you are ready to commit yourself to being a conduit for the power of God to flow through at this church by putting on the whole armor of God and praying for at least fifteen minutes a day for this church, then please come forward and stand with me during this song. If we can get 70 members to stand side by side in the armor of God we will create phalanx or wall like the Roman army which will be impenetrable and the gates of hell will not prevail against us.