For the last several weeks I have attempted to equip you as one of God’s warriors.  I have told you that the first weapon in your arsenal is humility.  We must attempt to view others as God sees them. Then we must look out for others interests.  We model ourselves to be like Jesus who gave himself for us.  Last week I told you the second weapon is gentleness.  We listen to the Spirit for gentle answers and gentle ways and gentle responses to those around us.  But if you are like me, you leave church of Sunday morning committed to being more humble and gentler, but you find that it is not very easy.

Perhaps you find yourself like a woman named Jennifer who prayed, “Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom to understand my husband.  I pray for love to forgive him. I ask for patience for his moods. But do not give me strength because I’d beat him to death.” Amen

Why is it so hard?  I have it worse than you do. You only have to listen to my sermons once.  I write them and then rewrite them and then rehearse them several times and I still struggle with being humble and gentle; especially with those people I am with all the time.  Even while working on sermons about humility and gentleness I snap at others and say things that are anything but humble and gentle. Why is it so hard to be God’s warrior?

On March 29, 2005, a young man kept weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, cursing them. Finally he had to stop as cars were waiting for a light to change. The guy behind him got out of his car, walked to the driver’s door, pushed the muzzle of a gun through the window and shot the driver in the head. Headlines the next morning shouted "Road Rage!" Now two questions pop into my mind immediately: 1) why would a driver act so foolishly? All that reckless driving only gets him to where he is going 30 seconds faster. Why?  And 2) why would someone choose to spend the rest of his life in prison just for the satisfaction of killing an idiot? The rest of his life behind bars just for venting steam during one short moment of life; it makes no sense.

However I understand.  Those guys don’t have a monopoly on losing control. Even we who are Christians struggle with being humble and gentle.  Why do you suppose it so hard?

Well, we could start by blaming circumstances.  If we lived in a better world, it would be easier to be humble.  If the roads weren’t so crowded I wouldn’t get road rage.  If I had just a little more money there wouldn’t be that strain and my life would be better.  If I had a better job that wasn’t so stressful, then I could relax and be gentler.  The world is a rat race and only the big dogs win and you have to be a bear to keep from looking like a donkey.  That was pretty good.  I mixed four animal metaphors into one sentence.   If the world were better I could be a better warrior.

Why is it so hard to be humble and gentle?  Well, if everyone else was humbler and gentler than I could be too.  If my boss wasn’t so demanding and insensitive I could do better?  If my spouse wasn’t so whiny; if my kids would just behave themselves for one day; if my friends were more supportive and less judgmental I could relax.  Have you seen the commercials where the guy has to work with all the monkeys?  It is funny because that is how we feel.  We are working with a bunch of monkeys and that makes life frustrating.  How can I be humble and gentle when the people around me are idiots?  It’s everyone else’s fault as to why I can’t be God’s warrior.

I am reminded of a Jimmy Buffet song, I guess his most famous song; “Margaretville.”  I never thought I would quote Jimmy Buffet in a sermon, particularly this song, which about being an alcoholic.  The chorus changes at the end of the song. 
 
“Wasting away again in Margaritaville,
Searching for my lost shaker of salt,
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, (blame other people for your problems)
But I know it's nobody's fault.” (It is just circumstances)

But then he changes the last line in the last chorus.

“Yes, some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
And I know it's my own ___ fault.”  (Blame himself)

Is that where the problem is?  Is that why it’s so hard to be gentler? Jimmy Buffet would have us to believe the reason we struggle with being humble and gentle is our own heart.  There is a problem in our hearts.  We can’t be God’s warriors because there is something wrong with us.  If our hearts weren’t so messed up, if we weren’t such bad people, if we weren’t so terrible… it’s our own fault. 

Which of these is right?  Is it a little of all three.  If the world were better; if people were nicer; if I could just force myself to do better, I would be humbler and gentler.  Are these the reasons why it is so hard to be God’s warrior or is there another reason?

There is a war going on for your heart.  There is a reason why I have been talking about us as warriors and not poodles.  We are warriors because there is a war. You can’t argue with that. And the battleground is your heart.  If you were in Iraq today on the frontlines on the war with terrorism and it wasn’t easy or nice or pleasant would you be surprised?  No, it is war.  Why then are we surprised that it is hard to be gentle and humble?  That is the front where you are being assaulted.  It is hard because there is a battle going on for your heart!

NLT Ephesians 4:26-27  And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.

What is the battle over?  Your heart!  When we allow anger to fester the Devil gains a beachhead in your heart!  He wants you anything but humble and gentle.  He wants to disarm you!

NLT Ephesians 6:10-12  A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power.  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

Satan is the problem.  Satan is the one who attacks your heart.  Satan is why it is difficult to stay humble and gentle! He is scheming for your heart.

NLT 1 Peter 5:8 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.

Every time you decide to be God’s warrior, Satan will counteract by using some circumstance to irritate you into anger.  Every time you decide to be more humble, Satan will respond by using the people around you to goad you into arrogance and pride.  Every time you decide to be gentler, Satan will place thoughts in your mind which will make you want to explode on others.  Maybe Jimmy Buffet was right.  It is a woman to blame, no its just circumstances, no it’s your own fault, but, but it is from Satan that these attacks hit us.

We will be helpless unless we know we are at war.  Satan will eat us for lunch unless we snap up to the fact that he is after our hearts!  You have to know you are in a fight in order to fight!  Let me guarantee you we are in a fight.  He wants you to give up the sword of humility and surrender the knife of gentleness. 

If Satan is the problem what is the solution?  If I must fight Satan over my heart then how do I do it?  If I am God’s humble and gentle warrior, how can I constantly stay and consistently be humble and gentle?  The answer is in the third weapon in our arsenal.

NIV Ephesians 4:1-2 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient.

Patience in the Spirit is the way we keep our humility and gentleness.  We combat Satan’s irritations with the opposite; patience. We don’t fight fire with fire. We fight fire with water. Whenever we begin to feel the attack of Satan on our hearts; when we begin to feel that growing irritation, that rising temperature of annoyance, that pressure within us to blow up on someone or something or yourself, you must respond with the patience of the Spirit. Here is how it works;

Colossians 1:10-12  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

When are under attack we pray these verses.  Here is a simplified version that you can remember; “Dear mighty Lord, strengthen me with great endurance and powerful patience.”  You don’t have to pray it exactly like that.  You certainly can put it in your own words.  But the point is that Satan is going to irritate you with the goal of getting you to forget your humility and to forsake your gentleness by using circumstances, and people and even your own thoughts to build up inside of you this desire to hammer something. 

When that happens, you have to remember to place a bookmark in your head to trigger the prayer for the Spirit to fill you with great endurance and powerful patience. If you can remember to pray the prayer the Spirit will answer with patience and you can be the gentle and humble warrior of God!

Let me illustrate what I mean. I’ve got two hammers. One is a 16 ounce Stanley, the other is a plastic Fisher Price. Which one will take fewer hits to drive this nail? The real hammer will do it in just a few strokes. Now how many times must you hit the nail with the toy hammer to sink the nail? Hundreds maybe thousands of times.

If you attempt to be humble and gentle all on your own.  You are going to have to work on it a 1,000 of times before you get it.  You will be attempting to use the toy hammer.  But if you can remember to invite the Spirit to join you, if you can say the prayer, “Dear mighty Lord, strengthen me with great endurance and powerful patience.”   You will be using the big hammer.  Patience in the Spirit is the answer to being God’s warrior. 

I want to end this sermon with hope.  I don’t want you to be afraid of Satan.  I want you to realize he is after you and he is tough.  But you have a power within your heart that makes all the difference.  Listen to a wonderfully hopeful verse from 1 John – NLT.

NLT 1 John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Wow!  We have already won the fight.  Ours is the victory.  The Spirit who lives in our hearts is there to give us power.  He is there to give us humility.  He will grant us gentleness.  When we call upon his power he will bless us with endless patience!  The One who is in you is greater than the one of the world!