The Year was 1966 and Nels and I used to soak up every TV episode of Batman & Robin. We emulated them in our playtime. We now had villains, plots, and strategies to work with. But on September 28, of that year, during a two-part episode called, “The Spell of Tut,” The Green Hornet & Kato were featured, and they changed our Batman & Robin ways forever! Kato was a young Bruce Lee, and in that episode, Nels and I felt that the Cape Crusaders and the Dynamic Duo were whooped! They had met their match! We were so disappointed, but at the same time, thrilled at who did it!! We couldn’t wait for the following Thursday to see what would happen!
Shortly thereafter, The Green Hornet’s show went on the air. Suddenly, there was a craze. Everyone was fighting Kung-Fu or Karate. My older brother, Vincent practiced with us as did my sister-in-law, Winnie. Outside, kicks were flying high as the fever was all over us! Everyone caught it! But, like other fads, in a few years, we outgrew it all, until…
Five years later, Bruce Lee was everywhere in the US with his movie, Fist of Fury. Now, there were Karate chuck sticks along with the sounds of WAH…and YAO, and HA-CHAO, HI-JAH! To top that off, Jamaican singer, Carl Douglas, brought us in 1974, the Disco song, Kung Fu Fighting! We now had: Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (followed by the whistling flute in Asian music). Great song! Great fighting techniques which renewed interests in ancient cultures and traditions. Soon, Samurai Ninjas were on the scenes with their full-body armors and fighting tactics that would take the world by storm. All are great for fighting and defending oneself against attacks, but fall short of the armor needed if you’re in God’s army.
To fight darkness and principalities, and demons of the underworld, and to fight the Prince of the Powers of the Air (Ephesians 2:2), who works in the children of disobedience, your attire will be different. Ephesians 6:10 tells us: “Stand firm then with [the] belt of truth, buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Of course, each item holds profound meanings, thus taking time to write about. But in a nutshell, we need to wear truth around our waist where lots of our strength comes from. We need righteousness right over our heart, and we need to stand firm, for starters. Our weapons to combat evil and the demons roaming this earth must be based on truth, soaked in the blood of Christ with which He defeated the enemy. We cannot chop spiritual beings with regular swords or with Karate chops. We need the helmet of salvation, the helmet that protects our minds-where many of our battles actually take place. Our minds need to be saturated with God’s peace and presence, and the salvation He secured for us at the cross. Taking the Sword of the Spirit (of God) which is His Word, will greatly help us battle opposing forces. And there are millions of forces opposing God’s truth. Satan himself knows God’s word and loves to twist it around to those who don’t actually know it and thereby deceiving them.
Here’s the thing: When you wear God’s armor, to others, you will not look like you’re out looking for a fight; you’ll look normal. However, demons detect God’s presence, and know what you’re capable of in the spiritual realm. They sense God’s presence. Think of the dark and blackish horse, Nazgul’s chase scene on the road in Lord of the Rings as it senses the ring is nearby.
No, you won’t need special sound effects or unusual attire, or even a stance; you won’t even have to sing, “Everybody was Kung fu fighting-Hu,” but you will need to brush up on reading the Word of God and dedicate time to prayer to get direction from God for your life. Now that you’re dressed, (daily), the battles begin.
God Bless!
Sam