ARMOUR UP AGAINST SPIRITUAL WARFARE!

We are living in the last days. People do not like to hear sound doctrine. Instead, they like to hear doctrines that pleases them and suit their own desires. They gather around the false teachers in  great numbers to listen to what their itching ears want to hear. They have turned away from the truth of the Scriptures and like to listen to myths.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 King James Version

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Make no mistake about it…the closer we get to the appointed time for the Rapture of the church…the spiritual warfare is increasing…the enemy knows that time is short and is doing ever thing  he can to shut you down and bring you low!

However, you who have put your faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel continue in your faith.  You must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught which is according to the Scriptures.

📖Ephesians 6:13-17 King James Version (KJV)

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins  girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Since our warfare is  spiritual  we need to put on the arm our of God. Paul illustrates it to us by comparing it to the arm our of the Roman soldier.

Stand firm against the assault of the enemy by wearing the following armour of God:

1.Belt of truth- buckled around your waist. The symbolic clothing of the Messiah in Isaiah, Chapter 11 and Verse 5.

2.Breastplate of righteousness. Description taken from Isaiah, Chapter 59 and Verse 17.

3.Feet fitted with the Gospel of peace. Description taken from Isaiah 52, and Verse 7, ready to carry the Gospel of peace to the world.

4.Shield of faith to extinguish the  flaming arrows of the enemy. Illustration taken from Psalms 35 and Verse 2 and Isaiah, Chapter 21 and Verse 5.

5.Helmet of salvation on the head. Description taken from Isaiah 59 and Verse 17.

6.Sword of the Spirit which the Word of God. Description taken from Isaiah, Chapter 49 and Verse 2.

The battle is spiritual and it must be fought in God’s strength, depending on the Word and on God through prayer.

Maybe you have read the Bible verses in Ephesians 6:10-18 about putting on the armor of God. But what does that really mean? Each piece actually represents an action or attitude based on how the enemy attacks us.

The Apostle Paul teaches us to put on the armor of God while in a Roman prison around AD 62 These words still hold meaning for us today.  

Paul is proof that God can and will save anyone. He is also proof that God can use anyone. God used Paul to convey His words to us in a very real way. Paul talks about the “armor” of God because this is something the people of his day could relate to. They were used to seeing Roman soldiers and guards wearing armor so this made sense to them. It is a good reminder that we are in battle against satan every day. We need to be prepared!

Let’s look at each piece of the armor of God and figure out what it means and how we can use it today.  After all AD 60-62 was a very long time ago!  

The Helmet of Salvation

The helmet is the assurance of salvation. So many times satan will try to attack our minds. That makes this piece of armor one we should never forget. He will try to make christians question their salvation.When we are unsure of our salvation then we are not witnessing and sharing the good news of the gospel.

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Sin opens the door for satan to attack us and work in our lives. So that makes this piece of armor very important. It protects our hearts. When we are living righteous lives we are protected from falling into sin. We will still make mistakes but we are aware of that, repent and turn from those wrong actions.

The Belt of Truth

In Roman times the belt was probably the most important piece of armor. It held everything together.  Just like the truth of God’s word holds our lives together.

If we do not know what the Bible says then it is easy for satan to attack our minds and confuse us about what is really right and wrong.

Feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of Peace

Just as a Roman soldier would not go into battle without his shoes, we can’t be effective in our spiritual battle without the armor of our shoes either.  

Shoes allow us to walk without fear because we have protection.  The Bible gives us peace. Perfect peace casts out fear. When we have peace we are more willing and able to share the truth of salvation.

The Sword of the Spirit

No warrior would go into battle without the armor of his sword.  

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, or the Bible. In Hebrews 4:12 the Bible says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

God’s word is alive and is a mighty weapon when satan tries to attack!  Use the armor of God’s word to speak against satan when he tries to attack you and he has no other choice but to leave. He can’t argue with what God says is true.

The Shield of Faith

A shield guards someone from an oncoming attack. Ephesians 6:16 even says to “use the Shield of Faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

These “darts” can represent all of the lies the enemy, satan, tries to shoot at us.  The lie that we are not loved, we are not enough, we will never be accepted, we cannot be forgiven, or we are bad.  We are to use the Shield of Faith to deflect these lies satan tries to knock us down with.

As we can see from this passage God has given us  armor that we, as Christians, are to use in our spiritual battles.  

Importance of using God’s Armor!

Some fight harder than others.  I can tell you right now, if you are saved but not trying to live a righteous life then satan is not going worry about you. Why should he?

However, if you love God with all your heart and you are trying to live according to His word and serve Him with your life, then you better be ready because satan is after you.  

Satan will use every weapon he can to shut you up.  The enemy will study you and your life. He will look for a weakness where he can attack. This is why using God’s armor is so important.

Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Do not give the enemy room to just move in and take over. We must be prepared because the Bible says Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

Christian life is a daily battle with the evil forces. The good news is that we are under the invincible power of  God. We need to put the full armour of God so that we can take a stand against the devil’s scheme. We are on the victorious side because Jesus Christ has won the victory for us.

Everyday we face trails and tribulations of different magnitude but in the face of adversity we can stand tall because of Gods grace and guess what ,there is abundance of it!

As it is written in the scriptures in Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

So for every weakness there is a wave of Gods grace waiting for you. You have to get on it and ride it just like a wind surfer rides on wave after wave after wave to carry him through the rough waters! So everytime you fall down remember there is SUFFICIENT GRACE for you to get up again. Keep your eyes focussed on Jesus and not on the rough waters!
So for every true christain there is GRACE MONDAY, GRACE TUESDAY,GRACE WEDNESDAY,GRACE THURSDAY,GRACE FRIDAY,GRACE SATURDAY, GRACE SUNDAY…right through every month and through out the year!!!.

1. His grace comes from his great love!

Psalm 106:40-48

‘But’ is a key word in this passage. ‘They were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin’ (v.43). ‘But,’ says the psalmist, ‘he took note of their distress when he heard their cry … out of his great love’ (vv.44–45).

The source of the sufficiency of God’s grace is ‘his great love’ (v.45). Because God loves his people so much, ‘many times he delivered them’ (v.43). He ‘heard their cry’ (v.44).

Paul expresses this dependence when he writes about the thorn in his flesh. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But God said to him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). His grace is not only amazing, it is ‘sufficient’. It is enough.

This is one of my favourite verses in the entire Bible. It’s a verse I often quote to God and remind him of his promise that his power is made perfect in my weakness.

No wonder the psalmist ends by saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord’ (v.48).

Lord, I praise and thank you for your great love for me. Thank you for delivering me over and over again. Thank you for hearing my cry. Thank you for the sufficiency of your grace.

2. His grace is what we all need!

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Most of us want other people to see our strength and are nervous about anyone discovering our weaknesses. We do not advertise our limitations. However, Paul was not afraid of being vulnerable about his frailties.

Paul had some amazing spiritual experiences. He had ‘visions and revelations from the Lord’ (v.1). He had been ‘caught up to the third heaven’ (v.2). He had ‘heard inexpressible things, things that human beings are not permitted to tell’ (v.4). He had ‘surpassingly great revelations’ (v.7).

Yet Paul did not boast about these things. The false teachers in Corinth boasted about their spiritual experiences, but Paul did not. He would not even say what they were. He did not go around speaking about his great spiritual triumphs. Rather, he told stories against himself. He boasted about his weaknesses (vv.5,9).

He told the Corinthians the story about how God gave him ‘a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment [him]’ (v.7b). 

Lord, thank you that your power is made perfect in weakness. Help us, like Paul, to delight in our weaknesses. Thank you that hardships, persecutions and difficulties are actually a source of strength because your power is made perfect in weakness. Thank you that your grace is sufficient.

Whatever Paul’s thorn was, three times Paul pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But God said to him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (v.9). Were it not for the thorn in his flesh, Paul might have become conceited because of the ‘surpassingly great revelations’ (v.7).

As it was, Paul knew he was totally dependent on the Lord. When things go well, we are tempted to be proud and self-reliant. When we are struggling and know our weaknesses, we become utterly dependent on the Lord. Christ’s power rests on us (v.9). His power is made perfect in our weakness.

Paul has written something absolutely remarkable. He says, ‘It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size – abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become’ (vv.7–10, MSG).

3. His grace comes through Jesus!

Isaiah 27:1-28:29

God loves you. He speaks of his people being like a vine. God tends it, waters it, watches over it and cares for it (vv.3–4, MSG).

Fully rely on God’s grace!

If you find yourself relying on yourself, remind yourself of Paul. Even though many Christians talk about his accomplishments and how he shaped the faith and the history of the church, he always points back at God. One of the most famous Christians of all time boasted in his weakness, because he knew he couldn’t take a step without God’s help!