The Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18

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1 The Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18 Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. I. The Belt of Truth a. The armor significance of the belt i. As armor goes, the belt was worn tightly around the waist and when it was firmly in place, it was a sign that the soldier was ready for battle. To loosen the best was to go off duty. ii.the belt was not an ornament, but served an essential purpose. It gathered in the short tunic and helped keep the breastplate in place. From it hung the scabbard in which the sword was sheathed. b. The Spiritual significance of Truth i. This is talking about the truth of the Gospel. This truth holds the rest together. Romans 1:25 says, They exchanged the Truth of God for a lie... once they did this, sin became their master. If we lose the Truth of God, we lose everything. c. How do I put on the Belt of Truth? i. We put on the Belt of Truth by actually studying the Truth God s Word The Bible. To fail to take God s Word seriously is to become severely malnourished spiritually and to be found defenseless in your everyday battles. ii.we must understand that there are so many lies being told to us on a daily basis that we NEED to be constantly studying the Truth or we will easily be deceived. That deception is not swift and immediate, but slow and small, over a period of time. The devil uses the small things and convinces us that they are no big deal. iii. To know the Truth in such a way that it can become the piece of armor it was meant to be, you must: 1. Read your Bible as much as possible (everyday). 2. Pray, pray, pray!! When you are in an attitude of prayer, God s Spirit will help you sort out the Truth from the lies. 3. Go to Church. As much as possible. Pay attention too. Soak it up like a sponge. Ask questions. 4. Spend time with your Christian friends. (Don t let this time become something negative or evil, be good Christian friends with each other.) 5. Get rid of the crud! The Bible calls them footholds for the devil, I call them lie feeders ways the devil uses to feed us lies. You know: music, tv, movies, magazines, video games, habits, time wasters, etc. i. John 8:32, John 4:23-24, John 14:6, I John 1:8-9 II. The Breastplate of Righteousness a. The armor significance of the Breastplate i. The Breastplate was a piece of armor that covered the body from the neck all the way down to the thighs. ii.it was known as the heart protector. b. The Spiritual significance of Righteousness

2 III. i. Righteousness is actually being right with God. In other words, being without fault in the eyes of God. This is not possible on our own, but only through Jesus and what He did for us. ii.i John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sings and purify us from all unrighteousness. iii. He will cleanse us and purify us and make us righteous in the eyes of God. iv. This is important because if we are without fault or blame, we cannot be found guilty. God is allowing us an opportunity to live without guilt. v.it was Jesus lack of sin that kept the devil from having any power over him. Jesus has also given you a clean slate, don t add new sins to the mix and give the devil new opportunities to attack and condemn you. c. How do I put on the Breastplate of Righteousness? i. Look at the story of the woman that was caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). When our sins are brought to Jesus, He forgives us every time! That is where we get our righteousness. Men want to stone us, Jesus wants to forgive us. ii.if you will always take your sins to Jesus (I John 1:9) then you will always be wearing the Breastplate of Righteousness. iii. Guard yourself against being self-righteous. Do this by always giving God the credit for the good you do, because outside of Jesus dying for us we would not be capable of any good thing. iv. Remember too, righteousness is an issue of the heart. That is why we wear a breastplate, because righteousness will protect our heart. If we confess our sins, we are made righteous. The person that can readily admit his/her faults to God will rarely have heart problems. i. Isaiah 59:17, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, I John 1:9 Shoes ready to Preach the Gospel a. The armor significance of Shoes i. The shoes of early soldiers were described as thickly studded with sharp nails to ensure a good grip. ii.the military successes of both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were due in the large part to their armies having the right footwear. This enabled them to march great distances at incredible speed over rough terrain. b. The Spiritual significance of being Ready to Preach the Gospel i. It is the gathering of allies. The Bible says that men will be saved by the foolishness of preaching. How can they believe if they haven t heart, and how will they hear without a preacher? (Rom 10:14) ii.because to preach the Gospel is to wield the Power of God. The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are lost, but to us who are being saved it is the Power of God! (Corinthians 1:18) iii. The Gospel of Christ is the Power of God for the salvation of all who will believe (Romans 1:16). c. How do I put on Shoes that are Ready to Preach? i. Prepare your personal testimony. Here are some simple helps in preparing your testimony: 1. Write down what you were like before you met Jesus, what happened when you met Jesus, and how you are different since you met Jesus. Keep it as brief as possible, but make it as long as you need to. ii.now here are some more tips for sharing your testimony with others: 1. Their story, your story, His (Jesus) story 2. Be sure to listen to their story. If you don t do this, they will never listen to yours or Jesus. Once you have listened to them, then you can tell the story of how God loved them so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die so they could have eternal

3 IV. life. iii. Step out in faith and tell others about Jesus. Once you are prepared, just do it! iv. I know your fear; it s not always to tell others. Take baby steps. Start by inviting someone to Friend Night, or small group, etc. These are subtle ways of telling your friends that you are a Christian. v. Don t forget that our preparation is from reading our Bible, Praying, Going to Church and hanging out with Christian friends as much as possible. i. I Timothy 4:1-2, Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:14-15, Matthew 28:18-20, I Peter 3:15, Revelation 12:11 The Shield of Faith a. The armor significance of the Shield i. The Shield was to cover all the rest. It was held in front of the soldier for more protection ii.in fact, after the siege of Dyrachium, Sceva counted no less than 220 darts sticking into his shield. iii. The flaming arrows that this scripture talks about were actually cane darts that were dipped in pitch and lit on fire b. The Spiritual significance of Faith i. This is a shield of Faith in action. Your Faith must be active and continual. A lapse in Faith is what the enemy is looking for. ii.this is the only piece of armor that we are also given the effect of the weapon. Paul says it will,... extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. You can make all of the weapons of the devil useless with this shield. He cannot harm your faith. Not only can you deflect the enemy s weapons, but this shield will also quench any possible harm they could bring to you. iii. A key with this piece of armor is that you can determine its effectiveness. If your faith is strong, your shield is completely effective. If your faith is weak, your shield will also be weak. iv. ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** You must remember the object of the Faith this is the most important part. It is not just Faith, it is not Faith in your Faith, it is not having Faith in yourself, but it is Faith in God and in Jesus Christ that gives this Shield the ability to fend off the devil. (See Philippians 4:13) c. How do I take up the Shield of Faith? i. Think of a boxer. When they box, the trainer is always yelling, keep your guard up. Why? Because when we get tired, we get lazy. The first thing to happen when a boxer gets tired is his hands start to drop and this creates an opening for the enemy to attack. In the same way, we need to keep our shield up. When we get tired, distracted, beat down, or discouraged, then our guard may drop. As soon as it does BLAM!!! The enemy gets us. All he is looking for is a crack, the smallest opening, so he can get a foothold in our lives. Just enough space to get one of those fiery darts through. ii.so how do we keep that Shield up? Build your Faith up. Remember it is Faith that is active and continual. 3 easy ways to do this. I call it Christianity 101: 1. Read your Bible 2. Pray 3. God to Church iii. This is as basic as it gets. The only problem is that way too many Christians never meet the requirements of this class, and as a result, they fall pretty to those little flaming arrows. iv. The more difficult ways of building your Faith up are only effective for those who are successfully completing Christianity 101. We ll call this Christianity 202. This like sharing our faith, missions trips, outreaches, preaching, teaching, leading

4 small groups, using your gifts, etc. If you are already doing some of these, but your Faith is shaky, go back to Christianity 101 and develop these priorities. v. Remember, we never graduate from Christianity 101, we can only hope to get better at it. i. Hebrews 11:1-40, Philippians 4:13, I Peter 1:8-9, I Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 4:4, Hebrews 10:25 V. The Helmet of Salvation a. The armor significance of the Helmet. i. There were many different helmets that were worn, but they all covered the entire head. Not like a beanie, but more like a football helmet some even had masks. The helmet protected the head, or more specifically, the brain. ii.the Helmet was put on after the shield because the handle of the shield could not pass over it. (This is significant because our Faith must come before Salvation can. Salvation comes as a result of our Faith in God Eph 2:8-9). b. The Spiritual significance of Salvation i. This scripture tells us to take the Helmet of Salvation. The word take here actually means to receive or accept. The previous items were all laid out for the soldier, but the Helmet and the Sword were handed to him. In the same way, Salvation has been given to us; we could not gain it on our own, but only by the shed blood of Jesus. ii.our Salvation is indeed our ultimate victory. It is what we are living our lives for; because it is our great hope. On the other hand, it is a thorn in the devil s side. He will be punished forever for his rebelliousness, and we will be saved forever because of our Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. iii. Romans 8:35-39 is so key for us because not matter what Satan may try, he CANNOT separate us from the love of God. This is one of the Truths we must remember, so we can put it on as a Helmet to protect our mind. c. How do I put on the Helmet of Salvation? i. We must remember what it is that the Helmet is there to protect, our head. Even more than that, though, it is to protect our brain. The brain is the most incredible part of our body. It is so complex, yet so fragile. It even has its own built-in helmet our skull. It is the one part on the body that every enemy is trying to attack, because if they can get to our brain, victory is sure. ii.our brain is very fragile in the physical sense, but it is equally as fragile in the sense of our psyche our mind. The Spiritual battle is over our mind. The enemy of your soul knows that the victory he seeks is over your mind. That is why Paul tells us to put on the Helmet of Salvation. iii. The way we protect our minds with our Salvation is by constantly reminding ourselves of all of the promises of God concerning our Salvation (see verses listed below). iv. One last caution: The devil wants to get our minds off of eternal things and on to things that really do not matter. Our Salvation is a benefit that will last for eternity and will be without question the most wonderful thing imaginable. Don t let Satan get you to doubt it know the Bible. Don t let him distract you with things your friends are talking about movies, tv, music, guys/girls, etc. It is true that sin is fun for a season, but Salvation only comes from God and is FUN FOREVER!! i. Romans 8:1, Romans 8:31-39, John 1:12, Romans 3:23-24, Romans 8:28, I John 4:4, I Peter 2:2-3, I Peter 1:9, I Thessalonians 5:8-9, Philippians 2:12 VI. The Sword of the Spirit a. The armor significance of the Sword

5 i. Many different swords were used, from long to short, from fat to thin, from one-sided to two-sided, etc. ii.in this case, Paul is most likely referring to the short two-edged cut-and-thrust sword wielded by the heavily armed legionary. iii. In the Christian soldier s weaponry, this is his only weapon of offense. b. The Spiritual significance of the Spirit i. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God The Bible. ii.the Spirit is the one who inspired the writing of the Bible (I Timothy 3:16-17). iii. Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away (Matthew 24Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). iv. Jesus also said, man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). v. As Christians, it is nice to know that God did not put us in all this armor so we could sit by and take our lumps in hopes that there is not a weakness, but He gave us a weapon to defeat the enemy. He gave us the Power and Authority of His Word. c. How can I use the Sword of the Spirit? i. Start memorizing it! If you put it in your head, it can come out of your mouth. 1. Psalm 119:11 says, I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 2. Then look what happens in Matthew 4. Jesus is tempted by the devil and it is the Word of God that he uses to defeat the devil and keep from sinning. ii.start reading it! Have you heart this enough yet to realize the importance of it. Don t wait for the time you need it to read it, that is like waiting until the game starts to think about learning the plays. iii. Start studying it! This is also important, because it will help us use it properly. 1. Many people have guns in their home for protection. Every once in a while you hear about one of these guns hurting one of the people it was there to protect usually because someone who didn t know how to use it properly got a hold of it. 2. Look at the 7 Sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-16). They did not know what they were doing. They went into a fight with the devil thinking they were carrying a sword, they ended up severely wounded in the fight and realizing they weren t qualified to use the sword. 3. Studying will help prevent us from misusing it. It is very easy to read a verse and not understand its meaning if we do not read the whole paragraph or even the whole chapter. Make The Word a priority! iv. QUESTION: If you want to be a champion, what do you have to do? 1. Start thinking like a champion and take on the work ethic of a champion. If you want to be able to smash the devil when he comes after you, you have to be prepared. 2. It won t happen by reading a verse a day and going on your merry way. It won t happen by thinking about God when you are at Church. And it won t happen by placing God 2 nd on your priority list. 3. If you really want to have power over the devil, you had better strap yourself in, pack a lunch, and realize that you are in for the fight of your life. 4. The good news is this, God has already guaranteed us a victory and He has given us the tools to achieve it. i. Hebrews 4:12, II Timothy 3:16-17, Matthew 4:1-11, Psalm 119:11, Romans 16:19-

6 VII. IIX. 20 Pray in the Spirit a. Prayer is not included in the armor, but it is given an importance here that cannot be overlooked. b. Prayer is simply submission to God by communicating with Him. WE must never forget that the power to fight this battle is not our own. It is God who is giving us the power to fight. He is giving us the weapons to fight with, and He is ultimately the One who will give us the VICTORY!!! c. Prayer is the element that keeps the armor from losing its power. We put the armor on, then easily fall pretty to taking responsibility for its working. Prayer keeps us from relying on ourselves and helps us submit to God and rely on Him. d. Prayer is also the ONLY way we can fight for others in this spiritual battle. e. Prayer in the Spirit, is referring to a couple of things: i. Praying in a Heavenly language (tongues). See Acts 2:4. ii.praying for things that God nudges you to pray for. iii. Praying specifically for Spiritual things, having your mind on heavenly things. Conclusion a. There are a few key things we must remember in this battle: i. The battle belongs to the Lord. ii.the fight is not against people, but spiritual forces (that want to divide people). iii. The weapons we use are not carnal, but supernatural (II Corinthians 10:3-5). iv. Physical problems need physical weapons, spiritual ones need spiritual weapons. v. If God is for you, who can be against you? (SHOUT NO ONE!!!) vi. We are more than conquerors through Jesus (Romans 8:37). vii. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). iix. My God will work everything out for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). ix. There is absolutely NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). x. Romans 16:19-20.