Armour 2

Eph 6:10-18 was our scripture this morning. Let’s look once more at it. 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

We learned that we already have on the "belt of truth...the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace." The word used in this text is "having girded" which means you already have done this.

We want to concentrate on the rest of that wardrobe located in Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

We see that in this text, we are instructed to "take up" these things we are going to talk about tonight...the sheild of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit...which is what? God’s Word! So let’s see how we can do that!

THE SHEILD OF FAITH Faith has always been hard to define for some,, but the truth is that faith is realively simple; Faith is what you believe about God and His word...and the more you KNOW about God and His word, the more faith you will have. If you don’t have a good knowledge of scripture, you are going to have a very small shield to defend yourself! If you want your shield of faith to increase (a small shield makes it easier for those "fiery darts" to get to you) then your knowledge of God and His word must increase!!! Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. and part of our hearing to to be in church every time we came so we can hear and read Gods word. You also need to read and talk about God at home.....do you do that? Sometimes christians never even discuss God until they are in church....and then NEVER bring Him up inside the home!

Satan is shooting flaming missles at you...in the form of lies, accusations, temptations and deciect. When those thoughts come into your mind, you need to be able to meet them head-on with God and His word....

Do you remember when Jesus was in the wilderness and Satan kept tempting him? Look at Mat 4:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”]8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. I want you to notice that Jesus himself fought "the fiery darts of the enemy" with what? That’s right, God’s Holy word!!! So we see that the best way to fight off the enemy is by using Gods word!!!

THE HELMET OF SALVATION If your shield of faith is a little shakey, you should be confident in your salvation. That is what insures your eternal victory. If we are talking about armor here (and we are) we know that the helmet is what secures coverage over your most critical part.....your head! In your mind is where most spiritual battles are won or lost. As you battle and struggle with the world and your flesh everyday, stand firm knowing that even if you lose a battle here and there, your salvation is in place. Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?