Putting on the whole armor of God
Ephesians chapter 6:10-6:14
Introduction-
This morning I would like to begin a series called “Putting on the Armor of God.”
We have all heard of this passage about being protected from the evil one.
What I don’t think we hear often enough is how important it is to us as believers.
Their seems to be two sides-
(1) sees a demon behind every corner and some become the sword yielding crusader that attacks and destroys all the evil in someone else’s life.
(2) Doesn’t give it much thought, and if it was true, that would be for the more spiritual people and not them.
What does God’s Word say about it?
1 Peter 5:8- Peter tells us that we have an adversary the Devil, roaming around looking for who he can destroy.
That tells me that the devil is real and that he is looking for ways to destroy our walk with God, and cause us to stumble in areas of our lives.
The verse goes on to tell us to resist him, standing in our faith.
We know by Scripture that the devil can only be in one place at one time.
He is not Omni-present, only God is. Only God can be at more than one place at one time.
Our Bible tells us that he is a defeated foe- for the believers, Jesus Christ has defeated and will ultimately defeat him because we know the end of the book. Amen.
So how does that play out In our lives?
We have all felt like we have been beaten up by something bigger than we are.
We have all felt victorious because we sense God has done something tremendous in our lives.
Illustration- (SermonCentral)
A fighter was in the ring and he was taking a beating. The opponent each round was winning, and each time the bell was rung and the fighter went back to his corner, his coach to encourage him would say the fighter was not laying a hand on him. After several rounds like this the fighter came back to his corner, he said to his coach, watch that referee because someone is beating the tar out of me!
How do we live more on the victorious side of life instead of the beatings?
What do we need to do to recognize and defeat the enemy of our life?
Illustration-
At the beginning of World War II, France believed that they were safe
against Germany behind the Maginot line. The Maginot line was a defensive line
built in the 1930’s. It stretched for over 200 miles on the NE border of France. It
was state-of-the-art, built of thick concrete with heavy guns, living quarters, store
houses and underground rail lines. It was designed to hold off any German
attack. The Germans however defeated this fortified defense by simply going
around it through the Ardennes forest, which the French considered
impenetrable. By using superior aircraft and armored tank divisions, something
the French were not prepared for, the German army overcame this defensive
line simply by avoiding it. In the end, the Maginot line was useless and France
surrendered to the enemy.
France fell in defeat because they underestimated their enemy and relied
on the wrong weapons.
They did not anticipate the attack their enemy used.
They thought they were protected. We too are in a war, a war against Satan
We have to not let the enemy of our soul seek in and overpower us because we are not looking for him or we are thinking that it is impossible for him to penetrate our lives.
Paul says-
(1)Be Alert.
(2) Be Aware.
(3)Be Ready.
(4)Resist him and stand in our faith.
We are in a battlefield and we are acting like we are at the playground.
Do you remember the hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers?
Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus, going on before.
Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe,
Forward into battle, see His banner go!
It goes o to say-
Like a mighty army, moves the church of God,
Brothers, we are trading,
Where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Our text this morning, Ephesians 6:10-6:14 is the text we will look at for several weeks.
It is God’s playbook for us to have victory over the enemy and defeat things that hinder our walk with God.
Anybody interested?
Ephesians 6:10-6:14 (Text)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”
The first thing the Apostle Paul tells us if we are going to resist the devil and be firm in our faith.
I. Be strong in the Lord (write this down)
What does that mean? Well, again I will use an illustration from the Olympics. We saw both men and women able to lift extreme amount of weight up over their heads. 2 or sometimes 3 times their body weight over there heads.. That is physical strength.
We know that can set us back at times because one lifter fell backwards while attempting to lift that weight and it dropped on his neck, narrowly escaping serious injury.
Apostle Paul exhorts us, encourages us, and demands us that we must be strong in the Lord.
That only in the Lord’s power and might will we have victory and overcome the spiritual attacks that we face.
Our enemy is stronger than we are.
Our enemy is smarter and wiser than we are.
He is clever and he will try to trip us up.
“Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord”
You cannot be strong and have victory by your opinion- everyone has one and that is not enough
You cannot rely on your experiences- they are good reference, but they are not the final authority.
You cannot rely on your bank account, your job, your knowledge- be strong in the Lord. Amen!
Being strong in the Lord is not for whimps!
You made a decision for Christ- you intentionally said that you would obey Him.
You intentionally told Him that you would serve Him.
That in the spiritual world is a full frontal attack on what is happening in this world today.
Take a stand for Jesus and we are told you are in-tolerant. I think it is loving and obedient.
Live your life for Christ- people who have no desire to serve the Lord have a problem with You serving Him. That is in-tolerant.
Number one- Be Strong in the Lord- the key being in the Lord
Number two- (11) “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes. For your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”
Be strong in the Lord
That we are not fighting against flesh and blood-
We are fighting a harder battle, an invisible battle. This battle is spiritual.
Apostle Paul is in prison- Ephesians is one of the prison epistles he wrote while he was in prison.
He is looking at the soldier chained to him and he realizes it is a spiritual battle that he was and we are up against.
He sees the soldiers armor as a way to illustrate how the Lord can protect us in our spiritual battles.
During Paul’s time, they believed in evil spirits.
They seen people demon possessed and he understands that the battle is more than the person giving you a hard time, but one fighting for your soul.
Hitler trying to destroy a whole race of people. 6 Million Jews – evil
People getting on a plane and using it as a missile to destroy people- evil
Sudan killings- euthanizing people – evil
Cold blooded murder- evil
We are in the midst of evil. We are needing to be strong in the Lord and not in ourselves.
How?
Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may stand your ground.”
Doesn’t say if evil comes- it says when it comes.
Doesn’t say some of God’s armor- it says put on the full armor of God.
Doesn’t say to try to stand- it says stand firm.
You can expect an assault, but you also expect that the Lord will keep you standing.
3 times Joshua was told to be strong- to enforce the thought!
Be strong- because He goes before us.
Be strong- because He is with us.
Be strong- where you put your feet, I’ll give it to you.
Those are comforting words from the commander if you are going to battle.
When we are at our weakest, He (Jesus ) is strong.
We don’t wrestle with flesh and blood (each other) That is what he would want us to do.
Wrestle in Greek means hand to hand combat.
Hand to hand combat with the enemy in our own strength we will lose.
We must be in the strength of the Lord.
The power of the Lord working in our lives.
Don’t get sidetracked-
Closing
-Dr. Marty Lloyd-Jones wrote this about our spiritual battle:
A man who does not understand the nature of the problem he is confronting is a man who is already doomed to failure. Christian people are like first-year college students—they think at first that every subject is quite simple, there is no difficulty. Well, we know what is likely to happen to such when they face an examination! The first thing you have to do is to understand the nature and character of your problem. So we have to realize that we are called, in the Christian life, to a battle, not to a life of ease; to a battle, to a warfare, to a wrestle, to a struggle.
We are in a battle- without the lords help many are losing and giving up. Next week we will be looking at some of the tools the Lord provides so that we can live that life that He promises. I don’t know what you are up against, but the Lord does, and He wants to help you if you will let Him.
Amen.
