All-age service The Armour of God
Can anyone tell me who or what this is?
In Bible times soldiers would wear very heavy armour.
If you know the story of when David fought against the giant Goliath you may remember that David was so small he could not wear the armour given to him because it was too heavy.
The Bible teaches us that Christians are meant to wear armour everyday.
Christians have a very special armour - it’s special because it’s invisible yet it can still protect us.
Our armour is The Armour of God.
Even though we can’t see it we still need to put it on and wear it everyday.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
I think it’s clear that we are living in “the time of evil” that the apostle Paul wrote about in verse 13.
As Christian’s we need to stand against evil.
As Dynamic Disciples we need to stand firm in our faith.
We need to be willing and equipped to be stand against the deceptions and temptations of the devil.
Thankfully God has provided us with the means to stand firm for our Lord.
We face a real battle in this world today.
So many people oppose the truth of the Word of God, so many are swayed by popular opinion.
The “rights” of the individual are deemed more important than the will and commandments of God.
The devil attacks in so many different ways, temptation to cheat, sexual deviation,
humanistic teaching and he can even cause people to have internal battles with depression or self-esteem.
The battle is real, BUT our King has already defeated the Enemy.
We can rely on God’s strength to fight against evil, to fight against the devil’s deceptions.
This passage from Ephesians helps us to understand the how God equips us daily for the battle we are in.
When we put on the Armour of God, we can be strong, we can stand firm, we can do what is right in God’s sight.
The Armour of God can help us to fight against Sin, against the bad things in the world.
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Lets look at a picture of the Armour of God.
There are 7 pieces of Armour that we need to wear can you tell me what they are?
Belt of Truth / Breastplate of Righteousness /
Shoes of Peace / Shield of Faith /
The Helmet of Salvation / the Sword of the Spirit
Prayer
Let’s examine what each piece of the Armour is for.
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The Belt of Truth is the first thing we need to put on.
In bible times, the belt helped to secure soldier’s armour in place.
Our spiritual “belt of truth” refers to who we are and what we believe — it is what binds together our beliefs and influences our decisions.
The world is full of evil or deceptive teachings and beliefs.
Atheism. Materialism. Consumerism. Evolution. Humanism and so many other things that drag people away from the truth.
The truth that God exists and He created everything we see in this universe.
The truth that God is real, that we are by our very nature sinful and that we need a Saviour.
The truth that Jesus was really born or a virgin,
lived a perfect life, taught people about how they could be in a real relationship with God the Father, then willingly went to the cross and bore the punishment for sin that we deserve.
The truth that Jesus rose from the grave and that He conquered the power of sin and death so that we can be forgiven.
The truth that He ascended into heaven and one day He will return.
The Truth that Jesus is the only one who can save us, He is the only way, truth and life that matters.
Friends, the world is our battle ground.
Our homes can be a battle ground.
The Bible is our training ground in the battle for truth.
Reading the Bible, knowing what the Word of God actually says, strengthens our understanding of truth.
Truth is important. The Bible, God’s Word is truth.
We need to be willing to speak of the truth of God.
It is important that each of us read our Bibles.
When we read the Bible it is like God speaking to us.
The Holy Spirit helps us to understand what we read and we need to remember the truth we have learned from the Word of God.
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2nd piece is the Breastplate of Righteousness.
The breastplate was worn on the front, to protect the soldier’s vital organs as he faced his enemy in battle.
Our spiritual breastplate — the righteousness that comes through Christ’s sacrifice — protects our heart.
Proverbs 4:23 says “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Righteousness - means doing the right things.
Living in the right way - the way that God wants us to live.
No one can be righteous in their own strength.
Jesus is like the breastplate, He covers our heart,
He enables us to respond to others in ways that reflect His righteousness.
What would you do if as you were walking along the road you found a purse or a wallet filled with cash?
Would you first thought be to return it to it’s owner?
Would you be tempted to keep the contents?
Would you give in to temptation?
There is a big difference between giving in to temptation or living in the righteousness of Christ.
If we trust in Jesus, if we have asked Jesus to be our Saviour, then when God the Father looks at us,
He sees us as righteous because of what Jesus has done for everyone who trusts in Him.
At Easter, we remember how Jesus was willing to die on the cross because of the wrong things we have done.
Jesus was perfect, Jesus was pure and holy,
Jesus paid the price for the sin in our lives, the bad things, our bad thoughts, our sins.
Three days after Jesus died, He came back to life,
He paid the price for us to be free from the burden and punishment of our sins.
Because Jesus rose from the grave, because of what Jesus did for us, God in His love, gives us a very special gift called righteousness.
This piece of Armour protects our heart.
We protect our heart by saying sorry to God for the things we’ve done wrong telling God that we know we any sin we have, or.
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3rd piece of armour is the Shoes of Peace.
Shoes are used for action, not passivity.
The “shoes of peace” equip us to be ambassadors, who share the love of Jesus with others.
We need to be ready for action against our enemy and not become complacent in our faith.
We need to protect our feet so that we can go where God wants us to go.
Every time I have seen Matthew, he has been wearing flip flops - I don’t think I have ever seen him wear any other kind of shoe.
But I know that when Matt is working in the foundry with very hot liquid metal he is not allowed to wear his flip-flops.
He has to wear special boots to protect his feet from danger.
For most of us, if we walked around all day with no shoes on we would probably end up hurting our feet.
All of us need to avoid walking through the places we know we shouldn’t go.
We also need to be peaceful with others.
If there is someone you’re fighting with or if you’ve hurt someone’s feelings you need to go ask for their forgiveness, or forgive those who have hurt you.
The Bible teaches us that when we ask Him, God can give us all the peace we need, wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
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4th piece of armour is not something we wear it is something we hold - the Shield of Faith.
A shield was a Roman soldier’s main defense, it protected him from volleys of arrows.
Our spiritual shield helps us to “stop the fiery arrows of the devil” (Ephesians 6:16).
The devil’s weapon is deception — he shoots lies at us trying to make us forget how much God loves us and the truth that God IS active in our daily lives.
We can only resist the devils attacks through our faith in God, Hebrews 11:1 reminds us of the truth “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
Friends remember what God has already done in your life. Focus on the truth of His Word.
Remember the promises God has made and kept.
Remember how God is at work in your life.
Think about how useful a physical shield can be.
Have you ever had a snowball fight?
If you had a shield you could lift it up and the snowball would hit the shield instead of hitting you.
Christians can use the shield of faith to be protected when bad things come into our lives.
Things like doubt or temptation.
The devil wants us to think that God does not really love us or he tries to make us think that God is not real.
We can hold up our shield of faith and stop thoughts like that bothering us. The Shield of faith helps us remember that God is real, that God cares for us, that God loves us.
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5th piece is the Helmet of Salvation.
Do any of you ride a bicycle?
Do you wear anything on your head when you ride it?
Why do you wear a helmet when you ride your bike?
Just as a soldier’s helmet protects his head, so our spiritual helmet protects our minds.
There are so many deceitful voices trying to work their false messages into our minds.
The truth of your salvation is that YOU have value to God.
Because of Father God’s love for YOU, He sent His son to save YOU.
The world and the devil will tell you lies about you: “You’re ugly” “You’re worthless” “You’re not valuable”.
The Bible, The Word of God tells you:
“You are precious to God”
“You have been saved through faith in Jesus”
“You are God’s beloved child”
Do you have a good memory?
There are many things we need to remember.
Many different thoughts floating around inside our minds.
It’s important we remember we are God’s children.
It’s important we remember God loves us.
It’s important we remember God wants to help us.
It’s important we remember Jesus is our Saviour.
It’s important we remember what we have read in the Bible.
It’s important we remember what we have learned about God.
All of those thoughts help us make the right decisions each and every day.
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The 6th piece of armour is the Sword of the Spirit.
This is a simple one to explain. The sword is the Word of God, the Bible and also the Spirit of God working in our lives.
A soldier’s sword could deliver blows to the enemy or defend against an attack.
Our spiritual sword is God’s Word.
Jesus used God’s Word when the devil tried to tempt Him in the wilderness.
We can rely on God’s Word during times of testing — but only if we know what it says.
There are key verses of the Bible that each of us should know. We need to read, memorise and speak God’s Word.
God’s Word gives us the capacity to wield this mighty sword in times of need.
The Sword can be used to cut out things from our lives that are not good for us.
The Word of God, The Bible teaches us what is good and what is bad.
When we read the Bible, we learn what God says is good and what God says is bad.
Sometimes bad things may seem ok to some people, but if God has said they are bad then they are bad.
Just because your friends do something that they think is ok - it does not mean that God says its ok for them or you to do it.
Each of us needs to understand what God expects us to do, and do what God wants us to do.
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The 7th and final piece of our armour is Prayer.
Prayer is what keeps our armour on.
Prayer keeps our armour useful.
Prayer keeps our armour ready.
Prayer is simply talking to God.
Prayer is amazing.
Nothing is too big or too impossible for God.
God can do anything He wants to.
God will always answer our prayers in the best way.
That doesn’t mean God will always answer our prayers the way we want him to.
God will always answer our prayers in the way He knows will be the best way.
Prayer is so important. We all need to pray.
We can pray to ask God to do something.
We can pray when we feel sad.
We can pray when we feel happy.
God wants us to pray for ourselves and He also wants us to pray for other people too.
We can pray for our family.
We can pray for our friends.
We can pray for people who are ill.
We can pray and thank God for whatever we are thankful for.
God blesses us with so much - our family, our friends, our breath, even chocolate!
There are so many things we can pray and thank God for.
You can even thank God that the sermon is nearly finished!
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So, the final thing.
Remember to put on the armour of God every day.
When you get out of bed before you go to school or to work or out to play - put on all your armour.
The Belt of Truth.
The Breastplate of Righteousness.
The Shoes of Peace.
The Shield of Faith.
The Helmet of Salvation.
The Sword of the Spirit
and Prayer.
Pray that God will help you to remember what the armour is for and use it everyday.
