WEARING THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com.
TEXT:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, BE STRONG in the Lord, and in The POWER OF HIS MIGHT. 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor 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; 18: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Draw nigh to God and God will draw nigh to You.
1. GOD HAS DESIGNED A COMPLETE ARMOR FOR US!
God has prepared and has given us a Whole Armor. God wants to give His Strength and courage to every believer, because we will suffer and face heated Spiritual warfare.
The Armor of God is made to be used and worn by God’s children.
The only time to put off God’s Special designed armor is after we finish the battle and task God has for us.
2. IDENTIFY THE REAL ENEMY!
Our battle is not against visible foes, we must properly identify who our real enemy is, our church, or our family, are not our combat enemies. Often times our greatest enemy is ourselves; -- our human nature,....but this is not our REAL enemy.
Our enemy is the devil. He has a three fold mission, to kill, steal, and destroy.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Our enemy wants us to ignore the Ten Commandments and the Word of God. The enemy will assault God’s people on every side. Often we try to fight the enemy with good deeds and smart words. He is not afraid of your works or your words.
We defeat the enemies plan by a complete resolve to trust the power of the Word, our testimony, and the Word of God.
Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.
3. THERE IS MORE THAN RESISTING!
There is more than just resisting the devil, this will never be enough. You can resist him until you are blue in the face and still be weak and anemic. James 4:7 teaches the whole truth.
James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We must Submit ourselves therefore to God... Then you can Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Draw nigh to God and God will draw nigh to You.
4. A GREAT SECRET REVEALED:
The Secret is total Submission to God, then avoid the traps of the enemy and resist yielding to his destructive plan. We cannot afford to give any ground to our enemy. God’s people must learn to trust God’s plan, God’s word, God’s church, and His leaders. As we learn to trust God and learn to use the "WHOLE" Armor, we release God and take His Advantages into our plan of Battle.
To be fully prepared for battle we must have the right equipment, or battle gear. It is not enough to have this gear, we must know how to rightfully use our equipment.
David could not use Saul’s armor. We must adapt ourselves to know how to rightfully trust and use our equipment!
5. THE GEAR CAN BE HEAVY.
The armor can get heavy during battle, yet we must stay in the rightful position. This battle equipment is best used as we go toward the battle, not running away.
By trusting our battle gear we can be sustained in very heated battles. The enemy attacks...but by being prepared and equipped, we expect the battle and we are ready. Ready for what? Ready for anything.
6. NOTHING FOR THE BACK.
In Ephesians 6:10-18, there is no battle gear for the back. By running away from our battles we give the advantage to our enemy. The armor is best effective by approaching and overcoming by using the plan of God.
7. THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH...
The girdle is the central piece of the Armor. It is the first mentioned part and is a focal point. Truth, fidelity, consistancy, sincerity in action and character becomes the fundamental and spiritual reality.
All things must be judged by the standard of truth. Truth must be our only source of validity. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Our basic Standard must be complete Truth. All Religion is in vain that skirts around truth.
8. THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
The breastplate was a heavy metal plate that was worn as a vestment not only by Jewish soldiers, but also by the Jewish high priest. The priest’s breastplate had 12 gems bearing the 12 names of the 12 tribes of Israel.
The breastplate protects the rib cage and all the vital organs. The breastplate was often a series of metal scales or chains over the breastplate for added protection. Thus there were several layers to protect the heart, lungs, and vital organs.
The breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS is not the righteousness of man, but righteousness of Our King and Commander in Chief. The RIGHTEOUSNESS of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King is very strong and effective against every attack to our hearts. The enemy has no weapon effective against the breastplate of Jesus’ righteousness.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Our hearts and vital organs find great solace and comfort in the breastplate of Jesus’ armor. Any arrow of the enemy that might hit our breastplate is of none effect. We thus fix securely the Safety of the believer’s heart. Our hearts are protected, covered, maintained from injury and destruction. The transplanted heart of Christ Jesus is guarded very well by God’s armor.
9. OUR FEET ARE SHOD WITH PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.
Our feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Soldiers must march and set up for battle. Soldiers must move steadily and in rhythmic stride and walk in step with others. Our movement must not leave the wounded and weak, but be purposefully proceeding. We march forward and advance.
In the 14th Century they called this part of the armor, GREAVES, the Armor for the legs below the knees. A good soldier must be mobile. Sometimes we might not be able to advance, but at times like this we must know how to stand.To Stand Still takes great faith and trust in the General and your equipment. Sometimes our paths are twisted, uneven, and jagged. We often march in turbulence and stormy situations, we must have our feet and legs protected.
God knows your movements and your motives. In the heat of battle we must stick with HIS orders and commands. God has a battle strategy. Each man cannot just run down his own paths. We must work as a team, in step with the Drummer. God’s methods and careful plans are for our best interest.
This foot gear is not ornamental, it protects and strengthens us for our journey. We must keep pace and be persistent to stay with the group, not running off and leaving others, nor lagging behind. Hear the beat of God’s drums.
10. THERE IS A SHIELD OF FAITH
Then there is the Shield of Faith. A Shield is a neat peace of a warrior’s equipment. A shield is a very amenable piece of defensive armor. One can move a shield right to left, up or down to protect from incoming peril. A Shield can be used to protect others and be a hiding place of safety.
Psa. 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
The shield of faith must not be idle, or hung under some shade tree. It must be close by. Faith is our hope in a time of temptation. Faith looks to the invisible as visible. Faith is more than presumption. Faith refuses confusion and worry. Faith knows God’s promises will open God’s provisions.
Hell has many fiery temptations to throw at us from all sides. A dart is a little lightweight spear thrown at great speed. A dart is not just the force but the suddenness and unexpectedness of the weapon. Faith moves against the sudden thrust of the enemy. Often darts would be coated with a tranquilizing drug, to take the alertness away. Sometimes a dart will not kill but paralyze the victim.
There is a Libyan fable told, that an eagle was stricken with a dart. The eagle looked at the shaft of the dart and noticed it was fashioned with an eagles feather. The eagle said, "With our own feathers we are mortally wounded, not just killed by the hands of our enemy, but with our own feathers?"
Faith must arise to stop the dart of the enemy before it hits. Faith knows the works of the armor of God and exercises all the benefits. A shield is a defense on all sides. Faith releases Grace and Mercy.
Many times the battle is lost, because a dart has a flame burning on it. The damage is done as the flame ignites the surrounding area. We must extinguish the fires of lust and desires before they consume us. The hot tempers and hot tongues can set a flame many and destroy God’s plan.
11. WE HAVE A HELMET OF SALVATION.
We have a helmet as part of our armor. The helmet is a covering and enclosure to protect the head. Many times in life we have great forces to impact our thinking processes. Our helmet is the great hope of salvation that is our promise.
What is Salvation?
It is the deliverance from all the powers and side effects of sin. God has liberated His children from the powers of the enemy. God gives us preservation from destruction and failure. Salvation realizes God is VICTORY. We can dream and be restored to the proper relationship with our Creator. We are clean, justified, pure, and whole.
12. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD.
Paul only recommends our ARSENAL to be complete with one offensive weapon. We don’t need a great storage and build up of WEAPONS. Our means to contend with the enemy is simple. The effective weapon of Christian attack stands alone...The Sword of the Spirit...
THE SWORD IS THE WORD OF GOD. THE WORD OF GOD WILL DO THE WORK OF GOD.
The Word of God will destroy all the strength and vitality of Our enemy. The word of God will conquer all selfish lusts and bring the spirit man under subjection to God. The Release of the power of the Bible will BRING under control, by an exertion of will and curb sin’s control.
The Word of God is Valid and sharper than any two edged sword. All unbelief and doubt will die at the authority of God’s word. We must learn how to rightly apply the word of God to every weight and sin.
13. THE ANCHOR OF THE ARMOR!
Then verse 18 (Eph. 6) anchors the armor to prayer.
When all is said and done about prayer, more is said than done.
There is a secret, each day needs to be hemmed with prayer. This can stop the enemy from unraveling our days in pain and tears.
Prayer must be more than a "have to" obligation and assignment.
We have a dreaded foe and he is breeding his power in fear, worry, unfaithfulness, and he has unleashed discouragement and that attacks the very courage of God’s warriors. But we have an effective armor. Let’s use what God has designed for us. Refuse to be hindered, deterred, or dissuaded. God wants you equipped and in battle.
Onward Christian Soldiers --- STAY BENEATH THE ARMOR OF GOD! Be strong and safe in the whole armor of God.
HELP ME, PASS THIS ON TO OTHERS?
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Typed by Linda S. Hughes
