ARE YOU EQUIPPED?
Twilla Paris; Warrior is a Child
Lyrics:
Lately I’ve been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I’m amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don’t see inside of me
I’m hiding all the tears
(Chorus)
They don’t know that I go running home when I fall down
They don’t know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
’Cause deep inside this armour
The warrior is a child
Unafraid because his armour is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I’m amazing
Never face retreat
But they don’t see the enemies
That lay me at His feet
Chorus x2
I drop my sword and look up for His smile
Because deep inside this armour
Deep inside this armour
Deep inside this armour
The Warrior is a Child
The song that you just heard was a good depiction of what you may feel like when you’re faced with a constant battle. But did you catch the main theme of the song?
“Deep inside this armour, the warrior is a child.”
There are some people who do not realize that the Lord gave us some battle gear to wear when we received Him as our Savior. Some think that God just gave His kids Salvation. Don’t get me wrong salvation and His grace is something I would never down play. They are His most preciouses of all gifts to those who receive Him. Many don’t realize however that God equips His children for battle. I remember when I went to basic training for the Navy. It was about our third day, and they herded over 300 of us through a processing line. We held our arms out and the person that stood behind the counter eyed us up and down and just gave us 5 packs of blue shirts; 3 packs denim boot cut navy issue slacks; 1 mid size trench coat. They never asked you if you were a small, medium or large. Size 6-10 or12, they just piled your arms up with what they thought would fit you. I was kind of amazed that when I put the issued blues on, that they fit fairly well. Granted- I could not have entered or won some kind of beauty pageant wearing that type of outfit. But it was comfortable; orderly; and served its purpose for my 7 weeks of basic training. That’s what God did; He eyed you up and down and knew exactly what would fit a person. “The perfect battle armament “
In Ephesians 6:11-18 it is written:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[3] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
First lets looks at who are enemy is:
Some Christians don’t realize that when they asked Jesus to come into their heart, they had just enlisted into God’s army. And all the powers of darkness will try to run you down any which way it can. Back in 1988 when I first got saved and asked Jesus into my heart, I believed a lie that said; “Once you are saved your life will be honky –dory.” So you can imagine that when I started to face adversity, I thought that maybe God was not around and I wasn’t really saved. That right there is a common tactic of the enemy. He does not want you to realize that the real battle is fought in the spiritual realm. Take for instance, maybe a friend or family member had hurt you in
an unexpected way. Well the first thing satan wants you to do is get mad at the person. But look what this verse says:
“We do not wrestle with flesh or blood”
In the Old Testament there was a man by the name of Daniel. Some here might remember the Sunday School story of Daniel in the Lions Den. Well Daniel in chapter 9 was praying for his people and asking God to answer his prayers. Then over in chapter 10 an angel of the Lord appeared to Daniel and said; “from the first day you said your prayers God heard you and was sending you an answer. But on my way over here to deliver it, I got into a battle with the prince of Persia (a demon) and Michael had to come and help me in this fight.”
Around us every second I believe there is a battle waging, but we cannot see it with our natural eyes
Let’s take a quick look at your battle gear. Keep in mind this is what you need to put on daily-
BELT OF TRUTH:
The belt held in place every other part of the uniform of the soldier. If the belt came off, the garment would open and the pants would fall down. I once read that a great battle of long ago was won by a clever general who told his men to cut the belts of their enemy while they were sleeping. The next morning the enemy troops were so busy holding up their pants they weren’t able to shoot their guns, so therefore they lost the battle.
So truth holds the armour together. Now let me ask you-
“What is that TRUTH?”
Answer: “Gods Word”.
We need to be ready also to speak the truth of Gods Word to those who need to hear it.
.
BREASTPLATE RIGHTEOUSNESS:
Covers and protects our vital organs, but one in particular>>> Your HEART
The amplified version says it like this:
“Put on the breastplate of Integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.”
God is the one who looks at the heart of man. When wearing the breastplate of righteousness, we don’t allow bitterness; hate; etc. to set into our hearts.
PEACE:
How many here know how important shoes are to the feet? Especially if you are walking through the woods where there are stones; sticks.. You even need shoes to walk on the streets here in South Philly, especially in real hot weather. I remember when we use to have “foot races” when I was a kid. About 10 of us would all run in the street bare-footed. The street tar was soft and would sometimes stick to the heels of our feet. So you would see a group of dopey kids yelling “ouch-oo-ee-owww!!!” while running down my street.
When we have our feet shod in “peace” to stand up against the enemy, we are firm-footed with stability.
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"
SHEILD OF FAITH:
Looking at this part of the scripture in verse 16 it says to “quench all the fiery darts of the enemy.’
Question for you:
“How does the enemy get ammunition to shoot back at you?”
Answer: By the things that come out of your mouth.
When you say words that are negative to you, such as-
“I can NEVER be as smart as such and such”…
”I can NEVER get out of this depression”…
”I will NEVER find a person to be happy with.”….
”I can NEVER be free from this addiction.”
That is just a small selection of a few statements some say to themselves, whether it may be out loud or under their breath. Also those darts can come in a form of temptation-that might try to weaken you to lower your shield.
Just Imagine satan or one of his demon cohorts standing off to the side with a pen and paper in their hand, snickering away saying;
“Aaaaaaaaaahhh we can use this information against this one at a later time.”
And sure enough satan comes along and reminds you of those shortcomings, and attempts to wound you. I once heard in a teaching that a roman soldiers shield was made pretty much to his height requirement. So that way when he fought in a battle, he would place the shield standing up in front of him and he would hide behind it. And that would keep him pretty safe from the sharp objects that were trying to pierce his body. I can imagine the only way for a soldier to really get wounded is if he moved away from his shield. This is the same also with Christians. When we move away from our faith in God and God is our shield. We stand with no protection from the onslaught of the enemy’s attack.
HELMET OF SALVATION:
The helmet covers the head, which covers the mind. Remember I had said in the beginning that when I got saved I believed the lie of the enemy that said I was NOT saved. Gods Word tells us that we need to take every thought into captivity and filter it through this Word.
Now God supplied us with 2 powerful weapons we need to keep close by. The first one is the:
SWORD OF THE SPIRIT-
As soldiers/warriors in Gods army you need this sword right here that I have in my hand (GODS WORD). This combats the enemy’s assault. It says in Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
Do you remember when Jesus went off into the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by satan? For three times the enemy tried to tempt and three times Jesus reminded satan what the Word of God says.
*For those who want to read that passage in your spare time, you can find it in Matthew 4:1-11.
PRAYER:
I cannot stress to you enough how important it is to communicate with your heavenly Father. More battles are fought and won on the knees. When we cry out to the Lord and pray for those around us, and ask the Father for His help. I know He is sending the answers and reinforcements our way. I encourage you to exercise this powerful weapon God has given to you. You can make the powers of darkness tremble when you call on the name of Jesus when you pray.
CLOSING PRAYER:
