Put On The Full Armour Of God Series

We continue in our series on Discovering our Destiny, and our focus in recent weeks has been on Conquering our Fears, and this morning we are thinking about the Armour of God.

The Armour of God....

We are in a spiritual battle and we don’t wrestle against this physical world, but against the forces of darkness.

That sounds like a quote from a sci-fi or horror movie doesn’t it, but it was a reality long before it was a movie script.

There is a spiritual battle which goes on everyday and The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18 we have spiritual armour that we are able to put on to protect us. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 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. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Spiritual warfare is very real in the life of the believer, but we have not been left helpless or without defence.

God has given us specific tools to use in our daily spiritual battle.

The devil tries his hardest to disrupt our discipleship with Christ, he looks for a small break in our armour, he seeks out the weak spots, he looks for where we are most vulnerable and that is where he begins his assault.

Do you ever find a spider or a bug in a strange place in your home and wonder how it got there?

Maybe it found it’s way in through a small hole somewhere, maybe it crawled in through a window that was only open a little.

Or maybe you left a door wide open and it could not resist your invitation to enter in and take up residence.

The Devil works in the same way. He searches and looks for a small hole, a crack, a door we have left open and takes the opportunity to attack.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians to not give Satan any access, any way in to disrupt our lives, Paul tells us to “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” and to “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”

In John 8:44 Jesus says this about the devil, He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Satan is a liar, he will whisper to you that you are weak,

he will try to convince you that a lie is the truth,

he will tell you it’s okay to do what you want to do even if it is wrong in the site of God,

he will prod you and poke you and try to make sure that you don’t use your full spiritual armour.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan even disguises himself as an angel of light.

We need to know the truth of the Word of God so that we are not swayed by his lies

Satan CAN be resisted, James tells us in James 4:7

humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Satan is a defeated foe, his fate is certain,

God already has the victory and if we are in Christ we also have the victory through the strength and power of God.

Praise be to God, who gives us the strength to resist Satan and cause him to flee!

Listen to Ephesians 6:13 again, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Today, have you put on all your spiritual armour, the full armour that God has already given you?