The Full Armor Of God

To live in this world of evil, sin, and temptation you need all the protection and help you can get. The bible says we need the whole armor of God. The spiritual warfare that we face day in and day out can ware down your defenses. Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. The Christian armor is made to be worn; daily in all life’s situations. There is no putting on our armor until we have planned our warfare, and finished our course. No soldier puts on his armor after the battle and after everything has been thrown at him. That’s as bad as putting on the suntan lotion after you already have been sunburned and have been in the sun for hours.

Let’s Pray

Ephesians 6:11-18

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our 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 realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

I. In the battlefield that we go in to every day we need all the protection we can get

A. We must take a stand for our faith and our beliefs (11-12)

1. We cannot depend on other to stand of us

2. Other may be by your side

3. Once you relax you are fair game

4. The major breakthroughs in faith are during life’s battles.

B. You need to put on the “full armor of God”

1. One missing piece can be a disaster

2. You cannot pick and chose

3. A missing piece leaves a weak spot in your defense

4. The enemy never attacks a strong point of defense; only the weak

5. He only goes for the weakest link

C. Individually your parts are weak

1. All parts together make a stronger defense

a. If you only had a shield

b. If you only had a spear

2. It is a unique armor not every day defenses

3. It is a spiritual battle

a. It is a battle of the heart and soul

b. It is mental not physical

c. If that were the case we would go to the gym

d. In this case we need the word and the Holy Spirit of strength

D. Verse 13 says that “will be able to resist in the evil day”

1. “Will be able” means it will come not that it might

a. There will be tough days ahead

b. Struggles of the Cocoon (Story)

c. Evil will come your way

2. Each of us fight different types of battles daily

a. Often time the battle happens unexpectedly

b. It comes from time to time like when Jesus was tempted

1. Luke 1:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

2. The evil one will return from time to time

c. We fight battles from unexpected sources

1. People you we thought were friends

E. We must resist all the advances each day of evil to give us strength

1. Daily battles gives us the conditioning to fight daily

2. Just as a baseball player practices (hitters)

a. Becomes natural

b. Becomes automatic as a reflex

F. We must resolve by God’s grace, not to yield to Satan.

1. The devil must flee

a. James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you

2. If we give way, he will get ground.

3. Give Satan an inch and he wants to be a ruler

4. Always be prepared with God’s word

a. 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction

b. Always be prepared to defend yourself and your beliefs

II. Let’s look at our defensive Items

A. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist”