Session 5, "Standing Strong" “Clarity” 5-11-11

The Armor

            Are you familiar with armor? Our military uses quite a bit of armor when going into battle. You wear armor so that you can avoid serious injuries. Although most of the time it doesn’t guarantee absolute protection, you can go into battle a little more confidently than without it! On the other hand, you wouldn’t wear it to go see a movie, or to take a walk in the park would you? No. There are times where armor is not needed and it would be silly to constantly be wearing it.

            Tonight we are going to be looking into the armor that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6.

The Armor of God lined out

*Ephesians 6:13-17 ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

            Why would it be important to have the belt of truth? We need it so that we are able to discern the lies or distractions that the enemy will try to use against us.

            How about the breastplate of righteousness, why would we need something like that? You are not going to go to a war zone without a bullet proof vest are you? No way! The breastplate not only protects you, but righteousness should be an integral part of our lives. We are supposed to live in a righteous way. Making sure that you have it will remind you of the importance to live as Christ.

            As shoes for your feet, put on the Gospel. We have to have God’s leadership to guide us into places that the Gospel as not been taken. This could be Africa, or simply to talk to one of your friends that you know has no relationship with God. As Christians we should always be ready to give an account of the Gospel.

            Take up the Shield of faith. Have you ever doubted God in anything? I have. But we know that as we pursue a relationship with God that He will want to take us deeper in faith with Him. We have to do that through faith. Faith can be a shield against the trials that Satan tries to throw our direction. We can block his attacks simply by taking up faith in God.

            Take the helmet of salvation. Why would it be important for us to protect our heads? We need to have our minds protected from evil thoughts, from temptation, from reasoning and ideas that go against God’s will in our lives.

            The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As you have noticed, everything so far has been about defense. We are protected from head to foot by the armor of God, but what good is a soldier without a weapon? Scripture is our weapon to dispel wrong ideas, to protect our faith, to point out false motives and to convict hearts. However, we can’t use it if we don’t know it.

These are all attributes that God wants us to have aren’t they? We are supposed to exhibit righteousness, truth, faith, salvation, and the Spirit of God aren’t we? Was Paul just using a word picture to show us how we are supposed to live? That seems a little farfetched.

He said to put it on! Why? Because this is real spiritual armor and because we are up against a real spiritual force. Look at what comes next…

Who do we wrestle against?

*Ephesians 6:12 ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”

            If we just took the previous passages for what they said and didn’t look into the context of the passage we would miss out on the literal importance that Paul is trying to convey to us. He says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the spiritual realm. If we are battling in the spiritual realm, we need spiritual armor to protect ourselves! Like we just talked about, you would not walk into a war zone without protection. Paul was being literal about this armor, because we literally need it.

            Going up against the forces of evil sounds almost like a comic book or superhero movie doesn’t it? Where do you think they got the idea? There is a real struggle between good and evil.

Strong in Who?

*Ephesians 6:10-11 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Does anyone want to be the wimpy kid? Who wants to be like that? No one! You want to be seen as strong and confident. You want to overcome anything in your way.

We are weak when left on our own. We are given to our whims, whatever feels right at the moment. The world tries to tell us that what is right for them is good, and what is right for us shouldn’t affect them. There is a right and wrong and we are supposed to stand strong for what we believe.

            You may not feel like the strongest person in the world. In fact you may feel kind of lazy. Physical labor may be the on the bottom of your favorite things to do list. But how strong are you spiritually? Anyone here seen the Matrix? I know, it is a rated R movie… so don’t go watch it, just let me explain this to you. When Neo is learning to fight in their computer training program, Morpheus asks him why he is losing. “Is it because I am stronger than you… in this place?” It was a different realm, one that had nothing to do with the physical.

The spiritual realm is quite similar in the respect that our physical strength has nothing to do with our spiritual strength. Looking at it from this angle, how strong are you?

I have always been uncomfortable with the saying, “Believe in yourself”. Look within for the power to overcome your circumstances. That really is not biblical. Paul says to be strong in the Lord, and the strength of His might. Not to be strong in yourself or your own power. After all, if I have access to the most powerful being in all of the universe, why wouldn’t I tap into that instead of my own strength?

The spiritual realm can be a pretty scary place. Once God starts to open your eyes to it you will begin to understand more and more the intensity of the battle that is waging around us. You will begin to understand the reason for spiritual armor.

Understanding who we are up against should not frighten us. We have a God that stands before us and gives us power over all things.

*1 Peter 1:5 “...who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

*Psalms 33:20 “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”

Stand Firm

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Consider the postage stamp:  its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.  ~Josh Billings
The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.  ~Author Unknown
Fall seven times, stand up eight.  ~Japanese Proverb
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  ~Newt Gingrich
He conquers who endures.  ~Persius
One may go a long way after one is tired.  ~French Proverb
Never think that God's delays are God's denials.  Hold on; hold fast; hold out.  Patience is genius.  ~Georges-Louis Leclerc
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.  ~Thomas Foxwell Buxton

*Ephesians 6:13 ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

            We need to daily put on the armor of God so that we can stand up against the schemes of the devil and his minions. We have an incredible responsibility laid out before us. When you look at it this way, any time you stumble into sin, the enemy rejoices. Strength isn’t always measured by never failing, it is measured by how many times you will get back up and face it again until you overcome it by God’s strength. We have to get back up and do everything we can to stand firm. That is when the forces of heaven rejoice and we can aid in a quick victory against evil.

What does this have to do with prayer?

*Ephesians 6:18 ¹⁸ “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

            The point is this; prayer is a weapon used on a battlefield that is very real, and very dangerous. Satan doesn’t care about Christians who live lazy lives and do nothing to carry out the things of God. He does get worried when you start to claim the power that is in Christ and begin to pray.

            If we are going to be praying Christians, we need to know how to be protected as well. Once you stand up for Christ, see how long it takes before Satan starts to attack you, either through circumstance or relationships. But you must stand strong. The great thing is that you do not have to stand strong in your own strength, but God’s. And His is limitless.