The Armour Of God
Rev. Cindy Hyde
 

Ephesians 6:10-20, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

     Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" ~ KJV

BE STRONG IN THE LORD

The joy of the Lord is your strength. The world can offer temporary happiness based on the happenings around us. But joy is something that is there in spite of the circumstance.  Of our own we have no strength. We are not equipped as earthly vessels, as mere clay to withstand a spiritual battle.

Psalms 18:2, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."

Psalms 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."
 

WILES OF THE DEVIL

The devil is cunning. He has deception down to an art. His deceit runs rampant across the world. Holding the innocent captive. Shackling them with his craft, bewitching them with the lusts of this world, ensnaring them through the pride of life and the lust of their own eyes. He uses any media he can: Music, TV, Movies, Books, Harry Potter seems to be the latest rage of trickery, making magic and sorcery which is strictly forbidden by God. It opposes truth.

His greatest victory over you is when you fall for the lies he tells you. "You're not good enough."
"God won't forgive you."
"Your fat, ugly, no one wants you."
"You're too skinny, to comely."
"You are stupid, you will never amount to anything."
"You are all alone. No one loves you."
"You might as well kill yourself."
"No one really cares."
Need I go on or do you get the picture here. There are thousands upon thousands of phrases that he uses and once you begin combating them with the armour of God, then the Truth shall prevail in your life and your identity in Christ Jesus will be sealed.  

He always uses the same tactics. He can't come up with anything new. Once you begin taking your thoughts captive and using that shield of faith you will quickly see as you submit to God how easily he flees. Remember he is only a fallen angel. He can not read your mind.

PRINCIPALITIES

These are the original rulers, the leaders of the wickedness. These are the magistrates of the devil's kingdom.

Colossians 1:16-17, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

AGAINST POWERS

Romans 13:1, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

Colossians 2:15, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

These *powers* are spiritual potentates. The will and commands of these powers must be submitted to by others under them and obeyed. The kingdom of darkness has an hierarchy established. 

RULERS OF THE DARKNESS

Commanders, chiefs, and other leaders of the kingdom of darkness.

SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES

These are spirits, being higher than man but inferior to God.

WITHSTAND IN THE EVIL DAY

Amos 6:3, "Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;"

The evil day consists of labors, annoyances, hardships, and perils. I will be a time full of danger to the Christian who is faithful and steadfast. There will be pain and trouble. A time of bad conditions. There will be diseases and blindness in an ethical sense. The day will be filled with evil, wickedness, bad things. A day of great tribulation and suffering for God's children. A time of turmoil and trouble. A day of distress, misery, injury, & calamity. Sounds like the year 2002 to me!

STAND THEREFORE

 No true saint will run from adversity or persecution. They will welcome it knowing that it will glorify their God. We can pray, fight the good fight, run the race, argue persuasively, pray without ceasing, pray with all prayers and suplications, but in the end, when we've done all we can do we stand. We don't let the circumstances move us. We stand firm on the Truth. We stand on God's Word and refuse to be moved. This is the point in all our lives when we truly see how much we trust God.

1 Corinthians 16:13, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

To stand means to "continue safe and sound, stand unharmed, to stand ready or prepared."  "To be of a steadfast mind." Strong's Concordance God's Word V.2.0a

If you stand you are one who does not hesitate to obey God, to do what is right, and necessary. One who does not waiver. One who is not blown by every wind of doctrine. One whose feet are firmly planted on the Rock.

In order to stand you must be well grounded. You must have a firm foundation. It does no good to stand on sandy soil.
 

LOINS GIRTED WITH TRUTH:

The truth of the gospel. (Gal. 2:5).
The Truth. (2 Tim. 3:7; 4:4).
Jesus says of Himself, "I am the way, and the truth" (John 14:6).

Satan is the father of lies. The truth is not in him. He opposes everything God and Jesus Christ stands for. When we are walking in truth we are opposing the wickedness in high places. We are declaring the Kingdom of God is here.

The truth protects us from the lies of the enemies. Covers us with the Righteousness of the Lord our God.

BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS:

The breastplate covered the back and breast and both upper arms
(Isa. 59:17; Eph. 6:14).
 
We of our own can not be righteous. We are the righteousness of Christ Jesus. When we have Him in our hearts, we don the breastplate that protects our hearts, the very center of our being.

FEET SHOD WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE:

When we walk in peace we carry forth the very essence of God. We show others by example what it is like to be a Christian. When we determine to bear the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, love, joy, peace, then we let others see that we are of God. Peace is something this world can not and does not offer. Peace is fearing nothing. It is having the assurance of salvation through Christ Jesus that you have eternal life. An inner tranquility that can only come from a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 52:7, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"

Romans 10:15, "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

SHIELD OF FAITH:

Shields are used in defensive warfare. They were usually anointed to deflect the arrows of the enemy and to preserve them. Taking up this shield of faith means that you are confident  that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of this whole universe. That He is your Provider, Healer, Guide, Help in times of trouble, Strong Tower, Deliverer, and our Shield.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. When we walk by faith and not by sight we please God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. It is the belief that what God says is true.

HELMET OF SALVATION:

The helmet protected the head. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you put this helmet on. It protects you from the thoughts and the lies that the enemy shoots at you as missiles. As fiery darts. 

Isaiah 59:17, "For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke."

Ephesians 6:17a, "And take the helmet of salvation..."

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT:

This is our only offensive weapon. This sword of the Spirit is literally the WORD of God.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Ephesians 6:17b, "...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

PRAYING ALWAYS

Luke 21:36, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

We are to always have an attitude of prayer.

2 Thessalonians 1:11, "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:"

Prayer is talking to the LORD about everything. He is concerned about every aspect of your life. He desires a close relationship with you which is impossible to have if there is not communication. He is telling us to pray, talk, communicate with him constantly, always, without ceasing. What would your life be like if you actually did this?

ALL PRAYER AND SUPLICATION

Matthew 21:22, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Acts 6:4, "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."

Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Prayer is your soul communing with God. Supplications are petitions. Making your needs know humbly and earnestly to God.

IN THE SPIRIT

Paul said he prays in the Spirit and he prays with understanding. There is a place we can get to where we rise above the conflicting thoughts in our minds when we pray, where we overcome the flesh and walk in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through you with groanings and utterances you don't understand. If we could pray without this effectively the LORD would not have seen fit to send us a Helper to pray for us when we know not how to pray. There are times and situations we find ourselves in when our language runs out of words.

1 Corinthians 14:2, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."

1 Corinthians 14:4, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself;"

1 Corinthians 14:14, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth,"

Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

WATCHING ... FOR  ALL SAINTS

Galatians 6:2, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."

Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." We are to be soul watchers.

 We are to help our sisters and our brothers, we're to watch out for them and if they fall help them up. We are to restore them in the spirit of meekness. Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

IN CONCLUSION

1 Thessalonians 5:8, "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."