The devil is a liar
The devil is a slanderer
The devil has power but no authority
The devil is completely defeated at the cross.
In part two we covered the following:
What is the Battle For? - souls!
That delays do not destroy a destiny.
Where’s the Battle Fought? In three realms. Earth. Spiritual. Mind.
Last time we looked at the first key in winning the battle we face:
Key Number One: Don't Overreach!
Areas of overreaching:
1. Binding and Loosing
2. Binding the Strong Man!
3. Presumption!
Today we will focus on the second key in spiritual victory!
Key Number Two: Dress Appropriately!
This is where we come to one of the most well known passages in the New testament, Ephesians 6 and the Armour of God!
Ephesians 6:10-18 [NIV]: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armour 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 armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may 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.
To do battle each day here on earth we have to be dressed for the occasion.
The rise of the Roman Empire was due to the well-equipped Roman Soldier who was trained in strategy, weaponry, defence, and understanding the enemy. Using the Roman Soldier's armour as a visual example, the Apostle Paul describes the Armour of God in the Book of Ephesians as both a defensive and an offensive weapon.
There are six pieces of spiritual armour. Some put these on each morning as a reminder to live right before God. Some never seem to wear them. The simple truth is these pieces of armour should never come off - they speak about our daily life as believers. They also speak of different priorities than we seem to hold in the modern Church today.
Remember our struggle is not against flesh and blood, although struggles often come wrapped in flesh and blood.
Belt of truth (common thread):
Roman soldiers wore wide, thick leather belts that held their swords and equipment. It was used to tuck in his tunic (outer garment) and allowed him freedom of movement – when he girded up his belt he was able to fight (remember we are to gird up the loins of our minds - 1 Peter 1:13 NKJV).
In much the same way, truth (aletheia) is the essential centrepiece of the Christian life. It is on truth that all our beliefs and conviction rest.
The word aletheia has several implications.
It is the content of that which is true about God - it is complete!
The content of God’s truth is absolutely essential for the believer in his battle against the devil’s schemes. I must build my life on God’s truth, not my subjectivity.
Remember from part one the devil is the father of lies. He attacks all knowledge and truth about God and tries to reduce it to subjective relativism.
It is the attitude of truthfulness. It represents the accuracy of specific truth and the quality of its truthfulness.
To be girded with truth is to possess an attitude of readiness and eagerness to remain committed and convinced of the truth. It is the mark of the sincere Christian who is able to forsake hypocrisy and live in the truth.
It is upon the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we build our lives.
The truth sets us free (John 8:32).
Some of the other armour parts are secured by the belt of truth (breastplate and sword).
Breastplate of righteousness (defensive)
A piece of armour made from metal plates or thick leather that protects the vital organs from one’s neck to their waist – in particular it guards the heart.
In our struggle Satan, he to tries to pierce our hearts with his flaming arrows of accusations. He tries to sabotage the truth it's lies, he also tries to wreck our hearts with accusations.
We have a responsibility to guard our hearts! It is not in God's plan that your heart would be torn or broken through unrighteousness acts.
God calls us to protect our hearts:
Proverbs 4:23 NIV: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Righteousness protects the heart from the devil's accusations.
We are not talking about self-righteousness here; we are talking about something else!
Philippians 3:9 NIV: and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
We are declared righteous by God; Christ's righteousness within us.
The righteousness we are talking about here is built up into that. It is the response to Christ's righteousness within us that we then make Godly decisions in our daily lives. We guard the most precious part of us. Our heart.
It is about living responsibly under God’s influence so that as the devil attacks and accuses, you are able to stand firm and fast in your faith.
So when the enemy accuses you his accusations have no basis or foundation.
It is a righteousness that is empowered by obedience to the command and leading of God’s Word and Spirit.
Be holy for He is holy - 1 Peter 1:16
Remember Jesus' heart was pierced so yours didn't have to be (John 19:34).
Good News Shoes (offensive)
Some historians credit footwear as one of the greatest reasons why the Roman Army was so victorious over its enemies. The Roman Soldier was equipped with footwear that had spikes on the soles which provided them a strong enough stance and balance that gave them a superior posture in battle on hills and uneven terrain.
These shoes represent readiness! It means you dig in, it's a power stance! Most Christians travel through life with bare feet and wonder why they trip up all the time!
In combat, the battle for souls, the strength of the blows we weird with the sword of truth does not come souls from the arm holding the sword, but begins in the powerful stance. It starts in the legs!
These shoes represent peace. Although dressed for battle, the Christian solider is a warrior of the Gospel, the gospel brings peace to troubled lives.
These shoes only belong on attractive feet!
Isaiah 52:7 NIV: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
It is not the shoes that make the feet beautiful, but the action of taking good news - to move forward, to run into the battle for lost souls, to take the stand when others fall!
Shield of faith (defensive)
Roman soldiers used 2 kinds of shields – one was employed in hand-to-hand combat, a round shield like gladiators used. The other called a scutum was about 4½ feet tall and 2½ feet wide. It is this second shield Paul is referring to.
These shields were made of laminated wood covered with hardened leather and lined around the edges with metal.
These shields were capable of interlocking with other shields to create a tortoise shield or moving wall.
They were also used to charge an enemy to knock them off of their feet.
On these shields would be the insignia of the regiment! Ours is the cross of Jesus!
This is not a reference to saving faith or to the body of Christian beliefs. It is about practical, daily living faith.
As you make Godly, righteous decisions based on the righteousness of Christ, you hold your faith out in front of you! This shield is about daily trust.
Faith is only as reliable is the person or thing you are trusting. And there is only one who never fails – Jesus!
The shield is to extinguish the fiery arrows of the enemy: deflect them, stop them, and absorb the impact.
- It's a shield of confidence in our daily walk.
Psalm 119:114 NIV: You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
2 Samuel 22:31 NIV: As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
The best way to extinguish the darts of the devil is to believe and obey God. We must have complete confidence in who He is and in His power.
- It's a shield of courage in our temptations.
In Paul’s day, archers wrapped the tips of their arrows with cloth and dip them in a pitch or tar-like substance, then set them on fire. On impact, the pitch would spatter and burn anything that was not flame retardant.
In the same way, the devil shoots flaming arrows that on impact have the capacity to not only destroy us, but also anyone person in close proximity.
Arrows of doubt, discouragement, lust, bitterness, cheating our employer and so on.
When we succumb to temptations we spread the fire of those arrows to those around us - the fall out is huge. But when we raise the shield of faith, the fire is quenched because of Whom God is!
The faith you have will extinguish the incendiary devices the enemy hurls at you!
- It's a shield of community
I believe this suggests that we are not to fight alone in battle; we must fight linked to other believers.
We are not called in spiritual warfare to stand alone. We are not Lone Rangers. We are stronger together, in community, battling alongside our fellow Christian soldiers.
Helmet of salvation (defensive)
I have mentioned this in the last message and so will move on quickly. If you are reading through the blog, here's what I said:
I think the battle is won or lost in the mind before the fight has begun sometimes. We have made faith all about the heart but it is about the mind too!
We will return to the armour of God next time but I have to mention this today:
Ephesians 6:17: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The helmet of salvation speaks of the protection God gives to the mind. In the NT analogy here we need to understand that an earthly enemy might be swinging a broadsword, which was about 3-4 feet long, double edged, and would be used by horseback riders (like cavalrymen) to split the skull or even decapitate. The helmet in the natural would deflect that blow.
This helmet belongs to those who are already saved! It is not for the unsaved or means just get saved. It is for the believer who takes up the fight.
The attack on the mind in this way is often for the enemy to cause the believer to question their assurance of salvation or to doubt God's word. The two edges to the enemy's attack on the mind are always discouragement and doubt.
Another way the Bible describes protecting the mind is to gird it up:
1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV): Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The NIV says "prepare your minds for action."
The idea here is one of getting read for a race. Athletes would hook their tunics up between their legs and tuck them into their belt. Soldiers would do the same too. It was to help protect the sensitive reproductive areas.
The mind is a reproductive area of thought, creativity and vision. It needs to be protected, renewed, transformed in Christ Jesus (Romans 12:2). Allowing our minds to be filled with rubbish, aimless thinking, to dwell on sinful desires, makes us unfit for battle.
I do want to add this too. The helmet of salvation is also something that we use in our witness and battle:
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
[4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Demolishing arguments with divine power! Remember we are to demolish arguments, not people! It is the work for of the Spirit to convict of sin, not ours. Our role is to help people to see the the futility of their worldview in light of a new hope!
We take thoughts captive! Those thoughts that come to us that would end us into sin How do you take that through captive - you don't think about it! You build a defence with the helmet of salvation that declares you won't let it through the armour plating around your noggin! It means making the mind obedient to Christ according to this verse. How? Submitting the mind the Christ-like thoughts:
Philippians 4:8 NIV [8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things.
Sword of the Spirit (offensive)
The sword used by Roman soldiers was 18” long and dual edged, designed for close quartered hand-to-hand combat. Our sword is the Word of God.
There is something to remember here: it is a sword for use on earth, not in the heavens. Go back to message two when we talked about punching holes in the heavens - in Daniel 10 it is God's armies who punch through from above.
Our sword is for close combat, ere on earth. Jesus uses a long sword (Rev. 1; 16; 2:12, 16; 19:15). This is the heavier sword that the captain of the army uses to decapitate the enemy. It belongs to Him and, as we see in Revelation, is His very words!
Our sword has some outstanding qualities though:
It's alive!
It's active!
It's sharp!
It cuts deep!
Hebrews 4:12 NIV: [12] For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Notice where our sword has power? On our fellow man, our friends, our work colleagues. It's power is described as a surgical weapon to expose the lies of humility, not to destroy the heavens!
Such a weapon is to be used in sharing our faith. Remember the gospel is always an offence to the unbeliever, they're is no reason for you to ebb offensive in sharing it, for it is the word of God that penetrates the heart!
It is also a weapon that parries the attacks of the enemies if we know how to use it:
We need to memorise it so we can use it in our prayer life! Praying the Scripture over our lives, over our city, over our unsaved friends, brings more dividends than ranting!
The next time the enemy says to you: "did God really say...?" You should be able to point to the Bible and say: "Read it and weep!"
Pray!
Although this is not seen as part of the armour, Paul reminds us to pray:
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.
If you want a more effective prayer life then you have to be properly dressed.
When to pray: ALL occasions in the Spirit I find praying in tongues really helps!
What to pray: ALL kinds of prayers!
How to Pray: ALERT prayers. Informed by the Spirit about what is going on in the world.
Whom to Pray For: ALL the saints; not just about you!
Wrapping this all up:
You're in the most crucial spiritual war. It is the battle fr the souls of men and women.
You need to ignore the enemy but not be ignorant of his schemes. Your strategy in battle does not depend upon what the devil is doing but on what God is doing! (See John 5:19. Jesus did what He saw the Father doing).
You do not have to ry and tear holes through the heavens, you do have to faithfully fast and pray.
Don't overstretch by claiming something that is not yet yours.
Be properly dressed! Live right, pray right, witness right, be righteous.
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