July 14 2024 Sermon

Intro to the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10–20 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:10–13 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor 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.

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Intro

Many times we don’t get prepared until we know what we are getting prepared for.

—> The question is always what are we doing today? Why does that matter? so we know what we will need.

—> I believe this is the same question we need to ask today so that we can understand what Paul is getting at here.

So what are we getting ready for???

Ephesians 6:11–12 NIV

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.

—> the devil’s schemes

—> the rulers

—> the authorities

—> the powers of this dark world

—> the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians The Armour of God (Ephesians 6:10–20)

The writer Robert Louis Stevenson once said: ‘You know the Caledonian Railway Station in Edinburgh? One cold, east windy morning, I met Satan there.’ We do not know what actually happened to Stevenson, but we recognize the experience; we have all felt the force of that evil influence which seeks to make us sin.

2 things we aren’t actually wrestling against people & the devil

evil, darkness, sin are the result of choice and freewill

How do we get ready to contend with these things?

We contend with evil not with our own strength but with the help and strength of God.

Ephesians 6:10 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

—> We cannot wrestle with the schemes of the devil and the spiritual forces of wickedness on our own we will ultimately always loose.

—> Our strength of will is not strong enough by itself to outlast or overcome them.

—> We have to team up with the Lord.

—> when I was a kid I would watch pro wrestling and some of my favorite things were the tag team matches…

—> only through Jesus Christ can we overcome the spiritual forces of wickedness in this world. Only by His power can we be victorious.

Why do we put on the full armor of God?

Ephesians 6:13 NIV

Therefore put on the full armor 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.

We put on the full armor of God so we may stand up when the day of evil comes our way. It is God’s help for us that we can take up.

—> God is fighting for us but sometimes we get out of formation.

—> this protects us from ourselves and from the fierce fighting we can get in.