The Full Armour of God (Part One)
Notes
Transcript
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. 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. 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,
Recurring Theme of the Sermon Series:
Satan is terrified of Jesus Christ. We can only have complete Spiritual Victory when Jesus has complete presence and rule in our hearts.
(repeat with congregation)
Mind map of the Battleground of the mind.
You may consider this sermon a sequel to the battleground of the mind once you have pulled all these strongholds within us then we should prepare to face and fight our real enemy.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Today we’ll study the subject of spiritual warfare called “The Full Armor of God”.
Today we’ll study the subject of spiritual warfare called “The Full Armor of God”.
Image of an ancient armor here.
The past two weeks we have established from God’s word that there is a spiritual warfare raging on in the Christian’s life.
In , which we are studying today the great apostle Paul simply states that there is an armor which we can put on.
Image of an ancient armour here.
This is a monumental topic to cover in one sermon, I pray for the work of the Holy Spirit of God to do the work of teaching us on this highly important subject. So I will only cover parts of the armor, then we will tackle the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit on another Sunday.
Here are some basic truths about Spiritual Warfare conveyed in this passage.
Since we are engaged in Spiritual Warfare,
We need to come to the battlefield prepared.
We have an armor given to us by God for our defense.
The strength of the armor is only as good as its weakest part.
We have one weapon given to us by God for offense - the Word of God.
There are two main struggles:
The Internal struggle - our flesh and the sinful nature in us. ( says the flesh wars against our spirit)
The external struggle - with Satan and his demonic forces.
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Before we became Christians, the unregenerate person, who the Bible calls the natural man, Satan, the prince of the power of the air has total rule over a person’s life. Without Christ, a person is not a threat to Satan, is an enemy of God and is on his way to hell.
But when someone give His life to Christ and becomes a follower of Jesus, he becomes a friend of God and an enemy of Satan. Now all hell breaks lose. Satan unleashes his weapons in his arsenal to destroy the Christian.
But when someone give His life to Christ and becomes a follower of Jesus, he becomes a friend of God and an enemy of Satan. Now all hell breaks lose. Satan unleashes his weapons in his arsenal to destroy the Christian.
Therefore..
One: We do not come to the battle unprepared.
You do not go to battle wearing tennis shoes, casual clothes or in business attire. You do not fight the enemy with your iPhone. What Paul is saying here is that you have to put on the right battle gear before you enter into battle and you need to have the right weapon.
You do not go to battle wearing casual clothes or in business attire. What Paul is saying here is that you
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.
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.. when the Bible exhorts us to do or be something, it means you can attain to it and you can definitely do it! Defeat.
Be strong in the Lord - this is a different battleground, not fought according to your skill in war or rank, it is fought under the mighty banner of Our Commander-in-chief Jesus Christ!
12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
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.
:!2
against rulers - Again Satan is called the prince of the power of the air.
against authorities - there are authorities and ranks in the demonic realm.
Be strong in the Lord - this is a different battleground, not fought according to your skill in war or rank, it is fought under the mighty banner of Jesus Christ!
against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places - there are unseen powers that have an evil influence and rule over the world.
Angelic beings are fighting in this unseen realm.
tells of a story of an angel dispatched by God in response to prayer but a territorial demonic being which was called the prince of the kingdom of Persia fought the angel for 21 days until the archangel Michael came to help.
One truth that the Lord showed me is this, while God can dispatch His holy angels to help us...
As the redeemed people of God, we have authority over the enemy, we can fight him and we can prevail.
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 have an armor given by God for our defense.
We have an armor given by God for our defense.
It is not an armor of our own making.
What are the parts of the armor?
Secondly, we have an armor given by God for our defense.
Verse 14 - The belt of truth.
Satan is the Father of lies. Therefore one solid way to resist him is to be in the truth.
One note about an ancient soldier’s armor is that every piece of the full armor is attached to the belt. That means you have to begin with the truth, otherwise you will never defeat the enemy.
The Breastplate of righteousness.
Protects the heart.
What are the parts of the armor?
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Matthew 15:
The heart is desperately wicked.
We need to have the right heart, a heart after God’s own heart.
We are not perfect but we can be made perfect.
By the righteousness imputed in us by Jesus Christ.
Shoes of the gospel of peace.
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
I said before that Satan is a defeated foe, the war is already over, he had been handed the ultimate defeat and Jesus won the ultimate victory.
Presently, therefore Satan is desperate and is forming an army of his followers and someday their will be a great final battle with Jesus and His saints decisively defeating Satan and his army.
But in the meantime, Satan is just there to annoy you through skirmishes, something like a guerilla warfare. He sets up mine fields along our path.
Wear those shoes so you can trample..
Walking with God, walking in the Spirit - It is not stroll or a walk in the park. Walk means a constant advancing, we have to keep advancing.
One thing to note..
Why did Paul talk about a breastplate and not a back plate?
Breastplate, protection that covers the front of the Christian warrior. But nothing that covers the back part.
It is because the Christian should be constantly advancing.. taking the Kingdom of God into enemy territories, most importantly taking the gospel to enemy territory.
The shield of faith
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
:!6
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Ephesians 6:
The helmet of salvation
The Sword of the Spirit - our only offensive weapon
I said earlier that the strength of the armor is only as good as its weakest part.
There is a story of a king of Israel, King Ahab who died in battle when an enemy soldier drew a bow and randomly fired an arrow, the arrow fell on a section between his armor.
I believe that since the armor is of God that it is strong, there are no chinks in an armor made by God. But we must wear every part of it. (illustrations of missing parts, it does not makes sense to just wear a belt, and the other parts of the body exposed.. we cannot come with a body armor and not have a helmet, sniper fire can definitely target your head.. you get the picture..
We must wear every piece of our armor!
Going back to the question.. What about the back plate?
1. That means we should never turn our backs on the enemy in retreat. Retreat is not an option to the Christian.
2. While we are advancing and taking the fight to enemy territory, remember, God has our backs!
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Psalm 91:3-
God fights the battle with us! Ultimately, He fights the battles for us and we will win if we put on the armor that He has provided for us. Next week..
Recurring Theme of the Sermon Series:
Satan is terrified of Jesus Christ. We can only have complete Spiritual Victory when Jesus has complete presence and rule in our hearts.
Thank You Lord that you have given me your full armor.
Help me to put on belt of truth, teach me to stand on the truth of your word.
Help me to put on the breastplate of righteousness. I declare my heart is protected by the righteousness of Jesus.
Help me to put on the sandals of peace. To take the gospel to unreached souls.
Help me to take on the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and I will wield the sword of the Spirit which is Your Word.
Empower me as a fully armed warrior, prepared for the battles ahead and advancing Your Kingdom in this world.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
