Fighting a Spiritual Warfare
What We Believe, and Why We Believe It! • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The last time we were together, we saw that we are in a spiritual battle and we cannot fight this battle in our own strength. If an intruder broke into your home and you had to defend yourself you could use a physical weapon because they are flesh and blood, but a spiritual attack is not the same.
To protect ourselves and have power over Stan, the Bible instructs us to put on the WHOLE or entire armor of God. If even a single piece of armor is missing, we are vulnerable to attack.
I want you to understand the the armor God has provided is important, but putting it on is a choice!
Our Armor
Our Armor
The armor is listed in Ephesians 6 and is compared to the armor or a Roman solider in Paul’s day…I wonder where he would have gotten such an idea? Could it be because he was in prison and chained between two soldiers around the clock?
The armor you will notice is described in five parts...
The Belt of Truth
The Belt of Truth
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
The belt of a solider’s armor is what held every other piece together, and without it nothing else mattered.
What does the verse teach us about our belt? Our belt is truth - it is what holds everything together!
The devil, he’s a liar and the father of lies! Every untruth being told today originated at his lips. The truth is the only thing that can combat lies. We are to be truthful, honest, and trustworthy, and if we are not we bring dishonor to the Word of God!
Next is the...
Breastplate of Righteousness
Breastplate of Righteousness
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
For the Roman soldier this piece of armor would protect the viral organs, such as the lungs and the heart, much in the same way a bullet-proof vest protects LE and military today.
As Paul studied the soldier’s armor, I imagine he would ask questions about, and no doubt he used their own armor as a means to share the gospel with them.
What does the breastplate of righteousness do for us? It demonstrates that we need to do right, and by doing right we protect our heart. How does doing right protect our heart? By not damaging our testimony!
Life is made up of choices, when we choose to do right, we are choosing not to do wrong. When we choose righteousness, we are choosing to obey God.
The belt, the breastplate, and next the...
Sandals
Sandals
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
A Roman soldier’s shoes we made of leather, but that is not what made them special! They were designed with nails or spikes in the soles so that the soldier could gain ground against his enemy. They could dig in their feet and hold the ground they had already won.
How do we gain ground? By preaching the gospel! We must be prepared everywhere we go to take the gospel with us. Another point here is that we are not to concede the ground we have gained. Unfortunately we have begun losing ground because of our refusal to simply stand up for what is right!
May we never lose our boldness to speak up for the gospel!
Next we see the...
Shield of Faith
Shield of Faith
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The Roman shield was longer than it was wide, and covered in leather. The reason for the leather coating was due to the practice of the enemy firing a barrage of burning arrows into the lines of soldiers. The arrows would embed in the shield, but the leather would extinguish the flame.
Hence, our shield, faith, is able to withstand any assault launched at us by our enemy. We must be strong in our faith if we are going to succeed in this battle. But that is not all that is significant about the Roman shield!
Their shield was designed to be interlocking so that fellow soldiers could form an almost unbreakable, impenetrable barrier against their enemy. The meaning? One Roman shield was strong, but when you linked with others, it was even stronger! The point Paul was trying to make couldn’t be more clear, your faith may be strong, but when you stand with others of like faith it is multiplied!
To take up the shield of faith means to trust God’s promises. It means to go about doing His work, fully relying upon Him. Satan would love nothing more than for us to rely upon our own strength, that is why we must “…be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” and why we must lean on one another in the battle as well.
Following the shield comes...
The Helmet of Salvation
The Helmet of Salvation
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The soldier’s helmet protected their head from serious injury. Spiritually speaking the helmet of salvation refers to having a personal, experiential knowledge of salvation. It also speaks of our assurance of salvation.
The devil loves to have God’s people doubt their salvation. I cannot count the times I have had conversations with people regarding the assurance of their salvation. Salvation is not something you feel, it is something you know: 1 John 5:13
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
From the helmet of salvation we move onto the...
Sword of the Spirit
Sword of the Spirit
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The sword is one of only two offensive weapons mentioned in Ephesians 6. The Roman sword was a short, but very sharp double-edged sword. The Roman soldiers would train for hours a day, every day, and could use their sword with deadly accuracy and swiftness.
For us, our sword is the Word of God. Hebrews, tells us, Hebrews 4:12
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.
Its two edges and its power are seen when:
We give it out to others and they turn to Christ
We hide in our heart and quote it to ourselves to avoid sin.
The Bible, just like the Roman soldier’s sword is not good to you if you do not know how to use it!
The final piece of armor is often the most overlooked:
Prayer
Prayer
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
While there is no connection made here to the Roman soldier this is the most important part of our armor. Prayer protects us and prayer empowers us in the battle. Do not neglect your prayer life.
The fight will happen whether you’re ready or not. Whether nor not you are prepared is up to you. My advice, go put on the armor of God.