Spiritual Armor

For the past number of weeks I have had a theme focusing upon spiritual warfare. I personally believe it is the spirit realm that is the real battlefield, which dictates to the happenings of this earth & our lives. Some would say I have gone too far but the more I dig into prayer & the Word of God the clearer I see this.

Today I want to focus on Ephesians 6:10-18 vs. 10 the strength being referred too is a strength greater than our own, it is the Lords strength. Notice the capital on His might, this scripture is talking of the dunamais power of the Holy Spirit the same power that brought light into the darkness, NOT OURS!

In verse 11 we are encouraged or instructed to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Think about the time this was written. The apostle Paul had an excellent knowledge of Roman guards armor as much of his time was either in prison or under what we call today house arrest. If you are in a battle, a war, you had best be dressed for battle or you're adversary is going to take you out & it is hard to fight when you are on your backside. The wiles are the trickery of the devil example he came as an angel of light not with a red suit with horns & a pitchfork. Years ago I learned that evil is often times packaged in a most exquisite, beautiful way, yet it is as evil as the devil himself.

In verse 12 we read "for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers , against the rulers of the darkness of this age," against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We must realize our battle is not with human cultists (Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, black arts, witchcraft to name but a few,) false religions Islam, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu etc., terrorists, atheists or agnostics. But in truth with denomic beings working through them, of which even the flesh & blood opponents themselves are sometimes ignorant of that denomic influence in their lives. Take note of the hierarchy within the denomic realm, that in itself should be a wake-up call to the Body of Christ the church of today.

Again in verse 13 we are reminded to put on the whole (every piece) of God that we may be able to withstand the powers of darkness. Vigorously opposed, bravely resisting, standing your ground. We have an adversary who seeks to undermine and destroy every believers testimony, first word, COMPROMISE. Every day has the potential of being an evil day, temptation will come, you may be trashed for your beliefs, bad stuff happens to good people, how are we going to handle & overcome them? If God says we should be dressed for battle, put on the gear, this could be the day all hell breaks loose around you.

In verse 14 He teaches us to gird our waist with truth, a belt of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth & the life + Jesus & the Word are one & the same. The truth we need above any in our lives is Gods Holy Word. Also in Verse 14 encourages us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate guards your heart, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Our heart in the Word is referring to is the home of our inward person.

In 15 He tells us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I refer to these as our go ye shoes, go ye into all the world & spread His good news. Key word PREPARATION study His word, pray, pray in the Holy Ghost. It is our job to keep ourselves stirred up, ready at any moment to share the hope we have within us. Another key word is PEACE, we are not out to make war with our fellowman but to bring peace into their hearts &* lives.

In 16 we read "above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." The shield is our protection FAITH forsaking all I trust in Him & His Holy Word, amen,amen! Quench means to put out the fiery darts (THOUGHTS) of the wicked one (Satan.) The devil cannot read your mind he reads your body language & listens to your words but he can put thoughts in your mind. The stupidest thoughts, perverted thoughts, bringing to remembrance things from years ago, things which the Lord has long since forgiven you of. The devil is the legalist & here is a truth to defeat him with, SHUT UP DEVIL GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME OF THAT SIN, GET OUT IN JESUS NAME!

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God; My wife Carol shared with me a jewel I will pass on to you; If you put a bible on your head you would be totally covered by His Word, protection, provision, healing, whatever your need it is yours. In stead of it being on our head it is to be within our minds & hopefully rooted in our hearts. Salvation is deliverance body soul & spirit, glory be to God! We need to know the truth of Gods word, how to apply it to our lives & minister it to others.

The sword of the Spirit in Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Speak it, live it, share it & watch the power of God be poured out on others, transforming their lives as it has changed yours.

Verse 18 encourages us to pray always with all prayer and supplication (a formal request to a higher power, for us His name is Jesus), being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Prayer is the primary means by which we engage in the battle & praying God's Word becomes our chief offensive weapon.

Sad to say whether it is from lack of teaching or slacking off from doing what we know we are to do, the church appears to be asleep at the wheel. This kind of Food for Thought hopefully is a reminder we needl to be about our Fathers business, it is go ye time!

Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord