THE ARMOR OF GOD (PART 1)

 "You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst" (Joshua 7:13).

Those of us who have been involved with spiritual warfare for a while can become so familiar with certain Scriptures that they are in danger of becoming old hat—kind of like how some people view John 3:16. As well known as that verse is, it remains one of the most complete and succinct presentations of the gospel in the entire Bible.

Ephesians 6:10ff. is the classic passage in Scripture on the believer’s armor. It has it all. Other passages shed light on the subject, but none comes close to this "mother lode" of spiritual gold. And because this portion of the Bible is so familiar, we can easily write it off with a yawn, thinking "been there, read that."

And, of course, nothing would please the enemy more.

In the upcoming weeks we will take another look at this passage of Scripture, with the hope and prayer that it will bring refreshment and encouragement to you.

In Ephesians 6:10, Paul begins his exhortation to put on the panoply (full armor) of God by writing, "Finally, be strong in the Lord. . . ." This command cannot be understood apart from the context of the whole Book of Ephesians.

Paul had spent the better part of the first chapter of this book talking about all we have and all we are "in Christ." We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. God chose us to be holy and blameless, adopted children upon whom He poured out His grace in Christ. He redeemed us through His shed blood so that we are truly forgiven of all sins in Christ. God sealed us in Christ by the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance to come. And so on.

Certainly one of the chief themes of the Book of Ephesians is our position in Christ. It is the basis of unity in the body of Christ, holy living, harmonious family relationships and victorious spiritual warfare. Our position in Christ determines our authority in Christ.

Our position in Christ is at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Ephesians 2:6). Our authority in Christ is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come" (Ephesians 1:21). Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and Christ exercises that authority on earth through His church, the body of Christ.

So, the first and foremost thing we need to realize and appropriate in our daily warfare against Satan (both as individuals and as a church) is that we are in Christ. We need to know the truths of our identity in Christ backwards and forwards. And we need to believe that they are true about us as individuals and as a church. And then we need to step out in faith and do battle, based on who we are. That is what it means to be "strong in the Lord. . . ."

Who we are in the flesh counts for nothing in our battles against the powers of darkness. Who we are in Christ means everything. Christ has already won the war and defeated Satan at the cross! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and He succeeded! And we are in Christ, the Victor who is on His throne!

The army of Saul saw themselves as mere men before the giant Goliath and cowered in fear. The little boy David saw Goliath in view of Almighty God and ran to the battle.

Child of God, you are in Christ, the victorious and invincible Warrior who reigns and rules from the right hand of the Father in heaven! You, too, can stand up to the giants in your life and slay them as you are strong in the Lord.

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst" (Joshua 7:13).

God was in the process of establishing His church in the City of Ephesus—what was then a hot bed of worship of the demon-goddess, Artemis (to the Romans, she was called "Diana"). Artemis was apparently the ruling spirit over the city, and merchants in that city who made a nice living off people’s devotion to her were not happy when Paul and company came there to preach the gospel. Demetrius stirred up a hornet’s nest against them. For two solid hours the people chanted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" until they finally calmed down. Don’t you wish we could get people to be so excited about Jesus for two hours on a Sunday morning?

This City of Ephesus was also where the exorcist-wannabes’, the seven sons of Sceva, got their whipping at the hands of a demon. "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" were the words the evil spirit spoke before thrashing the seven imposters. Strong words for those who would seek to minister for Jesus in the flesh!

Apparently, Ephesus was kind of an occultist’s Mecca, as numerous sorcerers from that city turned to Christ, repenting of their evil deeds. They even publicly renounced their wicked practices by burning their scrolls of magic spells. A lot of their money literally went up in smoke as those scrolls were quite expensive. But, praise God, when Christ truly gets hold of a life, there is no cost too high to pay for freedom from bondage to Satan!

I’m sure the Ephesian believers did not need to be convinced of the reality of the spiritual battle around them! The spiritual atmosphere of the place must have been like living today in Salt Lake City, UT; or Lhasa, Tibet; or Sedona, AZ.

What an encouragement for those young Christians to learn about the presence and power of the Holy Spirit! They already knew about the powers of darkness; knowledge of their activity was woven into the very warp and woof of their worldview. What they needed to know about was the power of the living God!

You might recall from Acts 19 that the first 12 disciples in that city had not even heard about the Holy Spirit until Paul met them. They had just been baptized into John’s baptism of repentance. Their ignorance about the Spirit is probably why Paul talks so much about the Holy Spirit in his letter of them.

Though believers in America are generally not as ignorant as the Ephesians were about the Spirit of God, there is still much misunderstanding about His ministry. And Christians in this country desperately need to obey Paul’s admonition to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

In fact, you cannot be "strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10) unless you are filled with the Spirit. You cannot wage effective spiritual warfare against the enemy if you are walking in the energy of your own flesh. You must be filled with the Spirit. You cannot wield the sword of the Spirit without being filled with the Spirit. And you certainly will be unable to pray in the Spirit if you are not filled with the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is so critical to living the Christian life that we will make that the topic of next week’s Prayer Prod. For now, Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian believers is my prayer for you as well:

"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith: and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:14-21).

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst" (Josh. 7:13).

The importance of the power of the Holy Spirit in waging spiritual battle cannot be overstated. Spiritual warfare demands spiritual weapons. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, put it this way:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Cor. 10:3,4).

Jesus, "full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness." After successfully resisting the enemy’s temptations for forty days, "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:1,14).

If Jesus found the filling of the Holy Spirit to be essential to His victory over the devil, how much more is it necessary for us?

The sad truth, however, is that many, and perhaps most, Christians in America know little or nothing of the Spirit-filled life. Their lives are characterized much more by "immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, etc." (Gal. 5:19-21) than by the fruit of the Spirit. They are ferociously laying up treasures on earth, rather than being "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Rom. 12:11). Their passions are for the temporal things that can be seen, rather than for the eternal, invisible things of God (2 Cor. 4:18). They are filled with the selfishly ambitious wisdom of the world, flesh and devil, rather than the peaceful, righteous wisdom of God (Jas. 3:13-18).

How about you? Do you long for a life characterized more and more by the Spirit’s fruit of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22,23)? I know I do!

Jesus talked about a life of intimacy and dependence upon Him in John 15 when He said:

"I am the vine, you are the branches: he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

The extent to which you truly believe those words of Jesus will determine the extent to which you are continually filled with the Spirit. For if you are convinced that you can do some things without Jesus, you will. But if you are walking in the blessedness of being poor in spirit, then the kingdom of heaven will be yours!

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, warned against grieving the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). The Spirit of God is grieved by the sin in our lives, especially that which hurts others. But, rather than bringing grief to God, we can be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). In fact, we are commanded to be filled—directed, empowered, led—by the Spirit.

Are you filled with the Spirit of God today? Do you know that you are? Ephesians 5:19-21 tells us what the Spirit-filled man or woman will be like:

Are you praising or pouting? Grateful or grumbling? Fearing God and submitting to others or fighting to get your own way?

You have a spiritual battle to wage against the enemy. But before you can be victorious in that way, you must win the battle of your own will. Will you surrender the controls of your life to God and let Him fill you? Will you choose today, like the fruitful branch, to draw your strength and life from the Vine, Jesus?

The choice is yours: the fruit of the Spirit or the deeds of the flesh. Whichever you choose will be obvious—to God, to men and to the devil.

"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith: and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:14-19).

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

I cannot overstate how critical it is for us to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). Walking according to our new and true identity in Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the foundation of victorious spiritual warfare. To ignore or neglect these realities and plunge ahead into attempting to put on the armor of God would be sheer folly. But knowing who you are in Christ and choosing to abide in Christ opens the way for us to appropriate God’s defensive and offensive weapons!

"Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:11

A quick glance at this verse gives us some broad strokes in understanding how to win spiritual wars:

1. The armor belongs to God.
2. We have the responsibility to put on the armor (an active, not passive action).
3. We must put on the full armor (not just one or two pieces).
4. The purpose of the armor is to be able to stand firm.
5. We are enabled, by the armor of God, to stand firm against the devil’s schemes (clever tricks, strategies, ploys).

Unlike King Saul’s armor which was too big and bulky for the little boy David to

wear into battle with Goliath, the armor of God fits every child of God perfectly. But how do we put on something we can’t see? By faith.

As we will see in the following weeks, putting on each piece of God’s armor involves something we choose to believe (faith) and choose to do (by faith).

What an encouragement to know that God’s armor is sufficient for every spiritual battle that may come our way. Contained in the panoply of those six pieces of protection is everything we need to stand firm against the devil’s schemes! Praise the Lord!

Many times we feel like helpless victims, caught in some kind of a spiritual tug-o-war match between God and the devil. Well, if you feel at the end of your rope today, the truth of Ephesians 6:11 is what you need to claim. Claim it now:

In the name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His word, I renounce the lie that I am a helpless victim, unable to stand against the devil’s attacks. But I choose, by faith, to claim today that by putting on the full armor of God I will be able to stand firm against any and all of the devil’s schemes!

The goal is to stand firm. This brings a picture to mind of occupying a piece of ground and not budging, no matter what forces are arrayed to try and move you. So stand your ground, beloved! Don’t let the devil push you around! No matter what devious scheme comes against you, no weapon fashioned against you will stand (Isaiah 54:17). But you will, in Christ, filled with the Spirit, having put on the full armor of God!

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

During World War II, the Allied forces were able to deceive the Germans into thinking they were going to launch a major assault on an area far from their actual target. They did this by planting phony battle plans in the pocket of a dead man they placed in the ocean near some enemy ships. The Germans, thinking they had hit the jackpot by uncovering a major military strategy, were soundly defeated when the real battle came.

Their troops were in the wrong place!

We, too, can be deceived into thinking we are fighting spiritual battle, when the real war is elsewhere. Ephesians 6:12 warns us of that very real possibility:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

In Ephesians chapters four, five and the beginning of chapter six, Paul instructs the believers in Ephesus how to properly relate to one another. There is teaching for believers with each other, husbands and wives, employers and employees, and parents and children. These are the primary human relationships that every child of God experiences. And they can also be the primary source of conflicts.

It would be easy to view other people as the problem. And it certainly is very easy to allow ourselves to be drawn into quarrels and conflicts with the important people in our lives. And that is exactly what the devil wants.

And that is precisely why Paul warns us that our war is not to be fought on a human level. Our real enemy is unseen.

How much of our anguish and grief as Christians would be removed if we stopped for a moment and took Ephesians 6:12 seriously? What would happen in our homes and churches and schools and places of business if we stopped fighting with one another and started fighting on the real battle front – the unseen, spiritual war against the devil and his forces?

We’d probably see revival!

And so, the question to naturally pose at this point is this: Where are your energies being directed? Are you wearing yourself out in interpersonal conflicts or are you waging war on your knees against the real enemy?

Isn’t it time to take seriously the inspired word of God through the apostle Paul and lay down your weapons of war against your brother or sister?

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

We live in a material world, but we are involved in a spiritual war. We are up against dark forces that seek to manipulate people and circumstances for their own wicked purposes. Even though people may be the puppets through which the enemy operates, human beings are not the ones we are fighting against. Jesus came to save people’s souls, not condemn them. Ours is a ministry of reconciliation not condemnation. If the devil can lure us into expending all our time, energy and money battling against people, we will have none of those resources left to fight him. That is clearly one of the most effective tactics he uses against believers.

How many married couples, families, ministry teams, churches, parachurch organizations and mission agencies are dividing or divided? Divorce, angry controlling parents or angry rebellious kids, church splits, quarreling, back-biting, doctrinal disputes, etc. are rampant in Christian homes and churches!

Is there any doubt as to why one of the most prevalent themes in Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17) is for unity in the body of Christ? Unity in the body of Christ glorifies God, because God (in the Trinity) is unified. Unity in the body of Christ shows other people that Jesus is real, because people are not by nature unified! And unity in the body of Christ is necessary for maximum spiritual authority against the devil.

An important biblical principle to remember is that "spiritual authority broadens as unity in the body deepens."

A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and will receive nothing in response to his prayers (James 1:5-8), so the devil seeks to divide a human heart. A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25), so the devil seeks to break up marriages and families. The same goes for the "house" of a church, or Christian organization.

But if that Christian individual, couple, family, church or organization is living out their unity in Christ based on their common identity in Christ, then they can exercise strong spiritual authority in Christ! What might happen if all (or even most) of the true Christian churches in your town or city started living out their unity in Christ – praying together, loving each other, meeting each others’ needs, etc.! We might just see a full scale revival break out!

We have spent this time talking about unity in the body of Christ, because as we read Ephesians 6:10 ff. it is easy to think that Paul is writing to individuals. He’s not. He’s writing to the church as a living, breathing body, designed for the individual parts to work together as a whole. Now, obviously, if individuals do not put on the armor of God, neither can the whole. But the flip side of that is true, too. An individual cannot be fully clothed in the armor of God if he or she is not in dynamic, intimate relationship with a body of believers.

No Lone Rangers allowed here in the kingdom of God!

The question for this week is: Are you connected to the body, learning to put on the full armor of God in relationship to other brothers and sisters in Christ? If not, you’ve got chinks in your armor! Don’t wait another day. Get connected to the body!

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

It is not by accident that the first piece of armor that the apostle Paul lists in Ephesians 6 is truth. The New American Standard Bible puts it this way:

"Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth…" Ephesians 6:14

This Scripture is actually an Old Testament quote from Isaiah 11:5, a prophecy concerning the Messiah:

It is very significant that we are commanded to gird ourselves with the same armor as the Lord Jesus, for when we put on the full armor of God, we are actually clothing ourselves with Christ Himself! Consider a parallel passage, found at the end of Romans 13:

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Romans 13:10-14

When we "gird our loins with truth", we are putting on the Lord Jesus, who is the truth. By choosing truth, we are choosing to repudiate the devil and all his works and ways, because the devil is a liar. When we choose to know, believe, speak and live out the truth, we take away the enemy’s greatest weapon, deception.

Truth is a part of our new identity in Christ, and therefore we should have nothing to do with falsehood in any of its forms. Earlier in the book of Ephesians, Paul wrote:

"But you did not learn Christ in this way [in sensuality, impurity and greed], if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."

Ephesians 4:20-25

As one who has been inseparably joined to Jesus, the truth, will you choose to live in the truth today, laying aside all lying, deception, exaggeration, insincerity, flattery, gossip, slander, and truth-withholding?

It is only when we do so that we are ready to pray.

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

In our nation, the once clear waters of "right and wrong" have been muddied by moral relativism and the tolerance of evil. What shocked us twenty years ago is winked at today. For those of us with small children (or grandchildren), the prospects of what might be considered "normal" 10-15 years down the road is frightening.

Perhaps never before has there been in our nation’s history such a critical day for the church to stand for righteousness. Unfortunately many believers have laid down their armor to take a closer peek at what the world is up to. We have crept closer and closer and warmed ourselves at the fires of immorality and denied our Lord whose throne is established in righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14, 97:2).

What is the cure for this deadly "heart disease" of the church? The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6 provides the answer:

Every Christian is called to be a soldier. And the good soldier, in active service, does not entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life (2 Timothy 2:4). He does not let down his guard, living with a peacetime mentality in the midst of war!

Ephesians 6:14 makes it clear that the soldier of God has already put on the breastplate of righteousness. Even when there seems to be a lull in the action and the warrior is catching his breath, this crucial piece of armor remains in place.

On a practical level, we make sure our "heart" is protected from attack by putting on the breastplate of righteousness in at least two ways:

1. We stand firm in our identity in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 assures us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This is a done deal, having been accomplished by Jesus at the cross and made true of us at our conversion. Our response is to receive this wonderful truth by faith and know today that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Truly you will never be more forgiven than you are now, if you belong to Jesus. Though your sins (and mine!) were as scarlet, they are as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Praise the name of the Lord!
2. Because we are already righteous and holy, forgiven and cleansed saints, we need to make the choice TODAY to walk in holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 puts it this way: "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love…" Walking by faith in God and living a life of love toward others is the guts of what righteous living is all about!

This day, God wants you to be able to counter all attacks of guilt, shame and temptation that the enemy of your soul throws at you. How do you do that? Make the choice today to walk in the righteousness that is already yours in Christ!

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

Seeing souls saved and captives set free is the purpose of spiritual warfare! In fact, any so-called "spiritual warfare" ministry that does not serve both of those purposes is missing the mark. The heartbeat of God is to seek and to save that which was lost and to purify His precious bride for the upcoming marriage supper of the Lamb!

And so, the good soldier of Christ Jesus must be ready to bring the good news of the gospel to a dying world and a needy church. The third piece of armor reminds us of this solemn responsibility in Ephesians 6:15:

This verse immediately brings to mind two other passages of Scripture that reinforce this clarion call to preach the gospel:

1 Peter 3:15

The gospel, Romans 1 says, is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes! Therefore, we must always be ready – in season and out of season – to bring good news to all who will hear! You ought to have with you at all times a personal testimony of what God has done in your life. And a few gospel tracts to give to people you are unable to talk with extensively is a must as well.

As you engage the enemy face to face, nose to nose in personal witness for Jesus, you must make sure you have the right "footwear" on! The Roman soldier’s sandal was well-cleated on the sole for maximum stability and mobility. And the straps of that sandal fit snugly around his lower leg, making it very difficult to turn an ankle or be knocked off balance.

Before you go out to preach the gospel to sinners and teach the gospel to saints, make sure you are protected by the peace of God! Your heart and mind will be a target of the enemy’s attacks of fear and anxiety. He will try to knock you off balance and keep your focus inward rather than outward. Let Philippians 4:6-9 be your stability today, and remember, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

It is never safe to take off the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness and sandals of peace! Even the weary Roman soldier grabbing a few moments of rest from the battle would keep these three pieces of armor firmly in place. And so must we, as children/soldiers of God.

Philippians 4:8 exhorts us to let our minds dwell on what is true. Romans 13:14 urges us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (who is our righteousness) and to make NO provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Philippians 4:6,7 commands us to be anxious for nothing but in everything with thankful prayer, let our requests be made known to God. When we do that we will be soothed by the ever-present peace of the Prince of Peace.

Before we learn to take up the other three pieces of the armor of God, we must make sure the first three are secure. There is no safe way to bypass these things. Scripture is true and cannot be short-cutted and will not be short-circuited.

My brother or sister in Christ, will you let the word of God examine your heart today? Are you strong in the Lord? Do you know who you are as a child of God, or are you performing to try and win the approval of God, others or self? Are you secure in the Father’s arms or are you hoping to gain a sense of value through your job, your income, your house, your car, your family, your degrees or…?

Do you know what it means to be strong in the strength of God’s might? Have you humbled yourself to acknowledge that apart from Christ you can do nothing, or are you smug and confident in your own experience, wisdom, intelligence or strength? Until you raise your empty hands to God and cry out to Him to fill you with the Spirit, you will be no match for the enemy of your soul!

Are you developing the habit of meditating on the word of God day and night? Psalm 1 says then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is what you must fix your mind upon. Away with the foolishness of TV shows, music, books, magazines, movies, videos, conversations, computer games, web sites, chat rooms, etc. that are filled with the lies and values of this world. Set a guard around your mind and be vigilant and diligent to allow no thought or attitude to take hold that would displease our Lord.

Are you filled with fear or anxiety? Fear is the antithesis of faith and anxiety is the opposite of peace. Put on faith and love as a breastplate today, and affirm out loud if necessary that God has not given you a spirit of fear (timidity) but of power, love and a sound mind. Cast every anxiety upon the Lord, because He cares for you. Relax in His sheltering arms. Let Him hold you. Stop trying to control circumstances and people. You cannot and you must not. Pray instead, thanking God for His wisdom and His timing and His power. His peace will flood your soul today!

The one thing I am convinced of more and more is that a casual, lackadaisical, nonchalant approach to the Christian life will not cut it. This is warfare, my friend, and so I urge you, take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm! God bless you as you do!

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

Do you ever feel like you are target practice for the devil? Be encouraged today, my friend, because God has given you an invincible defense!

The apostle Paul describes the fourth piece of armor this way:

All of us go through trials. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are mild, others are intense. Some are short-lived, others are chronic. But all of them add stress to our lives. And all of them have the capacity to make us better or bitter. We can either grow through them or growl at them. The choice is ours.

Scripture is clear how we are to handle trials and tribulations. Here is a sampling of what the word of God has to say on the matter:

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4,5

God is sovereign. He will not allow anything in your life or mine beyond what we can handle in Him (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). What He allows in our lives is meant to strengthen our faith and make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28,29).

The devil, however, lurks in the shadows of every trial and hisses his lies, "You can’t trust God!", "If God really loved you, He wouldn’t make you go through this", "This suffering will never end. It’s hopeless", "You’re feeling miserable, why don’t you numb the pain with alcohol, drugs, porn (or whatever)…" And so on.

How can you stand firm in the midst of the flaming fury of the devil’s incoming missiles? Lift up the shield of faith! Through your pain or tears or frustration, give thanks to God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:18), for thanksgiving demonstrates faith. Say to God, "Lord, I’m hurting here, but I thank You that You are in control, that You love me and that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Though I cannot see or feel You right now, I cling to You, and I know Your right hand will uphold me (Psalm 63:8). I trust that this trial will, in the end, make me more like Jesus. And for that, I say, thank You

Brother or sister in Christ, know today that no matter what evil may befall you, the shield of faith will snuff out every vicious, cruel attack of the enemy and will enable you to stand firm through the painful trial. The Bible promises that. Count on it today!

"You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." Joshua 7:13

"Have I committed the unpardonable sin?" That was the question foremost on the mind of the frightened man as he walked into my office. And today, that may be the question foremost on your mind, or on the mind of someone you know and love.

Last week we discussed what it meant to put on "the helmet of salvation." For those who are battling with the fear that they have somehow blasphemed the Holy Spirit, there is no way they can keep that critical piece of armor in place until they have resolved this issue. Perhaps this short devotional will help you reach that resolution. Let’s begin by looking at Mark 3:22-30, a key passage on this topic:

"And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" – because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’"

Most certainly Jesus was speaking to people whose hearts were hardened to the nth degree. There standing in front of them was the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, and they attributed his ministry of delivering people from demonic bondage to the devil himself!

These were the same scribes who so hated Jesus that they orchestrated His betrayal, arrest, mock trial, scourging, beating and hateful crucifixion. They detested Jesus and cursed him, spat upon him and sneered at him on the cross. They had never been open to the work of the Spirit of God and never would be.

Now, as you look at your life – is that really you? I doubt it very much. Somehow I can’t imagine those who hate Jesus taking the time to visit a Freedom in Christ web site, let alone even give a hoot about whether they committed the unpardonable sin or not!

The devil is an accuser. He is like a prosecuting attorney, viciously and brutally seeking to discredit and discourage a witness on the stand. Perhaps at one time in your life you were skeptical about whether such and such a miracle or manifestation of the Spirit was really from God. But it turned out it was from God. And so, the devil, cruel opportunist that he is, roared in and pointed his gnarled finger at your heart saying, "Aha! You see! You’ve done it now! There’s no hope for you. You’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit!"

Been there, felt that? Are there, feeling that? I have, and it can be sheer torment, thinking that you have lost all hope.

Dear brother or sister in Christ, "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). That accusing, condemning voice is not the Lord. It is one of the devil’s emissaries masquerading as the voice of God.

Here’s what you do: For every wrong attitude, word or deed that you have committed, go to God in confession, claiming 1 John 1:9 that you are forgiven. Then renounce each lying accusation, declaring that you are a child of God and not guilty of the unpardonable sin. Then command the enemy to leave your presence in no uncertain terms.

If he tries to gain entry again by popping a thought in your mind, speak a Scripture out loud that refutes his lie and start worshipping the Lord or praying for others. After a while, the enemy will get the idea that you’re on to his game and he’s been check-mated.

Above all, don’t be discouraged with the battle, especially if you have allowed the accusing, obsessive thoughts to find a home in your mind for a while. As long as you persevere and don’t give up and don’t give in, you will prevail!

So, my friend, put on the helmet of salvation! It looks great on you!!

What good is a soldier without a weapon? A soldier’s purpose is to engage the enemy and defeat him in battle, not just survive. So many Christians seem to be just hanging on against the enemy, with their noses barely above water. Have we forgotten the terrible power of "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"?

Jesus, as a little boy and young man was thoroughly grounded in the Old Testament Scriptures. Even at age 12 he amazed the religious leaders with His profound insights into the word of God. Jesus’ childhood training in the Scriptures, coupled with the mighty power of the Holy Spirit in His life, would serve invaluable later on.

Shortly after Jesus’ baptism by John, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to do battle with the devil. After fasting for 40 days and nights He became hungry and it was at the time that the tempter tried to hit Jesus with his best shots.

Three times the gospels record the devil’s temptations. Three times Jesus countered with the spoken word of God. "It is written…" "It is written…" "It is written…" The devil fled until a more opportune time. He had no choice. He was soundly defeated and knew there was no way he could defeat the Lord Jesus one on one.

Three times Jesus quoted from the book of Deuteronomy in resisting the devil. His answers were immediate. He employed no stall tactics in order to buy time. He did not request permission to go back into town and find some scrolls to look up a Bible verse or two. He did not "him and haw" saying something like, "I know that there’s a Scripture that talks about that, but I just can’t seem to put my finger on it…"

Unfortunately, in my observation, far too many believers in Christ are biblical illiterates or at best swinging a rather dull sword. Is it any wonder that the devil runs rampant over our lives?

My encouragement to you, brother or sister in the Lord, is to get serious about knowing the word of God so that you can take up the sword of the Spirit! What power is there! Look at Hebrews 4:12:

In places like Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 we are exhorted over and over again to hunger for, meditate on and grow in wisdom from the word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 says:

Touching stories are nice. Clever arguments have their place. Jokes can be effective tools. But there is only one sword. And when it comes to spiritual warfare, all the human reasoning, eloquence and arguing will prove vain. But if you submit to God and resist the devil with the word of God, he will flee from you.

Do you remember the first piece of armor? The belt of truth – knowing the truth. God’s word is truth. And you can know this for sure – without the belt, the sword will fall down. You have to know the truth in order to be able to speak the truth.

Don’t be deceived into thinking that God will somehow miraculously zap your mind with Scripture you do not know when you are fighting against the devil. But He will bring to your mind Scripture that you have learned in your hour of need.

Do you want to defeat the enemy in spiritual battle? The learn the word of God and use it as the sword it is! John’s first letter says just that:

"I have written to you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." 1 John 2:14b

Now that you have the full armor of God in place, you’re ready to pray! Since prayer is warfare, it should not surprise us that the admonition to put on all of God’s armor (Ephesians 6:10-17) precedes this exhortation to pray in Ephesians 18:

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."

Now I know that some dear brothers and sisters in the Lord will disagree with me on this one, and the following words are my opinions only (Rich Miller), but I don’t happen to think that the apostle Paul is talking primarily about praying in tongues here. He is speaking about praying "all kinds of prayers and requests", not just one kind of prayer (tongues). However, based on Paul’s extensive teaching on speaking and praying with the Spirit (tongues) in 1 Corinthians 14, I do not think he is excluding praying in tongues either. Now I know some people will really disagree with me on that one! And that’s okay. Never let it be said that we are afraid to face tough issues head on in these devotionals!

So what does it mean to pray in the Spirit? In essence, it is praying with the Holy Spirit guiding and empowering your prayer life. It is allowing Him to prompt you in whether to pray for a request at all. And if so, it is permitting Him to show you how to pray for a person or a situation, rather than assuming you know already.

How many times do we get a prayer request from another person via the phone or email or mail? Constantly! We are inundated with prayer requests these days (and unfortunately, those who are often so eager to request prayer are not always quite so quick to tell us how God answered our prayers!).

The Holy Spirit will first of all show you which requests to pray for and which to leave for another prayer warrior. One person simply cannot pray for every request that comes their way! Secondly, the Spirit will show you whether you are to respond to this request with "asking", "seeking" or "knocking" prayer.

"Asking" prayer is a one-shot lifting up of that request to God and thanking Him that it is in His hands. Then you move on to the next thing He calls you to do. I often do this with people who call on the phone for prayer. I pray right there with them over the phone and they are encouraged. Usually I do not sense an assignment from the Lord to continue in prayer for that request, unless it happens to be from a close friend or relative.

"Seeking" prayer involves a lot of question-asking of God, seeking His face and searching the word of God in order to understand exactly how to pray for a situation. For example, a request may come in to pray for a rebellious teen. As you seek God’s face, He might move your focus to pray for specific issues in the parents’ lives instead. This type of praying requires waiting on the Lord, rather than knee-jerk praying for what may only be surface symptoms.

 "Knocking" prayer is the hardest. It is the bulldog determined prayer that involves the breaking down of strongholds so that the truth of the gospel can go forth. When God gives an assignment to keep on knocking, it is with the understanding that you continue on until the answer comes, even if it takes years of prayer.

But all true prayer is initiated by the Spirit of God, led and guided by Him, and empowered by Him in accordance with His word. Whether your praying takes ten minutes or ten years, He will be there every minute to lead you.

Praying in the Spirit will never contradict the word of God, for the Spirit is the One who inspired the writers of Scripture in the first place.

So, brothers and sisters, let the Holy Spirit fill you as you put on the full armor of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions… and watch what God does!