It is easier and easier for the devil’s schemes to deceive us. We must prepare for battle every day. Today we are going to look at how we can face this world each day and end each day victorious.
Watch the video of this message at https://www.celllifechurch.tv/preparing-for-battle-every-day/
Every day we seem to be closer to the end of this age. The turmoil in the world is great. It is getting harder and harder to make it through each day without the problems and calamities of this world negatively affecting us. It is easier and easier for the devil’s schemes to deceive us. We must prepare for battle every day. Today we are going to look at how we can face this world each day and end each day victorious. We will be looking at three passages of scripture.
Let’s first read Romans 13:11-12
(11) And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (12) The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Christians have been facing turmoil in the world all the way back to the days of Jesus’ ministry here on earth. Each day brings us a day closer to the Lord’s return and the end of this age. Paul is encouraging the Roman believers in this passage to stay the course. He wants them to remain steady.
In verse 11, Paul tells us that the hour has come for us to wake up. We have been lulled asleep by the world. It is slow, like a lullaby.
When we want a baby to fall asleep we sing softly and quietly with a slow methodical melody so they get comfortable and fall asleep. A patient parent can do this easily to help a child go back to sleep when something has awoken them. The devil is patient, too. He slowly lulls us into a place of peace and security, but it is false peace and security. This is so he can continue to deceive mankind and force as many as possible to spend eternity in Hell with him.
We must fight for the souls of mankind. We must be soldiers for God, constantly ready to fight the devil for the souls of those around us. To be a good soldier one must be ready, willing, and able to do the work. The soldier must be physically fit and properly equipped for whatever he may face. For a soldier to succeed in battle he must be properly trained and equipped.
For the Christian, the same holds true. We must be awake and alert to the devil’s schemes. We need to be spiritually fit, so we can endure and deflect the devil’s attacks, and be prepared for battle. We have to recognize the devil’s ways and counter-attack them as the Lord leads us.
Fortunately for us, we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit. We have the scriptures which include all the teaching and encouragement we need to navigate our way through life and come out the other side victoriously. The Apostle Paul tells us exactly what we must do to be victorious in the end in verse 12. He tells us to put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Paul talks about the deeds of darkness in Ephesians 5:11
(11) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
What are these deeds of darkness? Paul talks about that in the previous verse in Ephesians 5. He lists some of these deeds as idolatry, disobedience, greed, sexual immorality, and more. These deeds glorify the flesh and blot out the light. These make a person focus more on themselves than on their fellow man and God.
These are the things that the devil tries to lull us with. He will slowly draw us more into disobedience by helping us rationalize a thought or position. The devil will blind us to our greed and immorality. He does this so slowly and with such skill, we rarely see the slow degradation to his depths.
These are the deeds we are to avoid. However, it is not always easy. But, with God, it is always possible. The armor of light that Paul refers to is just that, the armor of God. It is what we must clothe ourselves daily so we can endure, deflect, and attack the devil’s schemes in this world. The full armor of God is how we get prepared for battle every day.
Paul shares with us what the Armor of God is in Ephesians 6:10-18. Paul knew something about Roman armor and the people he was writing to at the time also knew Roman armor all too well. Picture in your mind a Roman centurion as we talk about the equipment and armor he would have as he entered battle. It is a great example of how we should be prepared for the spiritual battle we face each day.
Let’s read that passage.
(10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (12) 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. (13) 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. (14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (18) 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.
Let’s detail what the parts of the armor of God are and how we use them.
The first thing we need to do is be strong. A soldier must be physically fit if he is to endure and survive battle and emerge victoriously. Soldiers go through daily physical fitness training making sure they are strong and can carry themselves and all their equipment with ease. Likewise, before we can put on the armor of God, we must be spiritually fit. We must go through daily spiritual fitness training like reading the Bible, meditating on what we read, and time in prayer. These are the base level of things every Christian must do to be spiritually fit.
The Roman soldier would wear a belt around their waist and hang strips of strong leather to protect their lower body. The belt was also used to hang equipment. We see the same thing today. Soldiers and police officers wear belts that hold all sorts of weaponry and equipment necessary for their jobs.
We are to wear a belt of truth. Truth here refers to integrity and honesty. The Christian who can not be entirely truthful has little hope to stand up to the father of lies, Satan. Our belt of truth is our integrity, practical truthfulness, and honesty. Practical truthfulness can also be said to be laced with tact. Knowing how to communicate the truth and point out evil deeds without destroying a person.
The breastplate the Roman soldiers wore was often metal, but sometimes hard leather, and it wrapped around their entire upper body. This gave them protection from the front, where they can see what is coming, and from the back, where they are partially blind.
The breastplate of righteousness we are to wear is the practical Christian character and deeds of the believer. We must have a character that defends us against accusations, rumors, and gossip. When we have a strong Christian character it is easy to defend against lies and false accusations. Your reputation will see you through when you wear the breastplate of righteousness daily. People will not believe the rumors and gossip the devil makes up about you when your loving ways and deeds for your fellow man shine about you.
Roman soldiers wore hard studded shoes to protect them. We all know when our feet are sore or injured it is difficult to move and get around. We can’t get out of the way of things. We must protect our feet.
As Christians, we put on the shoes of the gospel of peace. There are two things we can glean from this. First, this means that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a firm foundation for us to stand on. It is immovable and unchanging. Second, we should be ready to spread and defend the gospel of Jesus Christ at any moment.
This does not mean we should be ready to argue, but to clearly answer questions and provide truth to non-believers in love. I do not know anyone who has ever been argued into accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Every Christian I know has been loved into accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Roman soldiers carried a metal shield that was approximately 2 ½ feet across and 4 feet long. That is .75 meters wide and 1.25 meters long. They carried this to protect their armor and deflect swords and arrows. Some of those arrows were flaming arrows. The shield could deflect these all because it was metal and further protected the soldier.
Our shield is our faith. Faith in what we cannot see or feel but know beyond all doubt to be true. Our faith is in Jesus Christ and his word. Our faith is what deflects and extinguishes all the fiery darts of the devil. We use our faith to deflect the rumors, gossip, and false accusations made against us. We use our faith to deflect the doubts and fears that come our way from the devil. It is our faith that protects us and the rest of our armor.
The Roman helmet was something to behold. It was intricately designed and made to make the soldier look taller and more impressive. It protected his head, the most vulnerable member of our body physically.
The helmet of salvation is the same thing. Our salvation is what protects our mind. We know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus came, paid for our sins once and for all, and rose from the grave. It is our unwavering belief that He sits at the right hand of God interceding for us and will return for us one day when God sends him. This knowledge is what protects our mind from the ways of the world and the devil.
The Roman soldier carried a sword to attack and destroy with. This sword could cut through almost anything and most assuredly guaranteed the soldier’s survival and victory in a confrontation.
Our sword is the Bible and the specific word needed to be spoken at a particular moment. It is the only offensive piece of the equipment in the armor of God. We must have the precise word ready for every moment. The only way to do that is to know the Bible intimately as a soldier knows his own sword.
As we come closer and closer to the end of this age, we must be prepared for battle every day. We must trust the Lord to equip us for whatever we will face each day. But, we must do our part as well to be ready for what God sends us to and what the devil sends our way. We must be spiritually fit by daily spending time in prayer, and reading the Bible. Then we must not leave our home without first putting on the full armor of God.
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