The Armor of God July 2021

Ephesians 6:11-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’sschemes. 12For 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.

13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18And 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. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Nehemiah 4:1-18 NIV When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” 3Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” 4Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. 6So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. 7But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

10Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” 11Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

12Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” 13Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.

14After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” 15When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. 16From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17who were building the wall.

Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other,

18and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

Introduction

1. When God’s people set themselves to work, the Hosts of Hell set their mind to wreck.

2. This is why Jesus taught us to “watch and pray.”

3. To pray without working is laziness. To work without praying is presumption.

I.General Themes

A. Adversary (vv.11, 12)

1. Satan is subtle (the wiles of the devil).

2. Satan is spiritual (not flesh and blood).

3. Satan is strong (principalities and powers). Note: authority v. power.

4. Satan is sinister (darkness).

B. Armory (vv. 13-17)

1. Belt of truth -the piece that held everything together. The thing that keeps me going is not what I feel, but what I know.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

a) Represents our position in Christ.

b) Represents our behavior in Christ.

c) Take sin very seriously.

3. Shoes of Peace

a) How we stand.

b) How we move.

4. Shield of Faith

a) Must be received.

b) Must be activated.

c) Must be embraced.

5. Sword of The Spirit

a) The Word of God

b) Mixed with Faith

6. Helmet of Salvation

a) Some say this speaks of salvation in general.

b) Others believe this speaks of the transformation that results from the renewing of our mind.

C. Atmosphere (vv.18-20)

1. The Spirit’s Enabling

2. The Sense of Family - (the captivity of Job was turned when he prayed for his friends)

3. The Focus on Prayer

a) Exodus 17 - the fight against Amalek (Moses, Aaron and Hur)

b) Daniel 10 - prayer was heard on the first of these 21 days

D. Attack (vv.11,12)

1. There is a sense of defensive posturing.

2. There is a sense of offensive aggression.

3. A gun can be an offensive weapon or a defensive weapon.

Christian Life Lessons…Lesson 1

1.Prayer

2.Pray in the Spirit!

a) With the Spirit’s direction

b) With the Spirit’s information

c) With the Spirit’s anointing (effectual fervency)

d) With the Spirit’s utterance

3.Angels are often assigned to our battles.

a) Mark 1 - Ministered to Jesus

b) Acts 12:7 - Peter delivered from Death Row

c) Hebrews 1:13, 14 – “ministering spirits”

d) 2 Kings 6 - Elisha at Dothan

II.Daily Routine

In Order To Live In Victory:

· We must make peace with our past.

· We must live with focus and purpose in the present.

· We must look with hope toward the future.

A. Put Up The Affirmations (Ephesians 6:18 NIV)

“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 saints.”

Three Commands:

1. Be filled with the Spirit!

a) The Holy Spirit is our reminder – (John 14:26-27 NIV).

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

b) Spirit-filled prayer can occur in our native tongue.

(1) Jude 20 NKJV But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

(2) 1 Corinthians 14:14-16 NKJV For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?

(3) Romans 8:26-27 NKJV Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

c) Spirit-filled prayer can also occur in the language of heaven.

2. Be prayerful!

3. Be alert! (“to be intent upon a thing”)

B. Put Down The Adversary (Ephesians 6:11-13 NIV)

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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.”

1. Satan causes:

a) Calloused hearts (Matthew 13:13-15 NIV)

This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.

b) Careless attitudes (Matthew 24:37-39 NIV)

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

c) Corrupted behavior (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV)

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of Godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

d) Confused Minds (2 Timothy 3:6-7 NIV)

“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”

C. Put on the Armor (Ephesians 6:13-18 Contemporary English Version)

“So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm. Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God's justice protect you like armor. Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Let God's saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God's message that comes from the Spirit. Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God's people.”

1. The BELT of Truth

2. The BREASTPLATE of Righteousness

3. The SHOES of Readiness and Peace

4. The SHIELD of Faith

5. The HELMET of Salvation

6. The SWORD of the Spirit

7. The ATTITUDE of Prayer

D. Put Out the Alerts

III.Led By The Spirit

A. “Abide”

B. 1 John

C. Praying in The Spirit

1. With the Spirit’s direction

2. With the Spirit’s information

3. With the Spirit’s burden (agonize in prayer)

4. With the Spirit’s anointing (effectual fervency)

5. With the Spirit’s utterance

IV.How to Have a Good Fight

A. Don’t accept every invitation to a fight.

1. Josiah

2. A time to step away; a time to step up

3. Proverbs 26:4-5 NIV Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

B. Find out what Father is saying/showing?

1. Jesus’ pattern

2. 1 John 5:14-15 NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

3. Trust the leadership of the Spirit. (Corrie’s Fleas)

C. Ask what is the wise thing to do?

1. Even if I am 100% right, my attitude can make me 100% wrong.

2. What am I fighting for?

3. Would a change in circumstances make any difference?

D. Follow Peace