“THE FIGHT OF YOUR LIFE”

This sermon was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log, Georgia on March 4, 2012 by Pastor Paul Mims.

Ephesians 6:10-18

It doesn’t take long for the new believer in Christ to learn that the Christian life is warfare. Far from the idea that when you become a Christian all your problems are over, the new believer is thrust into a spiritual battle that is the greatest fight of his or her life. This is a battle not to stay alive but to stay strong against our spiritual enemies who are a trinity of evil: the world, the flesh, and the devil. We live in a world of rampant degeneration that is trying to press us into its mold. We struggle with our own lower nature that looks out for number one. We have an enemy whose supreme desire is to destroy our joy, our witness, our effectiveness for Christ, and our relationship with our Lord.But we are not losers. Ours is a winning strategy that is laid out in the Bible. Our fight is not just to exist as a Christian, but to have a winning walk in all areas of our lives. The victory assures us that we will live a life of spiritual depth and meaning. Jesus said, “I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) To be a “Christian In Full” means that we have to fight the good fight of faith and win. We know that every Christian does not win all the time for some live defeated lives because of their own choices. We also know that God has given us everything that is required for us to be more than conquerors.

The Scripture that we consider today was written from a Roman prison in about 60 to 62 AD. The Apostle Paul is in a situation that makes him look like a loser from the world’s standpoint. He has been arrested because of his faithfulness to Jesus as the Lord of his life. The religious establishment at the time did not like his preaching and were determined to stop him from spreading the gospel. He sees Roman soldiers all day long and uses their armor to draw a contrast to the armor that is provided for the Christian. I want to give you several concepts about the armor.

WHY IS IT NEEDED? (vv.10-12) “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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 heavenly realms.”

It is necessary to be strong in the Lord. His divine power is available to us and has been placed within us in the gift of his Holy Spirit. In our own strength we are no match for the devil so we have to draw from a strength that is beyond ourselves. Without the armor of God we are like sheep being pursued by wolves.

The divine armor is required so that we can take our stand against the strategies of the devil. The whole armor is required for just one or two pieces will not offer our full protection. The devil has a strategy that is suited to us individually. He knows our vulnerabilities. He will use discouragement to weaken some, frustration to get to others, confusion to side tract those who are not sure, moral failure to destroy marriages and careers, and doctrinal error to lead many astray.

The spiritual armor is required because we are in a spiritual battle. It is not against people per se, but it is against the vast spiritual forces of evil that are using people in authority to accomplish their purposes. This includes governmental, business, and even church leaders. It involves battalions of fallen angels, armies of evil spirits, and demonic forces that are loose in the world. We cannot see them, but we can see their destructive work in the lives of people. They cannot possess a Christian but can harass and oppress in an attempt to weaken one’s faith. However, the believer should not be pre-occupied with these forces, but should focus attention on Christ.

WHAT ARMOR IS PROVIDED? (vv.13-17) “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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.”

The day of evil comes to all of us. Like as Jesus was intensely assaulted by the devil for forty days, our times of testing find us either weak or strong depending on our armor. We are able to stand in the strength of the Lord even when the conflict is the fiercest. And then Satan leaves us for a season, but he always comes back. There are times when we can do nothing but stand firm in our faith.

The first piece of armor is the belt of TRUTH. That is the truth of God’s word. Some people today like to talk of inerrancy which means that the original autographs are without error. A higher view of scripture says that divine truth is incapable of error. God’s truth is infallible and we can hold to the truth of God’s word and can test everything by his revelation to us. We not only hold to the truth, the truth holds on to us. The truth sets us free.

The second piece of the armor is the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are clothed with righteousness in Christ. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) When a person has integrity with both God and man, the forces of evil have nothing to shoot at. When the conscience is free Satan cannot plague us with guilt. We have both imputed righteousness that God has given us in Christ and also activated righteousness which we perform by always doing the right thing.

The third piece of the armor is the shoes of PEACE. This speaks of our readiness for battle. We have to ask ourselves, “Am I at this time prepared to fight?” If we have peace in our hearts we are not couch potatoes without the incentive to get up and go out and fight whatever battle looms before us. If our minds are anxious about many things we are not able to focus and cannot see the enemy for who he is. To be at peace requires that we be at peace with God, others, and ourselves. In the daily walk with the Lord, he gives us a peace that the world cannot understand.

The fourth piece of armor is the shield of FAITH. The flaming arrows and fiery darts of Satan’s minions cannot penetrate a believer who is shielded by a Holy Spirit developed faith. The Holy Spirit grows us to the point where the common everyday things that Satan uses are blunted by our shield of faith. We look out on the field of battle and see the incoming arrows flaming with tribulation, anguish, persecution, doubt, greed, lust, vanity, envy, low self-esteem, financial and health struggles, misunderstandings, and everything else he can shoot at our minds and souls. When the shield of faith is raised we are protected.

The fifth piece of armor is the helmet of SALVATION. The Christian knows that he is saved by grace through faith. As the helmet protected the head and thus the brain, Satan aims his forces at our thoughts. If he can get us thinking negatively about our salvation he can turn us against God. He has turned many people by telling them that God has treated them unjustly and has forsaken them. Our thoughts are one of our most powerful weapons and if we know that we know Satan cannot persuade us differently.

The sixth piece of armor is the sword of the Spirit which is THE WORD OF GOD. The first five pieces of armor are mostly defensive in nature. The sword of the Spirit, being the word of God, is offensive in nature. Battles are not won just by being defensive but by going on the offensive to take back that which Satan has taken from us and to conquer that which we do not yet have. The Holy Spirit will bring to our minds a portion of scripture that fits the occasion. Jesus used scripture to answer each of the temptations that Satan offered him. He did not just defend himself with scripture, he used the word-sword to slay Satan’s arguments for him and for us.

HOW IS THE ARMOR USED? (v.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 saints.”

Praying in the Spirit means to be inspired and led by him. Rote and memorized prayers are those that we pray without giving thought to their meaning. There are three “Alls” of prayer: all occasions, all kinds of prayers and request, and for all the saints. Prayer is not a piece of the armor, but it is the means by which we put on the armor. Christians are encouraged to put on the armor daily through prayer. Visualize equipping yourself with all the armor of God as you begin each day.

Dear Lord, as I begin this day, I want to be fully protected by your armor and to be fully prepared to conquer spiritual territory today.

I put on the BELT OF TRUTH and wrap it all around me. I know the truth about you, me, and the devil. I want to go deeper in all truth today. I want to know more, understand more deeply, and live more truly. I believe that Jesus is the truth that sets me free.

I put on THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. I will wear the robe of righteousness which is given to me in Christ and which makes me clean in your sight. I will endeavor to do the right thing in all situations and for the good of others.

I put on the SHOES OF PEACE. Your peace equips me to face the day with calmness and assurance. This enables me to go into troubling situations and bring peace. I will seek the peace for others who want to know the peace that passes all understanding.

I put on the SHIELD OF FAITH. I know that Satan may try to shoot some flaming arrows at me today and I will raise my shield of faith to blunt them so that they will not be effective. Like the saints of old in Hebrews 11:33-34, who through faith “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of flames, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle…,” I will conquer today.

I put on THE HELMET OF SALVATION. My head is a major target of Satan. He wants to control my mind. I will not let him cause me to question my salvation with his weapons of doubt and discouragement. Lord, help me to be clear in my thinking and undamaged by warfare today.

I take up THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Lord, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. As I read your word this morning I glean a truth that I will think about during the day. Reading Holy Scripture is like you are talking directly to me.

With this armor we are ready to defend and pursue all that we hold as holy. “Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Praise be to his Name!