Put On Your Armour

Last Sunday the youth leader at our church gave the sermon. His text was Ephesians 6 and he used his experiences as a Marine in the reserve corps as examples. He talked about how we are in a battle - a spiritual battle. We know that God has victory, but we will still have battles on our lives. He had these three main points to have victory over the spiritual battles in our lives:

1. Know your enemy. Satan, the father of lies, is our enemy. His main weapon is lying. He gets to know our weaknesses and uses lies in targeting those weaknesses. We need to learn where our weaknesses are, so that we can begin to strengthen ourselves and be ready.
2. Know the chain of command. Marines learn that their chain of command starts with the President of the United States, and goes on down from there. They learn to take orders from all superior officers. The Marines know that they are fighting for the freedom of all Americans. As Christians, we take our marching orders from God. We also know that we do not battle on our own, but that the battle is really God's.
3. Know your weapon. When someone becomes a Marine they are issued a M16. That weapon is to go everywhere with them. They eat with it, they sleep with it. They learn how to clean it, shoot it, repair it. They know that weapon inside out. As Christians we have been given a weapon - the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As I thought about this, the picture came to my mind of the light sabres in the movie Star Wars. That light sword is bright with the power of "the force". Since we're fighting a spiritual battle, we need a spiritual weapon and it's a powerful because it's from God. It's the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says,

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged

sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

We need to know our weapon. How do we do that? We need to read God's Word, the Bible, every day. We need to meditate on it, and memorize it. Finally, when the lies come (and they will) we need to use the verses we've studied and memorized to combat the lies. God's word is TRUTH. God's Word is LIGHT - just like the light sabre from Star Wars. The lies cannot stay in the light and truth of God's Word. They are defeated in our lives as we use our one offensive weapon- the Word of God.

Read Ephesians 6:10-17 for yourself. 

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.

Now get in the ready position - put on your armour, take up your sword and experience victory in your life through the power of the God of the universe, who loved you so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross to win the ultimate battle against sin.