Spiritual Warfare Part 3 - The Armour of God and How To Use It!!

Again, we are reminded by the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6:12:

Paul continues, in verses 13-18, to list each piece of armour needed but begins by stressing the point that we NEED the WHOLE armour of God....one or two pieces won't work.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The Armour of God:

• Belt of Truth
• Breastplate of Righteousness
• Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
• Shield of Faith
• Helmet of Salvation
• Sword of the Spirit

Belt of Truth

All the weapons, all forms of armour, hang on this belt of truth (the Word of God)!!

Breastplate of Righteousness

Confessing all sins to REMAIN in righteousness 1 John 1:9

The Lord God is Faithful and True, if we confess / repent of our sins, He will cleanse us of all sin and we will be made righteous before Him.

Gospel of Peace

The Good News of Peace!  Actually Walking in His Word.

Shield of Faith

Maintaining firm confidence in the Word of God!  Read His Word and have the Faith to truly believe in what He promises!

Helmet of Salvation

Your Helmet Protects Your Mind, Your Thoughts!  Read The Word of God and Believe It!

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world". 1 John 4:4

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord". Isaiah 54:17

Sword of The Spirit

This is our only OFFENSIVE weapon.  It is also a short sword meant for hand-to-hand combat.

The sword is not only the written Word of God but also the Living Word of God.  The more you read the Word and once you receive the indwelling of the Spirit (baptism of the Holy Spirit), reading your bible will be a whole new experience...your "spiritual eyes" will be opened and God will reveal Himself to you and never cease to amaze you!

Jesus Himself showed us how to use this sword against an attack from "the enemy" (Satan) when Satan tempted Him to turn the stones into bread.  Jesus replied, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"

Last, but not least, Ephesians 6:18: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.."

This is not 'heavy armour"....this is Heavy Artillery from the Heavens!  Praying "in the spirit" means not "praying in the flesh"....not simply saying repetitive, pre-written prayers.  We need to pray from the heart. We should feel comfortable speaking directly to the Lord but also keep ourselves humble before Him....and of course, thankful in all things!

Hell Fire

The video (sermon) below, by Pastor Charles Lawson, is so powerful (and true) that there's not much I can really add to it...it's just something I highly recommend watching.  It's a shame that most churches today have steered clear of teaching on end times, the Book of Revelation and hell.  My guess would be that these are unpopular topics among the masses.  How popular was Jesus "among the masses"?  His message was one of love and mercy and forgiveness, of course but He absolutely stressed the judgement that would come to non-believers and "workers of iniquity".  

Regardless of what country you are living in currently, I think it's safe to assume (sadly) that you are experiencing unprecedented trials, tribulations, fear, instability (of some sort).  It's a worldwide nightmare we're living in at this point.  Of course some countries are dealing with tougher situations than others.  All of that being said, I think it's only natural, in times like these, to turn to God for answers and comfort.  I will go a step further and say that I personally believe that God allows the "shaking"/turmoil that we're seeing for a reason.  He wants to get ALL our attention.  There are so many people, too many people, who do not know Jesus and through Him, God the Father.  I can't even imagine my life at this point, especially with the way the world is now, without the knowledge that 'no matter what, I have the Lord Jesus to lean on and His Holy Spirit to help me discern the truth from all the lies being fed to us (from all over).  It's bad now and will only get worse.  

My purpose in sharing this video is the hope that this may "speak" to someone....wake just one more person up to the fact that Heaven and Hell are real...they really do exist and we have a choice of where we'll spend eternity.  

Spiritual Warfare Part 2 - Why Are We At War (And Who Are We Fighting)?

To understand WHY there is spiritual warfare and more importantly, why WE (the church) are the ones being targeted by Satan, it helps to understand who Satan really is and why he was cast out of Heaven in the first place.

Throughout the Bible, Satan is referred to by various names:

• The Tempter - 1 Thessalonians 3:5
• The Wicked One - Matthew 13:19, 38
• The Accuser of The Brethren - Revelation 12:10
• The Ruler of This World - John 12:31
• The god of This Age - 2 Corinthians 4:4
• The Prince of the Power of the Air - Ephesians 2:2

Satan, or Lucifer, was not just any angel, it is believed that he was the highest cherub...a beautiful creation of God.  What happened?  Pride.  His pride got the best of him and in such a way that he dared to challenge God Almighty Himself! 

Isaiah 14:13-14 

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Ezekiel 28:17

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

The Wiles of The Devil:

In Ephesians 6:11, the apostle Paul tells us to "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

Two things we need to take note of here are the word "wiles" and "devil" (Satan).  Wiles can be translated as methods, and Satan, plain and simple, means adversary (enemy).  In order to be able to "stand" against, and defeat the attacks that WILL come, we need to know who our enemy is and what tactics (methods) he uses to defeat us.

• Satan is a master at bondage (physical/illness, psychological (fear/depression/anxiety/doubt)
• Satan is a master deceiver
• Satan is a master liar (he hides the truth, he doesn't want you to know who you are)
• Satan's "playhouse" is YOUR MIND!

WHY does Satan attack US (the Church)?

If we refer back to the two verses above from Isaiah (Isa 14:13-14), where Satan exalts himself above God Almighty, challenges God Almighty we can see Satan's contempt for God, his hatred for God.  It's safe to say, Satan hates God.

As believers, as born again believer's in Jesus Christ, who have been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, we naturally Love what God loves and Hate what God hates.  It's just something that happens when you are filled with the spirit....you begin to truly despise evil...you love "God's chosen people" / Israel (the Jews).  Why?  Because God loves them and because we know that we are blessed even more for blessing them!

 Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Tremble in the Hebrew means those who love what He loves and hate what He hates.  So, we love what God loves, hate what He hates and Satan hates God....and he hates what God loves most...and that's US!  Satan is unable to "pick a fight" with God!  So, he comes after us...God's treasured possession..and, the ones doing the most damage to Satan's kingdom (here on earth), by spreading the Gospel...well, he hates those the most!

Therefore, consider yourself blessed that Satan considers you worthy to be attacked!  If we are experiencing attacks from the enemy that's a validation that we are doing God's will and planting "fruitful" seeds!!

We are incapable of fighting this fight on our own...but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!  Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life.

Spiritual Warfare - The "Tug of War" For Your Soul

Make no mistake, Satan is alive and well on planet earth.  As Christians, believers in the Truth, this is a fact that we must all face.  There is a very real war going on, not one we can see with our natural eyes, but a war nonetheless and it's taking place right now in the heavenly realm.  The apostle Paul warned us about this in his letter to the Ephesians:

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:10-13

There are 3 main actors in this war: God, Satan and You.  To put it another way, there is the lover of your soul (God), the enemy of your soul (Satan) and, Your Soul!

Satan has been hard at work, since the beginning, trying to interrupt God's Divine Plan.  Now, that we are in the last of the last days, he knows he is running out of time.  The battles, attacks, evil and wickedness in general in this world will continue to worsen.  As Christians we need to prepare ourselves and not have a spirit of fear but the knowledge that If God Is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us!

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1 John 4:4

There is a constant battle going on for your soul.  Satan does not "go after" lukewarm believers....so, if you are not experiencing this tug of war for your soul, that's probably not a good sign.  One thing we can expect as believers, followers of Christ, is that the closer we become to the Lord and the more we promote the Kingdom of Heaven and work to promote the Word and win over souls for the Kingdom...well, the more we can expect to be attacked by the enemy!

“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19)

We are hated by the world because we stand for the truth and this world is the devil's domain.  We are simply passing through, pilgrims in a sense, traveling on our way to our True home in Heaven!

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

1 John 2:15

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

Matthew 10:16

Personal Note:
What's tricky about this (but gets easier the more you deal with it head on and become a stronger, better equipped fighter) is being able to recognize the "attacks" in the first place.  What I mean by that is when the apostle Paul told us "we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood", he meant just that.  There may be a person / people in your life who you "seem" to be arguing with, almost out of the blue!  That was the case for me.  In my case, and this was a tough one, it was my own family!  I had about four family members turn against me in a matter of days.  When I sat back, took a minute and looked at the situation (gave myself time to calm down), I could see CLEARLY that none of it made any logical sense!  Since the time I was saved, "the enemy" has attempted to knock me off my feet, so to speak, in a variety of ways (mostly health related), but none of them worked.  He found my weak spot in my family!  

What I did in this particular situation was speak to my family members and share my thoughts with them on WHY we were arguing/disagreeing so much.  Eventually all was resolved!  There was a lot of prayer as well.  My point here is that what we may perceive in the natural/flesh as someone simply being mean/nasty, etc., etc. may REALLY be satan USING that person to come after US.  Of course this may not always be the case but as I've mentioned, the better informed we are as Christians, along with the help of the Spirit, the better we will be at identifying an attack from the enemy.

FREE BIBLE!!!!  If you would like a FREE Bible mailed to you, free of charge, 

just email me your name and address here.

There is a book that I've recently discovered and in my opinion is a MUST READ for every Christian.  Pastor Patrick Winfrey details how satan, the master deceiver, has infiltrated society throughout the ages...how he accomplishes his goal without us even being aware of it.  This is an excellent read and as a plus, all proceeds from this book will be used to literally feed orphans in the Philippines (one of Pastor Patrick's ministries...Joshua's Ministry).  The link to this book can be found below as well as in the "upper right" section of this page and the title of the book is "Final Boarding Call".  

7 YEAR TRIBULATION & CHRIST RETURN!

Below is a short film produced by Bob Barber (End Time Dream and Vision), that he recently uploaded to YouTube.  He did an amazing job animating highlights from the book of Revelation:

If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savoir,

pray the prayer below.  If you pray this prayer sincerely, 

from your heart, it will be the best decision 

of your life!

(click on prayer card to enlarge/print/download and share)

(click prayer card to enlarge/print/download and share)

FREE BIBLE!!  If you would like a free bible, please contact me

HERE with your name and address and I would be happy to 

send you a bible free of charge!

Watch Ye Therefore....

“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” 

Luke 21:36

It is becoming more and more difficult to discern the truth these days when attempting to follow the news.  The deception in the mainstream news media is overwhelming at this point and is only going to get worse.  It is essential, for the Body of Christ, to KNOW what is in the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you with His discernment.

The following are just a few excellent sources of current news from a biblical perspective.  We are called to KEEP WATCH and these are just a few of the sources I "lean on" (or God has provided) to do it:

For a FREE BIBLE, send me your name and address

HERE and I'd be happy to mail one to you, free of charge! 

LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU

"Be not deceived" and "Let no man deceive you" were not simply suggestions by God the Father and Christ Himself, this is a commandment.  We are not to allow ourselves, as part of the body of Christ, to be deceived by the enemy (who is alive and well).  It's becoming more and more apparent that satan's agents (the beast system) are working in full force at this point. Almost everywhere we turn we can see it, hear it and for those filled with the spirit.....we can definitely feel it!

1 John 3:7-9
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.8He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Matthew 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Ephesians 5:6-7
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.7Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

As exciting as it is to be living in "this generation", where we are seeing prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes, it is also a very frightening/shocking time as well.  We are not to have a spirit of fear however...

I assume most have seen or heard about this but for those who have not, I'll include the video here.  The following statement made by the pope, this past week, is a perfect example of what Christ was warning us about.  The BEST way we, as believers, can equip ourselves against such blatant blasphemy and deception is to KNOW the Word and make sure we are filled with the Spirit....the Spirit will provide the discernment we need (which is crucial now).  

It get's even worse (if that's possible) and this is the part that is frightening to me....

Galatians 6:7

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

FREE BIBLE!!!!  If you would like a FREE Bible mailed to you, free of charge, 

just email me your name and address here.