Teresa Conlon - The Armor of God

Hello, New Believers class. What a joy and a privilege it is for me to be with you here today. Today we're going to be studying on the principle of the armor of God, and it is found in Ephesians chapter six, and we're going to be looking from verses 11 to 17. So I hope you follow along in your Bible and take some notes because I'm really excited about the discussion that's going to happen afterwards. So in talking about the armor of God, we are going to read the first three verses, and it says in verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you would be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day and having done all to stand. So here we have an understanding here that as a new believer, you are quickly knowing that the battles, the spiritual battles of your life are not fundamentally natural. They are actually inspired and the battles that you fight are from a different realm. They are under the heavenly realm where God is still in control, but this scripture is telling us that conflict in the invisible world actually affects what we see, what we do in the visible world. And so God through this scripture is giving us insight and saying that the enemy will constantly come against us as believers because now that Jesus lives in our lives, we are light and we are salt. We have been chosen and we have been saved. And because he lives in us, the power of the universe and the power of our God who forgives us and sets us free lives in us, so we are a threat to him. He is constantly coming against us to try to cover the light of Christ in us. And so this scripture is telling us that you and I have a remedy when we fight against our enemy, the devil. And this remedy is putting on the armor of God because when we do that, we actually are able to shut down our enemy who is out to kill and destroy our testimony in this world.

And when we put on the armor of God, we so checkmate the devil in his plans and God knows how to supernaturally shut down the enemy when he is trying to shut us down. And so it says we need to put on the whole armor of God, it says in verse 11. And to the degree that we don't put it all on, we are vulnerable in that area. But you and I can put it on every day. You and I are going to put some things on and never take it off. Some things we're going to take up and they're going to be weapons, spiritual weapons to fight against the enemy and have victory in places we've never had victory before because God is showing us how to have the victory he has provided for us. So it says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, against principalities, powers and rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Now that can sound intimidating. That can sound so scary. That can sound like, my goodness, I am so out of my league. I am just a small person. How am I ever going to contend against spiritual wickedness in high places? Well, first of all, it tells us in Colossians that Jesus is the head and he is over all principalities, over all powers in this world. And so it's not Jesus and the devil as opposites or fighting against each other. It is Jesus who rules over it all. And so he is, the enemy has to bow down. And the enemy is a defeated foe against the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. But it's so important we hear what the word says to access this victory and shut him down. You see, Jesus knows the devil and he knows his schemes and he knows his plans that have been successful against humanity from day one. So as we turn and see, what specifically is this armor? This spiritual armor? armor that God asks us to put on so that we may have victory against the trickery of the devil. Because that's what it says. You put on the whole armor of God to be able to stand against the trickery of the devil. His whole job is to trick

us with his, either he'll either bully us or into submission to tell us that we're never going to make it or this is an impossible journey or he'll try to be guileless, he'll try to deceive us because he's a great deceiver. He will either try to work through intimidation to let to make us feel the choices we make are insignificant or it is impossible for us to obey what it is we're reading. None of this is true and as we put on this armor, as we follow what it says in Ephesians, we're going to have victory against the trickery, the deceiving and the bullying of the enemy against us as we walk with Jesus. So the first thing it says, take to you the whole armor of God and it says therefore stand having your loins girt or encircled with truth. So that is the first thing that we do is that we as believers, we encircle ourselves with truth. We open the Word of God and we let this become our truth. The Bible says that you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. I remember when I first got saved I had so much understanding of the world through my education, through my culture, through my family and not everything was truth and when I stepped into the light and followed Jesus I had to quickly, first of all, a new truth came to me and that I was loved and that I was forgiven and it was amazing to me. It's like a weight and a freedom came into my life. This truth that he loved me, he gave himself for me and I had a power now in me greater than any power that could come against me to take me down or want me to sin. But after that newness there became a struggle to try to understand this new truth and wait against what I understood life to be. And the more that I would read the Bible and go whatever I think or believe I am going to bow to what I am reading. If the Bible says A, B, and C then I would say this is truth. Maybe I don't understand it for that moment. Maybe I don't know how it's going to happen. But right out the gate I decided what the Word said was truth and I would be the one to bend to it. And I found that scripture that says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. You will be made free by truth to be very true. And little by little the Lord began to renew my mind as I began to bow to the truth as revealed in the Word of God. And so when we encircle

ourselves with truth, when the enemy comes and wants to question our identity, when he wants to question our worth, when he wants to say you know you don't have you don't have what it takes to walk with Christ in this world, that your insecurities will always get the better of you, that you have failed just a little bit too much, you have somehow crossed a line and God is displeased with you and God is angry with you and he can't forgive you. He's just fed up with you. When you and I are in the Word of God and when we're in a place where we're listening to truth, we have something to answer the devil. Not with our feelings because half the time we will agree with him, but when we have an outside truth which is the Word of God, it is greater and stronger than our feelings, it is greater and stronger than the lie that the enemy is trying to put to us. So the first thing is that we encircle ourselves, we encircle our mind, we want every part of our body, soul, and spirit to be encircled by truth and that in itself will help us make the right decisions. That in itself, when we get backed into a corner and we know we feel we're going down, we know we can call on the name of the Lord and he is he's not mad at us, he will come to deliver us. The second thing is that we put on the breastplate of righteousness. This is the second piece of the armor and that's a really great picture, because when people would wear, a warrior would wear a breastplate, it covered the heart. And it's the breastplate of righteousness. And that means that you and I are in right standing with God. That we, because Jesus lives in our hearts, we have been forgiven and we are in fellowship with God our Father. We're in right standing with God. Therefore, God speaks to us. Therefore, we have access to speak to Him in this right standing with God. But it also means that in our day-to-day walk, that we choose to be in right standing with Him. I choose to do right. I choose to make right decisions. And when I find it really hard and when I find myself in a place that I'm struggling to do the right thing, I can call on Him. I can, it's not because I'm doing it all perfect, but because I am in right standing with God. I have been forgiven through the merits of Christ and I have fellowship with my Father. He hears me. Because you see, love listens. And God our Father loves you. He loves me. He listens to us. So we're not presenting to Him our works. We're presenting

to Him, I'm in right standing with you because of what Jesus has done. But today, I want to walk right with you in the power of Christ. And as we begin to do that, you see, that attitude protects our heart. And when we have a guarded and protected heart, when we are asking and trusting God to give us the, not only the ability to do good, but the desire to do good, we have a protected heart. And I'm telling you, the enemy battles to get that kind of person back under his control again. And so now we see we are loving truth. We encircle ourselves with truth. Now we put on that breastplate of righteousness, that right standing with God, which guards our heart and keeps our heart from being deceived. And when the enemy condemns us, we do something about it. Jesus, help me, forgive me. Is that true? And I'm telling you, he comes and quickens us and says, yes, you are mine. Yes, I will come to you. Yes, I love you. Yes, I never take my eyes off you. You are in right standing with me. And so when we put that breastplate on God, give me the power to walk right today. Give me the power to love truth and love your word today. The enemy battles to get this Christian moved out of the love of God. And then the next thing it says is that we have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. So the next piece of the armor is actually covering for our feet. And that it tells us is that when we decide, Lord, this is preparation to be able to share the gospel. It signifies, God, I want to be able to follow you and to obey you if you're asking me now to go and share the good news, to go and be the good news. God, I want to be available. I want to be clean today. I want to be usable today. So today I put on this covering for my feet that I may walk out the door ready and available to share the good news. For some, you know, your personality, you are natural evangelist and you are looking for the opportunity to share with people. Wow, I really admire you. But I belong to that category of people that find that very hard to strike up a conversation with people or to find a natural in. And I remember just because my personality is not naturally like that, I didn't get an exemption pass. I don't have a whole pass. Oh, no, that's hard for you. No, I've had to learn to say, God, please prepare my feet. Please prepare me to step out today to be able to be available if you want me to share. And I have found more and more when I share because I'm available, then I can be led by God to do things. I'm not compelled. I'm not. I don't feel forced. I have to share the gospel with everyone I meet. No, it's far better than that. I am led to where God will just someone will come

by my path and I will feel quickened. Someone, the Lord will just speak to my heart. I want you to come up alongside that person and speak to them. And instead of like, God, you know I'm not good at that. I just take the first step in obeying. And I find that if I'm willing and can take that first step, He comes along beside me, He opens the door, He fills my mouth. And then it becomes the most exciting thing in the world when we are available and right hearted to be able to share the good news at the prompting of God. And I just want to say that we are sharing the gospel of peace. You know, this is how we come against the enemy. Don't forget, all this armor is to shut down the trickery and the deception of the devil in our lives who's trying to shut us down. And so when I am ready, when I say, God, I want to be available to share the gospel of peace, that means I have to have peace in myself before I share. People don't really want to listen to hyper puppies. And so we can be, follow Christ into crossing paths with people that is pretty amazing. And then finally, it says, we are going to take up the shield of faith, verse 16, above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And I love that idea that we actually get to take up this shield and it's a shield of faith. And the Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please God. So we pick up this shield of faith. That means we pick it up and by faith, when we feel like it, when we are feeling even distant from God, when we feel like, I don't think I have the strength to fight today. God says by faith, step forward and believe that who you are and call on me, I am with you. And so many times the devil tries to shut us down when he sends fiery darts, when he sends these lies, when he sends his accusations, when he sends insinuations that want to say

today I can't serve you or today I can't live in victory. That is a lie. Pick up the shield of faith because you have some truth in you now. You have a breastplate and you know that your heart is protected and that God loves you. You pick up that shield. And when the enemy sends those fiery darts of how you're not qualified, you're not worthy, you're not any good, you can, those darts hit that shield of faith. And I just love it because when it says fiery darts, because it's one thing to get receive a dart, but it's another thing to get a fiery dart. That means that it just keeps on burning. It can be a thought, a word spoken to our mind or spirit or by someone that has an entrance. And when we pull it out, that's what you do with a dart. But a fiery dart lingers and keeps burning, keeps making a hole. But you and I can pick up this shield of faith and this word of God and the truth of God is it's able to, when the devil throws them, it doesn't have the same effect. It cannot pierce and slow us down. And so I think every day we have to ask for the grace of God to pick up the shield of faith to be able to, when those things come to our mind and heart, because the greatest battlefield we fight is the battlefield of the mind. This is why the enemy comes to shut us down. It's all about the battle of the mind. And we know that this armor is to protect us from the trickery of the devil. And so now it's not just a shield of faith, but it says in verse 17, our last verse, it says, take the helmet of salvation and the word, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. You know, soldiers, the last thing they put on before they go to war is their helmet. And that helmet is that final act of readiness and is actually, it's absolutely vital for survival because you have to protect your brain, which is the command center. Because if you receive, if a soldier receives a blow to the head, then the rest of the armor is of little use.

And so this helmet of salvation comes, and I love the picture because it covers our ears and it protects us from so much of what the devil wants to tell us. And when our head is covered, the scripture says in the day of battle, when we know our salvation is that deep and that great to take us through the worst of days, the worst of accusations, and we can still believe God. I thank you. Your word says you love me. You died for me. I have a new life in you. I have a new mind and a new spirit. I am a new creation. Beloved, the battle is more than 50 percent won. And salvation, we know we are loved when we're having a bad day and God will not reject us. We know that God works with us in the middle of our fears. We know that God, even when I can't feel him working, he is still there. Even when I feel that I have crossed the line with God, the power of God is still there to love me and to forgive me. And so these are amazing pieces of armor that we have been given by God to fight the trickery of the devil. We need every one of them. I pray that as you meditate on Ephesians 6 verses 11 to 17 on a regular basis, you will be astounded at how much victory comes into our life from a God who loves us and gave us his word that we can shut down those powers and principalities and see victory in our lives and those around us. Hey, I hope you have a great discussion period and it was awesome sharing this word with you.