10 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, and with 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. - Ephesians 6:10-17
The Apostle Paul talks about the weapons we have access to in order to defend ourselves from the enemy of our soul. The armor of God provides everything we need to be victorious over the arrows the enemy shoots at us. Having the armor and knowing how to use them are two different things. Paul instructs us to “put on” the whole armor of God daily to prevail against the enemy. Today we are going to look at the 6th piece in the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. When we look at the temptation of Jesus found in the Gospels (Matthew 4, Luke 4), we see how He used the sword of the Spirit to disarm Satan who could not stand against the counter force of Scripture. The enemy will try to use the very words of God against us by taking it out of context or leaving a portion out to state his deceptive ways. That is exactly what Satan did in Genesis 3:1-6 when speaking with Adam and Eve. I love 1 Timothy 1:18 where Paul tells Timothy, “I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well.” We are to recall the word of God in order to help us fight the battle well. So the sword of God was used, not simply as a defensive precaution, but to cut through the defenses of the enemy. Oh how good it is to memorize the word of God in order to take on the attacks of the enemy of our soul. We are so blessed to have the word of God at our fingertips to read and study. My prayer is that you do not take it for granted but that you will pick it up daily and saturate to a point of renewing your mind. This Sunday we will be announcing the total for our Legacy Offering and celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus together. In between services there will be a delicious breakfast to share together. The first service starts at 8:30 a.m. and the second service starts at 10:45 a.m. Invite someone with you to experience an empty, borrowed tomb. Jesus has risen from the dead and we are all the benefactors. Praise God! Joy in Jesus! Pastor MIke
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10 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, and with 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… Ephesians 6:10-17a
The Apostle Paul talks about the weapons we have access to in order to defend ourselves from the enemy of our soul. The armor of God provides everything we need to be victorious over the arrows the enemy shoots at us. Having the armor and knowing how to use them are two different things. Paul instructs us to “put on” the whole armor of God daily to prevail against the enemy. Today we are going to look at the 5th piece in the armor of God which is the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation is another defensive part of the armor. The helmet protects the head where it is easy for an enemy to deliver a fatal blow. It is through salvation that our minds are covered (past, present, and future). The concept of salvation is used as a present state of being. It is an up-to-date relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Our minds are covered not by what we know but by whose we are. We need to also give the Spirit of God some material to work with. Not that He needs any help, we need the help. That is why it is good to saturate in the word of God and put it to memory (refer back to the belt of truth). In Matthew 10:28 it says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We need to remember that it says, “in hell.” That scripture is talking about the second death found in Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” The second birth experience that Jesus talks about in John 3 declares through Scripture that we will not experience the second death mentioned in Revelation. Again, it is important to know that God plans to keep us from the fires of Hell by saving us from our sin and not in our sin. We have a new mind leading us to seek after God, acting as a helmet in the midst of this battle on earth. Praise God! In putting the explanation of each piece of the armor, I am struck with the fact that everything leads back to the very word of God. We have the playbook at our fingertips. Take it with you and use it as a reference to all of life’s situations and dilemmas. Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week as it starts with Palm Sunday. Our children will parade through the aisles with palm branches, the choir will be leading us in worship, and we will look at the Power from the Grave. It’s going to be a great day! Invite someone to come with you as we celebrate Jesus and His sacrifice for our sin. We are praying for God’s power to be perfect in us. Joy in Jesus! Pastor MIke Ephesians 6:10-16
10 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, and with 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. The Apostle Paul talks about the weapons we have access to in order to defend ourselves from the enemy of our soul. The armor of God provides everything we need to be victorious over the arrows the enemy shoots at us. Having the armor and knowing how to use them are two different things. Paul instructs us to “put on” the whole armor of God daily to prevail against the enemy. Today we are going to look at the 4th piece in the armor of God which is the shield of faith. The shield of faith is a defensive part of the armor. These shields were not little round shields used in jousting, they were large rectangle shields. They stood about six to eight feet high and three to four feet wide. They were not simply held in front of the soldiers but they were side by side almost forming a wall. They call that a phalanx where soldiers walk in a formation. This would stop any spears, rocks, or arrows from getting around their individual shield, not to mention the flaming arrows that would burn or scar them. The enemy is called the father of lies. He is always using the weapon of accusation. Satan accuses believers of their sin and unworthiness to belong to the kingdom of God. He does this not to lead us to repentance but to lead us to despair in order to paralyze us in our walk with Christ. He knows the power of our relationship with Jesus. We are justified by our faith. Our saving faith in Christ is the shield that protects us from the accusations of the enemy. “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 My trust in God is only strengthened as I allow the faith of God to increase in my life. My faith increases when I spend time saturating in the word of God and exercising the spiritual muscles that are built through my consistency. As my faith increases, so does my ability to fight off the attacks of the enemy. I think it is interesting that my shield of faith is stronger and more effective when I am walking with other believers. When we combine our faith together then we form a wall of defense that nothing can get through. This is why it is good to come to church and be with other believers. It is no coincidence that many struggle when they have been away from other believers who sharpen them. So when you feel attacked in your spirit then go where other believers will be standing beside you and worshipping the One True God. We have many things to celebrate. One of them is a healthy, unified body of believers that stand strong together. I love our church! May God continue to strengthen you and make you stronger than the pull of this world. I am looking forward to being together this Sunday as we stand strong in the powerful name of Jesus. Joy in Jesus! Pastor MIke |
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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