We are far too independent. It's not a good thing. We were created to be dependent on our Father. Unlike human fathers who's purpose is to help train their children for independent adulthood, our heavenly Father never wants us to become independent from him. In fact, he has made it impossible for us to be independent.
We died with Jesus on the cross. It is the only way that we could be separated from sin, breaking our slavery to it. In dying we had to be raised to life again so we were raised in Jesus. There is life as long as we stay in Jesus. Away from Jesus there is only spiritual death. We are absolutely dependent on him for life and everything we need to be victorious.
There is nothing in us that is of any use except the Holy Spirit. We have nothing to offer Jesus except our emptiness. It is our emptiness that he can use and that he gladly excepts from us. If we think we have anything to offer God we have not yet matured to the point of understanding this relationship. This is a truth that is important for us to understand if we are going to be effective warriors.
The armour of God is not natural to us. There is no part of it that comes from us. All of it is provided by God. Underline this fact in your thoughts so you will understand that fighting the darkness of this world is not natural to us and in our flesh we would rather just hide under the covers. But in Jesus we rise up as mighty warriors, heroes of the faith, putting on the full armour of God. From Ephesians 6:
- belt of truth: it holds everything together. If we allow falsehood to be part of us it unties the belt and everything falls apart. We cannot fight without truth. Not ours. God's.
- breastplate of righteousness: God's righteousness has been declared over us. It is ours and it covers our heart. Regardless of what the enemy may accuse us of, truth or fabricated, it is covered by this breastplate. Learn to depend on that fact and let the sins of the past go. Do not allow those things to cripple you when God has declared you clean and innocent. This needs to be settled in you or the enemy will squash you in an instant.
- gospel of peace: which keeps you ready to move, to take action. This peace is not world peace but is the declaration of what Jesus has done in bringing peace to us in our relationship with God. That is the good news that we hold out to the world and you must be prepared to share it wherever the Spirit sends you. As a soldier is ready to move out in an instant when the signal is given, so must we be prepared to share as the Spirit signals.
- shield of faith: protects us from all those flaming arrows flung at us from the enemy. Arrows of fear, doubt, anxiety. The shield is our declaration of trust. Jesus said it so it is. This is what so many potential warriors try to go out into battle without. It's crazy. We are open to every attack of the enemy when we leave behind our shield. Faith must be with us daily. It is given to us by God, not natural to us at all.
- helmet of salvation: covers us. It protects us. It keeps our head in place. It protects our mind which gives us perspective. We do not get lost in the perspective and values of this world. Our salvation reminds us that we belong elsewhere and that we get our values from a different source. Salvation keeps us grounded in God's perspective, especially as we are reminded of his love, mercy and grace.
- sword of the Spirit, the Word of God: which we use to strike back at the enemy. Remember what Jesus did when faced by the enemy. The Word of God was his defence. It is our defence. Philosophies and clever ideas from our own mind already belong to the enemy. It is only the Word of God that has any effect on our foe. Know it well. Learn to use it. Become an effective warrior.
I will talk about prayer in all of this tomorrow.
For today, if you have any desire to stand for Jesus, to take your stand, to be the mighty warrior you have been called to be in the army of Jesus Christ, then you better understand God's armour well. You better make sure it is in place every day. Without it you will not succeed as you have been called to succeed. With it, no evil force or influence can come close to touching or harming you. With it, you are a giant walking on the face of this earth. Make sure you have it in place before you start your day. Rise up mighty warrior of God.
Showing posts with label armour of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label armour of God. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Stand
Could you imagine being an athlete preparing for the Olympics. All those years of eating well, sleeping properly, training hard. All those days of forcing your will to submit to that one goal. Those days when you just don't feel like it, forcing your body to submit. Doesn't matter the other circumstances in your life, everything must submit to this one goal. You have to admire the dedication and hard work of athletes. But imagine being that athlete who puts in all those years of training and then doesn't bother showing up for the Olympics.
Imagine the student who has put in over 2,280 hours of homework in their time as a student. Who has attended 13,680 hours of classes. Who has written a few thousand books of notes. Who has been taught by at least 42 different teachers. Who has gained knowledge and learning skills. Who has used the resources of his parents to go through 348 pencils, 87 pens, hundreds of trees worth of paper, countless rulers, compasses, protractors lunch boxes and other various school supplies. Imagine the students how has put in all this time, throwing away his last year of High School.
Imagine the Christian who has spent their lifetime believing. Who has spent decades in training, learning, being shaped. Who has spent years studying the Word and applying it to his life. Who has spent countless hours in conversation with God. Who has had a deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Who has learned to wear the Armour of God. Who has been trained in spiritual warfare and is prepared for battle. Who has learned what it is to trust, to have faith. Imagine such a Christian walking away when the battle is upon him.
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. (Ephesians 6:13)
The whole purpose of our training and equipping is so that we will stand. What is the sense of all the training and preparation to prepare us to stand if, on that day of battle, we walk away? That would be a very sad life and one I would not want to live.
But truth be told, those who are active in their training and preparation never walk away. It is those who forget to train, who forget to prepare, who get distracted by other things, who end up falling away. It doesn't take long and it doesn't take much. In the end, we are very weak creatures, prone to failure and defeat. Our success is found in our source of all things. Our strength is never found in us but in Jesus Christ. It is when you unplug from that source or neglect the relationship that things begin to fade away quickly and we forget. Then when the day is upon us, we fold and are blown away with all those who are without Jesus. It is sad.
I have put in too much time to give up now. I have invested too much to walk away. This relationship is far too valuable for me to throw away. There is nothing of any greater value in this world and I must remind myself of that constantly. Every day is a training day, a day of preparation. When that day of evil is upon us I will stand because I have been trained to stand. What about you, mighty warrior of God? Have you settled the matter in your heart? Are you going all the way? Are you prepared to stand?
Imagine the student who has put in over 2,280 hours of homework in their time as a student. Who has attended 13,680 hours of classes. Who has written a few thousand books of notes. Who has been taught by at least 42 different teachers. Who has gained knowledge and learning skills. Who has used the resources of his parents to go through 348 pencils, 87 pens, hundreds of trees worth of paper, countless rulers, compasses, protractors lunch boxes and other various school supplies. Imagine the students how has put in all this time, throwing away his last year of High School.
Imagine the Christian who has spent their lifetime believing. Who has spent decades in training, learning, being shaped. Who has spent years studying the Word and applying it to his life. Who has spent countless hours in conversation with God. Who has had a deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Who has learned to wear the Armour of God. Who has been trained in spiritual warfare and is prepared for battle. Who has learned what it is to trust, to have faith. Imagine such a Christian walking away when the battle is upon him.
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. (Ephesians 6:13)
The whole purpose of our training and equipping is so that we will stand. What is the sense of all the training and preparation to prepare us to stand if, on that day of battle, we walk away? That would be a very sad life and one I would not want to live.
But truth be told, those who are active in their training and preparation never walk away. It is those who forget to train, who forget to prepare, who get distracted by other things, who end up falling away. It doesn't take long and it doesn't take much. In the end, we are very weak creatures, prone to failure and defeat. Our success is found in our source of all things. Our strength is never found in us but in Jesus Christ. It is when you unplug from that source or neglect the relationship that things begin to fade away quickly and we forget. Then when the day is upon us, we fold and are blown away with all those who are without Jesus. It is sad.
I have put in too much time to give up now. I have invested too much to walk away. This relationship is far too valuable for me to throw away. There is nothing of any greater value in this world and I must remind myself of that constantly. Every day is a training day, a day of preparation. When that day of evil is upon us I will stand because I have been trained to stand. What about you, mighty warrior of God? Have you settled the matter in your heart? Are you going all the way? Are you prepared to stand?
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Is There A Beating In Your Future?
I hope you know you are hated. The enemy of God hates the smell of you. If he could, he would destroy you in an instant, not because of you, but because of the one who loves you. By hurting you he is hurting God. You are nothing to the enemy, but if he can use you to get to God he will. You don't need to be paranoid about him but you do need to be aware.
You need to be aware that the enemy is plotting against you. He is hiding behind the pack, waiting to pick off any strays. He is nothing compared to Jesus but he is stronger than we are. If we try to fight him in our flesh we are toast. In fact, we do not need to fight him at all, only resist him. But even resisting him is impossible if we are not equipped.
Let me put it this way: If you play football without any equipment you will be carried off the field on a stretcher. If you play hockey without any gear you will end up in traction for a few months. If you attempt to follow Jesus without the full armour of God you are going to get beat up.
The instructions are simple:
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)
What is the full armour? We will get into more detail in a future blog so let me just give you the list: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, Word of God, prayer. This is the equipment that God has given to you so that you can take your place as a warrior of God, to take your stand against the schemes of the enemy. On our own we are dead meat but with Christ in us we are more than conquerors.
You need to check you armour; make sure it is all in place. Check your heart: is there anything there that would allow the enemy to get a foothold? What is coming out of your mouth; blessings or cursings? Check your attitude; is there hatred, prejudice, malice or rebellion there?
A warrior of God, with the armour in place, is protected so that the Spirit of God can produce fruit in him. Check your fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If this is what is being produced in your life, if this is what people see in you, then your armour is in place and you are taking your stand. However, if there is a great lack of this fruit being produced in you, you need to check your armour. Maybe you left bits of it at church, or under your bed, or in your prayer closet.
Come on mighty warrior, leave the civilian affairs to others and get back to the fight. Check you armour so you do not have to face correction from our Captain. Get back to the ranks, we need you. In the mighty authority of Jesus Christ, cast out any ugliness the enemy has planted in you and allow the brilliance of Jesus to shine. Stand up and let's see that armour. The enemy doesn't have a chance to succeed against those called by God. Rejoice! Stand!
You need to be aware that the enemy is plotting against you. He is hiding behind the pack, waiting to pick off any strays. He is nothing compared to Jesus but he is stronger than we are. If we try to fight him in our flesh we are toast. In fact, we do not need to fight him at all, only resist him. But even resisting him is impossible if we are not equipped.
Let me put it this way: If you play football without any equipment you will be carried off the field on a stretcher. If you play hockey without any gear you will end up in traction for a few months. If you attempt to follow Jesus without the full armour of God you are going to get beat up.
The instructions are simple:
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)
What is the full armour? We will get into more detail in a future blog so let me just give you the list: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, Word of God, prayer. This is the equipment that God has given to you so that you can take your place as a warrior of God, to take your stand against the schemes of the enemy. On our own we are dead meat but with Christ in us we are more than conquerors.
You need to check you armour; make sure it is all in place. Check your heart: is there anything there that would allow the enemy to get a foothold? What is coming out of your mouth; blessings or cursings? Check your attitude; is there hatred, prejudice, malice or rebellion there?
A warrior of God, with the armour in place, is protected so that the Spirit of God can produce fruit in him. Check your fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If this is what is being produced in your life, if this is what people see in you, then your armour is in place and you are taking your stand. However, if there is a great lack of this fruit being produced in you, you need to check your armour. Maybe you left bits of it at church, or under your bed, or in your prayer closet.
Come on mighty warrior, leave the civilian affairs to others and get back to the fight. Check you armour so you do not have to face correction from our Captain. Get back to the ranks, we need you. In the mighty authority of Jesus Christ, cast out any ugliness the enemy has planted in you and allow the brilliance of Jesus to shine. Stand up and let's see that armour. The enemy doesn't have a chance to succeed against those called by God. Rejoice! Stand!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)