It's almost 6am on Saturday, and I am sitting here drinking my coffee, and I got to thinking about Eph. ch 6, and the armor of God. We have all heard lessons, and sermons about why we need to put on the armor of God, but have you ever thought about how other people benefit from you wearing it? That is what I want to look at today. Lets start at vs. 10, "be strong in the LORD, and in the power of His might." If we are not strong in the LORD, how can we do anything else, how can we even wear the armor? Vs. 11-13 tell us what we are fighting against, when that person comes up and starts making trouble for us, for whatever reason, it is not them that is doing it, but Satan working through them. That does not mean they are possessed by Satan, or that they are a Satan worshiper. It just means that Satan has managed to trick them, and confuse them into thinking they are doing what is right. These verses also tell us that we need to have the armor of God so that we can overcome these attacks, otherwise we will be dragged down to a point where we are not useful for God's service, not until we can pull ourselves back up anyway. That happening would be bad for us, but how many non-Christians would be hurt because of our fall? The best testimony we have is how we live, and the unsaved are watching our every move, how many would say, "Christians are no better than I am", if they saw us fall?
Truth, why is it so important to the armor? How many Christians do you know that are living a lie? They show up for church Sunday morning, still hungover wearing the same clothes they wore to the bar Saturday night? Extreme example, but I do know people like this, then when you try to tell an unsaved person about Christ, they respond, "the only difference between me and that Christian is that I don't have to wake up early on Sunday. Why would I want to become a Christian?" We need to live the truth so that others can see Christ in us.
The breastplate of righteousness goes right along with truth. How can we be a witness if we are not living righteously?
Shoes of the gospel of peace, take us away from trouble, and allow us to remain calm when disaster strikes. Your plant closes and everyone is losing their job, everyone is panicking, and getting depressed, everyone but you. How much of a witness can you be at this time? "I know my God will take care of me, I have nothing to fear." How many non-believers will look at you and say "I want what he has."
Take the shield of faith, so that when Satan sends trouble your way, when life itself sends you lemons, you can maintain your composure. You can depend on the shoes of peace to take you to a safe place. When the world sees you immediately use your faith, instead of being knocked down and injured, it says so much more than our lips can say.
We can not put on any of the armor until we have the helmet of salvation. You have to be a child of God, in order to be issued your suit of armor.
Now to possibly the most important item, at least I think it is, the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Where do we learn the truth, or what righteousness is, or how do we find out the gospel of peace, where do we learn to use the shield of faith, or how to be saved? In the Word of God. In the Word of God we learn how to handle trouble, or disappointment. We learn what to do when Satan attacks, and how to pray for peace.
Think about this, if you were that old serpent Satan roaming around looking for a Christian to devour, and you spotted two, one that had the Sword of the Spirit and one without, who would you attack? The great thing about having the sword, not only can you protect yourself, but when a brother or sister in Christ is attacked, you can go to them pull out your Bible, and deal a death blow to Satan. It is also when he is attacking a non-Christian that you can use your sword to lead them to Christ, and really hurt him.
Let's look just a little farther into the chapter, vs. 18, praying always with perseverance and supplication for all saints. Our first line of defense is prayer, we could avoid so much just by praying, seeking God's will, and His protection, not for ourselves but for others. That verse does not say anything about praying for yourself, it says pray for others. Don't you think that if God knows that you care more about others than yourself, that He will protect and care for you?
We are also told in vs. 19 to pray for our pastor, the he "may open his mouth boldly, to make know the mystery of the gospel". Pray for your pastor to preach the truth, that he is not afraid to speak what God put's on his heart. Even if he knows that some will not like it. I'm sure we all know Christians that have got upset, because the preacher, preached against some sin they were committing. If the preacher makes you mad, then you need to get your heart right with God, not get mad at the preacher. I know some preachers that avoid some subjects because they know someone in the church is committing that sin, and they don't want to hurt any feelings, or make anyone leave the church. Pray the pastor has boldness to speak the truth, no matter what, even if he steps on your toes. And remember you don't wear the armor of God, just for yourself, but so you can be a witness, a comfort, and help to others.
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