Monday, March 18, 2013

Put On The Whole Armor Of God

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-11

There are two things that are certain as we journey through life, the first is that we all shall physically die and the second is that we cannot stand against the devil alone… When we come to know and accept these things, we learn that physical death as well as the devils attacks can all be overcome by Jesus Christ… Paul has written this letter to the church of Ephesus and in the preceding chapters has given them instruction on how to live. He has taught them how to bring honor and also how to obey the word and will of God. At this point in his letter, Paul is concluding by reminding them that they must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Notice the way in which this letter is formed, we are reminded how to live (being a child of God), but the most important point comes at the end and that is that we must put on His armor… The church of Ephesus had endured hardships (just like you and I); it had gone through ridicule and demise. I believe that we can draw a direct parallel to our lives and know that these same situations have been presented to us. As we continue on this Christian journey the road becomes steeper and harder to climb, Paul wants us to be refocused and have a renewed Faith in the power and strength of God. The same God that delivered you before is the same God that will deliver you now… Paul says, “be strong in the Lord,” stop trying to handle every situation on your own, stop trying to figure everything out and live according to your own agenda… Paul is saying that we must live by Faith; we must humble ourselves before the Lord and trust that He will move at His appointed time… Often times we pray about situations and then go out trying to resolve them… Paul is telling the church to ignite their faith in Christ by seeking His might… We must understand that we are nothing and powerless as a people, but as Paul stated in his letter to the church of Philippi “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me…” Know where your strength comes from, know who has all power in palm of His hand and take your situations BOLDLY before His throne, lay them before the Lord and leave them their… The bible tells me that Hezekiah was faced with adversity; however, notice what he did… Isaiah 37:14 says, “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.” We must understand that hard times are necessary; we must realize that pain is essential in growth, and tribulations are vital in experiencing God’s sovereignty! Paul says we must put on the whole armor of God to stand against the attacks of the devil. So many of us have fallen in to the devils traps because we omit the words “WHOLE ARMOUR,” we believe that we can go into battle with 50%or 75% coverage. We always leave a little room for our own thoughts and priorities and surely we fall short because we haven’t heeded the scriptures… Paul is telling us this morning that if we want to experience God’s power, if we want to see His strength, if we want God to unveil is Lordship; then we must accept our circumstances and simply prepare ourselves for war! Notice Paul says that we are to put on the whole armor of God that we may stand… Again you will not be able to stand without God’s armor; you must be fully immersed in His word, you must let you faith be your guide, you must sacrifice your own desires if you want to win this battle or as Paul says “finish this race…” The bible says that the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour… When you wake up in the morning, the devil is sitting right there at your door, maybe even by your bed waiting for you to seek your own direction… Today, let us remember to be strong In The Lord, let us remember to do everything in the power of His might and tell the devil “get thee behind me…”

BE BLESSED!!!

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