Christian Defensive Weapons Spiritual Warfare Series Pasir Panjang Church of Christ 29 June 2014
Spiritual Warfare Series Two Opposing Kingdoms The Weapons, The Battleground and The Basis Of Our Victory The Girdle Of Truth, The Breastplate Of Righteousness The Shoes Of The Preparation Of The Gospel, The Shield Of Faith The Helmet Of Salvation, The Sword Of The Spirit The Weapon Of Prayer The Weapon Of Praise The Weapon Of Preaching The Weapon Of Testimony
Ephesians 6:10-18 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, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord s people.
Helmet o Cassis or galea o Made from bronze or iron o 2 hinged side pieces to protect cheekbone and jaw o Lined with sponge or felt for comfort o Horsehair plumes different colors to distinguish rank of military officers Helmet of Salvation
Helmet of Salvation Battlefield in the minds of humanity Need to be careful to protect the mind Wounded in the head Become very difficult to make use of one s ability or equipment Wounded in the mind - Become prey to depression, mistrust, sense of hopelessness Others can but you can t. You ll never make it. You re going to have to give up! Murphy s Law If anything can go wrong, it will Being a Christian doesn t automatically mean you have put on the helmet of salvation
Helmet of Salvation But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 1 Thess 5:8 (kjv) Protection of the heart = Faith and Love Protection of the mind = Hope Christian hope not wishful thinking Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. Heb 11:1(kjv) Faith the underlying basic reality on which hope is built on Valid Faith Valid Hope
Hope A quiet, steady expectation of good based on the promise of God s word An optimistic attitude that always chooses to see the best and will not give way to depression, doubt or selfpity
No Hope, No Salvation That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Eph 2:12 (kjv) With Christ in us, we have hope (Col 1:27; 1 Tim 1:1) Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. Heb 6:17-20 (niv)
Helmet of Salvation Hope offered to us take hold of it Hope as an anchor for our souls Helmet of hope protect against Satan s attack of discouragement, doubt, self-pity, mistrust Christian hope - Scripture based Optimism Endurance (patience) inspired by hope (1 Thess 1:3) Keep on hoping Don t give up hope, be an Optimist! God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Heb 13:5 (niv)
Sword o Gladius (made of iron) o Use as both defensive and offensive weapon Bible compares God s word to a sword penetrates and pierces The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Heb 4:12 (niv) Sword of the Spirit Other pieces of armor prevent devil from wounding us but cannot drive him from our presence only the sword of the Spirit can
Jesus Use of the Word of God Matt 4:1-11 Temptation of Jesus by Satan Neither Jesus nor Satan questioned the authority of the scriptures Basis of every temptation against Jesus was a temptation to doubt if Jesus used the same weapon of the word of God against Satan It is written it is written it is also written We are given the privilege of using the same weapon the word of God BUT we must take up the sword. Then the Holy Spirit gives us power and the wisdom to use it.
Using the Sword of the Spirit Using God s word well requires practice Memorize and meditate on God s word Sharpen, Use, Recite, Empower No use if left on the shelf
Using the Sword of the Spirit Defensively o Deflect Satan s lies, doubts and temptations Offensively o Root out sin, strengthen your inner person
Your Unprotected Area Full armor on protected in every area except one our back Never turn your back on the devil an opportunity for him to wound you in unprotected area However, not always able to protect our own back Hence - Important for us to be able to trust our fellow soldiers Need to stand together, protect one another s backs and not wound one another Coming Alongside One Another
Christian s Defensive Weapons
The Armor Of God Oh the armor of God, Oh the armor of God That gives us victory wherever we trod No matter the stress, no matter the strife We can have victory in this life. The shoes of peace upon our feet Give way to victory in all we meet The glow that shines around our face Is what we share and we call it grace The belt of truth we must pull tight Or else the enemy wins the fight Know the Word, make it known to man And the peace of God will make you stand The breastplate of righteousness covers our heart And makes us aware from the very start Of who we are and to whom we belong And Satan fears us when we are whole and strong
The Armor Of God The shield of faith gives us relief From the fiery darts and our unbelief Hold it high to extinguish the blows From the unseen world of our toughest foes The helmet of salvation protects our minds When the enemy attacks with thoughts of all kinds Knowing the word is what drives him away And opens our minds to God s word through the day The sword of the Spirit, makes our armor complete It defeats the enemy, he cannot compete His defeat is quick, our victory sure Use the word against him, it is the cure Oh the armor of God, Oh the armor of God It is our victory wherever we trod His name is great, His name is power We need our God for every hour - Christine Walker -
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