Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.First of all, he tells us that we have to put something on. We have to take the armor that God has supplied for us and we have to put it on. We have to put it on daily. We can't just put it on one time and think that it's going to work. Just like you put on your underwear daily, you have to put on your armor of God daily.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God....
(Eph. 6:13-17)
A lot of us walk out in the street completely naked spiritually. We have nothing on. We're exposing all, and the devil looks at us and says, okay, easy game. God is saying, put on the whole armor of God. Put it on. You need it.
He's not telling you because he wants to take your time in prayer. He's telling you to put it on so you can be covered. The whole armor of God is what will enable you to stand against the devil. The armor is what allows you to stand against the devil, so you have to put that armor on.
It says to withstand, or stand against, the devil in the evil day. Now, the evil day could be one thing to you and something totally different to your neighbor. When he's attacking your body, he's attacking your finances, he's attacking your children—that's the evil day.
The Bible does not say that there will not be an evil day. The Bible says the armor of God will protect you in the evil day. If you put it on.
So if you put it on, that armor will protect you when the devil shows his stuff. In whatever area that is. There is no exception to what that armor of God will protect you from. The devil doesn't have anything new that can beat the armor of God. So if we put on that armor, whatever we are dealing with, we will be able to stand against it. And see the victory.
Now, I don't know about you, but I want the victory in every area of my life. That's something God said that he would give me, and all I have to do is maintain the victory that Jesus won for us on Calvary. Well, how do we maintain it? You don't maintain it just by saying I accept Jesus as Lord. You maintain it by putting on the armor. Putting on the weapons that God gave us.
See, God gave us everything that we need to deal with anything that the devil throws at us. Everything that we need. All we have to do is put it on and use us. It's like someone giving you a thousand dollars and telling you to go to the mall and get what you want. So you take your money and go to the mall, but you don't use it. And you come back with a long face.
Well, you're the one that didn't take the money out your wallet and put it on the counter. And that's what we're doing with the devil. We don't even put the armor on. We don't take the armor and then build it up in our spirit, so that when the devil comes he can't beat it.
Take the armor, put it on and use it. You go out in the world, you have the victory, but you don't use it. Now, we know when we go to the mall, we don't leave our money at home. The armor of God is more important than money. See, the armor of God will stop someone from stealing your money from you. The armor of God will stop you from getting in a crash. You should never leave your house without spending some time before God, putting on that armor. Never.
If you're in too much of a hurry that you can't pray, you're in trouble. Because that's your armor, and you need it. We need it. We can't go without it.
Verse 14 says, stand therefore, hold your ground, having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and the moral rectitude and right standing with God. The breastplate of righteousness is the identity plate. It's who we are in Christ Jesus.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, God says you are righteous. And that's all that matters. Not what somebody else said about you - you know how people can be. We can get nasty with each other, but don't let that bother you. Because, unless God says it, it doesn't mean anything.
That's where we all have to get. Because Satan will send someone, not just anyone, but someone you thought loved you. Maybe somebody that prophesied in church last Sunday. And you get upset because they say, "The Lord said...." Don't you know that there is more than a handful of people walking around, talking about the Lord said and they don't even know who the Lord is?
You'd better know God for yourself. You'd better know what God says about you for yourself and don't let anybody else tell you. If you can't find it in the Word, you're not obligated. But if you find it in the Bible, take it to the bank, because that's the way it is.
God says you're valuable and precious to Him. Every single one of us. All of us. We're valuable and precious to Him.
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