PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD
I Samuel 17:38-41 Then Saul dressed David in his own thuic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. Can you imagine what David must have looked like with Saul’s armor on? To begin with Saul was a tall man, and David was just a boy. He may have been in his early teens, but certainly not old enough to serve in the army, or he would have already been in the army of Saul. Even though it had to be a temptation to wear the armor of the king, David knew that his life depended on what he did and not how he looked.
As Christians we too are in a battle every day, at any given moment of our life. This battle is with Satan, the powers of darkness, the evil of this world and even sometimes ourself. We had better believe that they take this battle very seriously even if some Christians do not. Not to take it seriously, we will find ourselves constantly on the defensive and even loosing! Our Christian pilgrimage is hard enough without making things easier for Satan, the powers of darkness and the evil of this world.
God has won the war of sin and death for us on Calvary’s cross, but each day a battle continues to wage on. Jesus has not left us defenceless by any means. He has given us his authority over Satan and the powers of darkness. Jesus says in Matthew 18:18-20, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Satan and the powers have to do what we tell them, because Jesus is backing us up, and he has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. There is no question that they have to obey us. The only reason they can have victory over us is if we allow they to have it. Often Christians simply do not know this, afraid to do it, feel they can’t do it or just give up fighting the battle. The powers of dark darkness like their master Satan will not give up. If we cast a demon into the pit never to come out again, another will come to take their place. But the way I figure it is that the demon cast into the pit will be one less demon that bothers me, my family, another Christian, anyone or anything again.
In our battle against Satan and the powers of darkness, we need the weapons of a warrior. Because our fight is a spiritual battle we need the weapons that are not carnal or worldly. Ephesians 6:10-18 lists them all,
and we need them all to be active in our life. If we decide we can do without even one, we will find ourselves at a major disadvantage in our spiritual battle and liable for loss.
First and foremost we need the salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus will we have authority over Satan and the powers of darkness.
Second we need truth. To believe a lie no matter how sincere you may be it is still a lie, and you will reap the consequences of it. Only true doctrine will allow you to stand firm. Anything else and you will find yourself fighting in sinking sand. You will not have good footing to stand on to do your fighting.
Third we need righteousness. This is only through Jesus. Our righteousness is but filthy rags. (Isa 64:6) Because Jesus is righteous, he has declared us righteous. We of course need to live a righteous holy life as much as we can, and this is to glorify Jesus as well as not to give the powers of darkness an opening to attack us.
Forth we need readiness. We need to study to show ourselves approved. As we see in the parable of the sower, some Christians will fall away because of lack of knowledge. If we do not know what to do, or watch out for how can we fight the good fight?
Fifth we need faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11:6) Faith is putting our beliefs into action. What good is it to know what to do if we do not do anything? We need to be doers of the word, (James 1:22)
And we need to pray. We need to pray in our own understanding, with wisdom from the Holy Spirit, and if we have the gift of praying in tongues to certainly do that. We need constant fellowship with God, and the Holy Spirit can help us to do that. All we need to do is ask the Holy Spirit and he will be more than happy to help us in our prayer life. In our pilgrimage we can be like David’s brothers and watch the enemy have their way with us, or we can be like David and stand our ground in our faith and trust in the Lord. Jesus wants us to be victorious, or he wouldn’t have given us the means to defeat Satan and the powers of darkness. Let’s be as God told Moses, and Moses told Joshua, and that is to be strong, courageous, not discouraged or terrified. Remember as Christians, the Bride of Christ, we have Jesus authority and backing. Jesus has our back!
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for all you have given us to defeat our enemies. We rejoice that your presence in us is greater than what Satan, the powers of darkness, or anything else could bring against us. We love you Jesus!
