ephesians 6 13 says
therefore take up the whole armor of god
that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day
and having done all to stand
i would like to take a moment to
deconstruct this verse
and what it means to us as children of
god
the bible says therefore take up the
whole armor of god
the first thing to notice is that this
is an instruction
we are told
to take up
the whole armor of god
it's not a question
of whether you can or cannot take this
up no
it's a clear instruction
this is something you need to do
the second thing
is that you only need armor if you're in
a war
you only need armor in battle
you only need armor
when there is an opposing force
that's coming against you
and when the bible says the whole armor
this says to me that there are multiple
parts that need to be taken up
anything other than the whole armor
would leave you vulnerable so it's
important that we follow this
instruction
and not only take up parts of the armor
but the whole armor of god now the
second part to this verse says
that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day
this statement has a level of certainty
to it
you need to take up the whole armor of
god so that you can withstand
in the evil day
now in this part of the verse
i get the impression that the bible is
warning us
the bible is warning us that there will
be an evil day
a day when we will have to fight
the forces of evil
and the forces of evil
they can attack in many forms
however
if we are wearing the whole armor of god
then we will be able to withstand
anything the devil aims in our direction
now that we have a better understanding
of this verse
i want to encourage you
and i want to rally you up yes
you are in a war
if you are a true disciple of christ
you will be at war
you're at war against the rulers
against the authorities
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms
now in these few moments
i want to remind you that the word is
central to your defensive stance as well
as your offensive stance as a christian
so when you face the evil day
remember 2 thessalonians 3 verse 3
but the lord is faithful
who will establish you
and guard you from the evil one
remember deuteronomy 31 verse 6
be strong and of good courage
do not fear nor be afraid of them
for the lord your god
he is the one who goes with you
he will not leave you
nor forsake you when you face the evil
day
psalm 46 verse 1 says
god is our refuge and strength
a very present help in trouble
the lord is with you
and the promises of god
should give you the confidence to be
bold
in the face of
evil
when it comes to our christian lives
one thing that we need to realize is
that every day
from the moment that you wake up
to the moment that we sleep
we are involved in a battle
we're involved in a fight
one fight that we're involved in is
detailed in ephesians chapter 6
verse 12
and the bible reads for we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood
but against the rulers
against the authorities
against the cosmic powers
over this present darkness
against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places
that's the first fight
now another fight that we're involved in
can be found in galatians chapter 5
verse 17
for the desires of the flesh are against
the spirit
and the desires of the spirit are
against the flesh
for these are opposed to each other to
keep you from doing the things you want
to do
there is a struggle that we all face
we wrestle in the spirit realm
and then we also wrestle against the
flesh
and the carnal
sinful desires of our bodies
now in order to win this fight
this fight between good and evil
we need to be covered in
and i say prayer because 2 corinthians
chapter 10
verse 4 says
for the weapons of our warfare are not
of the flesh
but have divine power to destroy
strongholds
meaning that when we wrestle against
these rulers and authorities
when we wrestle against the spiritual
forces of evil
when we wrestle against our flesh
the weapons that we use are not physical
weapons
but they are divine in nature
the weapons we use are prayer
the word of god
worship
the word of our testimony
and of course our faith
and i encourage you today
to make the decision that you will
become a prayer warrior
and as prayer warriors everything we
love
everything we're associated with must be
covered by prayer and the blood of jesus
that means our family and loved ones
our friends and our lives should be
placed under the umbrella
of prayer
and the blood of jesus christ
it's only when we become prayer warriors
that we can defeat this unseen enemy
lurking in the dark
it's only through prayer that we can
experience god's true power and might in
our lives
only then can we experience what it's
like to live under the divine protection
of god almighty
psalm 91 verse 1 to 4 says
he who dwells in the shelter of the most
high
will abide under the shadow of the
almighty
i will say to the lord my refuge and my
fortress
my god in whom i trust
for he will deliver you from the snare
of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence he will
cover you
with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge
his faithfulness is a shield
and buckler
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you